The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J Maas - A Review

The Assassin's Blade is a Prequel to the Throne of Glass Series, but it is recommended that you read it after Heir of Fire since that is the order that the books were written. I did read it after Heir of Fire in my first read through since I think that it helped to establish the world and the characters before going and learning more about Celaena's Backstory, plus there are characters in this story that were rumoured to appear in the next book so reading this after Heir of Fire would mean that these new characters would be fresh in your mind. For a first time read through I would recommend reading the books in this order, however I did really enjoy reading this story first before Throne of Glass in my other read throughs of this series. I have written reviews for the previous books in this series, so please have a look at those reviews if you get the chance, I will list them below:

• Throne of Glass Review - Click Here
• Crown of Midnight Review - Click Here
• Heir of Fire Review - Click Here

Apologies for the long introduction here, without further ado, here are my thoughts on The Assassin's Blade!

 Photo Credit: Aedionashryver from Instagram 

Celaena Sardothien is her kingdom's most feared assassin. She owes her reputation to Arobynn Hamel - he gave her a home at the Assassins Guild and taught her everything she knows. Despite this, Celaena yields to no one, and she only trusts her fellow killer-for-hire Sam. She finds herself acting independently of her masters wishes when Arobynn Hamel dispatches her on missions that take her from remote islands to hostile deserts, and she questions her own allegiance.  She makes friends and enemies along the way, and discovers she feels far more than just friendship towards Sam. She risks unimaginable punishment by defying Arobynn's Orders, and with Sam by her side, he is put in danger too. They will have to risk it all if they hope to escape Arobynn's clutches, and if they fail, the will not only loose a chance at freedom, but their lives too.

The Assassin's blade is a collection of five novellas and offers a deeper look into the history of the cunning assassin who is the heroine of the Throne of Glass series. Included in this book are the stories:

• The Assassin and the Pirate Lord
• The Assassin and the Healer
• The Assassin and the Desert
• The Assassin and the Underworld
• The Assassin and the Empire 

These novellas explains the backstory to things that have been mentioned in the first few books in the series, and explores events that happened before Celaena's inevitable arrest. In my opinion, this novella bind-up reads much more like a novel since the novella's build on each other to tell an overall story.

These stories all provide an incredible amount of insight into Celaena's character, allowing the reader to connect with her on a much deeper level. The fact that she has all this backstory allows readers to be much more invested in her character and story. In fact, these novellas made me realize how important having a backstory for your character is, as it provides the reader with an understanding of how your character ended up in their situation.  In addition to this, there are so many characters written in these stories that end up coming back in the final few books in this series, and I am always in awe of how Maas effortlessly weaves these characters into the overall plot of the series and how much their story lines connect to each other. 

There is no doubt that this is the best collection of Novellas that I have ever read, and they definitely add to the series in a positive way rather than being an after thought. 

The Assassin and the Pirate Lord

The Assassin and the Pirate Lord is the first novella in this bind-up and follows Celaena and Sam Cortland as hey are sent to oversee a business agreement in Skulls Bay by Arobynn. There they encounter the Pirate Lord Captain Rolfe. They soon find out that the business Arobynn is getting involved in is the slave trade; straight away Celaena knows that she can't let the deal go through. 

This was a fantastic way to dive into the Throne of Glass universe. It instantly reminds the reader of what makes Celaena such a great character, showing her arrogance, her fierceness and her strong morals.You are able to recognize in Throne of Glass a lot of the traits that are present in Celaena here, though perhaps they are not as extreme. Having not been subjected to the horrors of Endovier, Celaena's attitude has not yet been subdued by anything. Here, she is all arrogance and the epitome swaggering assassin. It is clear to see how her character has evolved from this point.  

It is so nice to finally meet Sam too, after hearing about him in the first few books in the series, and its so good to finally understand the connection they had between each other. Celaena and Sam have a very interesting dynamic, and I am a huge fan of how the relationship between the two characters develop in this story. They are practically at each other's throats in the beginning of the story, but they begin to trust and rely on each other as they work together to free the 200 slaves; we can see that Celaena begins to value his company. The Shift is so subtle for her that when she realizes that she might actually like him, shes not quite sure what to do with herself. 

Following this, the fact the Celaena frees 200 slaves reveals so much about her character. Not only is the story very exciting to read, but we see what is underneath all the vanity and sass. Despite her profession, Celaena values human life and detests the inhumanity of slavery, so much that she's willing to risk her own life and risk the wrath of Arobynn. 

This story is not strictly vital to read and enjoy the series, but is adds so much more to the story if you do read it. It is a strong self-contained adventure that serves a clear purpose. 

This Novella offers a nice glimpse into Celaena' life back when it was arguable less complicated than it is when we meet her in the Throne of Glass books. It gives us an indication of her character and conviction. 

The Assassin and the Healer

This story continues from where the previous one left off, but it is more of an in-between story. Celaena is travelling to the desert as part of her punishment from Arobynn, which is in the form of training the Silent Assassins. She stops off in Innish to wait for a boat, where she encounters a healer - Yrene Towers - who is stuck working in an inn. Yrene's mother was killed by Adarlan's soldiers for being a gifted healer. Yrene tells Celaena about how she wished to be a healer and study at the famed Torre Cesme in the Southern Continent after she is rescues from a group of Mercenaries, but she ran out of money before she could get there. Celaena teaches her some self defense moves before she continues on her way to the Red Desert; she leaves Yrene some money in the hopes that she would pursue her dream of becoming a healer. 

Yrene plays a critical role in the fate of a certain character, despite not appearing again until Tower of Dawn. Although this story may seem like filler on your first read through. I think that it is actually one of the most important Novellas in this bind up and is not one to be ignored. Without this story, the end of this series could have been much different. But I will elaborate more on this in a future review (you will know when we get to that point!)

The Assassin and the Desert

In the next installment, Celaena is out in the Red Desert, training with the Silent Assassins. This, again, picks up where the previous story left off, with Celaena being sent to the keep of Silent Assassins as punishment for destroying Arobynn's slave deal with Rolfe in the first story. We learn that Arobynn beat Celaena unconscious before packing her off to train in the Red Desert as a punishment, giving us insight to the brutal reality she lives in. Celaena begins to notice how abusive Arobynn truly is as she is training with the Mute Mater - especially in comparison to his even-tempered kindness

The Assassin and the Desert is undeniably an important backstory for Celaena. Here she meets Ansel of Briarcliff, who is Celaena's first true female friend. It is with Ansel that Celaena steals the Asterion Horses alluded to in Crown of Midnight, and the two girls share a bond, both being children of conquered lands. Ansel also briefly mentions the once-mighty Witch Kingdom of the Western Wastes - information that winds up playing a large role in the series, beginning in Heir of fire.

In addition to this, Celaena comes across a travelling merchant selling Spidersilk, who bargained away twenty years of his life to attain it. I only mention this as it turns out this merchant has a connection to a certain character which we learn about in Empire of Storms and says he was planning on travelling to the Southern Continent.

It turns out, in the end Ansel's desire to avenge her murdered family overcomes all other parts of her, and she is lead to betray the Silent Assassins, including Celaena. They end up fighting with each other over the Mute Master's life, and though Ansel is spared, the betrayal haunts Celaena. It is obvious to the reader that Ansel is one of the big reasons why Celaena is so hesitant to let people into her life.

As a thank you for saving his life, the Mute Master gives Celaena all the gold she would need to pay off her debts to Arobynn and to become free. This comes into play once again, much later in the series.

This is another complete story arc. It is a new setting, you meet some new characters and you definitely get a glimpse of another area of Erilea and learn more about the complicated political dynamics in this world.

The Assassin and the Underworld

This is the story where Celaena returns to Rifthold, and is reunited with Sam. She returns to Arobynn expecting to immediately buy her freedom and be rid of his hold on her, but upon returning, she is once again wrapped up in his twisted mind games. As much as I hate Arobynn, he is such an interesting character to read about. The dynamic between him and Celaena is so complicated, and is such a gray area and really draws the reader in. 

There is also a moment where Celaena and Sam unknowingly meet Dorian and Chaol; it kills me that Dorian and Celaena do not realize this later on, especially when Dorian says he wished he could have met Sam.

This story shows that Celaena is a ruthless assassin, but can also be a totally girly girl, which is something I love. She gets so excited about dresses, jewelry, perfumes and many other things, and the greatest part of it all is that she wears those things only for herself, not to impress others or as a cover on her assassin missions. And then, you know, she also has the skills to kill you.

The Assassin and the Empire

And here comes the heartbreak. If you read Throne of Glass before reading this book, then you will 100% see this coming, but it did not make it any easier to come to terms with. 

The Assassin and the Empire is the last novella in this bind-up and reveals what happened in those final days before Celaena's capture. Sam and Celaena take on an assassination job to eliminate the Crime Lord of Rifthold - Ioan Jayne - and the sadistic Rourke Farran - His second. This contract was to get enough money for them both to move far away from Rifthold and out of Arobynn's shadow. But - as most of us know already going into this story - the mission goes horribly wrong. 

I find the ending incredibly hard to read, as I rediscover my love for Sam every time I read this book. Sam's death is possibly the most devastating character death I have ever read, and I am unsure that I will ever recover from it. One of my favourite scenes is when we learn that Celaena's saying, "I will not be afraid" comes from Sam, and I cherish the sweet moment we have of Celaena and Sam together. Everytime Celaena says "I will not be afraid", it is a reminder of how Sam is still kept in her hears, and knowing the story behind these words makes them so much more powerful to the reader. 

It is obvious as the final events of the story play out that Celaena is betrayed, though she is not ready to come to terms with the reality of who exactly betrayed her. While we receive a hint at who it was in Throne of Glass, in The Assassin's Blade, it is officially confirmed. 

My hatred for Arobynn reaches new heights every time I get to this story, and by the end of it I just want him dead. 

This is an absolutely fantastic novella, it has romance, hope, betrayal, action, intensity and heartbreak. Once again, we are given a better understanding of Celaena as a person. This was a vital moment in her past that shaped her to be the person she is for the rest of her life. She had a youthful moment of hope, and freedom seemed so close, but sadly she has just proven how messed up and dark the world truly is. But despite everything that has happened, there's an almost hopeful tone to the final few pages of The Assassin and the Empire. Celaena has been through hell, and she knows that the worst is not yet behind her, but she sees the stag, the Lord of the North, and she knows that she will survive.

The Assassin's blade is an outstanding collection of novellas. The five stories flow directly into each other and together they tell the tale of events that got Celaena to where she is at the beginning of Throne of Glass. Together, they actually work as a complete novel. Although not completely vital to the series, The Assassin's Blade is definitely worth a read for a deeper insight into the characters in this world.