I didn’t have high expectations going into Tower of Dawn – the sixth book in the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J.Maas. This book takes a break from the main story-line of Aelin’s battles against Erawan. Instead, it takes what at first seems a curious detour into Chaol and Nesryn’s life after the events of Queen of Shadows.
About this book
Chaol Westfall has always defined himself by his unwavering loyalty, his strength, and his position as the Captain of the Guard. But all of that has changed since the glass castle shattered, since his men were slaughtered, since the King of Adarlan spared him from a killing blow, but left his body broken.
His only shot at recovery lies with the legendary healers of the Torre Cesme in Antica—the stronghold of the southern continent’s mighty empire. And with war looming over Dorian and Aelin back home, their survival might lie with Chaol and Nesryn convincing its rulers to ally with them.
But what they discover in Antica will change them both—and be more vital to saving Erilea than they could have imagined.
~ Synopsis from goodreads
My Review
Like I said earlier, I went into this book with low expectations. I am not a fan of Chaol at all. In the earlier books too, I had skim-read his sections. So, I wasn’t looking forward to a whole book dealing with him.
After this book, I still can’t say I have warmed up to Chaol. And I was right to expect less. The first half of the book was so boring I nearly died reading it. What the hell happened? Queen of Shadows and Empire of Storms were messed up books, but at least they held my attention. The portions of the book that deal with Chaol’s recovery would work superbly as a cure for insomnia.
However there is another story line that deals with a whole new set of characters – all of them whom I loved. In addition, the world-building (Maas introduces us to a whole new continent) was awesome.
Nesryn also thankfully comes into her own, and emerges as a strong protagonist in her own right. In fact, the portions of her story eclipse Chaol. And Chaol, what do I say about him? I found his sections really boring dealing with his recovery from his back injuries. There is some plot though – investigating a murder in the palace, and a love interest. Still, there isn’t enough meat in his story for a whole book.
Nesryn’s adventures are more fun to read about, and I really enjoyed seeing her bloom into her own person. In previous books, she didn’t seem like a happy person. In the start of this book too, she is sad. She’s stuck in a relationship with a man for whom she’s only second best.
She tells herself she can have one last adventure.
She would have an adventure. For herself. This one time. She would see her homeland, and smell it and breathe it in. See it from high above, see it racing as fast as the wind. She owed herself that much.
And so she does and how! I loved every bit of her adventures, and only wish they started earlier in the novel. She uncovers a major mystery that changes the tone of the entire series. The discovery was good enough to make me want to revisit Heir of Fire, and see if I missed any clues there.
I do wish this book was shorter. It would have worked awesome as a novella. As a full-size novel, not so much. It just felt like I had to wade through pages of cheezy romantic fillers until I got to the meat of the novel.
The meaty stuff is really good though and almost worth the slog.
I am glad I’m going to have to take a break before I venture into Kingdom of Ash (coming out October). I need some breathing space from this world before I get back into it.
