'Heir of Fire' | Sarah J. Maas Book Review
'Heir of Fire' is the third instalment in the young adult fantasy six-part 'Throne of Glass' series by Sarah J. Maas. It continues on from the previous novel, following protagonist Calaena Sardothein after she survived deadly contests and shattering heartbreak at an unspeakable cost. Now she must travel to a new land to confront her heritage that could change her life and future.
Meanwhile, brutal and monstrous forces are gathering on the horizon that are intent on enslaving her world. Will Calaena find the strength to fight her inner demons and take on the evil that is to be unleashed?
Whatever happened between 'Crown of Midnight' and 'Heir of Fire' is beyond comprehension for many of her readers. 'Throne of Glass' had its issues but was ultimately an enjoyable and likeable novel, while 'Crown of Midnight' left many of us beyond repair.
Upon reaching the third book in this series, 'Crown of Midnight' proves to be a little too slow; however, so much time and effort had already been invested into the series that the novel simply had to be completed. Unfortunately, it feels as though in explaining Calaena's past, Maas simply overcrowds the novel with so much backstory that it tends to lose the reader’s interest.
‘Heir of Fire’ attempts to be more sophisticated than it actually is, and though it maintains Maas' captivating and thrilling writing, the extra weight of those pages makes it longer than it needs to be. Either that or Maas' pacing is a little off as she exposes events perhaps a little too early.
The novel happens to read as nothing more than a ‘filler’ in the series. The new characters hardly made an impression, though Manon progressively becomes a pain, and even Chaol loses his charm - a character that remained a favourite amongst many fans for a long time.
Though there were a handful of moments that were potentially compelling, it didn’t resolve the fact that readers were faced with pages and pages of non-events.
Rather positively however, Maas portrays friendships with a stronger importance than the romantic; this is a refreshing change in young adult fiction – a genre that often puts romance at the forefront, rather than the much needed platonic relationship between characters of the opposite sex.
Although this addition to the 'Throne of Glass' series may leave some readers a somewhat conflicted, 'Heir of Fire' is clearly a novel that can be considered useful to setting up events for the books to come.
'Heir of Fire' is available now at all good bookstores, newsagents, and online.
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