Sunday 17 May 2020

Review - The Assassin's Blade

The Assassin's Blade

Title: The Assassin's Blade
Series: Throne of Glass (Goodreads)
Publisher: Bloomsbury 
Genre: Fantasy, Romance

Author: Sarah J. Maas   
Age Group: YA
Source: Amazon (purchased)

Review 


If you have read the main Throne of Glass books then this novella collection will not only give you more time with Celaena, to further understand her personal development, but to break your hearts. And if you have yet to read the main series, what are you waiting for? In fairness if you haven’t read the main series yet don’t worry. This novella collection will also help you to learn more about Celaena’s personal development but may spoil some key plots in the main series (so do read with caution). There are some different times when you can read this novella. You can either read it before the main series, which is absolutely fine if that’s your preference, but I personally would advise against this because you will not yet have the connection to the characters and the need to find out about who they have become because of past circumstances. The other times you can read this is either after Heir of Fire or Queen of Shadows, but definitely before Empire of Storms. I personally chose to read The Assassin’s Blade after Heir of Fire and am so glad I did, because I was securely invested in Celaena’s life and wanting to understand her development more. The last option is of course to read the novella after you have finished the main series.

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 …’

 The Assassin and the Healer

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.’

 The Assassin and the Underworld

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.”

 The Assassin and the Empire

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


Celaena Sardothien owes her reputation to Arobynn Hamel. He gave her a home at the Assassins' Guild and taught her the skills she needed to survive.

Arobynn's enemies stretch far and wide - from Adarlan's rooftops and its filthy dens, to remote islands and hostile deserts. Celaena is duty-bound to hunt them down. But behind her assignments lies a dark truth that will seal her fate - and cut her heart in two forever...

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.

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.”

Similar reads


The Cruel Prince, Shadow and Bone, Serpent & Dove

Afterthoughts


I hope to see some of the characters introduced brought into the main Throne of Glass series. This includes Lysandra, Arobynn, Yrene and Ansel.


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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