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Throne of Glass: is it worth it??
I have heard...
I have heard MUCH about the Throne Of Glass....BUUUUUuuuut I am not sure if it is worth it. I would love if ya guys could give me a overview of the series. Is it clean (Yes or no) is it good and please give a few reasons why. My last Q is: is the rest of the series good? Thanks yall!!
submitted by Goldenberry , age HmH?, Why, at the pond dear
(October 30, 2022 - 4:03 pm)
(October 30, 2022 - 4:03 pm)
Well, all my friends like it, it's one of their favorite books and they've been incessently reminding it to me for a while, so I finally picked it up a few weeks ago. I'm not done, I'm on book 7 out of 8, but it's pretty good so far, although not at the top of my list.
Clean. Hmmm. There's some cursing, also explicit romance such as sharing beds and going farther, the topic of courtesans, drunkeness, trauma, and frequent death/murder. Wow, I've made it sound pretty bad. It's not. These things don't occur too often, I've just listed them out so you can be aware.
The characters are pretty well developed, especially in the ways they come together, and the plot is interesting and deep, and it expands in ways you did not see coming.
I'd say read it—while it's not at the top of my list by any means, it's still worth it. And yes, the rest of the series is mostly better than the first one, in my opinion. Some aren't, but hang in there and it'll probably get better (haven't read the last one yet, but I have faith).
If you do read them, you need to read the prequel (The Assassin's Blade) before you read the last one, as the plot in it is necessary to understand what is going on in the finale.
I hope this is helpful, decide what you want based on it. Also I love your name, especially the location. Yay LoTR!
(October 31, 2022 - 7:52 pm)
Aaaaand I just realized it's Goldberry from LoTR not Goldenberry and goldenberries are a plant oops (: but oh well still yay LoTR.
(October 31, 2022 - 10:27 pm)
(October 31, 2022 - 10:24 pm)
I got it from LOTR but i changed it a bit---SO YAYAYYAY LOTR!!
(November 1, 2022 - 10:00 am)
yayyyyyy, LOTR
(November 1, 2022 - 4:35 pm)
If yall could please keep adding some more of your thoughts I WOULD LOVE THAT I am a super indecisive person so...
I have looked at the same book at the store at least 100 times before buying so PLEASE HELP ME!!!!
but YAY LOTR!
(November 2, 2022 - 1:11 pm)
Here are my thoughts!
Do not buy or read Throne of Glass - it's really not worth it, mostly because of what Hex described. Even if it's popular, it's not an enjoyable read, or even interesting. To me it's like looking on purpose at a puddle of mud when you're surrounded by spring flowers and birds and blue sky. Although the characters and plot may be slightly better than many other books, they are still terrible compared to many other books - shallow and attention-catching rather than really satisfying. Moreover, the cursing, explicit romance, and violence make it even worse.
If you'd like my suggestions for really good novels, I'd be happy to offer them! :)
(November 2, 2022 - 4:08 pm)
YES YES Please Poinsettia share your novel suggestions, I would love to hear them!! thank you both Hex and Pionsettia for your input, I would love to hear your recommendtions if you have them! I also can share so good novels with yall as well!!
Yayay LOTR
(November 3, 2022 - 9:57 am)
Okay! Here are my recommendations! (the best ones come first)
1. Momo, by Michael Ende, translated by J. Maxwell Brownjohn. This is fantasy and realistic fiction, blended. At first it's just an ordinary story about a girl, Momo, in a poor Italian town - but then strange things start to happen - men in gray are flitting everywhere, changing people's lives in the most sinister way. Momo and her friends realize that the entire world is no longer safe from these men. And then Momo is called upon to save the world herself. This one is literally beautiful and exciting and inspiring. The characters are all wonderful, and it's quite a pageturner.
2. The Melendy Quartet, by Elizabeth Enright. This is a series of four
books about a family and their adventures. The writing is
extraordinarily evocative and beautiful. The characters are really fun and
interesting. It's like
joining a really funny and entertaining bunch of people in their daily
lives, which makes for wonderful reading.
3. All the books by Louisa May Alcott! Eight Cousins might be one of the best It's about an orphan girl, Rose, and her seven boy cousins, and how naturally a lot of chaos ensues... Rose is one of my favorite heroines, because she's kind and caring, but at the same time she's strong and spirited.
4. Meggy Macintosh, by Elizabeth Gray Vining. This is a coming-of-age historical fiction story about a Scottish girl in the 1700s, who emigrates - on her own! - to the United States and finds herself caught up in the American Revolution. It's well-written, well-characterized, and has a great plot. Elizabeth Gray Vining wrote some of the best historical fiction I've ever read - her other novels include Jane Hope and Adam of the Road, as well as others.
5. An Enemy of the People, by Henrik Ibsen. This isn't exactly a novel - it's a play - but it's really interesting. And it is absolutely amazing how, even though it was written in the 1800s, it is SO relevant to the Covid pandemic. If you do decide to read this one, though, I'd suggest trying to find the original version - there's a version which is more common, but it has been changed by someone else to the point of being unrecognizable.
Well, that's all for now. I hope you like these books! They really are some of the best I've ever read.
You mentioned that you had some recommendations of your own to share - I'd love to hear them! I'm a bit short on things to read at the moment...
(November 4, 2022 - 9:21 pm)
If you're looking for book recs, there's a bunch of threads you should check out.
But here are totally-not-too-many of mine NOT IN ANY ORDER also totally-not-copy-pasted-from-a-book-rec-thread-because-I'm-being-lazy:
- Ranger's Apprentice (series) by John Flanagan. If you like him, he's written other books that are also very good. Fantasy, about rangers kind of like Strider from Lord of the Rings
- Septimus Heap (series) by Angie Sage. Also more books by her that are good. Fantasy, Magyk (that's not a typo).
- Anything by James Ponti (I don't mean a book called anything, I mean any book by him). He writes really good mystery with main characters around our age. Or you can't go wrong with a good Agatha Christie for mysteries.
- the Mistmantle Chronicles (series) by M.I. McAllister. A world of critters, think squirrels, rats, crows, etc. Fantasy, adventure.
- the Bartimaus Trilogy by Jonathon Stroud. Also Lockwood and Co (series). The first one is magic and demons, the second one is ghosts and mystery. Equally good.
- The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale. There's others in the series, book 1 (goose girl) and book 2 are best. Fantasy.
- Ascendance (series) by Jennifer Neilson. Fantasy, treason, kingdoms battling eachother. GIANT PLOT TWIST!
- Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. This one is cool because the main characters aren't the typical kinds of heros—they're from the slums and definitely at least partly evil, not the typical goody-goody heros. Also other books by her.
(November 5, 2022 - 3:40 pm)
Thank very much Hex and Pointesstia for the book recs, I can not tell you how thankful I am! thank you for your thoughts on the ToG, I am deffently NOT going to read it. as promised here are some book i found postively inspiring, cheeky, and of course clever.
-Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R Tolkien: I am sorry i had to out him on here, I love his books! I like to say he is by far the greatest author in our modren world. so of course...YAY LOTR
- Keeper of the Lost Cities, by Shannon Messanger: I really enjoyed reading this series with my sister, its deffently very girly..but its been kinda fun giggleing about it with my sister. Normally this would not be my go to at the book store...but i was very impressed by it. It has a very fun plot.
-Wheel of Time, By Robert Jorden: Well it is AMAZING!! it is a lot like LoTR and he is amazing at describing, it truly high fansty and adventure at its very core. The characters are extremly inspiring, and just fun to read about. Its a series so there are lots of reading, and there are fairly long books too (any were for 400-800 pg. long so... buckle up yer trousers!) I believe the first book is Eye of the World.
-The Green Rider, By Kristen Britain: This is also a really fun book, high fansty, and adventure. It gives me a vide like LoTR and WoT, It has a storng female lead too. its about a girl around 16 is running away from her broading school...but on the way home she runs into a a dyigng Green rider, a messanger of the king! He begs her to carry a message to the king...Its Life nd Death message. In his dying breath "for the love of your country....b-b-b-bware t-t-the shadow man."
-The night Gardener, Jonathn Auxier:follows two abandoned Irish siblings who travel to work as servants at a creepy, crumbling English manor house. But the house and its family are not quite what they seem. Soon the children are confronted by a mysterious spectre and an ancient curse that threatens their very lives. With Auxier’s exquisite command of language, The Night Gardener is a mesmerizing read and a classic in the making. It is truly spooky and bone chilling
-The Song of Roland by Dorthy Sayers: this deffently more of an avanced read but oh so worth it, it is so beautiful and wonderfully writen. It is middle ages writing at its very best.
-Robin Hood by Howard Pyle: I mean anything Howard pyle is amazing, but Robin is the very best hero, he is witty, clever, and just a great charcter. it goes though the many stories about robin and his merry men.
well those are some of my all time favorites, it hope you enjoy them as much as I did!! Thank you guys again it means alot!
(November 7, 2022 - 10:42 am)
I've read that version of Robin Hood! It is very good. And I hope you won't mind, but I find it very hard to keep from recommending books... ;)
Fantasy:
The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis. Yes, i keep mentioning these, but they really are very, very good books. They're about people's adventures in a magical land called Narnia, and they're very exciting and well-developed. The first is called The Magician's Nephew; then comes The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Horse and His Boy, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair and The Last Battle (which I actually haven't read yet).
The Search for Delicious, by Natalie Babbit (or Babbitt, I can never remember how it's spelled). If you like LotR, you might like this one - it has to do with dwarves in caves and things like that. It's very interesting and intriguing, with a very clever plot.
Historical fiction:
The Eagle of the Ninth, by Rosemary Sutcliff. This is one of my favorite books!!!! It's really good historical fiction, because aside from the fact that it has to do with ancient Romans, it's almost as if it were set in a fantasy land instead of the real world. The imagery is beautiful, it's very exciting and feeling-provoking (if you can say that) and it's exciting. It's about a Roman called Marcus who looks for a Roman legion's sculpted eagle in ancient Britain.
Realistic fiction:
All the children's books by Elizabeth Enright, especially Gone-Away Lake and Return to Gone-Away. These are fun, cheerful books about children, but at the same time they're not bland and sweet-sugar-plummy at all. Her other really good books are the Melendy Quartet, a series of four books about the Melendy siblings.
Anne of Green Gables, by L. M. Montgomery. Anne is a very complex, fun, interesting heroine, and L. M. Montgomery also has a knack for describing things.
I hope you enjoy these books!
(November 7, 2022 - 3:49 pm)
Thanks for your recommendations, Goldenberry! I'll look for them at the library :)
(November 10, 2022 - 7:53 pm)