Xariel

Here he goes again! Dan Brown is back with a new page-turner - and more, such as plot twists that are not so much twists as a road straight ahead and a plot that feels oddly similar to every other Dan Brown book. There's Langdon, on a run, with a female sidekick, a mysterious organisation (or many of those) with conservative& elderly, male leaders. People are again doing bad things in the name of religion - and I feel like I'm rereading the Da Vinci Code, except now we're in Spain. 

Throne of Glass is... something else. Really good, cutting-edge YA high fantasy! And yes, we don't get that very often. I hear it's being marketed as the Young Adult version of Game of Thrones, which is true and is not true at the same time. Yes, there are many complex characters, all scheming with their own motives. Some you like, some you hate, but she scale of love and hate in Throne of Glass is nowhere near to that of George R.R. Martin's saga. Comparing those two novels in that fashion, I would have expected Throne of Glass to be much darker, gloomier and, well, gorier than it actually was. If you've read them both, I'd like to hear what you think about the comparison. What's clear, however, is that Throne of Glass is an excellent read - fast-paced, action-packed novel with a kick-ass heroine who's strong, smart and likable. We get two men, who in readers' hearts compete as the protagonist Celaena Sardothien's love interests. Sarah J. Maas did say, however, that in her mind there was never real competition and that the choice has always been clear to her. Well, thank you very much, Ms. Maas, but I rooted for that other guy. No spoilers. A thought. Princess Nehemia was a really cool character. She is independent, motivated, "nice like people are in real life, which means only as long as she likes to be". She's not one of those secondary characters whose acts seem to be created just so that the plot could advance. No, we get to find out why she makes her choices. And she just happens to be a person of color, without being a stereotypical person of color, or feeling like an added thing, just because there should be a person of color in a book. If you like thrill of competition, can stomach high fantasy world building (not everybody can) and won't be put out with a love triangle - please, read Throne of Glass. And don't forget the fantastic little prequels. Yum!