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The Last Wish
The Last Wish
Andrzej Sapkowski | 2008 | Fiction & Poetry
9
8.5 (14 Ratings)
Book Rating
157 of 250
Book
The Last Wish ( The Witcher book 1)
By Andrzej Sapkowski

Once read a review will be written via Smashbomb and link posted in comments

Geralt de Rivia is a witcher. A cunning sorcerer. A merciless assassin.

And a cold-blooded killer.

His sole purpose: to destroy the monsters that plague the world.

But not everything monstrous-looking is evil and not everything fair is good

. . . and in every fairy tale there is a grain of truth.


I’m so glad I decided to start these books! This is a selection of short stories to open up the wither world and Geralt. I loved them all and it made so much more sense matching these shorts to the Tv series. Looking forward to getting stuck into the next book. It also helps I now have Henry Cavil stuck in my head for Geralt!
  
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Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Time of Contempt in Books

Jun 3, 2024 (Updated Jun 3, 2024)  
Time of Contempt
Time of Contempt
Andrzej Sapkowski | 2013 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
6
7.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
110 of 220
Book
Time of Contempt ( Witcher 2)
By Andrzej Sapkowski
⭐️⭐️⭐️

Geralt was always going to stand out, with his white hair and piercing eyes, his cynicism and lack of respect for authority ...but he is far more than just a striking-looking man. He's a witcher; his sorcerous powers, exhanced by elixers and long training, have made him a brilliant fighter and a merciless assassin. Yet he is no orderinary murderer; his targets are the vile fiends and demons that ravage the land. But first appearance ccan often be deceptive; not everything monstrous-looking is a monster ...and even the fairest can have a bite!

Although this one was a decent read I’m finding myself getting bored with these books at a certain point, I just can’t seem to focus and lose interest. Hoped the next one will be better.
  
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
Oliver Bowden | 2010 | Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics
8
6.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Continuation of the story (2 more)
Remaining true to the video games
Remaining true to the franchise
The Story Continues
The second novel to be released in the series continues the story of Ezio Auditore, just as the game of the same title did. Ezio has concentrated his efforts to bring down the Borgia family and the Templar Order, and traveled to Rome in order to complete his work that he started some years ago. Now a Master Assassin, Ezio must recruit his own brotherhood of Assassin's if he is to defeat the Templar Order.

The story of Ezio, allows us an insight as to his character development, as he grows from a young man seeking revenge, to a Master Assassin, seeking to bring down the Templar Order for the fate of the world depends upon the succession of the Assassin's. Rome is yet another brilliant setting for the Assassin's Creed franchise to take place and Ezio is certainly one of the most interesting Assassin's to follow throughout the franchise.

With help yet again from his previous allies, including Leonardo Da Vinci, the story told here is one of mystery and excitement.

I'm not sure how many times I can praise Bowden for his work on this series. All I can say is that he does not fail to entertain and reveal a new experience to the world of Assassin's Creed. If you have read my previous reviews then you know how much I praise this man for his work on the series of Novels he has written for the fans. Each one delivers a new thrilling experience and each one stays true to the events of the video game as much as possible. Of course each person who plays the video game plays differently. These novels give more of a sense of what the Assassin's themselves would have truly done in the events that unfold.
  
Throne of Glass
Throne of Glass
Sarah J. Maas | 2012 | Children, Fiction & Poetry
6
8.7 (91 Ratings)
Book Rating
Throne of Glass is the first book of Sarah J. Maas’s debut series, and that much is obvious when reading it. In a way, opening its pages has enlightened me to her growth as a writer. And while Throne of Glass is far more difficult to get into than Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses, I can definitely see where its fandom comes from – now if only my library had book two!

One of the things I was most excited to learn by reading this book is that Maas isn’t one of those authors that fall victim to making all their characters the same. In fact, I was thrilled to learn that Celaena is nothing like Feyre from A Court of Thorns and Roses (or should it be the other way around since this was published first?). Her love interests are vastly different, and so realistic that I couldn’t decide who I wanted to cheer for. Usually I’m pretty decided on what characters I like/don’t like, but even this early work from Maas shows she makes it difficult to simply pick and choose.

The plot of Throne of Glass is a bit Hunger Games-ish, what with a competition to find out who will be the King’s assassin meaning that it gets narrowed down to one. I will admit that I wish I’d read this book before I read Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller, as this one was published first and the plot is a bit too similar for my taste. Both books center around a competition to become the ruler’s assassin, so I couldn’t help but think of Miller’s book the entire time I was reading this one. That, and Sal and Celaena have similar attitudes. It makes me wonder if this book inspired Miller. I do like the idea of magic only just returning to the world of Throne of Glass, though – if you can call it that.

That said, I really, truly cannot wait for the opportunity to read the next book.
  
Age of Assassins
Age of Assassins
RJ Barker | 2017 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Detective thriller in a medieval fantasy setting
I had heard great things about Age of Assassins and added it to my pile to read some time. But when NetGalley offered me the chance to review the follow-up Blood of Assassins before its release this month, it rocketed to the top of the pile.
I had no real expectations of this other than people rated it highly (which tends to make me more critical).
The premise was a little unusual for me - a detective thriller but in a fantasy setting. A young assassin in training, Girton, and his master are hired to find who hired another assassin to kill the heir to the throne. They then work undercover to determine who had the motive to kill the obnoxious heir. Girton becomes embedded within the squires and starts to see what a real childhood would have been like, growing up with other children rather than his master. His emotional frailty, alongside how hard he has to try not to kill them all and show how much more skilled he is than the bumbling, club-footed oaf he is presumed to be.
The plot itself is pretty much all revealed at the end with a Poirot-esque "I suppose you're wondering why I asked you all here" chapter, which I thought was a bit of a cop-out, more could have been hinted at along the way. Rather than the whole plot being revealed in a oner, people like to have enough to stitch it all together and I felt it maybe kept a little too much in the tank for the final scene.
I enjoyed it as a fantasy novel, though its scope was so much smaller than other books I have read recently, though the action scenes were well narrated.
As a detective novel, I thought it left a little too much of the reveal to the end and didn't reveal enough along the way.
  
Ecstasy Unveiled (Demonica #4)
Ecstasy Unveiled (Demonica #4)
8
9.7 (7 Ratings)
Book Rating
I gave myself a break after the initial three brothers because Eidolon, Shade and Wraith had been with me for a long time by then and I really liked all three of them so the addition of a fourth brother put me off a little. Lore seemed to be some assassin for hire that came across as being way too cocky in those first few chapters we met him in in the last book. But he did come up good in the end.

In his book, Lore is tasked with doing his 100th job, his final kill before he can be set free from his master. The only issue is that he's sent to kill Kynan, a close friend of his brothers. They won't let him kill Kynan and neither will Kynan's angel protector, Idess.

Idess continually transports him away as he tries and after chaining him up for several days they get to know each other and the intense attraction between them gets stronger and stronger. Both are in a pickle, though, as Lore's sister will die if he doesn't kill Kynan and Idess now has both Kynan and Lore as her protectees so how can she save both of them?

It turns out that someone from each of their pasts have joined forces to bring about their ruination. And it almost works.

I actually grew to like Lore a heck of a lot. He was so...unselfish? Is that a word? He was trying to do everything for everyone else, but doing it silently. He didn't brag about being a good guy. He actually thought he was a bad guy. Which I think is stupid. Yeah, he's been forced to do bad things by his assassin master but you were doing it for your sister!

Since I've fallen back in love with this series, I'm going to read Sin Undone next, which is Lore's sisters story.
  
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Wittsend (43 KP) rated Orphan X in Books

Aug 2, 2017  
Orphan X
Orphan X
Gregg Andrew Hurwitz | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Believe the hype on this one!!! Orphan X is phenomenal! (0 more)
Orphan X
This is a crazy fast paced thriller! The story grabbed me from the very start and I could not put the book down!

Evan Smoak is taken out of a bad life in Baltimore at the young age of 12 and he is taken to DC where he is trained in a secret Government program to be an assassin. He is mentored by a man named Jack, who becomes a father figure to him. When this program is disbanded, Evan moves to California where he chooses to use these skills and the financial resources he is given to do good. Evan follows a series of commandments that he has learned from Jack to do these missions to help people who have no one else to turn to.

This novel will keep you guessing and make your heart pound! It twists and turns and WOW is it great!

Very Highly Recommended for thriller/spy/action lovers!