Review: The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas

ISBN: 9781408852590
Format: Kindle eBook
Source: Purchased
Series: Throne of Glass #0.1 - #0.5
Released: March 4, 2014
Length: 448 pp
Goodreads  |  B&N

     SUMMARY

Celaena Sardothien is Adarlan's most feared assassin. As part of the Assassin's 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 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. Will Celaena ever be truly free? Explore the dark underworld of this kick-ass heroine to find out.

     REVIEW

This collection as a whole rivals literally every short story I've ever read. I tend to read the occasional short story to enjoy some more of the world and see some scenes I may have read about in passing. Most novellas/short sorties are nothing special - usually. I had no idea what I was getting into when I started the Assassin's Blade, but it was so much more than what I was expecting.

The first story was interesting enough - it was just about a covert mission of sorts that Celaena undertakes for Arobynn Hamel, her Master, I guess you would call him, with an associate of hers that Celaena really disliked: Sam (<3 <3 <3). I remember thinking that the story was what I'd expected - a story about "before", a fun little read that didn't add much to the story. Well, alone, it would have been exactly that. A nice insight into before but nothing life changing. That is, until I realized that the short stories in The Assassin's Blade read almost like one long book. Yes, that's what I said. The Assassin's Blade is like a very important, full-length prequel to Throne of Glass. The Assassin's Blade literally leads us right up to how Celaena came to Endovier, right before ToG starts, letting us see exactly what was Celaena's downfall.

And for those of you who have only read ToG, and were frustrated with Celaena's lack of apparent assassin-y skills, here is your fix. Not only will you get to see Celaena is action, which is amazing all on its own, but you will find out some of the reasons why Celaena is the way she is in ToG.

Basically, if you are having doubts about reading The Assassin's Blade after ToG, I implore you, pick it up - you won't regret it. I'm not a short story kind of person - nine times out of ten I don't even bother picking them up. But these are essential to the Throne of Glass series. YOU MUST READ THEM.

THE BREAKDOWN

RATING: ★★★★ 1/2 - Really Enjoyed it!

I loved The Assassin's Blade more than I've ever loved a collection of short stories before. It seems like every author is cashing in on the novella thing these days, but I didn't feel as if I was reading something written to make more money or to give the series a push. It was a prequel to ToG, plain and simple. Just go read it already so I can stop trying to convince you that it's necessary, that you won't regret it and that it makes ToG make so much more sense! Okay? Okay.

Have you read The Assassin's Blade? Did you read it before or after reading ToG and CoM? I read it in between the two, and while I wished I'd read it before ToG, I was fine with the feeling of having an epiphany once I realized what Celaena had been through and why she acted the way she did. Did you love tAB like I did? Or did you find it to be an unnecessary collection of stories? I'd love to know what you thought about The Assassin's Blade.

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