60 Fun Facts About Throne of Glass

Who wrote the Throne of Glass series?

Sarah J. Maas wrote all eight Throne of Glass books, published from 2012 to 2018, and went on to A Court of Thorns and Roses and Crescent City.

What is Celaena Sardothien's profession when the first book opens?

Celaena is Adarlan's most notorious Assassin, eighteen years old and a year into her sentence when the Crown Prince arrives with his offer.

Where has Celaena been enslaved for a year before the series 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 the first book?

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 the first book?

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 the story first appear online on FictionPress?

Posted on FictionPress as Queen of Glass from 2002, it became one of the site's most popular stories before Maas took it down to pursue publication.

How old was Maas when she began writing what became Throne of Glass?

Maas was Sixteen when she started the story in 2002, a full decade before the finished novel was published in August 2012.

Which publisher bought Throne of Glass in 2010?

Bloomsbury acquired Throne of Glass in 2010 and published it in 2012; the same house went on to publish Maas's A Court of Thorns and Roses and Crescent City series.

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

At 992 pages it is by far the longest entry, more than double the page count of the first book.

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

The Assassin's Blade (2014) gathers five prequel novellas, four of which had been released as e-books between January and July 2012 to build buzz before the first novel.

Which two books overlap in time so closely that fans built 'tandem read' guides for them?

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 the series for TV in 2016 under the working title Queen of Shadows?

Hulu and the Mark Gordon Company picked up the series in 2016, planning a drama called Queen of Shadows, but nothing was made and the rights reverted to Maas.

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

Empire of Storms was one of thirteen titles Utah ordered out of every public school in August 2024; five A Court of Thorns and Roses books joined it, six Maas titles in all.

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 two characters did Maas name as inspirations for Celaena's personality?

Maas said Velma's arrogance and fierceness made her want to write a woman who never apologized for loving herself.

Which novel's release put the series on the New York Times Best Seller list for the first time?

Crown of Midnight, published in August 2013, a year after the debut, was the first book of the series to reach the New York Times Best Seller list.

Which website premiered the Throne of Glass book trailer in May 2012?

Publishers Weekly had already previewed the book that February, and CAA picked up the film option rights.

What is Celaena Sardothien's true name?

Celaena's true name is Aelin Ashryver Galathynius, the lost princess of the northern kingdom; her parents were murdered when she was eight, and Arobynn Hamel pulled her from a river.

Aelin is the rightful queen of which realm?

Aelin is the rightful Queen of Terrasen, the northern kingdom Adarlan conquered when she was a child; its capital held the greatest library in Erilea.

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

Chaol Westfall is Captain of the Guard to the King of Adarlan when he escorts Celaena out of the prison camp to Rifthold, ready to drag her back if she runs.

Rowan Whitethorn first appears in which book of the series?

Rowan Whitethorn enters in Heir of Fire as the Fae warrior Maeve assigns to train Aelin in Wendlyn, treating her with cold annoyance for months.

What animal does Rowan shift into?

Rowan's animal form is a white-tailed hawk, and in that shape he keeps watch over Aelin during her training in Wendlyn; his magic is wind and ice.

Manon Blackbeak's wyvern was originally used as what in the training pits?

Abraxos had been a bait beast, a scarred runt used to train other wyverns; Manon named him after the serpent who holds the world in his coils, and he loves wildflowers.

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

Manon leads the Thirteen, her personal coven of Blackbeak witches; her cousin Asterin served as its Second for a century, with Sorrel as Third.

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

All three clans share retractable iron teeth and nails and a clear eyelid for flying, and Maas drew on Baba Yaga for them.

Manon Blackbeak's sword has what name?

Manon's sword is Wind-Cleaver, the blade she wears across her back when flying Abraxos into battle.

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 present, delivered along with a large bag of candy.

Sam Cortland was murdered on the orders of Arobynn Hamel by which Rifthold crime figure?

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, Arobynn's courtesan, reads Aelin's note 'He's all yours' and cuts his throat while he sleeps beside her in Queen of Shadows.

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

Aelin later makes her Lady of Caraverre and gives her a ring engraved with a ghost leopard and a key above it.

Aedion Ashryver, 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; bound by the blood oath, he never knew he had a son until the family resemblance gave it away.

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 member of the cadre does Elide Lochan marry?

Elide marries Lorcan Salvaterre, the demi-Fae warrior of Maeve's cadre who turns against his queen for her; they wed in the series' final chapters.

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

Fenrys and his twin Connall both served in Maeve's cadre until Connall's death; Fenrys shifts into a wolf, a nod to the Norse Fenrir.

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?

Maeve is a Valg queen who fled her Valg kings and posed as Fae for millennia; her blood runs black, and her mind manipulation hides it even from those sworn to her.

Erawan spent most of the series hiding inside which Adarlanian noble?

Erawan possessed Duke Perrington, the noble who sponsored Cain in the king's contest, and only revealed himself once the king of Adarlan was dead.

How many Wyrdkeys exist?

There are Three Wyrdkeys, slivers of the Wyrdgate that can open the gates between worlds; the Valg kings used them to invade Erilea, and Aelin must gather all of them to forge the Lock.

Which Galathynius family heirloom secretly contains a Wyrdkey?

The Amulet of Orynth, given to Aelin by her mother the night before her parents' murder, hid a Wyrdkey; Arobynn took it from her neck and kept it for years.

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

The Wyrdkey was sewn into her arm, turning Kaltain's fire into shadowfire; she cut it out, passed it to Elide, and then unleashed the shadowfire on Morath.

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

Damaris, the Sword of Truth, lets its bearer sense lies; Aelin recovered it from Elena's tomb and gave it to Dorian, the Havilliard heir.

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

Mala Fire-Bringer, the sun goddess whose sacred stags carry her flame between their antlers, blessed the first Galathynius king and, by legend, loved him.

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

Elena was the daughter of Brannon, the Fae king who founded Aelin's royal line; her tomb beneath the glass castle is guarded by Mort, a talking bronze skull knocker.

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

Tower of Dawn takes Chaol to Antica, seat of the khagan and home to the Torre Cesme healers; planned as a novella, it grew into a full novel.

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

Yrene was a barmaid at the White Pig inn in Innish when Celaena left her a purse of coin and a ruby brooch to pay for healer's training in the south.

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

Nesryn falls for Sartaq, the khagan's son who commands the ruk riders, flying with him to the Tavan Mountains to seek the rukhin's help against Erawan.

Which two characters from A Court of Thorns and Roses does Aelin glimpse while falling between worlds in the final book?

Aelin glimpses Feyre and Rhysand, the High Lord of the Night Court and his mate, during her fall; she also sees a river city of impossibly tall buildings, Crescent City's Lunathion.

In Maas's original FictionPress draft, Aelin's homeland went by what name?

Several names shifted between draft and print: Sam was Symeth, Chaol was Wydrael, and Nehemia was Anuksun.

Which pirate lord's hands are tattooed with a magical map that shifts to show treasure and 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.

How many Baast Cats guard the library of the Torre Cesme?

Thirty-six Baast Cats guard the Torre Cesme's library; the tower's name means Tower of Dawn in Halha, the language of the Southern Continent.

Which company published the two-player Throne of Glass card game in October 2019?

Osprey Games published Embers of Memory in October 2019; players dive into Aelin's memories to help her survive imprisonment at Maeve's hands.

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

Maas has repeatedly named Garth Nix's Sabriel and McKinley's The Hero and the Crown as the books whose strong heroines shaped her and made her want to write empowering stories.

Which writer of The 100 was attached to script the planned Queen of Shadows TV adaptation?

Kira Snyder, a writer and producer on The 100, was set to script the pilot, with Anna Foerster in line to direct, before the project died and the rights reverted.

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

Throne of Glass was the publisher's first children's title offered to reviewers on NetGalley, a bet on Maas's large online following from her FictionPress days.

Which retailer named Throne of Glass its Best Book of the Month for Kids & Teens in August 2012?

Amazon named Throne of Glass a Best Book of the Month for Kids & Teens in August 2012, the month of its hardcover release.

Where do the publisher and Maas's own site place the prequel novellas in the reading order?

The novellas are a prequel in story terms but were published in 2014, a year after Crown of Midnight.