Want to read the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J Maas, but confused on the order to do it? You’re not alone. There’s a lot of debate online about how to read this series. People online have taken this debate very seriously, however, there is no right or wrong way to read the series. It depends on the reading experience you prefer. The series is read in publication order, but where you read The Assassin’s Blade and Tower of Dawn can change depending on the experience you want.
The Assassin’s Blade
If you don’t already know, The Assassin’s Blade is a prequel book consisting of five novellas. While you might be tempted to skip this book, I wouldn’t recommend it (at least on your first read through). It introduces important information and characters which may leave you a little confused if you decide to omit it while reading.
When to Read it
- Read it First
For a chronological experience you can read The Assassin’s Blade first. This way allows you to have all of the information at the beginning of the story. However, you miss out on the mystery of who the main character is. This may appeal to you if you don’t enjoy feeling confused at the beginning of stories and don’t enjoy piecing the story together as you read.
2. Read it Third
This option has you read Throne of Glass, Crown of Midnight, and then The Assassin’s Blade. This option is the author’s preferred method. If you would like to read the story the way the author intends it to be read, this is your order. It allows you some mystery at the beginning while having an emotional impact and allowing you to break from the main story line at a good stopping point.
3. Read it Fourth
Here you read Throne of Glass, Crown of Midnight, Heir of Fire, and then The Assassin’s Blade. People have said this option has the biggest emotional impact and is the publishing company’s preferred method. However, Heir of Fire is a turning point for the Throne of Glass series, and you may find it difficult to break from the main story at this point.
How to Read Tower of Dawn
Personally, I enjoyed Tower of Dawn. A lot of people didn’t enjoy this one as much for a couple of reasons. First, some people do not like the characters this story follows as much as the characters in the other books. Second, it takes place at the same time as Empire of Storms and it’s hard to break from our main plot and characters at this point. I would not recommend skipping it though. It contains vital information for the final book in the series.
The author recommends that you read the last three books in publication order (Empire of Storms, Tower of Dawn, Kingdom of Ash). However, fans of the series have created a tandem reading guide that would allow you to read both books at the same time if you would prefer.
The tandem reading guide can be found here:
https://www.rosebudsrealm.com/tandemguide
