Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

Published 2013 · 114,754 words · about 7 hours at an average pace · Fantasy, Romance

How hard is Crown of Midnight to read?

Crown of Midnight scores 42 out of 100 for difficulty on ReadingRate, making it moderately challenging. The score is a weighted composite of nine measures: four of how hard the prose is to parse, five of how hard the meaning is to extract.

Vocabulary: 38 out of 100
The vocabulary is fairly straightforward, relying on common fantasy terms and easily understood descriptions. There are no archaic words or invented language, and specialized terminology is minimal. This places it near *Atomic Habits* in terms of accessibility.
Sentence structure: 42 out of 100
The sentences are generally of moderate length, with some longer descriptive passages interspersed with dialogue. While there are some instances of nested clauses, they are not overly complex or difficult to parse. This is similar to *The Great Gatsby*, but slightly less rhythmic.
Abstraction: 40 out of 100
The narrative focuses on concrete events and character interactions, with limited philosophical or theoretical content. While there are some reflections on morality and duty, the story primarily revolves around action and plot progression. This is similar to *Atomic Habits* in its focus on concrete examples.
Information density: 40 out of 100
The book presents a manageable amount of information per page, focusing on plot progression and character development. While there are multiple plotlines, they are relatively easy to follow, and the attention demands are not excessive. This is similar to *The Housemaid* in its plot-driven nature.
Narrative indirection: 55 out of 100
The narrative relies on a mix of direct exposition and inferred meaning. While some character motivations and plot developments are explicitly stated, readers must also infer meaning from character interactions and subtle clues. This is similar to *The Great Gatsby*, where Nick's bias shapes the narrative.
Symbolic density: 50 out of 100
The book employs some symbolic elements, such as the Eye of Elena, but the symbolism is not overly dense or pervasive. While there are motifs and allegorical undertones, the story primarily functions on a literal level. This is similar to *Remains of the Day* in its emotional abstraction beneath the surface.
Ironic distance: 30 out of 100
There is minimal ironic distance in the narrative, with the author generally conveying emotions and intentions directly. While there may be some instances of subtle irony, the overall tone is sincere and emotionally engaging. This is similar to *It Ends with Us* in its direct emotional engagement.
Resolution withholding: 45 out of 100
The book provides some resolution to immediate plot points, but leaves larger questions unanswered, setting the stage for future installments. While the main conflict of the book is resolved, the ending is open-ended, with lingering mysteries and unresolved character arcs. This is similar to *Beloved* in its haunting that lingers but story resolves.
Structural complexity: 35 out of 100
The book follows a relatively linear narrative structure, with minimal timeline jumps or POV shifts. While there are some flashbacks and internal monologues, the overall structure is straightforward and easy to follow. This is similar to *1984* in its direct dystopian exposition.

How Crown of Midnight is regarded

Crown of Midnight holds a literary regard score of 18 out of 100, weighing its place in the canon, its critical reception, its influence on other writers, and the standing of its author. Regard is measured separately from difficulty: a demanding book is not necessarily an admired one.

Where Crown of Midnight sits in Northrop Frye's Anatomy of Criticism

Placed by a full reading of the text (229 passages), not from reputation. Each verdict quotes the passage that earned it. On the axis from myth to irony, Crown of Midnight scores 28 out of 100. A second mythos, tragedy, pulls at it with a weight of 0.3. About the map of stories.

Mode: Romance
She was a whirlwind of steel and blood.
Symbol: Mythical (Archetypal)
The symbols written in her blood began to glow green, one after another, until the whole archway was a line of light.
Mythos: Romance, Phase 3 (the quest) (romance iii)
With a hiss through her teeth, Celaena Sardothien turned her back on Adarlan and sailed toward Wendlyn.
Genre: Romance + Novel
It’s the Fae woman’s garden—from Rena Goldsmith’s song,

Where the story of Crown of Midnight takes place

  • The kingdom of Adarlan, an otherworld realm, the main setting
  • Rifthold and the glass castle of Adarlan, one winter into early spring (Erilea)
  • The misty rock-bound realm beyond the Wyrdmark portal
  • Endovier salt mines, a year earlier (flashback)

5 things that are true of Crown of Midnight, with the passage for each

  1. Before the main plot, Celaena has been assigned four men to kill and has let all four escape by faking their deaths.

    So far, of the four men she’d been assigned to dispatch, all had chosen escape.

  2. The tomb door has a bronze skull-shaped knocker that talks and gives its name as Mort.

    My name is Mort, if you must know.

  3. Baba Yellowlegs identifies the riddle in the tomb as a description of three Wyrdkeys that open the Wyrdgate.

    It describes the three Wyrdkeys to open the Wyrdgate.

  4. Celaena has written a will leaving her entire fortune to Chaol, signed two days before Nehemia's death.

    It was Celaena’s will. Signed two days before Nehemia’s death.

  5. Archer tells Celaena he is the one who had Nehemia assassinated.

    Archer told me that he was the one who had Nehemia assassinated, because she was a threat to his control over the group.

Scenes in Crown of Midnight that Frye would name

39 sightings of Frye's terms in the text. The strongest:

Anagnorisis, untitled
Celaena Sardothien was Aelin Ashryver Galathynius, heir to the throne and rightful Queen of Terrasen. Chaol decodes the date, the genealogy, and the golden-ringed eyes to learn her true identity in the finale.
Pathos, untitled
Celaena stood in the center of the freezing bedroom, gazing at the bed, and the princess’s broken body atop it. The sacrificial death of Nehemia is the book's central pathos.
Sparagmos, untitled
An empty body, artfully mutilated, so cut up that the bed was almost black with blood. Nehemia's dismembered body is the book's visio malefica of a torn body.
Agon, untitled
She was a whirlwind of steel and blood. Celaena crashes into the warehouse to rescue Chaol and cuts through thirty armed men in the central combat of the quest.
Lyric, untitled
And when she sang, the whole world faded. Rena Goldsmith's song is a lyric interlude in a court dinner.
Lyric, untitled
a song of grief so old that it predated the stone castle itself. Celaena's Fae lament at Nehemia's grave is an overheard utterance of grief.

Books that share these scenes with Crown of Midnight

About the author

Sarah J. Maas