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Crown of Midnight

Crown of Midnight

Dark FantasyHigh Fantasy
Pages
336
Published
2013
Language
English

Synopsis

Having won the king's tournament, Celaena Sardothien now serves as Adarlan's royal champion — officially an assassin bound to the Crown, dispatched to silence the king's enemies. In practice, she is deceiving him. The men she is sent to kill are not dying; she is faking their deaths and letting them escape. But maintaining that deception becomes more dangerous as the king's suspicions grow and the stakes of what she is hiding rise beyond her own survival. Meanwhile, her closest friend Nehemia is pursuing her own agenda at court — one that carries consequences Celaena will not see coming until it is too late. The world of Throne of Glass expands decisively in this second instalment, which introduces Wyrdmarks, ancient magic, and the first glimpse of the larger war that will define the series. Crown of Midnight is the book in which the series shifts register — darker, more complex, and unwilling to soften its losses.

Prose complexity
4/10

Vibe

DarkTense
Court Intrigue

Genres

Dark Fantasy High Fantasy Romantasy YA Fantasy Fantasy Romance Young Adult

About the author

S
Sarah J. Maas

Sarah J. Maas is a #1 New York Times and internationally bestselling author known for her epic fantasy novels and their devoted global readership. She began writing what would become the Throne of Glass series as a teenager, posting early chapters online before the series was acquired by Bloomsbury. Her three interconnected fantasy universes — Throne of Glass, A Court of Thorns and Roses, and Crescent City — have sold tens of millions of copies worldwide and been translated into dozens of langua...

Characters

Celaena SardothienProtagonist

The king's royal assassin, secretly sparing the targets she's sent to kill.

Chaol WestfallSupporting

His relationship with Celaena deepens here into a romance that will be tested severely; his loyalty to the crown and his feelings for her pull in opposing directions as he begins to understand what she is actually doing.

Dorian HavilliardSupporting

Dorian's own magical ability — suppressed and hidden — begins to surface, putting him at direct risk from his father's anti-magic enforcement.

Nehemia YtgerSupporting

Her death is the novel's emotional centrepiece and the event that radically redirects Celaena's arc; Nehemia's final act of sacrifice is one of the series's most divisive and debated plot choices.

Archer FinnSupporting
All characters in Crown of Midnight

Frequently asked questions

  • Do I need to read the first book before Crown of Midnight?

    Crown of Midnight is the second book in the Throne of Glass series and continues the story directly from the first book. Reading Throne of Glass beforehand is essential to understand the characters' motivations and the ongoing plot.

  • Does Crown of Midnight end on a cliffhanger?

    The book concludes with significant developments that set up future conflicts and character arcs, leaving readers eager for the next installment in the series.

  • Is Nehemia really killed in Crown of Midnight?
  • What do the Wyrdmarks do, and why do they matter?

    Wyrdmarks are an ancient system of magical symbols that interact with the Wyrd — the fundamental force binding the world together. In Crown of Midnight they are shown to open portals, summon creatures, and interface with Wyrdkeys — three objects of immense power that become central to the series's overarching conflict. The mythology established here expands across every subsequent book.

  • What is the twist at the end of Crown of Midnight?
  • Does the romance between Celaena and Chaol resolve or fall apart?
  • Why do many readers consider Crown of Midnight the best book in the series?

    It is the instalment where Maas's world-building, character work, and plotting reach the level the series sustains for the rest of its run. The escalation from Throne of Glass is sharp — more deaths, higher stakes, more complex moral questions — and the central twist is earned rather than arbitrary. It's also the book that makes the earlier, lighter tone of Throne of Glass look retrospectively deliberate.

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