“The Assassin’s Blade” by Sarah J. Maas is full of mystery, intrigue and romance. However, it is meant to explain some missing information rather than simply entertain, and is set to move at a fast pace that is ultimately unnecessary and feels rushed.
This book is a prequel to the “Throne of Glass” series and gives some explanations about some strange characters and events in the main character’s life before she was thrown into prison.
This book is divided into five separate stories “The Assassin and the Pirate Lord,” “The Assassin and the Healer,” “The Assassin and the Desert,” “The Assassin and the Underworld” and “The Assassin and the Empire.” However, the stories were never sold together and simply an efficient way for the reader to find what story they are looking for when they are reading the series.
Celaena Sardothien has a good heart, a very strong mind and was raised as an assassin. These three factors bring her face-to-face with many monsters of her own, making each one outlined in the titles of each mini-story within this book.
“The Assassin and the Pirate Lord” shows us Celaena’s big heart and dangerous skills as she fights her way through dangerous territory to free people that she has no affiliation toward.
In “The Assassin and the Healer,” she inspires another woman to take control of her life, even when she feels lost in her own life.
“The Assassin and the Desert” brings Celaena face to face with one of the biggest challenges of her life, The Silent Assassins. She must remain patient as she waits for the master of the Silent Assassins to train her, which tests her stubbornness and makes her reconsider her overconfident attitude.
“The Assassin and the Underworld” finally gets Celaena away from her master and on her own with Sam, until Sam is captured and she ends up back at her master’s door.
“The Assassin and the Empire” gives readers the details about what she does to get arrested and set off the events of the series.
Overall, this book is merely a way for Maas to use a series of coincidences to help fill in some major plot-holes in a story that she started writing when she was 16. The most significant plot-hole being: how did Celaena get so many powerful allies who would lay down their lives for her when she seemed to spend all of her time pre-prison making enemies and shopping?
This particular book is not worth the read on its own, but if anyone starts to read the “Throne of Glass” series first, which takes place after Celaena gets out of prison, then this will be a page-turner.
Kayla LeBeau
Kayla LeBeauis a first-year Secondary Education major with a concentration in English. She was the Arts and Entertainment editor at Montoursville Area High School for two years and has continued as the Arts and Entertainment editor on the Eagle Eye staff. Kayla has written a variety of articles for the Eagle Eye beyond Arts and Entertainment. She loves to read fantasy, adventure, and Sci-Fi novels, especially books by Brandon Sanderson and Sarah J. Maas.
