Sarah J. Maas was one of the authors behind Record’s huge book sales at the 2026 Bienal do Livro, one of Latin America’s largest cultural events. Held in São Paulo, the event brings readers of all ages and backgrounds, along with books, authors, publishers, and literary discussions in one place. This was largely driven by her three major sagas: Throne of Glass (TOG), A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR), and Crescent City. Even though most of the books were published over five years ago, they continue to reach different audiences.
Throne of Glass, the first book in the TOG saga, was the author’s debut and continues to win over fans to this day. Her captivating writing comes mainly from its ability to create a world that feels as real as the one we live in while transporting readers to an entirely new reality through its pages. However, her books go beyond romance and fantasy. They build a political dynamic between the setting and the characters, who begin to experience situations that mirror contemporary issues, such as relationships involving authoritarian and violent forms of power found in different governments.
The political structure behind the author’s first book series is deeply present alongside the romance and fantasy world, making it impossible to fully understand the narrative without questioning and taking a deeper look at the control exercised throughout Erilea.
Can a book be timeless?
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, timeless means something that doesn’t change as the years go by. It can also refer to something whose value is not limited to a specific period of time, allowing it to last forever. For a book to become timeless, it is not enough to be passed down through generations;the theme needs to be something that remains important regardless of how many years pass, even if it is no longer practiced or no longer exists in the same form. It should still be able to teach something to readers at the time it was written and in the years that follow.
Books, just like TV shows and movies, are mostly seen as a source of pleasure and entertainment. However, they have the ability to portray important themes through simple and accessible writing. Even within a book meant for entertainment, it is possible to convey a lesson and create a connection with reality. Throne of Glass brings exactly this perspective through writing that welcomes the readers and brings them closer to the characters, they also find themselves immersed in themes that are part of their own life. So, timelessness can be present in a work when its subject matter also becomes part of something that reaches and embed beyond a single generation or audience.
How Throne of Glass was created
In an interview with the American magazine Today, Sarah J. Maas said that she began writing her first book in 2002, at the age of 16, describing the process as a sanctuary during her high school years. While attempting to write a kind of retelling of the famous story “Cinderella”, the first version of Throne of Glass emerged, initially titled “Queen of Glass”.
However, she didn’t publish it that year. Instead, she first posted it on the online writing platform FictionPress, seeking feedback on the story and its potential to appeal to an audience. It was only ten years later, in 2012, that it was published by Bloomsbury and officially released to the market, with the following synopsis: “When magic has gone from the world, and a vicious king rules from his throne of glass, an assassin, Celaena Sardothien, comes to the castle. She does not come to kill, but to win her freedom. If she can defeat twenty-three killers in a competition, she will become the king’s champion and earn her freedom”.
Power relations in the story
The more than 4,000 pages that make up the saga follow the protagonist’s journey , who gradually reveals herself to be mysterious and complex. To fully understand how the plot unfolds, it is necessary to navigate the political web that surrounds her and the territory where she lives.
The first possible comparison between the politics of this universe and those of the real world can be found in The Assassin’s Blade, which shows Celaena traveling through different parts of her world. We see her meeting a healer named Yrene in Melisande, a place marked by extreme poverty and neglected by the King, which can easily be compared to the social inequalities faced by different nations today.
An example of this relationship is Brazil, which has high levels of inequality. According to a study by Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV), last year, 25.1% of the population was below the poverty line. These disparities are unevenly distributed , with the North and Northeast regions accounting for approximately 58.5% of the national total. Like Yrene, many Brazilians live in precarious conditions and work in informal jobs, as they depend on such jobs for their livelihood. As an analysis cited by CUT points out, informality can represent a survival strategy for those who depend on wages and, unfortunately, unlike the character, many people end up not receiving the support they need to get out of this situation.
The main economic focus of the Kingdom of Adarlan is slavery, with two main sites: the Endovier Salt Mines and Calaculla. It is clear that many countries around the world have been involved in slave labor, which was formally abolished through laws and abolitionist movements. The difference between slavery in the book and in reality, unfortunately, is not about its existence, but rather its visibility. In the former, this violence is widely practiced and openly authorized, while in the latter, it occurs illegally and often goes unreported. The Global Estimates of Modern Slavery report shows through data that “50 million people [are] in situations of modern slavery on any given day, either forced to work against their will or in a marriage that they were forced into. This number translates to nearly one of every 150 people in the world.” Even decades later, this form of exploitation still exists today , through forced labor and other contemporary practices .
At the time the story takes place, Erilea had been under the rule of the Adarlan Empire for ten years, governed by harsh laws that granted the King absolute power. From the beginning of the narrative, Sarah J. Maas explores Celaena’s feelings of fear and disgust toward the ruler, since he was responsible for sending her to work in the Endovier Salt Mines. This is one of the most emphasized political aspects throughout the saga. In the second book, Crown of Midnight, for example, the King sentences a woman who represents the resistance to death, stating: “It is punishable by death to speak of or to encourage magic. It is an affront to the gods, and an affront to me that you sang such a song in my hall.”
In the real world, history has also been marked by dictatorships that relied on methods of oppression and torture, such as the one established in Argentina in 1976. According to Memórias da Ditadura, from that year until 1983, conflicts between the government and its opponents resulted in 30,000 people disappearing and nearly 2,000 being killed. The Argentine dictatorship is also remembered for the deaths and abductions of babies born to victims of political repression.
Does resistance only exist in literature?
Although the protagonist fights to become the King’s champion, she never stops showing the reader her opposition to his actions. She never feels safe inside the castle and is constantly looking for ways to go against his orders. Even in the first book, we begin to understand the extent of the assassin’s strength and abilities, which go far beyond her “profession.” This becomes clear when Nehemia, the main character’s friend, gives her the name “Elentiya”, from the little-used language of Eyllwe. The name means “Spirit That Could Not Be Broken,” referring to Celaena’s strength, resistance, and courage to resist.
In this sense, the eight books take readers through romantic and fantastical moments, but they also prevent them from getting lost in these elements alone, keeping them attentive to the characters’ struggles and to what an unchecked power can do to a society. However, while the series reflects the harsh realities of the world we live in, it also shows that, just as fiction presents characters who challenge violence, prejudice, and despair into hope, the real world also has its own movements of resistance. The protests that began in Iran in late 2025 are an example of this: part of the population took to the streets to demand changes from the current government, while international organizations reported allegations of repression and human rights violations. Just as in fiction, reality also shows that struggles, uprisings, and protests can represent the pursuit of a different society, even in the face of structures of power.
“That was when they noticed that every musician on the stage was wearing mourning black. That was when they shut up. And when the conductor raised his arms, it was not a symphony that filled the cavernous space.
It was the Song of Eyllwe.
Then Song of Fenharrow. And Melisande. And Terrasen. Each nation that had people in those labour camps.
And finally, not for pomp or triumph, but to mourn what they had become, they played the Song of Adarlan.
When the final note finished, the conductor turned to the crowd, the musicians standing with him. As one, they looked to the boxes, to all those jewels bought with the blood of a continent. And without a word, without a bow or another gesture, they walked off the stage.
The next morning, by royal decree, the theatre was shut down.
No one saw those musicians or their conductor again.”
― Sarah J. Maas, Heir of Fire
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The article above was edited by Ana Clara Bezson Dalla Costa.
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