The Perfect Assassin

Chronicles of Ghadid, Book 1

By: K. A. Doore

Narrated by: Amin El Gamal

Length: 11 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

"[Narrator Amin El Gamal] does a masterful job of animating these desert denizens...What results is a suspenseful treat." (AudioFile Magazine)

A novice assassin is on the hunt for someone killing their own in K. A. Doore's The Perfect Assassin, a breakout high fantasy beginning the Chronicles of Ghadid series.

Divine justice is written in blood. Or so Amastan has been taught. As a new assassin in the Basbowen family, he’s already having second thoughts about taking a life. A scarcity of contracts ends up being just what he needs.

Until, unexpectedly, Amastan finds the body of a very important drum chief. Until, impossibly, Basbowen’s finest start showing up dead, with their murderous jaan running wild in the dusty streets of Ghadid. Until, inevitably, Amastan is ordered to solve these murders, before the family gets blamed.

Every life has its price, but when the tables are turned, Amastan must find this perfect assassin or be their next target.

Praise for The Perfect Assassin:

“The Perfect Assassin is a thrilling fantastical mystery that had me racing through the pages.” (S. A. Chakraborty, author of The City of Brass)

“Full of rooftop fights, frightening magic, and nonstop excitement and mystery, I absolutely loved it from start to finish!” (Sarah Beth Durst)

©2019 K. A. Doore (P)2019 Macmillan Audio

Desert Magic and Murder Babies

This freaking book. Doore's debut novel is strewn with tough ideas and tougher choices. Amastan, our young protagonist, is a relatable mess - surprisingly so for an assassin stopping a murder spree in a magic desert city. He doubts, he overanalyzes, he gets hurt, he is stunningly bad at getting his thoughts put into words... but we believe in him, even when the odds are high that he will fail in his efforts.

From the unquiet nature of the spirits (demons?) inside us to what makes or breaks our connection to people, this story carried me along - from reasonable beginnings to infuriating penultima to thrilling climax to an ending that doesn't stop the story from unrolling into forever.

I know the author, so I expected to like it for her sake. I didn't expect to punch my car and yank out the headphones because I needed a minute to calm down. I probably swore more in a twenty-minute period than was good for me. I can't wait for the next one.

Unexpected characters in an interesting world

after you read several science fiction or fantasy books, sometimes many of the characters all seem very similar. In this story, I found that many of the characters didn't fit into your typical tropes, and I found that refreshing. The world they live in is also really interesting and well described. I think this felt like a YA fantasy novel but it had a little of everything--humor, romance, mystery--without being heavy. You really have to pay attention to follow the story though.

The only aspect of this audiobook that I was not very fond of was the narrator. I can tell when someone is faking an accent and it always makes me cringe While the narrator is of middle Eastern descent, he does not have that accent in real life and he was raised in the United States, and you can tell. I would prefer either an authentic accent or just no accent at all.

This was a really engaging story

This was a really engaging story, the world and the characters are very interesting and I'm really excited to read the next book in the series!

deceptive title

This is a Homoerotic book and should be in the description, Warning. I want my credit back.

Snoreeee

It was SO predictable and very boring. Won’t be checking out the other books in the series. Romance was so minuscule. Character development was weak.

The title should be "The Reluctant Assassain"

I am... I am actually angry. I was expecting a fantasy story about assassins and got a navel gazing YA novel with a whiny protagonist who does not deserve the title of the book. Throw in some tropes about gay men that I am absolutely sick of seeing and this was just a massively distasteful experience only mitigated by the narrator and the wordbuilding, but after that ending, the last two chapters just pushed me beyond dislike into regret.

Yes, I think there should be a wide variety of LGBTQ protagonists out there, but I feel this book is not marketed for what it is: a YA novel about regretting your choice in vocation and having to deal with it.