The Assassin's Blade

The Throne of Glass Novellas

By: Sarah J. Maas

Narrated by: Elizabeth Evans

Bloomsbury presents The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas, read by Elizabeth Evans.

The twist of a knife. The birth of a legend.

Step into the world of the #1 bestselling Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas with this collection of prequel novellas.

Celaena Sardothien is her kingdom’s most feared assassin. Though she works for the powerful Assassin’s Guild and its scheming master, Arobynn Hamel, she yields to no one and trusts only her fellow killer-for-hire, Sam. But when Arobynn dispatches her on missions that take her from remote islands to hostile deserts, Celaena finds herself acting independently of his wishes and questioning her own allegiance.

If she hopes to escape Arobynn’s clutches, Celaena will have to put her faith in her wits and her blade . . . knowing that if she fails, she’ll lose not just a chance at freedom but her life.

A prequel to the New York Times bestselling Throne of Glass, this collection of five novellas explores the history of this cunning assassin and her enthralling—and deadly—world.

Included in this volume:
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

©2014 Sarah J. Maas (P)2021 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Critic reviews

"Fans and libraries will delight in having this gorgeous edition of the interconnected stories. Action-packed and full of insight into Celaena’s character.... What a ride!" (Booklist)

One of my Favorite Series

I adore the world and characters created. I love the build up and different adventures each book has. It is like Lord of the Rings meets Six of Crows meets Anita Blake. Strong female lead, dark urban atmosphere, with fantasy twists plus a massive adventure. I am a fan of the writing and al the plot twists. The book does a great job at bring forth emotional reactions.

My favorite series START HERE!

Let me start by saying, DO NOT START TOG WITHOUT READING THIS FIRST! This is VITAL information going forward. I reread this series 7-10 times a day and I know there are many reading order suggestions so do what feels right BUT in my personal opinion as someone who has consumed this series about 40 times AB is vital backstory that informs absolutely everything in book one Throne of Glass, and skipping it means you miss a character arc that truly effects the entire series.

Now, to my long awaited review. I’ve been meaning to write this forever but haven’t because whenever I reread TOG I am so swept away I don’t want to do anything but read it and theorize lmao. Nothing! But it’s time and I’m here to admit, this is my emotional support series. Why? Because not only is this an incredibly well written series with complex characters and themes, but every single time I reread it I find something new, even though I reread it 7-10 times a year. Celaena is our bad ass-sassin FMC who is the perfectly imperfect morally grey villainous hero. She’s trained since she was a child to be a masked killer and heir to the King of the Assassins and his guild of the territories most skillful killers. When the story opens Celaena and her competitor in arms at the guild Sam Cartland are sent on a vital mission to demand retribution for the death of a fellow guild member at pirate hands. But, when they meet with Pirate lord Rolf, they soon find nothing us at it seems, and they have a very big moral dilemma on their hands. The events that unfold change Celaena in more ways than can be described, and inform who she is, and where her path leads from the decisions she makes this fateful trip to Skulls Bay. Who she will be when this is all over? Someone she may not recognize, but trust me, you’ll be rooting for her to get the mightiest of revenges!

I read using audiobooks for accessibility, and this is my favorite audiobook series of all time. Elizabeth Evans is my favorite narrator and can do no wrong in my eyes. She has fantastic voices for male and female characters, never over acts and brings so much life to each character with her diverse voices for each. They are entirely distinguishable from each other and fit each character’s personality, region and backstory so well they feel real. I cannot screech into the void enough about how much I love this audiobook and trust me, if you love audiobooks or are trying them for the first time START HERE! Elizabeth Evans will have you hooked!

Enjoyable!

I really like this series- I think it’s a really interesting series about orphans taken in and trained to be assassins. Lots of fun twists adds to the heroine’s show of strength and fortitude. It’s a good pass time.

Slower paced but will rip your heart out

This book was slower paced than the first two that I read in this series. And often times I felt the heroine it was full of herself. Maybe it was because she’s young. However, the ending well it just ripped your heart out and it said you up for understanding whythe main character she is.

Good book

Good book but not as good as the rest of the series. Read after the third book as recommended which seemed to be good timing.