The Assassin's Blade

This book contains five novellas that tells the story of our favorite assassin Calaena Sardothien before start of the first book in the Throne of Glass series. Basically five novellas telling about the journey of Calaena that led to her imprisonment in the Salt mines of Endovier. This novella really surprised me, I didn't expect it to be so interesting. The most important thing about this book is that we can finally understand some of the hints which were thrown in between the sequels about some stories or characters. The best yet the saddest thing I had to read about was- Sam Cortland-yes Sarah J. Mass you can be cruel when you want to be. You made us fall in love with Sam but then let him die. I ask you Why? WHY?! This is obviously before the events of Throne of Glass. Sixteen year old, with a reputation of Adarlan's Best Assassin, Calaena always sarcastic, sadistic, heir to the King of Assassins, Master Arobynn Hamel. My First Thoughts after completing the book- I hate you Arobynn Hamel-Hate you. Then I put the book down and cry very hardly in my pillows. Then i straighten- then I cry some more because Sam even though you were a assassin second best to Calaena- you didn't deserve to die. You were so passionately loyal to Calaena even when Arobynn tried to make you grow suspicious about Calaena's past. I was in awe. And lets not forgot you were damn handsome and thoughtful. I just wish I could have read more about Sam Cortland. I really liked that the main character-Calaena- here is shown as someone who knows that she is the best and isn't afraid of anything and yet is loyal even when the person doesn't deserve her loyalty. She is shown as a layered person who knows that she is a brat but is also willing to leave everything behind for Sam. And maybe we can finally in the Queen of Shadows- the fourth book in the series- we will come to know about what happened to Ansel after she left the silent assassins. In the first novella-The Assassin and the Pirate Lord- tells the story of how she is sent on an mission with Sam to Skulls bay to meet the Pirate Lord for some business she isn't aware of but is shocked to find out her master is buying slaves and is going to earn profit from selling them. It disgusted her knowing that the slaves were just in wrong place at the wrong time. So she decides to go against Arobynn Hamel's Orders and decides to free the two hundred slaves. Sam is against the idea at first but soon joins her in her endeavor. A Plan is formed and they are also successful in it by facing down the Pirate Lord himself. But when she returns to Adarlan to Assassins Keep where Arobynn is very angry with her and beats her first by holding Sam back with the help of his bodyguards. But beating her isn't enough, he sends more like forces her to go to the The Red Desert to the Silent Assassins to train with the Mute Master and brings his letter of approval. In the second novella- The Assassin and the Healer- This incident takes place in-between the journey to The Red Dessert from Adarlan. She meets Yrene at the Inn where she is staying before departing for the desert. Calaena is angry and is looking for trouble as she invites trouble by flashing her wealth for everybody to see. One night Yrene is closing up the Inn when some mercenaries get hold of her. But Calaena saves her without so much as breaking a sweat. Calaena even teaches Yrene self-defense so that she can take care of herself. Calaena learns that Yrene actually wants to become a healer and doesn't have enough money to make the journey to healers school. Calaena knowing that they're opposite sides of a coin, her being a assassin and Yrene being a healer. But seeing that Yrene wants to help her country folk Calaena lives behind a lot of gold and her emerald brooch for Yrene. She knows its a challenge from the girl in the hood to go out and conquer her destiny. So that is what Yrene does... She sets out in her search of her destiny. In the third novella- The Assassin and the Desert- She finally reaches the Red Desert to the Silent Assassins keep in the middle of the desert. Where she is tested by the mute master and here she meets her first friend Ansel. She keeps thinking about Sam. She trains here with the other assassins. When one day Ansel and Calaena go into town they steal two Asterion horses kingdoms worth. The mute master is very angry with them but is impressed when Calaena takes the blames even though Ansel was the one behind it. Ansel betrays her and everybody at silent assassins keep. She saves the mute master who in return gives her trunks full of gold to pay off her debts. In the fourth novella- The Assassin and the Underworld- She returns home with a letter of approval and lots of gold but doesn't show it Arobynn first. She meets Sam again and is happy to see him. Arobynn says he is sorry and to make up her for it he is giving her a new job where she will again help stop slave trafficking. So Calaena asks Sam to join her. She remembers that Sam threatened to kill Arobynn when Arobynn was beating her to unconsciousness. Sam confesses his love for Calaena, telling her that he knows she would never choose him, she will always choose Arobynn and he can't take that. But Calaena surprises him by saying that she will always choose him. Arobynn betrays her by making her kill the good people who were actually working for the freeing of the slaves. Disgusted, hurt and betrayed she pays off her debt vowing never to return. She also pays off Sam's debt by selling her Asterion horse. They leave the Assassin's keep and move into Calaena new home. In the fifth novella- The Assassin and the Empire- Calaena and Sam are living together with no means of earning, only the occasional earning earned by Sam by fighting in the vaults, a underground betting area for fights. Sam suggests that they leave the empire behind and start their new life elsewhere, somewhere far away. Calaena doesn't want to leave to Adarlan but knows that Sam is right. Even though they have paid off their debts they are still not free and need to pay off the guild fees so that they won't have trouble from the assassin guild when they leave Adarlan behind. Sam says they do one last job which will bring enough money to leave behind everything. But everything doesn't out as planned. Sam is dead. Calaena is betrayed. She ends up in jail and sent off to Endovier. After surviving a year in Endovier, the story picks up in the Throne of Glass. Normally I don't bother reading novellas but this was totally worth it. Pick it up. You're missing some exciting things.

Let me get this straight at the very beginning that I can get a bit fanatical about a series and characters when I LOVE them. So much so that if I ever met J.K Rowling, I would probably bombard her with a million questions down to what shampoo did young Sirius Black use… Yeah, that fanatic! Besides Harry Potter Series, Throne of Glass Series is the only one that has managed to capture my heart that bad. So, needless to say, when I started reading Throne of Glass, I wanted to know more about Celaena, how she ended up in the salt mines of Endovier in the first place and more about her relationship with Sam. It was only when I read the five novellas included in ‘The Assassin’s Blade’ that some of my questions were answered. In The Assassin and the Pirate Lord, the first novella, Celaena and Sam go against their orders to free the slaves they were supposed to claim and try and get away with it all. The Assassin and the Healer is the second novella in the series. It tells us the story of Celaena and Yelena and what happened when these two very different yet similar girls met. The Assassin and the Desert takes Celaena into the Red Desert as a punishment for going against Arobynn’s orders. It turns out to be a boon in disguise. The Assassin and the Underworld tells us the story of Celaena’s last mission for Arobynn Hamel that takes the stakes to whole new level. The Assassin and the Underworld, the last novella in the series, tells us the story of Celaena and Sam trying to survive after they have bought their freedom from Arobynn. All these novellas have one thing in common – they tell us more about Celaena before the Throne of Glass series started. They show us different sides of Celaena – one who can empathize, who loves music and theatre and appreciates the finer things in life. It also gives us a look into the kind of training that Celaena received and her overall upbringing since the death of her parents. They also introduced a few new characters to us and I really loved ‘The Master’ of the assassins of the Red Desert. I hope we will see more of him. Action packed, these are tales of a valiant girl – her fears, her losses, her love and her survival.

I like everything about this book. When I first started to read this amazing series..i was bit confused "which one should I read first. " But after reading others review I go for "the assassin blade " and I'm glad I did that... Well it doesn't make that much difference but it gives you much more clarification and understanding about the plot. And about the book. The quality and the print is excellent. 👍👍

The book is not pirated, and is an original copy.

Poor quality

Well,I wrote this immediately after finishing the book,and all I can say is,Iam emotionally wrecked. The Assassin's Blade is a collection of five novellas,all from Celaena's life as Adarlan's Assassin,before the events of Throne Of Glass. Technically,it is a prequel to the series,but I read it third and I am glad I did that,because it helped me immerse myself more. It was an action - packed read,where we get to see Celaena in all her glory and meet some characters who I suspect would turn out to be important later in the series.And now I understand the infamous "last 100 pages rule" of the Maas-verse books,because they were chaotic.I went from swooning to weeping to raging in a matter of minutes,so thank you,for the emotional damage,SJM!! The writing is a definite improvement over the first two books.Celaena's grief and rage feels so palpable and I found myself caring for her even more.This book also introduced me to one of the most despicable fictional villains I have ever met,and now I can't wait to see them getting what they deserve, so it is safe to say that....Iam hyped up to continue the series!!

Niente da dire, leggetelo!

Another one of Sara Maas’ book with great storytelling. I recommend this book to fantasy, romance novel lovers.

Overall rating : 5 stars Witness Celaena’s rise and downfall as Adarlan’s Assassin in this collection of five prequel novellas to the New York Times bestselling Throne of Glass series… Assassin’s Blade is a collection of novellas, served as a backstory to the Throne of Glass series. These novellas follows Celaena Sardothien’s life, all the way up to the Salt Mines of Endovier. Celaena Sardothien was brought up in Rifthold, and trained to become Adarlan’s Assassin. Celaena is duty-bound to Arobynn Hamel, He is the one who provided her with a home at the Assassin’s Guild and taught her the deadly skills she needed to survive. And yet Celaena listens to no one and trusts only one person. The person she trusts is her fellow killer for hire, Sam. The Assassin and the Pirate Lord is the first novella. Celaena and her rival, Sam Cortland, are sent on a mission to seal a deal in the slave trade with the pirate lord, Captain Rolfe, Lord of the Pirates. Refusing to seal the deal, Celaena and Sam must find a way to free the two hundred slaves without attracting attention from Rolfe or have word reach Arobynn. The Assassin and The Healer follows on from The Assassin and the Pirate Lord. After being beaten by Arobynn for disobedience, Celaena is sent to the Deserted Land to train with the Mute Master and his Silent Assassins for a month. While waiting for the ship to take her to the Deserted Land, Celaena meets Yrene Towers — a healer, working as a barmaid, and wishing to seek further education for her abilities. After an attempted attack, Celaena teaches Yrene how to defend herself for when she decides to leave for a better life. The Assassin and The Desert follows on from The Assassin and the Healer. After their stunt with Captain Rolfe of Skulls Bay Celaena and Sam returned to the Assassins’s keep and are severely punished by their master, the King of the assassins Arobynn Hamel . Celaena, after being beaten prutalmente was forced to train in the red desert together with the master mute. Among the hot sun and the sand dunes Celaena holds a friendship that leave more than a few broken bones. The Assassin and The Underworld continues on from The Assassin and the Desert. Returning to Rifthold and her life at the Assassin’s Keep, Celaena finally runs into Sam, only to find that he’s been spending time with Lysandra, a courtesan whom Celaena has despised since she was ten. Celaena and Sam are sent to assassinate Doneval and his business partner for attempting to arrange a way to improve the slave trade. Following a staggering deception from one she trusts the most, Celaena must gather courage to fulfil her wish to move out of the Guild and begin again The Assassin and The Empire follows from The Assassin and the Underworld. After paying off her debt to Arobynn, Celaena moves out and brings Sam with her. In order to escape the hold that Arobynn has on her, Celaena must complete one more mission: to assassinate Ioan Jayne and his sadistic guard, Rourke Farran. Aware of the disturbing and deadly consequences of being caught, Celaena and Sam decide to work together to accomplish the mission. Celaena will receive the ultimate betrayal and lose what she holds most dear. Events from these Novellas do come into play in later books. I am glad I read it right after I read the first one, Throne Of Glass. I like how these five novellas all connected. You would have to read the novellas in order. Cause I don’t think they are stand alone books. The plot was good and engrossing. The pace was good too. There was no scenes to slow the pace down. The characters were all lovely and well-develop too. I did have a favorite character in The Assassin and The Desert. But I was in a surprise towards the end. I could relate to Celaena about that too. This book gives you the background story of Celaena and what happened before she got caught. Some novella will show you some of her personality and others will be lessons. The Assassin and Desert novella was one of my favorite ones. My least favorite novella was The Assassin and The Underworld. My least favorite scene was when Celaena killed someone. Yes, it is a spoiler but I won’t say which novella is it in.

I suggest reading this book first in the TOG series, i know there are different opinions on the reading order but i read AB after throne of glass and i wish i had read it first because in throne of glass are several parts where things from the AB are mentioned and it makes the meaning much more deeper and emotional. I‘m almost finished with the series and it does get better, AB is just a prequel, but still very good.

The Assassin’s Blade is everything a prequel should be. Maas crafts these novellas with such precision and heartache that it feels less like a prequel and more like essential reading. The writing is sharp and emotional, and the pacing keeps you hooked even though you know you're heading for tragedy. What makes it so horribly fantastic is exactly that—Maas doesn't hold back. She lays the groundwork for Celaena’s journey in Throne of Glass with brutal honesty. These stories aren’t just backstory, they’re the bones of who she becomes. The heartbreak, the betrayals, the beginnings of love… it’s all here, raw and impactful. The romance is so deeply felt, even knowing how it will unravel. And the settings, from the Red Desert to the slums of Skull’s Bay, are atmospheric and vivid, pulling you into a darker world with each step. You finish The Assassin’s Blade gutted but grateful, fully understanding what Celaena has lost and what she's about to become.