Jennifer W. (GeniusJen) reviewed Assassin's Apprentice: Oathbreaker Part I on + 5322 more book reviews
Reviewed by Joan Stradling for TeensReadToo.com
Aron of Brailing dreams of raising animals, but his dreams are shattered when he is "harvested" by the Stone Guild and forced to become an assassin's apprentice. Unfortunately, someone would rather see Aron dead.
Forced to train with his strange new master, Stormbreaker, and an even stranger young woman named Dari, Aron must learn to control his powerful legacy or meet certain death. Aron isn't sure what lies ahead, but he's determined to face it with all the strength and determination he possesses.
Hopefully, it will be enough to keep him alive long enough to complete his training.
The characters and world are compelling and thrilling as all good fantasy should be. It was easy to connect with the characters and the pacing was perfect, with enough action and adventure to keep me turning pages as fast as my eyes could take them in.
I loved reading ASSASSIN'S APPRENTICE and am very much looking forward to volume two, A PRINCE AMONG KILLERS. Especially since volume one has an amazing cliffhanger ending.
Aron of Brailing dreams of raising animals, but his dreams are shattered when he is "harvested" by the Stone Guild and forced to become an assassin's apprentice. Unfortunately, someone would rather see Aron dead.
Forced to train with his strange new master, Stormbreaker, and an even stranger young woman named Dari, Aron must learn to control his powerful legacy or meet certain death. Aron isn't sure what lies ahead, but he's determined to face it with all the strength and determination he possesses.
Hopefully, it will be enough to keep him alive long enough to complete his training.
The characters and world are compelling and thrilling as all good fantasy should be. It was easy to connect with the characters and the pacing was perfect, with enough action and adventure to keep me turning pages as fast as my eyes could take them in.
I loved reading ASSASSIN'S APPRENTICE and am very much looking forward to volume two, A PRINCE AMONG KILLERS. Especially since volume one has an amazing cliffhanger ending.
This is the epic fantasy coming of age tale of a young boy named Aron Weylyn nee Braylin who lives in a land known as Eyrie. This land is filled with all of the supernatural specters that are prevalent in Irish folk ideas, such as the siddhe, Fae, Mab, Furies, etc. If you aren't familiar with this background, then this tale loses something. If you are familiar, then this tale is a delightful re-imagining of the modern life of such fantastical creatures.
Aron is conscripted to work for one of the two guilds: Stone. Stone is a guild that deals with justice and punishment for injustice; in particular, they carry out death sentences that have been given to the deserving. I'm not terribly sure that this work could be considered assassination, but that where the "assassin" reference comes from in the title. More specifically, Aron is the executioner's apprentice. So if you came to this novel looking for illegal assassination attempts, I'm afraid that you are going to have to search elsewhere.
This novel deals with Aron's forceable conscription and removal from his family on the eve of war, and the journey to the home of the Stone guild as Aron comes to terms with his new status as a conscripted apprentice and the land of Eyrie begins its war around them. The book continues with Aron having to find his place among the apprentices at the Stone guild, one of whom takes an instant bullying disliking to Aron, and ends with Aron and that boy as an unhappily paired team to face down serious threats.
The world building in this book is amazingly rich. The emotional life of Aron is vivid and gripping, and you feel his anger and pain even as he experiences it. The politics are present, but not overwhelmingly complex with only a few layers of intrigue plots to be had. The battle descriptions are riveting.
Much like the hallowed "A Song of Ice and Fire" series, the chapters of this novel switch viewpoints, and much like the hallowed series, the chapters are named after the character you will follow for that chapter. Being a fan of George R. R. Martin's writing, I had no trouble with this format, though if you aren't used to it, it might take some getting used to.
One thing I should remark on is that the world building is done in a style I actually enjoy. First, the foreign word is used in context, several times. Only when you think you have figured the thing out due to contextual clues do the authors actually go ahead and explain what the thing is. I found this to be great fun, but other reviewers might - and do - feel otherwise.
Be warned, there is a cliffhanger at the end and you will want to go out and immediately get the next novel in the series. Luckily, it already exists.
Aron is conscripted to work for one of the two guilds: Stone. Stone is a guild that deals with justice and punishment for injustice; in particular, they carry out death sentences that have been given to the deserving. I'm not terribly sure that this work could be considered assassination, but that where the "assassin" reference comes from in the title. More specifically, Aron is the executioner's apprentice. So if you came to this novel looking for illegal assassination attempts, I'm afraid that you are going to have to search elsewhere.
This novel deals with Aron's forceable conscription and removal from his family on the eve of war, and the journey to the home of the Stone guild as Aron comes to terms with his new status as a conscripted apprentice and the land of Eyrie begins its war around them. The book continues with Aron having to find his place among the apprentices at the Stone guild, one of whom takes an instant bullying disliking to Aron, and ends with Aron and that boy as an unhappily paired team to face down serious threats.
The world building in this book is amazingly rich. The emotional life of Aron is vivid and gripping, and you feel his anger and pain even as he experiences it. The politics are present, but not overwhelmingly complex with only a few layers of intrigue plots to be had. The battle descriptions are riveting.
Much like the hallowed "A Song of Ice and Fire" series, the chapters of this novel switch viewpoints, and much like the hallowed series, the chapters are named after the character you will follow for that chapter. Being a fan of George R. R. Martin's writing, I had no trouble with this format, though if you aren't used to it, it might take some getting used to.
One thing I should remark on is that the world building is done in a style I actually enjoy. First, the foreign word is used in context, several times. Only when you think you have figured the thing out due to contextual clues do the authors actually go ahead and explain what the thing is. I found this to be great fun, but other reviewers might - and do - feel otherwise.
Be warned, there is a cliffhanger at the end and you will want to go out and immediately get the next novel in the series. Luckily, it already exists.
