Heir of Fire

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. Which of the three point-of-view characters did you relate to most? What about their personality, struggles, and role in the plot resonated with you? Alternatively, which point of view was your favorite, and why?

2. Though their relationship remains platonic throughout the novel, Heir of Fire introduces another possible love interest for Celaena: Rowan. How do you feel about Rowan as a potential love interest in comparison to Dorian or Chaol? Which of them has the most desirable characteristics in a romantic partner, in your opinion, and why do you value those characteristics?

3. In this novel, Celaena must reckon with the recent revelation that her true identity is Aelin Ashryver Galathynius, the rightful queen of Terrasen. She initially struggles with and resists this identity but eventually embraces it. Have you ever struggled with an aspect of your identity or heritage? How did you come to grips with it?

4. Celaena is a flawed protagonist, both because of her often arrogant and abrasive personality and because of her history of assassination and mass murder. The novel introduces other flawed characters as well, such as Manon. How do you navigate the moral complexity of the novel’s main characters?

5. The novel gives symbolic importance to names and objects belonging to specific characters. For instance, Celaena’s nickname (“Fireheart”), Rowan’s tattoos, or the sword held by Aedion. Do you have any nicknames, tattoos, or belongings that hold special or symbolic significance for you?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. Through the character of Manon, this novel portrays the process of someone beginning to question the morality of a social system and way of life they were socialized into. How does the novel portray this process of ethical and moral growth? Why might this be an important process to see represented in literature?

2. The fantasy genre often takes real-life social systems and paradigms and transplants them into a fantasy universe to create a social commentary. For instance, Terry Pratchett’s Small Gods comments on the commodification of organized religion, while N. K. Jemisin’s Broken Earth trilogy (beginning with The Fifth Season) comments on the rippling and intergenerational effect of systemic prejudice and oppression. What societal or cultural issues does Heir of Fire transplant into its fantasy universe, and what lessons does it impart about them?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. The narrative structure of this book differs greatly from Throne of Glass and Crown of Midnight in that it is much longer and switches perspectives between multiple characters. How do these new narrative features impact the story?

2. How does the relationship between Celaena and Rowan differ from the previous relationships established between her and Chaol and Dorian? How does the establishment of this relationship impact the characters’ broader arcs? What tropes does the novel invoke in setting up Celaena and Rowan’s relationship in its current platonic stage?

3. Dorian and Chaol’s relationship and individual character arcs are largely developed via their respective relationships with the growing rebel faction. How do they each relate to the rebels, and how do these relationships relate to their character growth and their interpersonal conflict?

4. Through the perspectives of Celaena and Manon, this installment introduces myriad new settings in this universe. How do these settings compare to those of the previous two novels, which largely took place in Rifthold, the capital of Adarlan? How do these new settings contribute to the expanding cast of characters and the escalating plot tension?

5. One of the themes of the novel is staying in control. Compare and contrast how two or more characters approach control (either the lack of it or the overreliance on it). How do the ways these characters relate to this theme affect the unfolding of the plot, the relationships characters form, character growth, and other narrative elements?

6. Many of the novel’s symbols are objects or names associated with or worn by specific characters (for instance, Manon’s cloak or Rowan’s tattoos). What other symbols of this type can you identify, and what do they mean within the narrative broadly?