Publisher’s Summary:
In the next installment of the New York Times best-selling Throne of Glass series, follow Chaol on his sweeping journey to a distant empire.
Chaol Westfall has always defined himself by his unwavering loyalty, his strength, and his position as the captain of the Guard. But all of that has changed since the glass castle shattered, since his men were slaughtered, since the king of Adarlan spared him from a killing blow, but left his body broken.
His only shot at recovery lies with the legendary healers of the Torre Cesme in Antica – the stronghold of the southern continent’s mighty empire. And with war looming over Dorian and Aelin back home, their survival might lie with Chaol and Nesryn convincing its rulers to ally with them.
But what they discover in Antica will change them both – and be more vital to saving Erilea than they could have imagined.
First Impression:
It took me a while to get into the Throne of Glass series and while I was listening to the first novel, I wasn’t sure what all the hype was about. I actually started and stopped listening to it 3 times before I put down the needle and yarn long enough to really pay attention to the story. The series is great…really! I really like Sarah J Maas and absolutely adored the Court of Thorns and Roses series (which I will review later).
The Throne of Glass series is half YA and half fantasy. If you’re a person who has difficulty following many characters hailing from many different lands, this might be a hard pill to swallow for you. So much of it reminds me of Game of Thrones, which I can only follow because I can see the characters and I’m generally not crocheting when I’m watching it. However, if you’re doing needlework while listening to this novel, you might find yourself having to rewind it several times.
This novel is what some may call a novella because the story surrounds one of the series’s supporting characters. Novellas are usually shorter than the main novels, but this one is just as long as the others. Also, it is described as book 6 in the series. I had planned to skip this novel and just figure out any important bits in the series finale. After doing some searching online, I decided to give it a chance. Chaol, the focus of this novel, was probably my least favorite character in the series so I had to grin and bear it.
Review:
I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this novel! It was a nice departure from the intensity of the other books in the series and was much easier to follow. Because of that, I was able to finally understand some of the main points that had eluded me in the earlier books.
The timeline in this book is parallel to that in Empire of Storms (book 5). Chaol has traveled to the southern continent of Antica with his love interest Nesryn from Queen of Shadows (book 4). His goal is two-fold; gaining military support from its ruler and being healed of his paralysis. Because this novel takes place in one location, its primary focus is on these two things. Also, because there are new players involved, Chaol and Nesryn give an overview of the main points of the series via their conversations with others.
This is largely a romance novel, so much so that I believe it’s part of Audible’s romance collection. While development of relationships is a major part of the other books in the series, the focus is more extensive in Tower of Dawn. It’s likely due to the relative lack of military conflict over the course of the novel as Antica is currently at peace. Sarah takes this opportunity to really give depth to these two supporting characters, though I feel the focus is really on the development of Chaol.
While it’s true that you can skip over this novel and proceed from Empire of Storms to Kingdom of Ashes, I wouldn’t recommend it. As I said, if you found the other novels in the series to be a bit confusing, this book will give you a big picture context. Additionally, there is important information revealed in this novel that will play a major role in the conclusion of the series. Although Chaol is a major focus of this book, Elizabeth Evans remains the sole narrator for the series. I actually prefer when there is a single narrator because character voices remain consistent throughout. There are some mistakes in pronunciation that got under my skin. In particular, she pronounces the “wind” in “winding” as though it is the wind with a short i (like the wind that blows) instead of a long i (like to wind yarn into a ball). It’s only a problem because this word is used a lot…like A LOT. Otherwise, she’s a great narrator and seems to really nail the attitudes that go along with each character.
Summarizing Thoughts:
Tower of Dawn is an easy listen, especially if you’re working on a pattern that requires a little more concentration. I would suggest not skipping this novel in favor of book 7. Besides, I’m not really in a rush to finish the series. Having finished her other fae series, I won’t be able to get my Sarah J Maas fix for a long while.