The
beginning of this book brings us to the salt mines of Endovier as the crown
prince of Adarlan; Dorian, is coming to retrieve the self proclaimed assassin
of Adarlan; Celaena Sardothien. Celanea is told that she will be competing in a
competition to become the kings champion; his assassin. Celaena at first is not
happy about the competition because the king is a tyrant; at the kings hand
anyone practicing magic has either been killed or driven into hiding. The king
is also interested in taking over all the kingdom’s around him. While competing
in the championship several of the champions begin to die off; and in very
horrific ways. It seems like a beast of some sort is loose in the castle and
that magic may be what is helping this beast evade detection. This leads
Celaena to start investigating the symbols that are left behind at the scene;
this in itself is dangerous because if she is caught with knowledge of this
kind of magic should could be killed and implicated in the murders of her
fellow champions. Celaena begins to suspect Princess Nehemia Yteger of Eyllwe;
who knows about the Wyrdmarks and who may even know how to use them. Of course,
by the end of the story we know exactly who was yielding the Wyrdmarks and we even get a glimpse behind who really
sit it all in motion. However, the why is still up in the air. So on to book
two we go.
What
I Loved about this book:
What
I enjoyed most about this book is that the love story took second place to
everything else and it also took some time before it launched. Dorian, of
course, is the natural on to root for but I (of course) am rooting for Chaol
Westfall (the underdog). I also really loved that Celaena was very no nonsense
and did not play the victim at anytime through the story. Of course, we see her
vulnerable side because she is far from weak and is a fighter. And for the
first time in a long time she is a female character that I really find myself
loving. The book also has another strong female character in Nehemia Ytger (the
Princess of Eyllwe); she was a little bit of a mystery as the story went on and
I cannot wait to see what Maas does with her in the rest of the series. Another
things to love about this book is the action; there is enough of it that you
will never get bored.
What
I didn’t like about the book but….:
What
I found a little grating about the book was that it started out a little slow
and the first champion did not die for some time. I will chalk this up to the
authors need to really build the characters and get the reader invested in the
story and to get them to fall for the characters. I know that some authors just
rush into the things and the reader can be left thinking “what the hell did I
just read” (or at least I have had that issue). Maas character development
really is what I loved so much about the book. I feel very happy with the way
the first book wrapped up and I can’t wait to see what happens next.
Favorite
Quotes:
“You could rattle the
stars," she whispered. "You could do anything, if only you dared. And
deep down, you know it, too. That’s what scares you most.” – Queen Elena
to Celaena
“My name is Celaena
Sardothien. But it makes no difference if my name's Celaena or Lillian or
Bitch, because I'd still beat you, no matter what you call me.” –
Celanea to Cain during their duel.
“No. I can survive well
enough on my own— if given the proper reading material.” - Celanea
