Name: Age of Assassins
ISBN: 9780316466493

RJ Barker

The first in a new epic fantasy trilogy set in a world ravaged by magic, featuring a cast of assassins, knights, and ambitious noblemen. Girton Club-foot has no family, a crippled leg, and is apprenticed to the best assassin in the land. He's learning the art of taking lives, but his latest mission tasks him with a far more difficult challenge: to save a life. Someone is trying to kill the heir to the throne, and it is up to Girton to uncover the traitor and prevent the prince's murder -- and his own. It's a game of assassin versus assassin.

Age of Assassins

altlovesbooks

In the face of the negative reviews here, I actually thought this was a fun book. Maybe not what was expected based on the title and the summary, but I still enjoyed my time with it. Flawed? Sure, but I still enjoyed reading it, and I think that's what counts.

Girton Club-Foot is an assassin apprentice who learns under his master Merela who rescued him from being sold into slavery as a child. There's an heir to the throne that's being threatened, and Merela and Girton are tasked with uncovering the plot to kill the heir without revealing what they do. Despite the summary it's not an action-packed book--by merit of growing up under Merela's tutelage, Girton hasn't had much of a childhood, and much of the book is him integrating with other young squires, making friends (and enemies), and otherwise enjoying the joys of being young. Merela cautions him repeatedly to maintain a distance between himself and the other boys, but Girton doesn't listen, for better or worse. While living his best life, Girton also finds time to investigate the castle for potential murder suspects, and we get a bit of a murder mystery twist reveal at the end that's satisfying. 

So I thought this was a fun read (or, listen, I guess, since I listened to the audiobook), but it's definitely not action-packed. There's some fight scenes (rather gruesome sometimes), and there's definite plot development, but it's not the cloak-and-dagger, stealthy, super assassin type of plot development. More of a coming-of-age medieval story while also being a great fighter (and maybe more?). The author's writing style is fantastic though, I sort of loved the cliffhanger statements he built into his writing that readies you for something awesome to happen in the next scene, and the epilogue really has me interested to see where the story goes. There's lots of untapped world potential here, like the magic system that was brought up but not fully explored as to what it means for Girton, and some other loose threads that weren't satisfyingly tied up. I look forward to the next book to read more!

Danny Engström

A new favorite! No time for a proper review (5 star reviews are always the hardest!) but wanted to link to a bit of art for the book that I found online at least:

This is Girton's animal companion, painted by Tom Parker:

Sunny

Amira BEN

Vince Nguyen

Christian Huss

***Look out for The Bone Ships, the start of a new fantasy series by RJ Barker!*** 'Age of Assassins reveals its mysteries with the style of a magic show and the artful grace of a gifted storyteller' Nicholas Eames, author of Kings of the Wyld TO CATCH AN ASSASSIN, USE AN ASSASSIN... Girton Club-Foot, apprentice to the land's best assassin, still has much to learn about the art of taking lives. But his latest mission tasks Girton and his master with a far more difficult challenge: to save a life. Someone, or many someones, is trying to kill the heir to the throne, and it is up to Girton and his master to uncover the traitor and prevent the prince's murder. In a kingdom on the brink of civil war and a castle thick with lies Girton finds friends he never expected, responsibilities he never wanted, and a conspiracy that could destroy an entire land. ***SHORTLISTED FOR THE DAVID GEMMELL AWARDS 2018*** ***SHORTLISTED FOR THE KITSCHIE AWARDS 2018*** 'Dead gods, dread magic, and a lead that feels like a breath of fresh air. Great fun' Peter Newman, author of The Vagrant 'Outstanding. Beautifully written, perfectly paced and assured. Kept me reading well into the early hours of the morning. A wonderful first book - a wonderful book, period - that should be at the very top of your to-read list' James Islington, author of The Shadow of what was Lost 'Simply unputdownable . . . the perfect mix of fantasy and mystery' Fantasy Book Review 'With an original, immersive world that wouldn't let me go and a pair of assassins worth rooting for, Age of Assassins is a pleasure to read. I can't wait for more!' Melissa Caruso, author of The Tethered Mage 'A dark-humored game of cat and mouse between assassins, with traitors on all sides' David Dalglish, author of the Shadowdance series 'Age of Assassins builds a compelling fantasy world and peoples it with characters you can care about. Riddled with intrigue and dangerous magic, this is a hugely enjoyable debut' Jen Williams, author of The Copper Promise 'Age of Assassins is a beguiling story of action and intrigue combined with a poignancy and humour that are as sharp as any blade' Jon Skovron, author of Hope and Red 'Compellingly complex political intrigue and steel-sparking action sequences leavened by warm humour and genuine emotional depth' Chris Brookmyre, author of the Jack Parlabane novels The Wounded Kingdom trilogy begins with AGE OF ASSASSINS, continues with BLOOD OF ASSASSINS and will continue with KING OF ASSASSINS.