Book Title: The Assassin and the Underworld
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Series: Throne of Glass #o.3
Series: Throne of Glass #o.3
Date Started: June 24th 2013
Date Completed: June 25th 2013
Genres: Action, Thriller, Fantasy, Romance
Rating: Five stars
Review:
This is my favourite of the Throne of Glass novellas so far - and that means something. I love this things so much, they're so good and are literally a whole separate book in each novella. There's so much story and the characters are so real and exciting, I just love them to bits.
The Assassin and the Underworld is set, again, straight after the previous novella, when Celeana is returning back to her master to give him her letter of approval from the Mute Master. But she's surprised to find Arobynn deeply regretting beating her after her rash actions at Skull's Bay (which occurred in the first episode of novellas). Now that she has returned, he showers her in extravagant gifts and offers her a dangerous job, of which she can keep all the reward without splitting it with him. But there's something off with her new mission, and Celeana has enough going on in her world with Sam's strange behaviour and Lysandra's frustrating flirting with him. Can she divide her attentions to stop her messing up or will she doom herself?
Like I've said in my other reviews of Maas' novellas, I absolutely love the writing style. It's quick and fluid; it's flows wonderfully and links with the next passage all the time so that it's completely smooth and easy to read.
There's also a depth to the emotions and descriptions that challenge the readers to actually think and picture what's going on rather than giving them all the information they need.
The action scenes are stunning, as always, and I honestly couldn't put my kindle down - again.
This story is slightly different from the other novellas so far, as it actually shows what a normal mission for Celeana is; up until now we've only experienced her away from home and in strange and uncertain locations with unfamiliar people. I think it's been perfectly planned so that, now we are aware of all the characters in her world and already have our impressions of them, we actually get to see how they function and work within her life. This is a different outlook than most books provide, and I think it works very well in that we can confirm or doubt our impressions of the characters from just of what Celeana's actions and feelings have told us. This is partly why I loved this novella over the other two (of which I still absolutely adore - but this on is just perfect); because we actually get to know what her life is actually like.
I also like it the best because it has a lot more romance than the other two. Now, I'm not huge on romance and I usually like it in small doses. The Assassin and the Underworld is quite focused around the complicated relationship that Celeana has (that isn't really a relationship - or is it? (You shall have to read it to find out. READ IT)). But the romance side doesn't interfere too much with the mystery/action side of the story either, and the main plot stays in tact and interesting at the same time, which I'm always impressed by.
Also, after two novellas of something clearly going on, I was at the point of shouting at the characters to just admit it to each other - and themselves. I really liked the way this worked, actually: by building up our knowledge of them and their emotions and personalities over previous stories, we're already really attached to them by the time the real drama goes on, so we feel for them and we want them to be okay. That's what real writing is: when you genuinely feel an emotion (any emotion: love, hate, lust, fear etc etc) for a fictional person in a fictional situation.
Celeana continues to be my favourite protagonist of all time. She's honestly the most real kick-ass character I've ever read; she's both clever and reckless, and she gets scared remarkably easily, but tries not to let it affect her - rather than the fear being completely non-existent. I love the way she's also portrayed as actually quite girly, yet still able to floor almost anyone in less than ten seconds - it's a stereotype I've never seen addressed before, but actually works incredibly well (why should kick-ass girls have to be tom-boys?) She's just also a really fun person to follow on her journey. Even though the story is told in the 3rd person, Maas still conveys her feelings and thoughts very well and we can almost always tell what Celeana's thinking - or maybe I'm so attached to her I can just predict it without thinking.
Sam continues to be absolutely precious and wonderful. I like the way, even though he's a trained assassin, he's still got that quite geeky, cute boy feel around him - it's not even implied by the writer, I just get that sort of impression off him (although that might be Celeana knowing she's better than him). I've always loved him, even when he was supposedly out to get Celeana, and I think he's an absolutely brilliant addition to the story.
Lysandra pisses me off so much - and for once I don't care, because I know she's supposed to. Usually, even when it's what the author wants, when I don't like a character because of their personality, I really don't like them and I'm very reluctant to read texts they're in. But Lysandra is so necessary to the story that I manage to swallow my pride and enjoy the story and its twists and turns.
This is the first time we actually properly see Arobynn, and I was very curious to see what he was actually like for more than a few pages. I was quite surprised by his tenderness, but I suspected there was a more bitter, sly undercurrent that later showed up. He's a brilliant master for Celeana, because you can clearly see why she looks up to him so much - yet there's also that spark in his personality that explains why she hates him so much at the same time.
The pace is very constant. Like I've said in other reviews, even when there isn't a whole lot happening in the story, the narration is very interesting and often important to the story. I think this is much easier in a smaller novella such as this, so I'll be interested to see how Maas manages in a larger novel.
The progression of Celeana's story is shown very well with the ending twist. You could feel it coming on throughout the story, but even when it happens you're still a little shocked she made that choice in the end. I like those sorts of stories, and I can see where it'll clearly lead onto the next novella (which is the last, so I'll be reading the actual first book in the Throne of Glass series very soon).
I absolutely loved this novel, so I'd recommend it to anyone who loves action, mystery, romance and fantasy-style kingdoms. There's plenty of assassin action in there too, so if you're into magicians and thieves you'll no doubt love these stories. The writing style is excellent, and you don't get bored. If you want to try Maas' writing out, this would be a perfect place to start - although you might want to read the prequel novellas first, though it doesn't make much distance. I just enjoyed reading them as they went on straight after the previous. But definitely try it.
Image Source: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y8pv5SEIYTU/UBPX8uKepmI/AAAA
AAAAEa8/qXHkKz0DmbA/s1600/The+Assassin+and+the+underworld.png
This is my favourite of the Throne of Glass novellas so far - and that means something. I love this things so much, they're so good and are literally a whole separate book in each novella. There's so much story and the characters are so real and exciting, I just love them to bits.
The Assassin and the Underworld is set, again, straight after the previous novella, when Celeana is returning back to her master to give him her letter of approval from the Mute Master. But she's surprised to find Arobynn deeply regretting beating her after her rash actions at Skull's Bay (which occurred in the first episode of novellas). Now that she has returned, he showers her in extravagant gifts and offers her a dangerous job, of which she can keep all the reward without splitting it with him. But there's something off with her new mission, and Celeana has enough going on in her world with Sam's strange behaviour and Lysandra's frustrating flirting with him. Can she divide her attentions to stop her messing up or will she doom herself?
Like I've said in my other reviews of Maas' novellas, I absolutely love the writing style. It's quick and fluid; it's flows wonderfully and links with the next passage all the time so that it's completely smooth and easy to read.
There's also a depth to the emotions and descriptions that challenge the readers to actually think and picture what's going on rather than giving them all the information they need.
The action scenes are stunning, as always, and I honestly couldn't put my kindle down - again.
This story is slightly different from the other novellas so far, as it actually shows what a normal mission for Celeana is; up until now we've only experienced her away from home and in strange and uncertain locations with unfamiliar people. I think it's been perfectly planned so that, now we are aware of all the characters in her world and already have our impressions of them, we actually get to see how they function and work within her life. This is a different outlook than most books provide, and I think it works very well in that we can confirm or doubt our impressions of the characters from just of what Celeana's actions and feelings have told us. This is partly why I loved this novella over the other two (of which I still absolutely adore - but this on is just perfect); because we actually get to know what her life is actually like.
I also like it the best because it has a lot more romance than the other two. Now, I'm not huge on romance and I usually like it in small doses. The Assassin and the Underworld is quite focused around the complicated relationship that Celeana has (that isn't really a relationship - or is it? (You shall have to read it to find out. READ IT)). But the romance side doesn't interfere too much with the mystery/action side of the story either, and the main plot stays in tact and interesting at the same time, which I'm always impressed by.
Also, after two novellas of something clearly going on, I was at the point of shouting at the characters to just admit it to each other - and themselves. I really liked the way this worked, actually: by building up our knowledge of them and their emotions and personalities over previous stories, we're already really attached to them by the time the real drama goes on, so we feel for them and we want them to be okay. That's what real writing is: when you genuinely feel an emotion (any emotion: love, hate, lust, fear etc etc) for a fictional person in a fictional situation.
Celeana continues to be my favourite protagonist of all time. She's honestly the most real kick-ass character I've ever read; she's both clever and reckless, and she gets scared remarkably easily, but tries not to let it affect her - rather than the fear being completely non-existent. I love the way she's also portrayed as actually quite girly, yet still able to floor almost anyone in less than ten seconds - it's a stereotype I've never seen addressed before, but actually works incredibly well (why should kick-ass girls have to be tom-boys?) She's just also a really fun person to follow on her journey. Even though the story is told in the 3rd person, Maas still conveys her feelings and thoughts very well and we can almost always tell what Celeana's thinking - or maybe I'm so attached to her I can just predict it without thinking.
Sam continues to be absolutely precious and wonderful. I like the way, even though he's a trained assassin, he's still got that quite geeky, cute boy feel around him - it's not even implied by the writer, I just get that sort of impression off him (although that might be Celeana knowing she's better than him). I've always loved him, even when he was supposedly out to get Celeana, and I think he's an absolutely brilliant addition to the story.
Lysandra pisses me off so much - and for once I don't care, because I know she's supposed to. Usually, even when it's what the author wants, when I don't like a character because of their personality, I really don't like them and I'm very reluctant to read texts they're in. But Lysandra is so necessary to the story that I manage to swallow my pride and enjoy the story and its twists and turns.
This is the first time we actually properly see Arobynn, and I was very curious to see what he was actually like for more than a few pages. I was quite surprised by his tenderness, but I suspected there was a more bitter, sly undercurrent that later showed up. He's a brilliant master for Celeana, because you can clearly see why she looks up to him so much - yet there's also that spark in his personality that explains why she hates him so much at the same time.
The pace is very constant. Like I've said in other reviews, even when there isn't a whole lot happening in the story, the narration is very interesting and often important to the story. I think this is much easier in a smaller novella such as this, so I'll be interested to see how Maas manages in a larger novel.
The progression of Celeana's story is shown very well with the ending twist. You could feel it coming on throughout the story, but even when it happens you're still a little shocked she made that choice in the end. I like those sorts of stories, and I can see where it'll clearly lead onto the next novella (which is the last, so I'll be reading the actual first book in the Throne of Glass series very soon).
I absolutely loved this novel, so I'd recommend it to anyone who loves action, mystery, romance and fantasy-style kingdoms. There's plenty of assassin action in there too, so if you're into magicians and thieves you'll no doubt love these stories. The writing style is excellent, and you don't get bored. If you want to try Maas' writing out, this would be a perfect place to start - although you might want to read the prequel novellas first, though it doesn't make much distance. I just enjoyed reading them as they went on straight after the previous. But definitely try it.
Image Source: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y8pv5SEIYTU/UBPX8uKepmI/AAAA
AAAAEa8/qXHkKz0DmbA/s1600/The+Assassin+and+the+underworld.png
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