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Throne of Glass Books in Order
Sarah J. Maas's Throne of Glass in order: the simple publication order, plus a recommended reading order that slots in the prequel and reads Tower of Dawn alongside Empire of Storms.
Throne of Glass Books in Order โ complete list
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Why this order?
Throne of Glass is unusually order-sensitive for a series with only eight volumes, which is exactly why two reading paths exist. Publication order is the safest default and the one most fans start with. You open with Throne of Glass and follow Celaena Sardothien forward through Crown of Midnight, then read the prequel collection The Assassin's Blade before Heir of Fire, the slot Bloomsbury recommends and the one that matches the prequel's March 2014 release date. From there the series continues through Queen of Shadows, Empire of Storms, Tower of Dawn, and Kingdom of Ash. This path preserves every reveal in the sequence Maas built toward, including the slow unspooling of who Celaena really is, and it lets The Assassin's Blade land just after you have spent two books with her present-day self.
The recommended order tackles two friction points. First, The Assassin's Blade is a prequel set before book one, so many readers prefer to open with it while it is still spoiler-light and the gut-punch of its ending hits hardest. Second, and more important, Tower of Dawn does not happen after Empire of Storms; it happens during it. The two books run concurrently on opposite sides of the map, so a popular approach is to read them interleaved, or at least back to back, so the timelines stay synced before everything converges in Kingdom of Ash.
Pick publication order if you want the canonical experience and do not mind a prequel arriving mid-series. Pick the recommended order if you would rather meet Celaena's backstory early and keep the dual timelines aligned. Either way, Throne of Glass also sits inside Maas's wider Maasverse alongside A Court of Thorns and Roses and Crescent City, which share genuine connective threads, though each series stands on its own and can be read independently.
Timeline 2012โ2018
Every entry plotted by release year โ see the gaps, clusters and revivals at a glance.
Where to play it today
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Frequently asked questions
How many Throne of Glass books are there?
There are eight books: the main seven-novel arc (Throne of Glass through Kingdom of Ash) plus the prequel collection The Assassin's Blade, which gathers five novellas.
What order should I read Throne of Glass in?
Publication order is the simplest: start with Throne of Glass, read Crown of Midnight, then fit in The Assassin's Blade before Heir of Fire, and continue forward. Many fans instead recommend reading The Assassin's Blade first and reading Tower of Dawn alongside Empire of Storms, since those two run concurrently.
Should I read The Assassin's Blade first?
You can. It's a prequel set before Throne of Glass, so it works as an opener and is largely spoiler-free. Other readers prefer to slot it in after Crown of Midnight and before Heir of Fire, which is where the publisher places it and matches its March 2014 release. Either approach is popular.
Why do Empire of Storms and Tower of Dawn happen at the same time?
They follow different characters on opposite ends of the world during the same span of time. Because the events overlap, some readers read them interleaved or back to back so the timelines stay synced before Kingdom of Ash.
Is Throne of Glass connected to ACOTAR and Crescent City?
Yes. All three are part of Sarah J. Maas's wider Maasverse and share real connective threads, including a direct crossover in the finales of Throne of Glass and A Court of Thorns and Roses, but each series stands on its own and can be read independently.
Do I need to read The Assassin's Blade to understand the series?
It isn't strictly required, but it deepens Celaena's backstory and several relationships, so most fans consider it essential reading for the full picture.
Last verified · Sources: en.wikipedia.org, Wikidata, screenrant.com, bookscouter.com
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