February 26, 2025
Written by: Jaylin Emond-Hardin | Entertainment Editor
Content warning: This article contains spoilers for “A Court of Thorns and Roses,” “Crescent City” and “Throne of Glass”
Spanning 16 books across three different series, Sarah J. Maas’ works have been translated into 38 languages and have sold over 12 million copies across the globe. All three of the series fit into different niches of their genre — romantasy, urban fantasy and high fantasy — but when diving into Maas’ works for the first time, most readers don’t realize that they are connected in one universe. After all, I didn’t and I’m 12 books deep.
Unless one has read all three series, this isn’t as obvious. Most of the connections between the three only become clear in “House of Sky and Breath” and “House of Flame and Shadow,” the second and third books of the series “Crescent City.”
The most glaring is when Bryce Quinlan, the series’ main heroine, discovers that the Asteri — the godlike beings that rule their world — have been feeding off the people to fuel their immortality. Across centuries and millennia, the Asteri have traveled across worlds inter-dimensionally to feed off the people that live there.
When Rigelus, the Asteri’s leader, begins to pursue her, Bryce uses her abilities to open a portal and cross into Prythian, the continent where “A Court of Thorns and Roses” takes place. There, under the watchful eye of Nesta and Azriel, Bryce discovers that her ancestor, Theia, was originally from Prythian. This information suggests that Theia is the ancestor of Rhysand, as one of her daughters returned to Prythian from Lunation, and it is currently the most popular fan theory.
The connection between these two series and “Throne of Glass,” however, is not as obvious. It isn’t until “Kingdom of Ash” that we even see glimpses of Prythian or Lunathion.
When Aelin burns out and uses an immense amount of her powers, she begins to fall between worlds. During this fall, she observes what fans believe to be Lunathion and she is eventually slowed by none other than Rhysand, the High Lord of the Night Court.
These examples alone show how interconnected Maas’ series are. Whether she began writing her series to connect them or not, having them exist in the same multiverse opens up an entirely new door of possibilities.
For example, in the bonus chapter of “House of Flame and Shadow,” Bryce returns to Prythian and brings her mother, Ember, with her. There, Ember and Bryce interact with all of the Inner Circle, Rhysand’s group of friends and advisors in “A Court of Thorns and Roses,” and suggests that Bryce’s ability to cross over the worlds can be used for a much larger purpose — perhaps even bringing an army to Lunation or Prythian to help defeat the next world-ending threat.
However, fans have noticed other commonalities between the three series long before Maas connected them explicitly. Most connect “Crescent City” to “Throne of Glass” and “A Court of Thorns and Roses” rather than vice versa. What this means isn’t certain, though it likely sets up a “past, present and future” scenario between the three: “A Court of Thorns and Roses” as the past, “Throne of Glass” as the present and “Crescent City” as the future.
This “past, present and future” theory arises from the fact that out of the three series, only one has gods that have remained in their world: “Crescent City.” In “A Court of Thorns and Roses,” the gods have been long gone, now nameless and forgotten, while in “Throne of Glass,” both the gods and magic have been gone for eight years. This also supports the theory that the Asteri also once were in Prythian and Erilea — where “Throne of Glass” takes place — but were forced to leave at some point.
Out of all of the connections across the books, my favorite is the connection between Aelin Galathynius, the protagonist of “Throne of Glass,” and Lidia Cervos, a minor, antihero-type character in “Crescent City.”
The similarities between these women are glaring and go much deeper than just their appearances. Of course, both are described to look very similar — golden blonde hair, pale skin and eyes that are somehow both gold and blue — but even Lidia and Aelin’s ability to wield fire is nearly identical. Stags are the symbol of Aelin’s kingdom, Terrasen, and Lidia is one of the most powerful Stag shifters of her long lineage. Even one of Lidia’s sons is named Brannon, who was the first fire-wielding king of Terrasen and Aelin’s ancestor.
The Autumn Kings of “Crescent City” and “A Court of Thorns and Roses” are also theorized to be related to the line of Terrasen or even just plain connected to one another.
Yes, that’s right. Two separate kings who rule over two separate courts in two separate series with the same name? It might just seem like a coincidence, but it’s in more than just their names.
While Einar rules over the Valbaran Fae in Lunathion and Beron rules over the Autumn Court, they both have wine-red hair and tanned skin and are described as power-hungry, cold Fae men.
Not convinced yet? Well, their strange gold and blue eyes and fire powers are what wrap this package up with a neat little bow. It’s also these attributes that lead fans to theorize the connection between the Autumn Kings and the line of Terrasen.
Another important minor detail is the style of tattoos throughout the three series, especially between those of Feyre Archeron and Rowan Whitethorn, and Bryce Quinlan and Nesta Archeron.
Between Feyre and Rowan, there is no shortage of swirling black lines, most notably on their arms — Rowan’s tattoo travels up from his arm onto his neck and face — while Bryce and Nesta both have an eight-pointed star, Bryce’s in the middle of her chest and Nesta’s in the middle of her back.
Though it’s not exactly clear why these characters have such similar tattoos — the only tattoo we have explanations for is Bryce’s — it shows a deeper connection between the three fae cultures across three different continents and even series.
Of course, I might just be reading into all of these similarities too much. After all, it is common for authors to use recurring themes in their series, but with Maas connecting her stories in very explicit ways, it appears to be more than just coincidence.
Maas has yet to announce when the next books in “Crescent City” and “A Court of Thorns and Roses” will be released, but with 16 books worth of information, there is plenty to devour and theorize on what exactly the author will be up to next.
Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu
