Throne of Glass Book Review Questions
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Hello, this is your host Bookrovert Reader podcast. My name is Charity. I bring fantasy books to book lovers. I am going to be exploring an interview style of Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Mass. So actually had to look this up. I haven't read this book since it first came out in like 2012, 2013. I remember reading this book back in the day and loving the storyline. I was just kind of getting into this fantasy, and at the time I thought this fantasy was kind of dark. You know, this was my first introduction into the the Sarah Mass cult. I loved it. And I think with maybe two years ago, I did finish the seventh book of the series. And, you know, I haven't picked it up since because I'm not a natural reader of any kind of book, any even if the book is really good. I'm not I don't naturally gravitate towards that. But I've been seeing a lot of. You know, Sarah J. Mask conspiracies. And if you're familiar with any of the mass verse massacres, there is a lot of theories. She is creating a universe within the Throne of Glass series, the Throne of Glass, the Court of Thorn and Roses and the Crescent City Series. There's a lot of theories going on around it, and I'm like, Hm. I didn't even remember seeing any of that because if you remember when the book first came out, it just it wasn't really a concept. She was just brand new to the to the book world and took it by storm. And now it's like it's evolving quite a bit. Now, I haven't read the second book of the Crescent City series. I mean, I still need to start it because I know the third book, The House of Flame and Shadow is coming out in January. So my plan is to read all of that. But what I want to know is like, how does these worlds connect? I'm just curious about it just because of the fact that it's a very known thing that Sarah Mars is doing, and I'm just going to reread everything. So with that fact, I am reading through a glass, the first book. I will warn you that this will have spoilers and just let you know without warning. It's there's going to be spoilers. So if you haven't read it yet, just definitely go and read it first. If not, welcome. I'm looking forward to speaking these series to you. Make sure you let me know on Instagram or TikTok where I'm on at Book Reader and let me know what your Sarah Universe theories are because I love to hear them. So the first thing I'm going to talk about is the characters of Throne of Glass. First question is, Selina is a complex character. How would you describe her personality, strengths and weaknesses? Did you find her relatable or retreating as a protagonist? Now, this is the first thing that I really liked about Selena from the get go is that she is not afraid to be tough and finnerman at the same time. I did do a podcast episode about the common tropes of women in fantasy. That's kind of annoying and I'll definitely put that link in the show notes for that. One of them was that that to be tough as a woman, they don't wear, you know, they don't wear dresses. They they like to be tough. They don't like to ask for help when all this stuff. And it's very annoying to other readers that women are portrayed where they're just they just. Can't be finnerman at all to be tough. And Selina's written to be extremely tough, extremely good at what she does, but at the same time, she loves dresses, she loves feeling pretty, she loves doing her hair and being pampered, you know, by I love that a lot about Selina, just because she embraces that a lot and she's not ashamed of it. I notice in this book in particular, she does have quite a bit of vanity about her looks, also about she does have pride. You know, a lot of times in the book, she's like, I can kill these people on the spot. I can take them out. I wish I can just kill them right now. And she's being told quite a bit by all to hold back, be presented as a fact that you are underestimated constantly. She's being told to be underestimated about what she can do. She goes into this competition with an alias as a jewel thief and she gets really offended about being considered a jewel thief instead of Arlen's assassin. So it's kind of funny how she's just like having to hold in her pride quite a bit, just, you know, just to hide her identity. And it tears her up. She wishes she can actually unleash on these people about who she truly is and what she can actually do. There's times that she actually proves it, not just in just words. Only. Now, in a lot of times Selina has this way of just worming into people's lives by just being, you know, even though she's considered an assassin, she is actually very human, very personal person. And she actually does care. You get to see with Kale and and Prince Dorian about how much she does care and how much she worms into their lives slowly but surely by just. Asking questions and just understanding them as people. I like that a lot. One of also the other things is in the story. She's been in the salt mines for a year, so her body is really, you know, really broken down quite a bit when she's entered in this competition. When she started training with the other competitors, she would have to hide and throw up because she didn't want them to see any weakness that was coming from her. Like she was constantly trying to hide that. But at the same time, she took it more seriously because she knew in that situation that her freedom was kind of hanging in the balance. So she started training more. And even though she had to like hold back and show that she's kind of weak to to the other competitors, she took the time in the mornings or things like that to train more to get better so she can actually get stronger. So you see that, Celina, she's determined and she tries hard. I mean, she does go after what she wants, even if it's not the best option. She realizes that in the very beginning she doesn't really have much options. But yeah, I think that's very interesting about Celina that she's a very strong person and she's gone through quite a bit in her life and you see that as you go through the book and she's not letting that define who she is. So the next question is Cal and Dorien play significant roles in this story. What do you think is their character traits reveal about their motivations and how they perceive? Celina I remember reading this meme that says Celina was trying to free the people and all Cale and Dorian were doing was, Hey, does she like me? And I thought that was pretty funny just because it does seem like that. They seem pretty. Aloof this whole time about what was actually happening. Leena was actually the one trying to figure out who was murdering these other competitors so critically. I mean, obviously Dorian does play a significant role in Selena's life just because of the fact that he was the one that says, I want her as my champion to compete in this competition. So he's the one that was like, all right, I do believe that Dorian does help with giving Selena more freedoms in the castle that normally other competitors may not get, or the fact that she's given a chance of freedom that that not many times people get. Kail obviously is the one that makes sure that she doesn't escape. 1s I think with their character traits, Dorian is a kind of a ladies man. He was portrayed as a ladies man. He's kind of like that stuffy prince, the one that has it all. But he's unhappy with his life and he's kind of, I would say, ignorant of what was going on. I think he throughout the story, you see that he starts to like Selena. And I think it's just because it's the fact that he wants something that he's not technically allowed to have because his father, the king, was like, you know, you need to keep your head on straight. You need to avoid Celina at all costs because she can kill you without a moment's hesitation. And you need to just stay away from her. And of course, that's the one person that he gravitates towards as soon as he gets a chance to do it. With him being a prince, he gets what he wants regardless. So I'm not really loving Dorian just because he's kind of a, you know, a snotty prince just doing what princes do in these situations and all. I really like all just because of the fact that in the very beginning he's really harsh towards Selena to the point where he's like, You are an assassin. I'm not going to you don't deserve to be treated nicely because at that reason he you see him slowly develop a friendship with Selena. Dorian, on the other hand, it's like instant loss. He wants what he wants. And he went over, he went towards her romantically immediately. And he is he's developing that friendship because he spends a lot of time with her. Oh, you know what? With Dorian, it's like an infatuation with Selena, I think. And Cal, it's like he you see him develop feelings and you see him develop. Dorian also having feelings for Selena. So it was an interesting dynamic between them two to see that go on and kill. Over time slowly understood where Selena was coming from in her conditions, that she went through the Salt mine and how hard she's working towards what she wants. And I just think that's very I like that development. You can even see the friendship between the two, between Selena and Kail, just because they're like, you know, she would like bump them, throw something at him and they'll joke and jab at each other. And that's totally different than from Prince Durian. It's just an immediate maturation romantic relationship that immediately formed between her and Dorian. If you would ask me, I would go with kale just because I'm one of those people that loves friends to lovers, not instant lust, situations and instant lust is totally what happened between Dorian and Selena because you hardly see them spend time with each other. You see Kail and Selena spend a lot of time together, so I'm more like the Selena and Kale, you know, relationship. So I'm hoping that works out. The next question is, Naima and Prince Colton represent two different sides of the court. How do their characters contribute to the overall tension and dynamics within the castle? Now you get to know quickly. Princess Calton is just a complete butthole. She's technically courting Duke Harington. But she's going after Prince Dorian because she wants the crown. She wants the royalty of her, you know. You know, increasing the station. She's going to do whatever it takes to get there and do Paddington is kind of her backup plan, I think, personally. But she has the mind on the prize here. So when she saw that Selina is a threat, she immediately started like, how can I take her down? And it's just kind of stupid to to see how catty this woman is, to just taking someone down to the point of her actually poisoning. Selena in the final competition so she can actually get a leg up for Prince Dorian. That's all she cared about was that position and power. And that's all her focus was throughout the whole book. And Mahima, she's the princess that is coming from a very basically a conquered kingdom. Her family is telling her that she needs to find someone to marry within the court as well. Her focus has been on helping the rebels, helping her nation. She speaks against slavery. That really resonates with Selena because Selena is against slavery as well. Coming from the salt mines. She also, you know, she worked with her people and me as people because a lot of the rebels get sent to the salt mines. So Selena got to know some of them while her time was there. I think it's interesting. That Princess Carlton basically contributed a lot to the problems that for Selina and especially at the last competition, where when she got poisoned to where literally either she's like, didn't care, like she got killed or lost a competition altogether. So she definitely contributed to a lot of issues. Princess Carlton also, too, gets revealed at the end that she's being used quite a bit. And Duke Pennington in The King knows about her ambitions towards Prince Dorian, and they use that against her and use her against the other people. And at the very end she got blamed for everything. Which is very interesting to dynamic to the story. Nehemiah, you know, she she pretends to be. 1s Oblivious to the culture, to the language and everything. And then as throughout the story, it turns out and revealed that she knew the language very well. So it was interesting to see that happen, to see things develop in that storyline, why Nehemiah is there and the motivations of Prince Princess Kelton So some of the things is one of the central themes in Throne of Glass is the idea of freedom. How do various characters, including Selina, pursue or struggle with this theme? So obviously, Selina, the whole theme of this one obviously, is that Selina is, you know, whether she liked it or not, new to gain her freedom once and for all is to. Compete in this competition, and it's with other 23 other men who are thieves and assassins and all that stuff, also competing for their freedom as well. She's just doing everything she can to survive and all that. And while she's here, she's been known to help the rebels to gain their freedoms as well. So because they're all under this roof of this glass castle, the only reason that glass castle is there is because this king has conquered all their countries and their cities and everything like that. There is a strong message of gaining freedom. And I think throughout the books, if I'm if I remember, that's the whole theme of the story is getting the freedom from the from the evil king. So just kind of diving into the magic in the world building. Discuss the diverse, magical elements in the story from the word marks to the supernatural creatures. How do these elements contribute to the richness and world of Sarah James has created? So just to be honest with you, when I first read this book, I just thought it was the devil, magic and everything, and I was just a baby reader at the time and I didn't think much of it. And now that I have explored a lot of different books and a lot of different magic systems, I find it very interesting that these word marks are like this portal to another dimension and also is the reason why these creatures are being summoned into this world and attacking these champions. 1s So it's only a little bit of magic. And also two, that Selena has a connection to dead rulers. So and there is like Queen Elena, and she was able to summon her back into the mortal world to kind of help spirit, you know, like like a spirit guide almost to, to defeat these these creatures. And to that that last competition, that was a big pivotal point of her being summoned and saving Selena. And it turns out that Nehemiah was able to do that as well. I just think it's very creative in a way, just that that there is a light in the dark aspect of this magic system. And I'm just curious to see how this develops and to know more about this word. Marks You know, in the very beginning book there also talks about is fey and elves and all the, you know, these little magical creatures that was kind of almost been eliminated in the past. So I'm I'm wanting to know more about that side of the world and to understand where Selena's you know, we read in the beginning Sword in the beginning of the book as well, that Selena may have some gifts that could get her killed if anyone were to find out. So I would love to know more about what those gifts are and what it contributes to this world. The castle and the Glass castle in particular are central settings in the book. How does the setting influence the characters and events in the story? When you read the book, it talked about how this castle was kind of this glass castle was kind of erected to show the power of the conquered land and the fact that if you're in there, everyone can see what is happening and what's going on. You know, it's just a shows that it just shows the the sense of power of the king. I think personally, not to think too deep on that one, just it does spook Selena out. You know, I think the dark tower clock tower is probably more of the central theme of this story in my personal opinion, just because it's very ominous. It was built when Cale was very young, so it's been there for quite a while and nobody knows much about it. So I think the clock tower is more pivotal to the story than the Glass Castle, to be honest with you. So the plot in place, pacing. Where there were there any plot twists or revelations that surprised you or change your perspective on the story? How effective was the storytelling in maintaining your interest? So the biggest plot twist to me was when Hemingway actually knew the language pretty well, and then she knew what the word marks were and that she was just hiding quite a bit. There was a there was a time that Selina thought that Nami was the one that was summoning the creatures and killing the other competitors. And she was worried to be alone with her and like, she can come after me. But it turns out that the Hemingway was actually protecting her this whole time. And she was also the reason that helped her be protected when she was in that lost competition that. So I thought that was pretty interesting to see that plot twist happened. And the fact of like Queen Elena is coming to save, you know, save Selena quite a bit a number of times. And if it wasn't for her, I think Selena would be in a lot worse situations if it wasn't for her help at the very end, the, you know, the last page of Chapter 54, you know, totally not like, thank you for saving my life. And Lena bowed her head and said, Blood ties can't be broken. And then she vanished. And I'm like, That is kind of like a connection to the fact that that there is more to Selena. Then it's realized as if she's related to Queen Selena. I'm just saying. So I thought that was an interesting twist like I picked up on. I mean, obviously I know the series, but I like the Nuggets and I never read. I never picked up on Nuggets until now. So next question is consider the pacing of the novel. Did you find the story will paced or were there sections that you thought could have been different? I thought the book was a good size personally. It's hard to say. I mean, I kind of got bored in the middle just because it felt like it was dragging out just a little bit. But once it got picked up with the creatures and the word marks and things like that, that's when it started really picking up for me. Personal opinion. Yeah, it got a little boring. There was nothing much happening. She was going through training, she was competing and oh, look at me. I'm great, I'm wonderful. I can do all these things. And so it was to me it was slightly boring. But so when the plot picked up kind of towards the end, that's when I was more invested. That's where she meets Elena, the tunnels. And just it developed a little bit more, in my opinion, closer to the end. So the romantic elements question is romance plays a significant role in the book with both Cal and Dorian showing interest in Selena. What are your thoughts on these romantic subplots and how do they impact the overall narrative? Now, I did talk about this already. I am for Cal more than Prince Dorian, just because I feel like Prince Dorian is a. Infatuation. More than anything, Kale is a budding relationship, in my personal opinion. At the very end, Selena tells Prince Dorian that we have to stop, especially since she won the competition. She's like, We can't continue doing this. And Prince Dorian had no intention of stopping it once she won the competition. So I'm kind of interested on how he took that rejection. I think it was very smart for Selena to say, you know, we got to stop this, we can't do this. So I'm very glad for that because it just it complicates things. And you also got to remember, Dorian is the king's son. The king is the one that conquered a lot of lands. There's a chance that he conquered her land when she was young. A lot of complications. So I'm very interested in seeing how more how much more this develops. So the next one is Selena's relationship with him. And Prince Colton also involves a complex dynamics. How do these relationships influence her character and the choices she makes? Um, I don't think Selena interacted with Princess Carlton too much. Princess Carlton took it to a whole new level on her own just because she saw Selena as a threat to her goal of Prince Dorian. She didn't. They didn't like each other regardless. And Selena just kept out of her way and everything. But Princess Nehemia, Selena developed a friendship with her, and it was a very important relationship to her because of the fact she doesn't know what it's like to have friends. You know, especially when she was in the Guild of Assassins and things like that. She valued that relationship quite a bit because they understood each other. So in their certain part where it seemed like Princess Naomie was the one that was summoning these monsters and things like that. Selina felt very betrayed by by that because she valued that friendship so much. And I'm glad that in the end of the day, it wasn't princess anemia. They were just like she was the one protecting Selina this whole time. So I like that. Relationships. I think Selina does make some certain choices based on the humor, not to the extent of, like, pivotal taking, changing the story. So the series potential There in A Glass is the first book in the series. What unanswered questions are unresolved plot points do you anticipate being addressed in the future books? I mean, obviously the word marks and the creatures, and at the very end we get the king's point of view with Duke Carrington. And it turns out they have been behind this nefarious plot this whole time. So what is their deal? What are. You know, I believe that they're kind of connected to the word marks with the clock tower, you know, And Duke Carrington framed Princess Cal not really mean. Princess Kelton did do the poisoning, but she was heavily influenced by somebody else. I want to know what is their deal? What are they going after and and things like that. And what is the king going to do with Selina now that Selina is the king's champion? I'm very interested about this, you know, wrapping up and, you know, slightly, I just want to know what Dorian's how he handles rejection and what's and how the relationship develops between her and Cale, because they're kind of like friends right now. And Kail does have feelings for her. So I'm interested in knowing what happens next. I really love in the book. I'm going to continue the series. Hopefully I'm going to I'm going to pace myself to see if I can read one book a month of the series. But we'll see. Well, that is all. Readers tell me your theories and what you love about throwing a glass and what you love so much about the book in the series, and tell me all your theories about how it's connecting to everyone else. Well, good talking with you. Catch you later, readers.