The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas Published by Bloomsbury Publishing
Published on March 13th 2014
Genres: Action & Adventure, Fantasy & Magic, Love & Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 448
Format: eBook
Source: my local library
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Celaena Sardothien is Adarlan’s most feared assassin. As part of the Assassins' Guild, her allegiance is to her master, Arobynn Hamel, yet Celaena listens to no one and trusts only her fellow killer-for-hire, Sam. In these action-packed prequel novellas – together in one edition for the first time – Celaena embarks on five daring missions. They take her from remote islands to hostile deserts, where she fights to liberate slaves and seeks to avenge the tyrannous. But she is acting against Arobynn’s orders and could suffer an unimaginable punishment for such treachery . . . Explore the dark underworld of this kick-ass heroine and find out how the legend begins in the five page-turning prequel novellas to the New York Times bestselling Throne of Glass series.
DNF after 2 novellas
Managed to read The Assassin and the Pirate Lord.
Lord, it was atrocious.
I WANT to love this series. Everyone raves about the sequels. I really, really want to love it. There is nothing I like better than a kick-ass girl in a fantasy novel.
But there’s some things I can’t get over:
- Celaena’s entitlement. She’s a spoiled little bitch. And totally vain to boot. She thinks she’s better than everyone when there’s nothing to suggest that she’s any better than the spoiled brat she’s shown to be. Which brings me to my second point…
- Celaena’s lack of killing anyone. She’d rather knock them out, for all her petty, bloodthirsty thoughts. How is that being the world’s best assassin? You can’t just TELL me she’s a kick-ass assassin, you have to SHOW me. Good lord, this is really bad.
So I gave The Assassin and the Healer a go, because my lovely friend Bekka told me she actually kills people in this one.
- Except that most of the killing was off-page.
- It wasn’t assassination, it was murdering people because she was irritable and itching for a fight.
Half the story was told from the healer’s point of view so we knew just how beautifully tragic and beautiful and tragic darling Celaena was. Mustn’t forget how truly amazing and dangerous she is.
Fuck this. DNF.
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About Nemo
A lover of kittens and all things sparkly, Nemo has a degree in English Literature and specialises in reviewing contemporary, paranormal, mystery/thriller, historical, sci-fi and fantasy Young Adult fiction. She is especially drawn to novels about princesses, strong female friendships, magical powers, and assassins.
Whitley
She doesn’t really assassinate anyone in these books that I can remember. There’s death and murder later on, but it’s all very much just a brute murder-revenge-spree, which really isn’t the same as assassination.
The entitlement doesn’t get any better, it just turns into “woe, I am worthy of nothing” followed by “oh, right, nevermind” in the third book. As much as I do dislike them, though, they become…oddly addictive. I’d heard that the second one was better so I tried it just because, thinking that would be the end of it, and then when the third one came out, well…I don’t even know what happened, I just had to read it. I didn’t think it would be good (it wasn’t) I just got sucked in anyway. *_*
Nemo
Yes, well the novellas were my second and third chance after not being enchanted by the first novel and as much as I want to love the books I just really hate Celaena. I want to love her, but I can’t.
Sara L.
You know, I just read a review of The Assassin’s Blade at On Starships And Dragonwings, and she was less than enthusiastic about it too. I guess I’ll be skipping this one.
What were your thoughts on Throne Of Glass, out of curiosity? I bought the book recently but haven’t read it yet.
Nemo
Here’s my Throne of Glass review.
I think it’s a matter of whether or not you like the main character. I find her insufferably, arrogant, spolit, and rude, but only when it’s convenient to the plot. She’s also a terrible assassin.
Stacking the Shelves (128) – The Moonlight Library
[…] for Christmas until I found a box set of the first four Throne of Glass novels. Although I’m not Celaena’s biggest fan, I really loved A Court of Thorns and Roses and I am DETERMINED to find something redeeming about […]