The Shadow Throne

Ascendance Series

Author: Jennifer A. Nielsen

Book 3 in the Ascendance series

Pages: 336

Published: 2014

Age: 10+

War has come to Carthya. It knocks at every door and window in the land. And when Jaron learns that King Vargan of Avenia has kidnapped Imogen in a plot to bring Carthya to its knees, Jaron knows it is up to him to embark on a daring rescue mission. But everything that can go wrong does.

His friends are flung far and wide across Carthya and its neighbouring lands. In a last-ditch effort to stave off what looks to be a devastating loss for the kingdom, Jaron undertakes what may be his last journey to save everything and everyone he loves. But even with his lightning-quick wit, Jaron cannot forestall the terrible danger that descends on him and his country. Along the way, will he lose what matters most? And in the end, who will sit on Carthya's throne?

About the Ascendance Series

Books in series order

  1. 1.The False Prince(2012)
  2. 2.The Runaway King(2014)
  3. 3.The Shadow Throne(2014)
  4. 4.The Captive Kingdom(2020)
  5. 5.The Shattered Castle(2021)

Reading age: 9+ years

This series should be read in order.

An extraordinary historical series brimming with danger and action, lies and deadly truths that will engross readers from start to finish.

Sage, an orphaned thief, is one of four boys chosen to participate in a lethal contest. After being plucked from the streets by a nobleman named Connor, Sage learns that Connor plans to choose one of the orphans to impersonate a long-lost prince in the hopes of averting a civil war.

As the boys are remade to enhance their resemblance to the long-lost Prince Jaron, they must compete to assume their new identities as well as the throne. But deceit and treachery face Sage at every turn, and he will learn that a dangerous truth can be more destructive than all of the royal court's lies combined.