Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas

Published 2016 · 193,785 words · about 12 hours at an average pace · Fantasy, Romance

How hard is Empire of Storms to read?

Empire of Storms scores 38 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: 42 out of 100
The vocabulary is contemporary and accessible, with occasional fantasy-specific terms like "Fae" and "wyvern" that are generally explained through context. While the text includes some descriptive language, it avoids archaic or obscure words, making it easily understandable for a wide audience.
Sentence structure: 48 out of 100
The sentences are generally straightforward, with a mix of short and medium lengths. While there are some instances of more complex sentence structures with clauses, they are not overly dense or difficult to parse. The prose balances clarity with descriptive detail across multiple POV chapters.
Abstraction: 40 out of 100
The narrative focuses on concrete events and character interactions, with minimal philosophical or theoretical digressions. While there are themes of war, loyalty, and sacrifice, they are explored through the plot rather than abstract discussions.
Information density: 45 out of 100
The text presents a moderate amount of information per page, balancing plot progression with character development and world-building. While there are multiple plotlines and a historical backdrop, the information is presented in a way that is manageable for the reader.
Narrative indirection: 30 out of 100
The narrative is largely direct, with characters' thoughts and motivations explicitly stated. There is minimal need for the reader to infer meaning or read against the grain. Multiple POV chapters provide transparent access to different characters' inner lives.
Symbolic density: 48 out of 100
The text contains some symbolic elements, such as elemental fire representing Aelin's heritage and power, but these symbols are not heavily emphasized or deeply layered. The story primarily focuses on literal events and character relationships rather than allegorical meaning.
Ironic distance: 28 out of 100
The narrative maintains a relatively close emotional distance, with direct engagement in the characters' struggles and triumphs. There is little ironic detachment or satirical undercutting — readers are invited to take the stakes fully at face value.
Resolution withholding: 35 out of 100
While the novel ends on a major cliffhanger — Aelin's capture by Maeve — the book does provide clear goals and conflicts that are addressed throughout. The series structure means some questions are deliberately deferred to subsequent volumes rather than left genuinely open.
Structural complexity: 38 out of 100
The narrative follows a mostly linear timeline with clear POV shifts between characters including Aelin, Elide, and Manon. There are no significant formal experiments or unreliable narrators. The multi-strand structure is handled accessibly with clear chapter breaks.

How Empire of Storms is regarded

Empire of Storms 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 Empire of Storms sits in Northrop Frye's Anatomy of Criticism

Placed by a full reading of the text (362 passages), not from reputation. Each verdict quotes the passage that earned it. On the axis from myth to irony, Empire of Storms 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
Aelin was no savior to rally behind, but a cataclysm to be weathered.
Symbol: Mythical (Archetypal)
“Mala’s blood must be spent—your power must be spent. Every drop, of magic, of blood. You are the cost—to make a new Lock, and seal the keys into the gate.”
Mythos: Romance iii (the Quest) (romance iii)
I am coming for you. Even if it takes me a thousand years.
Genre: Romance + Novel
She was a force of nature. She was a calamity and a commander of immortal warriors of legend.

Where the story of Empire of Storms takes place

  • Erilea, at war with Erawan, the main setting
  • Erilea in late summer: Terrasen, Rifthold, Skull's Bay, the Eyllwe coast and the Stone Marshes
  • Witch-mirror memories: the Obsidian Passes and the Stone Marshes, a thousand years before

6 things that are true of Empire of Storms, with the passage for each

  1. Lord Darrow hands Aelin a signed document declaring her a princess but not a queen.

    “I do not recognize your right to rule; I do not recognize you as the rightful Queen of Terrasen.”

  2. Manon turns her sword on her own grandmother instead of executing Asterin.

    Then Manon Blackbeak whirled and brought Wind-Cleaver down upon her grandmother.

  3. Lysandra changes from a woman into a sea dragon in Skull's Bay harbour.

    But it was not a woman who came out.

  4. Rowan reports the size of the ilken legion approaching the Stone Marshes as five hundred.

    “Five hundred.”

  5. Maeve orders ten lashes for Aelin on the beach.

    “Ten lashes, Cairn. Let Her Majesty have a taste of what to expect when we reach our destination, if she does not cooperate.”

  6. Rowan calls Aelin his wife when he demands to know where she has been taken.

    Rowan hissed, “Where is my wife?”

Scenes in Empire of Storms that Frye would name

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

Agon, untitled
The heart of the legion didn’t have the chance to scream as they were washed away in a sea of flame. The climactic battle in which Aelin destroys the ilken army.
Anagnorisis, untitled
“Nameless is my price,” Aelin said, her voice breaking. Aelin recognizes the true price of the prophecy: her own life.
Sparagmos, untitled
Blood slid down the back of her pants, her split skin screaming. The hero's body is flayed under Cairn's whip.
Anagnorisis, untitled
“You are a Crochan. The last of their royal bloodline with the death of your sister at your own hand. You are a Crochan Queen.” Manon learns her hidden parentage.
Cognitio, untitled
“You look … so much like your mother,” Aelin said, her voice cracking. Elide and Aelin are reunited, and the mother's last words are delivered.
Hamartia, untitled
Half-breed fool. Did you not consider why your father carried it, why he bided his time all these years, gathering his strength? Elena's theft and misuse of the Lock is the original fatal error behind the plot.

Books that share these scenes with Empire of Storms

About the author

Sarah J. Maas