Empire of Storms: The series is kicked up another notch

Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas

The fifth book (not counting the prequel novellas) in Sarah J. Maas‘s THRONE OF GLASS series is easily twice as long as the first book, but has one thing in common: half the story is a really good action-fantasy-adventure, and the other half is an overwrought “love” story.

In the case of Throne of Glass, the bad half was more to do with frivolous teenage angst impinging on what was otherwise a pretty serious fight-to-the-death tournament, but here it’s the fact that nearly the entire cast of characters are caught up in rather melodramatic romances.

Love in YA fiction is usually (albeit accidentally) depicted as lust, angst, or a dire combination of both, and hardly ever as something rooted in friendship that will make you happy. In this case every pairing (Rowen and Aelin, Aedion and Lysandra, Manon and Dorian, Loren and Elide) has practically the same dynamic: individuals with virtually nothing else in common get really turned on in each other’s presence.

The sex scenes in Empire of Storms (2016) didn’t bother me, it was that they weren’t connected to anything I could emotionally invest in. While the world is going to hell in a handbasket, our motley collection of teenage heroes and immortal warriors seem more concerned with scratching an itch than defeating the forces of evil.

Which is a shame, since the “going to hell in a handbasket” part of the story is actually pretty good. Aelin Ashryver Galathynius has returned to her homeland of Terrasen, hoping to win the favour of her people and reclaim the throne, only to be rebuffed by the ruling lords who claim she’s been gone too long. She’ll have to look for allies elsewhere, especially when other kingdoms start to fall to the evil Erawan and his witches.

Elsewhere, Elide Lochan is struggling through war-torn lands to deliver a precious gift to her queen, while the witch leader Manon Blackbeak finds herself more and more at odds with the ideals and goals of her own people. Making matters worse, the Fae Queen Maeve is taking advantage of the chaos to start her own campaign, meaning that Aelin must fight a battle on two fronts, through pacts with pirates, assassins and other untrustworthy folk. It’s a good basis for an epic story, and Aelin is a master strategist with plenty of tricks up her sleeve.

That said, there’s a trope at play called the “Unspoken Plan Guarantee” which basically posits that if a reader knows about any secret plans they’re instigated, they become a spoiler. As such, Aelin’s thoughts and feelings are kept at arm’s length from the reader throughout Empire of Storms, with Maas relying more on the perspectives of her supporting characters to carry the plot. But read carefully, as many seeds regarding Aelin’s plans are sown early and paid off nicely by the conclusion.

There are some annoying aspects of the prose: Maas is overly fond of the word “bark” as a verb (people bark, wounds bark, weapons bark) and phrases like “hauling ass” and “unleashing hell” feel way too anachronistic. Also, she has a habit of breaking up sentences so that everything sounds dramatic and portentous, though after a while it’s just overwrought and pretentious. An editor was needed to make things flow better and cut down on her favourite words.

So my feelings on Empire of Storms are the same as the rest of the series: there’s a good plot here, and some decent characters, though I could do without most of the romantic melodrama — though of course, I’m not exactly the target audience of YA books anymore. Every male in this series is supernaturally beautiful and utterly devoted to their object of affection, which means it’s tailor-made for a teenage audience.