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We're closer than ever to a new Sarah J. Maas book.
On July 11, Maas announced she had finished the first draft of the sixth book in the "A Court of Thorns and Roses" series.
In the ever-growing romantasy landscape, Maas, who has published 16 books across three series so far, is beloved for her novels about faeries. For readers like me who grew up on "The Hunger Games" and "Twilight," her books provide much-needed, adult fantasy stories told from a female perspective (and it doesn't hurt that she writes, ahem, more mature romance, either).
The New York Times bestselling author has sold millions of copies of her books. With the January 2024 release of "House of Flame and Shadow," Maas created an interconnected literary universe with her separate series, much like the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Because her literary work is so expansive, it can be unclear where to begin if you want to enter Maas' fictional world, especially now that the works are interconnected. To help aspiring Maas readers, I created a definitive reading order for her books to ensure her fans are prepared for the release of "ACOTAR" six.
"A Court of Thorns and Roses" stars Feyre Archeron, a human huntress who gets pulled into the faerie world after killing a fae, finding conflict and romance on the other side of the wall that separates the mortal and fae worlds.
In the following books, Feyre dives deeper into the magical world of Prythian, discovering unexpected power as Maas flexes her world-building skills.
I love all of Maas' books, but I think "A Court of Thorns and Roses" offers the best introduction to her work for those who haven't read any of her writing before, even though she published "Throne of Glass" first. The otherworldly elements of the series are built out slowly, the books offer a comprehensive view of Maas' writing style, and the romance in them is steamy and compelling.
Bloomsbury
The books should be read in the order they were released:
However, once book six is released, it shouldn't be read immediately after "Silver Flames." More on that in a bit.
When readers enter the expansive and epic world of "Throne of Glass," they meet Celaena Sardothien, an 18-year-old assassin imprisoned in Adarlan, a kingdom where magic disappeared years ago.
The crown prince of Adarlan offers Celaena a chance at freedom, proposing she compete as his contestant to become the king's champion by defeating 23 other criminals.
Celaena was raised to fight, but as the other competitors start dying mysteriously around her, she will have to confront the pain of her past to face the battles ahead.
The world of "Throne of Glass" becomes massive as the books progress, and the rich, developed fantasy world is so complex that it's easier to read once you're already familiar with Maas' style.
Bloomsbury
However, I don't think reading the "Throne of Glass" books in the order they were published offers the best narrative experience.
Mass originally wrote one of the novels in the series, "The Assassin's Blade," as four novellas published as e-books between January and July 2012. Bloomsbury released "Throne of Glass" in August 2012, and the publisher later published the novellas with one additional story as "The Assassin's Blade" in March 2013.
Chronologically, the events of "The Assassin's Blade" take place before the rest of the series, but reading it first reveals details Maas intentionally leaves out of "Throne of Glass," "Crown of Midnight," and "Heir of Fire" that quickly become relevant in "Queen of Shadows." If I had known background information from "The Assassin's Blade" when reading the first three books of the series, I don't know if I would have been as captivated as I was when I binged "Throne of Glass."
In addition, the events of "Empire of Storms" and "Tower of Dawn" take place at the same time in different parts of the "Throne of Glass" world, so there's debate among the fandom on how they should be read. They were released in 2016 and 2017, respectively, and although "Empire of Storms" was released first, it leaves off on a cliffhanger, while "Tower of Dawn" does not.
Some people tandem read the books since they take place at the same time, and you may see people suggesting you skip "Tower of Dawn" altogether because it doesn't center on the protagonist. That's a huge mistake, in my opinion, not just because "Tower of Dawn" has information critical to fully understanding "Kingdom of Ash" but because it's a gorgeous novel in its own right.
To maintain the series' suspense without revealing spoilers, I think the best "Throne of Glass" reading order is:
Maas recommends reading "The Assassin's Blade" as the third book in the series on her website, but I think "Heir of Fire" is more captivating if you read it before the collection of novellas.
Half-fae Bryce Quinlan is at a crossroads when the "Crescent City" series begins, grieving the murders of her best friends by a demon.
She believes the killer was apprehended, but when similar murders start taking place in Crescent City, Bryce agrees to investigate the deaths with Hunt Athalar, a Fallen Angel who has been enslaved for hundreds of years by the all-powerful Archangels after an attempted coup.
The stubborn, beautiful half-fae is Hunt's ticket to freedom, but neither he nor Bryce is prepared for what they find as they look into the murders — or the connection that forms between them.
The series has three installments to date, and the most recent book, "House of Flame and Shadow," was published in January 2024.
Bloomsbury
I would absolutely leave "Crescent City" as your third Maas series for a few reasons.
The fantasy in "Crescent City" is less intuitive than it is in "A Court of Thorns and Roses" or "Throne of Glass" because it combines technology and magic and includes a wide variety of fantastical creatures, like werewolves and mermaids. Elements from the other series are also key to understanding the climax of the second installment in "Crescent City," with Maas herself recommending people read "ACOTAR" before starting "Crescent City."
Likewise, "House of Earth and Blood" and "House of Sky and Breath" are arguably two of Maas' sexiest books — they're tied with "A Court of Silver Flames," in my opinion — and I found it fun to watch Maas' romance chops mature as I made my way through her books.
Plus, the events of "House of Flame and Shadow" will definitely impact the next "ACOTAR" book, so it just makes sense to take on "Crescent City" last.
You can read the series as it was released:
Once book six in the "ACOTAR" series is published, it should be read after "HOFAS," as it's the latest installment in the Maasiverse. I'd also recommend reviewing "A Court of Silver Flames" before diving into "House of Flame and Shadow" because the plot contains details relevant to Bryce Quinlan's journey in the third "Crescent City" book.
Happy reading!
© Future
Matt Weinberger/Business Insider
Amazon is cutting jobs in its Books business, according to an internal email viewed by Business Insider on Thursday.
"Today, we are taking the very difficult step of eliminating some roles on your team," a senior Amazon manager wrote in the email. "Unfortunately, your role has been eliminated. This decision was not made lightly, and Books leadership and the HR team are here to support you through this transition."
The email stated employees will receive full pay and benefits for the next 60 days, or 90 days for employees in New York or New Jersey, plus additional severance.
"As part of our ongoing work to make our teams and programs operate more efficiently, and to better align with our business roadmap, we've made the difficult decision to eliminate a small number of roles within the Books organization," an Amazon spokesperson said. "We don't make these decisions lightly, and we're committed to supporting affected employees through their transitions."
The cuts affected fewer than 100 employees. The tech giant isn't reducing the size of its Books business because the roles will be repurposed for other parts of the company, according to Amazon.
Amazon got started by selling books online in the 1990s. While the company closed its physical stores in 2022, the online business remained big. Amazon sold $16.9 billion worth of books in the first 10 months of 2022, BI previously reported.
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It's long been the stuff of science fiction: humans achieving immortality by uploading their consciousness into a silicon virtual paradise, ruled over by a benevolent super-intelligent AI. Or maybe one dreams of leaving a dying Earth to colonize Mars or other distant planets. It's a tantalizing visionary future that has been embraced by tech billionaires in particular. But is that future truly the utopian ideal, or something potentially darker? And are those goals even scientifically feasible?
These are the kinds of questions astrophysicist and science journalist Adam Becker poses in his new book, More Everything Forever: AI Overlords, Space Empires, and Silicon Valley's Crusade to Control the Fate of Humanity. Becker's widely praised first book, What Is Real?, focused on competing interpretations of quantum mechanics and questioned the long dominance of the so-called Copenhagen interpretation championed by Niels Bohr, among other luminaries. This time around, he's tackling Silicon Valley's far-reaching ideas about the future, which have moved out of online subcultures and into mainstream culture, including our political discourse.
"It seemed like it was only going to become more relevant and someone needed to speak out about it, and I didn't see enough people connecting the dots in a way that looked right to me," Becker told Ars. "One current critique of Silicon Valley is that they moved fast and broke democracy and institutional norms. That's true. Another is that they're contemptuous of government, and I think that's true, too. But there wasn't much critique of their visions of the future, maybe because not enough people realized they meant it. Even among Silicon Valley critics, there was this idea that at the very least, you could trust that the statements they made about science and technology were true because they were experts in science and technology. That's not the case."
© Apple TV+
It only took five years, but Netflix has finally locked in its plan to premiere The Old Guard’s long awaited sequel.
Today, Netflix announced that director Victoria Mahoney’s (You, Lovecraft Country) The Old Guard 2 is slated to debut on July 2nd. Rather than dropping a trailer, Netflix released a handful of new stills from the film, and teased some of its plot details. Set some time after the first movie, The Old Guard 2 continues the story of previously-immortal warrior Andy (Charlize Theron) and her team of expert soldiers who have all been blessed / cursed with never ending lives.
With Quynh (Veronica Ngô), another immortal, now free from her underwater prison and on the hunt for revenge, Andy and her teammates Nile (KiKi Layne), Joe (Marwan Kenzari), Nicky (Luca Marinelli) have no choice but to fight one of their own. Because they can both die, the situation’s particularly dangerous for Andy and ex CIA operative James Copley (Chiwetel Ejiofor). But with Tuah (Henry Golding) potentially being on the verge of discovering how the groups’ healing powers work, Andy might not be spending all that much time as a regular woman.
In an interview with Netflix’s Tudum blog, Theron teased that, in addition to bringing Uma Thurman into the fold, the sequel will feature a little something for anyone who was a fan of the first film or the original graphic novel by Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernández.
“Andy and her warriors are back with a renewed sense of purpose,” Theron said. “The stakes are even higher now that Andy is mortal and can die — but that certainly won’t keep her out of the action.”
Thereâs a famous two-decade-old Paris Review interview with Haruki Murakami in which he, one of the worldâs most celebrated novelists, details his daily routine. He wakes up at 4AM, works for five hours, goes for a run, reads, goes to bed, and then repeats it all over again. The rigor and repetition are the point.
I am not Haruki Murakami.
In addition to my work at The Verge, I write novels â my second one is out this week â and while I admire Murakamiâs commitment to an immovable schedule, Iâve found that I produce my best work when Iâm constantly rethinking routines, processes, and, mostly, how Iâm writing. In the modern age, that means what software Iâm using.
What I am about to describe will be a nightmare to anyone who likes all of their tools to work harmoniously. All of these apps are disconnected and do not interoperate with each other in any way. Many of the things they do are redundant and overlap. I suppose this process is quite the opposite of frictionless â but thatâs precisely the point. Iâm not sure I believe that ambitious creative work is borne from a perfectly efficient workflow.
This is, instead, a journey of moving the work through d …
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