58 Fun Facts About Throne of Glass

Adarlan and the kingdoms it conquered lie on which continent?

Erilea is the continent Adarlan's king has been conquering kingdom by kingdom, having outlawed magic ten years before the story opens; Prythian and Midgard belong to Maas's other series.

Which rival does Celaena beat in the final duel of Throne of Glass?

Cain nearly won the final duel because Celaena's drink had been poisoned; when he lunged at her after losing, Chaol killed him.

Where has Celaena been enslaved for a year before Throne of Glass begins?

Celaena was condemned to the salt mines of Endovier, a death camp in northern Adarlan, and survived a year there, far longer than most prisoners lasted.

What title is at stake in the competition Celaena enters in Throne of Glass?

The King's Champion title goes to the winner of the king's contest among killers, thieves and soldiers; for Celaena, victory promises freedom after years of service.

Which fairy tale did Maas cite as the seed of Throne of Glass?

Maas has said the idea came from Cinderella: hearing the dark music as the heroine flees the ball, she imagined a runaway who had come to the palace to kill the prince.

Under what title did Throne of Glass first appear online on FictionPress?

Queen of Glass was the title Maas posted under on FictionPress, where it became one of the site's most popular stories before she pulled it to seek a publisher.

At what stage of life did Maas begin writing Throne of Glass?

As a teenager: Maas was sixteen when she began sharing the first draft online, and she kept revising it for a decade before the novel was published in 2012.

Which publisher bought Throne of Glass in 2010?

Bloomsbury bought Throne of Glass in 2010 and Maas reworked the story before its 2012 release; the same house has published every Maas series since.

Which book closed the Throne of Glass series in October 2018?

Kingdom of Ash is by far the longest book of the series, and it ends the war as Aelin and her allies destroy both Erawan and Maeve.

Which title collects the prequel novellas about Celaena and Sam Cortland?

The Assassin's Blade (2014) gathers five prequel novellas; four had already been released as e-books to build buzz before the first novel came out.

Which two Maas novels overlap in time?

Empire of Storms and Tower of Dawn run concurrently, so fan guides tell you which chapter of each to read next and the storylines unfold side by side.

Which streamer optioned Throne of Glass for TV in 2016 under the working title Queen of Shadows?

Hulu announced a Queen of Shadows drama in 2016 with the Mark Gordon Company producing, but the series never reached the screen.

Which Throne of Glass novel did Utah's school board remove from all public schools in 2024?

Empire of Storms was among 13 titles Utah pulled from every public school in August 2024, under a law triggered once three districts remove a book; six of the 13 were by Maas.

What was the name of Aelin's mother?

Aelin's mother was Evalin Ashryver, a princess of Wendlyn who married Rhoe Galathynius; both were murdered when Aelin was eight.

Which character from the musical Chicago did Maas credit for Celaena's unapologetic swagger?

Velma Kelly's arrogance and fierceness made Maas want a heroine who never said sorry for being talented; she had seen Chicago in London's West End as the story took shape.

Which novel first put Sarah J. Maas on the New York Times Best Seller list?

Crown of Midnight was the breakthrough: published in August 2013, it took the series onto the New York Times young adult list, which the debut had not reached a year earlier.

Which false name does Celaena compete under in Throne of Glass?

Lillian Gordaina was the cover name the prince gave her, so that nobody at court would know a notorious killer was living in the castle.

What binds the warriors of Maeve's cadre to obey her every command?

The blood oath strips a sworn warrior of free will, so Rowan could not simply leave: Aelin had to bargain with Maeve to release him, and he then swore it to Aelin instead.

Aelin is the rightful queen of which realm?

Terrasen is the kingdom Adarlan conquered when Aelin was a child; she spends the series fighting her way back to its throne.

What position does Chaol Westfall hold when Celaena first meets him?

Captain of the Guard is Chaol's rank when he fetches Celaena from the prison camp, and he then becomes her trainer for the contest.

Rowan Whitethorn first appears in which book?

Heir of Fire introduces Rowan Whitethorn as the Fae warrior Maeve assigns to train Aelin in Wendlyn; their hostile start slowly turns into a deep bond.

What animal does Rowan shift into?

A white-tailed hawk is Rowan's animal form; he also commands wind and ice, and freezes an entire lake during one of Aelin's training exercises.

Which wyvern, once a scarred bait beast in the training pits, does Manon Blackbeak choose as her mount?

Abraxos was the undersized bait beast the others practised on; after he helped Manon kill the huge wyvern Titus in the pit, she chose him and named him after a world-holding serpent.

What is the name of Manon Blackbeak's personal coven?

The Thirteen is Manon's own coven, with her cousin Asterin as Second; in the final book the other twelve sacrifice themselves to destroy a witch tower.

Along with the Blackbeaks, which two clans make up the Ironteeth witches?

Bluebloods and Yellowlegs join the Blackbeaks as the three Ironteeth clans, all with retractable iron teeth and nails; Adarlan's king recruits them to fly wyverns for his army.

Manon Blackbeak's sword has what name?

Wind-Cleaver is Manon's sword; shoved into the wyvern pit by a rival, she is attacked by a huge bull, and a chained bait beast joins her to bring it down.

Which princess of Eyllwe becomes Celaena's closest friend in the glass castle?

Nehemia Ytger, princess of Eyllwe, hid how well she spoke the common tongue so courtiers would talk freely around her, and she named Celaena 'Elentiya'.

Who gives Celaena the dog Fleetfoot?

Dorian Havilliard gives Celaena the puppy Fleetfoot as a Yulemas gift; in the next book Fleetfoot vanishes through a portal with a monster, and Chaol goes in after the dog.

Which Rifthold crime figure tortured and killed Sam Cortland after Arobynn Hamel betrayed him?

Rourke Farran, Ioan Jayne's second, tortured and killed Sam; Celaena's revenge raid on Jayne's house was the trap, arranged by Arobynn, that got her captured and condemned.

Arobynn Hamel is known by what title in Rifthold?

Arobynn Hamel is the King of the Assassins, master of the Assassins' Guild in Rifthold, who trained Celaena from the age of eight.

Which character kills Arobynn Hamel in Queen of Shadows?

Lysandra, the courtesan Arobynn kept for years, slits his throat as he sleeps in Queen of Shadows, a kill Aelin knowingly leaves to her.

Which animal form does Aelin's shapeshifting friend prefer above all others?

Ghost leopard is the shape she favours once magic returns; she first takes it in Queen of Shadows to help Rowan and Aedion fight their way out.

Aedion, Aelin's cousin, was known by what nickname as one of Adarlan's generals?

Aedion earned the nickname the Wolf of the North commanding the Bane; he staged battles and inflated body counts to quietly help the rebels while wearing Adarlan's colours.

Which member of Maeve's cadre turns out to be Aedion's father?

Gavriel, the Lion of Maeve's cadre, is Aedion's father; Aedion grows up not knowing, and it is Rowan who names him in Queen of Shadows.

Elide Lochan is the rightful lady of which city?

Elide is the rightful Lady of Perranth; her uncle Vernon stole the title after her father's execution and never let a healer treat her broken ankle.

Which warrior does Elide Lochan marry?

Lorcan, the feared demi-Fae commander of Maeve's cadre, marries Elide and takes her family name, becoming Lorcan Lochan.

Which member of Maeve's cadre had a twin brother named Connall?

Fenrys and his twin Connall both served in Maeve's cadre; in the final book Maeve forces Connall to kill himself in front of his brother.

Maeve rules the Fae from which city?

Maeve holds court in Doranelle, the City of Rivers, built of stone and ringed with water, where Aelin first confronts her at the end of her Fae training.

Maeve is eventually revealed to be what?

A Valg queen is what Maeve really is: she slipped out of her husband's realm and convinced the world she was one of three Fae sister-queens.

Until his unmasking in Queen of Shadows, Erawan hides inside which Adarlanian noble?

Duke Perrington was taken over by Erawan after he and the future king opened a crypt beneath Morath as young men; the truth only comes out as the king dies.

What must Aelin forge anew to bind the three Wyrdkeys away for good?

The Lock binds the three Wyrdkeys back into the gate between worlds; the first one was wasted long ago, so forging another falls to Aelin and may cost her life.

Which Galathynius family heirloom secretly contains a Wyrdkey?

The Amulet of Orynth, passed to Aelin by her mother on the night her parents were murdered, hid a Wyrdkey; Arobynn secretly kept it for years until she forced him to hand it back.

Where in Kaltain Rompier's body was a Wyrdkey implanted?

Her arm held the Wyrdkey; Kaltain cut it out, handed it to Elide to carry to Celaena, and then unleashed her shadowfire on Morath.

Which sword, called the Sword of Truth, was first wielded by Gavin Havilliard?

Damaris, the Sword of Truth, lay in Elena's tomb until Celaena took it to kill a monster under the castle; a book later she needs it to read a riddle hidden in the same tomb.

Which goddess blessed the first Galathynius king with the fire magic Aelin inherits?

Mala Fire-Bringer, the sun goddess, gave the first Galathynius king her fire and then took mortal form to marry him, which is why Aelin is born with her gift.

Elena, the ghostly first Queen of Adarlan who guides Celaena, was the daughter of which Fae king?

Brannon, the Fae king who founded Aelin's royal line, was Elena's father; she fought with him after she merely sealed Erawan under a mountain, wasting the one chance to end the threat for good.

Tower of Dawn follows Chaol to which city on the Southern Continent?

Antica is the khagan's seaside capital; Chaol arrives in Tower of Dawn to find the royal family in mourning and must still win its armies for the war at home.

Where was the healer Yrene Towers working as a barmaid when Celaena first crossed her path?

Innish was the grim port where Yrene worked at the White Pig inn; Celaena saved her from attackers there and left the gold that paid her way to healer's training.

Which khagan's son, commander of the ruk riders, does Nesryn Faliq fall for in Tower of Dawn?

Sartaq, the khagan's son who commands the ruk riders, takes Nesryn flying to his mountain aerie; he is later named heir, which makes her a future empress.

Which two A Court of Thorns and Roses characters does Aelin glimpse while falling between worlds?

Feyre and Rhysand appear as a Fae couple watching her fall; he sends magic to slow her, and she also passes a river city of towers, Crescent City's Lunathion.

What is the name of the talking bronze door knocker Celaena meets beneath the glass castle?

Mort is the skull-shaped knocker on the tomb door; in the second book he confirms Celaena's fear that the king has already found the Wyrdkey hidden inside.

Which pirate lord's hands are tattooed with a magical map that shifts to show approaching enemies?

Captain Rolfe, Pirate Lord of Skull's Bay, bears the shifting map on his hands; Celaena and Sam freed the slaves from his port in the first prequel novella.

Which of Celaena's fellow acolytes in the Red Desert later rules as Queen of the Western Wastes?

Ansel of Briarcliff, Celaena's friend and betrayer in the Red Desert, later rules the Western Wastes; Celaena gave her twenty minutes to flee before loosing an arrow.

In the final Throne of Glass book, Maeve holds the captured Aelin for months locked inside what?

An iron coffin holds Aelin through months of torture; knowing that yielding to Maeve would doom those she loves is what keeps her from breaking.

Which Garth Nix novel did Maas name, with Robin McKinley's The Hero and the Crown, as a formative influence?

Sabriel and The Hero and the Crown both had strong heroines who, Maas said, 'profoundly shaped my identity'; she hoped a young woman reading her own book would feel empowered too.

In Tower of Dawn, why is the healer Yrene Towers at first unwilling to treat Chaol?

He served her mother's killers: Adarlan's soldiers murdered Yrene's mother when she was a child, and Chaol had served their king. She heals him anyway, and by the book's end the two are married.

Throne of Glass was its publisher's first children's novel featured on which review-copy site?

NetGalley requests came in 'from all over the world', said the publisher's publicist, who pointed to the 'huge online following' Maas had built since posting her stories on FictionPress.

Where do Maas's publisher and website slot the Throne of Glass prequel novellas?

After Crown of Midnight, in publication order: the publisher says the novellas introduce characters and places that return later, so they help before the third novel, though reading them first spoils nothing.