caribourou's review
adventurous
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
REALLY fun, loved Ezio's time when he's in venice / his 20's. Also the fact practically every woman he meets wants to fuck and or fucks him. Impressive..? Ezio's awesome too but its sorta cliche getting his cowl or cloak and just feeling more capable and powerful. Could've been better.
Naw but I love Leonardo so much lmao, hes so enjoyable and as an artist he's just entertaining to read or listen to.
And as I listened to the middle part of this book from some random youtube audio book I ended up finding myself dragging in the last hundred pages. And the last 2 chapters?? Like wtf, I really hated that..
AND FEDERICO??? WHY'D THE BEST MAN DIE SO QUICK?? I LOVE HIS CHARACTER TYPE SOO MUCH 😭😭😭😭
I really really really like the middle parts though. I loved finding the codex weapons and the PLANE? The PLANE? That was AWESOME. UGH, too fun. But again, it really dips by the end, hence it was a 3 star instead of a 4. I was thining of reading the sequel but the last two chapters ruined it so I won't be getting to that soon or quickly for that matter. Overall fun, but not too good.
Naw but I love Leonardo so much lmao, hes so enjoyable and as an artist he's just entertaining to read or listen to.
And as I listened to the middle part of this book from some random youtube audio book I ended up finding myself dragging in the last hundred pages. And the last 2 chapters?? Like wtf, I really hated that..
Spoiler
I prefer historical fiction over whatever the fuck that coversation with the woman was.. I just really didnt like the Apple plot point, and the staff comes in way too late. I... dont like thinking. So it was really annoying and deep and so out of place in this graphic ass book.AND FEDERICO??? WHY'D THE BEST MAN DIE SO QUICK?? I LOVE HIS CHARACTER TYPE SOO MUCH 😭😭😭😭
I really really really like the middle parts though. I loved finding the codex weapons and the PLANE? The PLANE? That was AWESOME. UGH, too fun. But again, it really dips by the end, hence it was a 3 star instead of a 4. I was thining of reading the sequel but the last two chapters ruined it so I won't be getting to that soon or quickly for that matter. Overall fun, but not too good.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, and Gun violence
Moderate: Gore
Minor: Fatphobia
Closed door, as in no on screen sex.nvblue's review
2.0
Rating: 2 out of 5
This book was a new experience for me, this is the first time that I’ve read a book based on a video game. I recently got into Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, and I found that the game’s storyline to be quite engrossing. However, there were several references in the game to in-world mythology that I didn’t understand, and when I saw that there was an accompanying book series, I thought reading it would be a great way to familiarize myself with the franchise. The fact that this book was based on a game really showed through multiple elements. This was initially rather frustrating, but it picked up in the last third of the book.
Plot: 2 out of 5
This book's plot wasn’t really unusual, but the way it was presented was. It was really easy to tell when Altair was on ‘quests’ and other tasks that form the basis of most video games. As the book progressed, the quests became more integrated into the story and thus the plot elements became more coherent with one another. There were a couple of plot twists, but they weren’t exactly unexpected and as a consequence weren’t thrilling. Maria and Altair’s relationship was almost painful, there was a total lack of chemistry between them.
Setting: 1 out of 5
I’m assuming that the reason that not a single location was visually described is because this book is based on a video game, and if you played the game, you would have seen the locations already. However, a couple of descriptors not related to death would have been nice. Perhaps it was just lacking in my Kindle edition, but a map would have also been greatly appreciated. Hands down this was the biggest turn off with the book, and is what made reading it initially such a slog.
Characters: 2 out of 5
This is an aspect that this book could have excelled at. There were many opportunities to explain character behavior and develop motivations that wouldn’t have deviated from video game canon, but this did not occur. The main character, Altair, was particularly contradictory, especially in the first few chapters. The book starts off with him committing unnecessary violence and consequently being punished by the Order, however, he is frequently enraged when unnecessary violence is being committed by others. With a little bit of introspection this could have worked, but the way it was written was really flat.
Maria and Abbas were also poorly developed. Abbas’s character in particular wasn’t realistic.
Maria and Altair become romantically involved. However, Maria’s rationale for her actions is poorly explained, as well as her attraction to Altair. Instead of being the strong female character she was supposed to be, she ends up just being a prisoner turned damsel-in-distress. Oh well.
Writing Style: 2 out of 5
This book was an easy read. If it wasn’t for the descriptions of violence and disembowelment it was basic enough to be a children’s book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone had more nuanced language. Many sentences were overly short, and a bit blunt to the point of crassness. For example:
And when describing death:
Very blunt.
Also for the love of Pete, someone needs to tell the author that stabbing someone in the abdomen a single time would not lead to instantaneous death. I lost track of how many people immediately died through a single stab.
Personal Enjoyment: 3 out of 5
For all this books many failures, I actually enjoyed it. Especially the last third or so. It was initially a slog, but towards the end things started to click and it became quite entertaining.
Conclusion
Don’t read this book for its merits, read this book because you’re also interested in the video game and its world. This book was an easy to read. I may read the second book in the series, as it will pick up where this book left off.
Cross posted on my blog
This book was a new experience for me, this is the first time that I’ve read a book based on a video game. I recently got into Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, and I found that the game’s storyline to be quite engrossing. However, there were several references in the game to in-world mythology that I didn’t understand, and when I saw that there was an accompanying book series, I thought reading it would be a great way to familiarize myself with the franchise. The fact that this book was based on a game really showed through multiple elements. This was initially rather frustrating, but it picked up in the last third of the book.
Plot: 2 out of 5
This book's plot wasn’t really unusual, but the way it was presented was. It was really easy to tell when Altair was on ‘quests’ and other tasks that form the basis of most video games. As the book progressed, the quests became more integrated into the story and thus the plot elements became more coherent with one another. There were a couple of plot twists, but they weren’t exactly unexpected and as a consequence weren’t thrilling. Maria and Altair’s relationship was almost painful, there was a total lack of chemistry between them.
Setting: 1 out of 5
I’m assuming that the reason that not a single location was visually described is because this book is based on a video game, and if you played the game, you would have seen the locations already. However, a couple of descriptors not related to death would have been nice. Perhaps it was just lacking in my Kindle edition, but a map would have also been greatly appreciated. Hands down this was the biggest turn off with the book, and is what made reading it initially such a slog.
Characters: 2 out of 5
This is an aspect that this book could have excelled at. There were many opportunities to explain character behavior and develop motivations that wouldn’t have deviated from video game canon, but this did not occur. The main character, Altair, was particularly contradictory, especially in the first few chapters. The book starts off with him committing unnecessary violence and consequently being punished by the Order, however, he is frequently enraged when unnecessary violence is being committed by others. With a little bit of introspection this could have worked, but the way it was written was really flat.
Maria and Abbas were also poorly developed. Abbas’s character in particular wasn’t realistic.
Spoiler
Whilst Assassin apprentices, Abbas and Altair formed a close friendship. When Altair told Abbas that his father committed suicide, Abbas considers it slander and assaults Altair. This creates a ‘rivalry’ (?) between the two of them that comes into focus in the latter bit of the book. Abbas thinks that his father ran away, despite his essential possessions remaining at the Order’s stronghold. Any reasonable person would have bought the suicide story after connecting the dotsMaria and Altair become romantically involved. However, Maria’s rationale for her actions is poorly explained, as well as her attraction to Altair. Instead of being the strong female character she was supposed to be, she ends up just being a prisoner turned damsel-in-distress. Oh well.
Writing Style: 2 out of 5
This book was an easy read. If it wasn’t for the descriptions of violence and disembowelment it was basic enough to be a children’s book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone had more nuanced language. Many sentences were overly short, and a bit blunt to the point of crassness. For example:
The smell of burning sickened him. The sight too. Of books being burned.
And when describing death:
He gurgled. Died.
Very blunt.
Also for the love of Pete, someone needs to tell the author that stabbing someone in the abdomen a single time would not lead to instantaneous death. I lost track of how many people immediately died through a single stab.
Personal Enjoyment: 3 out of 5
For all this books many failures, I actually enjoyed it. Especially the last third or so. It was initially a slog, but towards the end things started to click and it became quite entertaining.
Conclusion
Don’t read this book for its merits, read this book because you’re also interested in the video game and its world. This book was an easy to read. I may read the second book in the series, as it will pick up where this book left off.
Cross posted on my blog
zerneboch's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Based on the games, but I constantly felt the game is based on this book. It is not as exciting as the game, but the details, the feelings and the immersion into the corrupt world of Italian leaders are delivered and the fights between them and the Assassins are shown here geniously. Bowden had a hard job with writing this story but he managed excellently, even though it is a really fast paced story with shallow (in the means of portraying them) but loveable characters. Bowden hid many historical insights and clues, making tasteful jokes about Leonardo and Machiavelli, and leaders of the era, meanwhile the reader can feel the seemingly invincible loneliness of Ezio, the cruelity of corruption and the constant thirst for power. I am glad I could read this book in English which is not my native language, because Bowden used a great variety of words of the era, describing the beauty of the cities or realistically showing fightings. I recommend this book for all who wants to read "something else", as this story is more like a written movie, which you indeed need to imagine and be in it wholly.
Content Warnings
Minor: Blood and Sexual content
joshuaedwardcrowe's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Renaissance, Oliver Bowden's first novel based on the infamous Assassin's Creed series of video games was his first take on adapting the world of the Assassins to novel format.
This book is really engaging to read, but being an adaptation of the second installment of the video game series, is not without the flaws Bowden did well to grow out of later in 'The Secret Crusade' - a book i read recently and thoroughly enjoyed.
Renaissance's exploration of Ezio Auditore, a young Florentine in the 1400s, who finds out his ancestry lies within a lineage of the Assassin's Order when his family are framed and hung for treason. We join Ezio on his journey to uncover those behind it and discover his much bigger place in the ongoing Assassin and Templar war.
Bowden did a great job capturing the majority of the elements Ubisoft Montreal set out with the Assassins Creed 2 video game, but I can't help feel that he wasn't granted much creative freedom for this installment. Each plot point is given little embellishment and breathing space before we jump to the next point, often leaving the pace of the book feeling a break-neck speed.
Perhaps this is simply bias in that if I hadn't played the video game numerous times I wouldn't be so blind to the finer details, and this book covers such a large narrative that it'd take a second read to fully experience.
This book is really engaging to read, but being an adaptation of the second installment of the video game series, is not without the flaws Bowden did well to grow out of later in 'The Secret Crusade' - a book i read recently and thoroughly enjoyed.
Renaissance's exploration of Ezio Auditore, a young Florentine in the 1400s, who finds out his ancestry lies within a lineage of the Assassin's Order when his family are framed and hung for treason. We join Ezio on his journey to uncover those behind it and discover his much bigger place in the ongoing Assassin and Templar war.
Bowden did a great job capturing the majority of the elements Ubisoft Montreal set out with the Assassins Creed 2 video game, but I can't help feel that he wasn't granted much creative freedom for this installment. Each plot point is given little embellishment and breathing space before we jump to the next point, often leaving the pace of the book feeling a break-neck speed.
Perhaps this is simply bias in that if I hadn't played the video game numerous times I wouldn't be so blind to the finer details, and this book covers such a large narrative that it'd take a second read to fully experience.
lucarufi's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
xkimmyx's review
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
My fav book so far out of the series. It shows how Ezio starts his journey and becomes an Assassin.
jbi3198's review
adventurous
emotional
informative
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.5
burruitcha's review against another edition
5.0
I’ve played this series since childhood and was pleased to find out that AC, like so many other games from growing up, were also books! I quickly picked up the whole series and am not disappointed.
Whether you played the games, or didn’t, this is a fantastic story. It’s great to have backstory on many beloved protagonist from the game series.
Whether you played the games, or didn’t, this is a fantastic story. It’s great to have backstory on many beloved protagonist from the game series.
vera_michele's review against another edition
4.0
4/5 Stars
I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I went into this knowing absolutely nothing about the game or the books. I was gifted the first book by a friend when she was moving across the country and she had just given me a random box of books. I just was not expecting to enjoy this.
However, I was invested in what was going on and Ezio's character development. I really enjoyed the audiobook and seeing characters that are real people in real life like Da Vinci and Machiavelli. I really enjoyed the background and just the plot that happened.
I will say, there were so many characters and quite a few places they went to that it was hard to keep up at times. However, when I did kind of catch up and know where we were, it was fun and intriguing.
So yeah, I will continue with this series because I'm interested to see how this continues. Also, I will probably never play the game. Interesting story, but just not for me.
I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I went into this knowing absolutely nothing about the game or the books. I was gifted the first book by a friend when she was moving across the country and she had just given me a random box of books. I just was not expecting to enjoy this.
However, I was invested in what was going on and Ezio's character development. I really enjoyed the audiobook and seeing characters that are real people in real life like Da Vinci and Machiavelli. I really enjoyed the background and just the plot that happened.
I will say, there were so many characters and quite a few places they went to that it was hard to keep up at times. However, when I did kind of catch up and know where we were, it was fun and intriguing.
So yeah, I will continue with this series because I'm interested to see how this continues. Also, I will probably never play the game. Interesting story, but just not for me.