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| The Assassin's Blade |
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Age Group: YA
Source: Amazon (purchased)
Review
There will be spoilers in this
review!
The Assassin and the Pirate Lord
This story not only begins the protagonists story that we
will later see developed throughout this novella itself but importantly
continued into and throughout the main Throne of Glass series. This
short story was fantastic because it began to show us the major relationship
between Celaena and Sam. If you are a fan of hate to love romances than you
will absolutely love Celaena and Sam’s relationship.
‘If Sam took one step toward her, drew his sword a fraction of an inch, that concealed dagger in her robe would find itself a new home in his neck.’
Some
might say that is it really possible for an assassin to have a moral conscience.
Well, if you read this short story than yes, it is. Celaena has been raised an
assassin but remains opposed to the injustices of slavery. The main driving
plot is how Celaena and Sam are desperate to free the slaves that Arobynn has
sent them to collect from the pirate lord. Alongside their joint mission to
save the slaves Celaena and Sam begin to develop a friendship and respect for
one another not just as assassins but importantly as people.
‘Being hired to kill corrupt government officials was one thing, but taking prisoners of war, brutalizing them until they stopped fighting back, and sentencing them to a lifetime of slavery …’
This was the shortest story in the collection and for me was
perhaps the one I was least keen on. We are introduced to Yrene a practising
and hopeful healer and importantly another victim of the Adarlan King’s cruelty
and corruption. Though we only spend a short while with Yrene she is a an interesting
and compelling new character that maybe hopefully we will see again in the main
series. There is a major but subtle spoiler that is key to Yrene and this is
why I hope we get to see her developed and brought into the main series.
‘But she’d wanted to be a healer—like her mother and grandmother. She’d started shadowing her mother as soon as she could talk, learning slowly, as all the traditional healers did.’
As for Celaena she has been sent away as punishment by Arobynn,
the master assassin and owner of Celaena and Sam (he has insured that they are
indebted to him with unpayable prices). We see her healing from a brutal
beating, ‘She avoided looking in the sliver of
mirror above her dresser, knowing what she’d see: mottled purple and blue and
yellow along her cheekbones, a vicious black eye, and a still healing split
lip. It was all a reminder of what Arobynn had done the day she returned from Skull’s
Bay—proof of how she’d betrayed him by saving two hundred slaves from a
terrible fate’. But she meets Yrene
and so this leads to an interesting interaction between the two young woman.
The
interaction shows how there have been many injustices and victims that have suffered
the Adarlan King’s cruelty, that as a result people have become displaced and
forced into lives they would not have wanted or wished for:
‘There were so many of them now—the children who had lost everything to Adarlan. Children who had now grown into assassins and barmaids, without a true place to call home, their native kingdoms left in ruin and ash.’
But both Yrene and Celaena as strong young woman show that there is hope that the King has yet to break every single individual.
The Assassin and the Desert
This story was my second least favourite of the novella but
that did not stop me from enjoying it. I just felt it moved too slowly towards
the main action. However, this story was important in terms of offering Celaena
an alternative look at a different assassin’s community as well as the chance
for female friendship and most importantly gave her the much needed distance and
time away from the oppressive, grooming, and cruel assassin master Arobynn. It also
allowed Celaena a chance to begin to process and think through her evolving
feelings for Sam.
One of the key differences between where Celaena has been raised
and taught by Arobynn and the assassin’s guild is the encouragement of sharing
and respecting other assassins and what they have to offer one another. That assassins
do not have to be at each other’s throats and see one another as an enemy or
competitor but as someone who can share their knowledge and skills to better educate
each other, this for me was one of the key redeeming plots of this short story.
‘…it seemed that there was a good deal less … viciousness here. Arobynn encouraged cutthroat behavior. Even when they were children, he’d set her and Sam against each other, use their victories and failures against them. He’d made her see everyone but Arobynn and Ben as a potential enemy. As allies, yes, but also as foes to be closely watched. Weakness was never to be shown at any cost. Brutality was rewarded. And education and culture were equally important—words could be just as deadly as steel. But the Silent Assassins … Though they, too, might be killers, they looked to one another for learning. Embraced collective wisdom.’
Celaena has finally returned home to Rifthold and the controlling
hands of Arobynn. We see that Celaena has begun to challenge what she wants for
herself and the recent injustices and punishment she has faced from Arobynn. We
see her struggle through her thoughts and relationship to Arobynn. For me,
reading this I could see that Arobynn has groomed her, and it is very tricky to
not only escape the clutches of a controlling and charismatic man like Arobynn
but find a justifiable and necessary reason to confront and accept for yourself
that you have been victimised and need to break free from their physical self as
well as their mental influences.
“Every day,” he went on. “Every day since you left, I’ve gone to the temple of Kiva to pray for forgiveness.” She might have snorted at the idea of the King of the Assassins kneeling before a statue of the God of Atonement, but his words were so raw. Was it possible that he actually regretted what he had done?’
As for Celaena and Sam it is the first time they have seen
each other since she was sent away. And this evolving relationship does not come
easily to Celaena, yes she has a newfound respect and appreciation for him, but
that does not undo the long-term teachings to see him as her competitor and
challenger to her position as Arobynn’s protégée and Adarlan’s greatest
assassin.
‘Sam could have hurt or betrayed her a dozen times over, but he’d never jumped at the opportunity. A half smile tugged at a corner of her lips. She’d missed him. Seeing the expression on her face, he gave her a bewildered sort of grin. She swallowed, feeling the words bubbling up through her—I missed you—but the door to the drawing room opened. ’
In this short story we finally see Sam confess to his long hidden feelings for Celaena and it is the most beautiful and joyous moment not only for the readers but these characters too. Sam finally confesses to Celaena that he loves her and has for a long time, that following the beating and punishment for freeing the slaves he could no longer hide his feelings and that Arobynn having always known this manipulated him using his feelings against him:
“But my punishment was having to watch him beat you that night.”
“I’ve already told you everything—I’ve already told you that if I stay here, if I have to live with Arobynn, I’ll snap his damned neck.” “But why? Why can’t you let it go?” He grabbed her shoulders and shook her. “Because I love you!” Her mouth fell open. “I love you,” he repeated, shaking her again. “I have for years. And he hurt you and made me watch because he’s always known how I felt, too. But if I asked you to pick, you’d choose Arobynn, and I. Can’t. Take. It.”
This final short story is by far the most heart-breaking and grievous.
If you have read the main Throne of Glass series then you will know what
tragic event occurs. But if you haven’t I will not share this event. All I will
say is that it explains why Celaena starts off as a slave of Endovier in the
main first book, and one of the reasons why I did not read The Assassin’s Blade
first but rather after Heir of Fire.
Celaena and Sam have both payed off their debts to Arobynn
and moved into an apartment owned by Celaena. However, having read through the series
of short stories it is undeniable that it is impossible to truly escape the
clutches and influences of someone like Arobynn, because he does not leave them
alone. Arobynn has seen them both as his own property, he believes that he owns
them and they are his to do with as a he pleases, so even though they have
moved into their own apartment and exploring their evolving love, feelings and relationship
with one another Arobynn will not let go of his control over their lives.
“I don’t like sharing my belongings.” – Arobynn
I absolutely loved seeing Celaena and Sam together and they
are an absolutely adorable couple and it’s for this very reason that the
tragedy that occurs is so heart-breaking. They are finally just enjoying being together
and enjoying a bit of fun with one another not only because it’s a new relationship
but because they are also young and exploring the boundaries of their own sexualities
and the boundaries of their relationship.
'Sam kissed her ear, his teeth grazing her earlobe, and her heart stumbled a beat. “Don’t use kissing to swindle me into accepting your apology,” she got out, even as she tilted her head to the side to allow him better access. He chuckled, his breath caressing her neck. “It was worth a shot.”
This short story concludes by tying into the first book in
the main series. Having read this novella I finally understood the reason as to
why Celaena had become a slave and was glad to have found out after reading Throne
of Glass rather than before it. For me, personally, though Celaena has become
a shadow of her former self, more broken by the events and cruelties from the
people in her life, I do believe we see a glimpse of some remaining strength. Celaena has yet to be truly broken and can be brought back from the edge and
helped into recovery:
‘A breeze filled the wagon [...]She must stand up... She must stand, or be broken before she even entered Endovier.’
‘She would go into Endovier. Go into Hell. And she would not crumble. [...] She would survive this.’
“My name is Celaena Sardothien,” she whispered, “and I will not be afraid.” The wagon cleared the wall and stopped. Celaena raised her head. [...] I will not be afraid. Celaena Sardothien lifted her chin and walked into the Salt Mines of Endovier.’
Synopsis (From Goodreads)
Key Quotes
‘He loved her like family, yet he put her in the most dangerous positions. He nurtured and educated her, yet he’d obliterated her innocence the first time he’d made her end a life. He’d given her everything, but he’d also taken everything away. She could no sooner sort out her feelings toward the King of the Assassins than she could count the stars in the sky.’
'the billowing black cape, the exquisite clothing, and the mask transformed her into a whisper of darkness.'
"...If I’m going to kill you, Celaena, it’ll be when I can actually get away with it.” She scowled. “I appreciate that.”
‘One of the courtesans on the swings flew by so low that their fingers brushed. The touch sent sparks shooting through her. This was more than a party: it was a performance, an orgy, and a call to worship at the altar of excess. Celaena was a willing sacrifice.'
“My name is Wind,” she whispered. “And Rain. And Bone and Dust. My name is a snippet of a half-remembered song.” [...] “I have no name,” she purred. “I am whoever the keepers of my fate tell me to be.”
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Afterthoughts
Have you read The Assassin's Blade, what did you think?
Have you read the main Throne of Glass series, how did you feel when reading this novella as an extension to the series?
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