Court of Assassins by Philip C. Quaintrell
Blurb:
MYTH. LEGEND. NIGHTFALL HAS LONG BEEN RUMOURED TO BE NOTHING MORE THAN WHISPERS ON THE BREEZE.
IF ONLY IT WERE SO...
In those halls of darkness, where children are taken from the world and given to shadow and dust, Asher is destined for that same fate. He will become the myth. He will become the legend. He will become the whisper of Death itself.
That which he was is dead, forgotten. Now he is a blade in the dark, a weapon to be wielded by his masters. A killer.
Yet, despite all his training and years of spilling blood, there is a crack in Asher's conditioning. Something within him is broken, unbound even. A sliver of humanity has survived and dreams of freedom. Now, standing on a knife's edge, his mind threatens to unravel, taking him from the only path he has ever known and away from the clutches of Nightfall.
It has never been done. Exile is not a choice. It is a death sentence.
But there is another life that calls to him, a life roaming the wilds and protecting the innocent from the monsters which would prey upon them. Hunting monsters, however, is no easy task, especially when Asher himself is hunted by those who would drag him back to Nightfall. Back to the darkness.
Review:
“I’m the monster that eats the other monsters.”
**Spoiler alert**
Court of Assassins grabs you by the throat for a high-octane fantasy thriller complete with vengeful assassins on a deadly chase, monster hunting, and betrayals from all sides. This is an action-packed story that introduces us to a young but experienced Asher who is as vicious as he is efficient in killing his marks. When a unique target makes him rethink his life as an Arakesh, he is thrown into the life of a refugee as he works to evade and kill the court of assassins that have been sent to seek retribution for his betrayal of the ancient guild of Arakesh. He finds himself amongst a band of rangers who travel the countryside, slaying monsters to save the local populace and gain some coin.
Before proceeding, it is important to note that Quaintrell has been clear that he doesn’t have a strong preference for where a reader starts their journey in Verda. For me, The Ranger Archives is my entry into Verda. I have not yet read The Echoes Saga or A Time of Dragons. I generally know that Asher is one of the main characters of The Echoes Saga and that this is his “origin story.” That being said, Quaintrell does a fantastic job of keeping the tension pumping high throughout this novel, even though I am approaching it with a knowledge that Asher can’t die because he still has a 9-book series to work through at the end of this trilogy.
To begin with, I loved that Quaintrell started off this trilogy with Asher in Nightfall and on a mission for the Arakesh. In a note at the end of the book, Quaintrell mentions that he almost didn’t include Asher’s fateful encounter with the children of Dunwich. But I’m so glad that he included what he did. We viscerally experience how deadly and vicious Asher is as an Arakesh. Quaintrell doesn’t just tell us that he’s THE Arakesh. He illustrates his status to us with brutal details. And then, to witness Asher’s pivotal moment in Dunwich is so key to understanding why he would walk away from the only true family that he has ever known. He has to step back from and re-wire an entire life of programming. Without showing the reader enough, this transformation runs the risk as seeming rushed or unrealistic. But Quintrell does a fantastic job of selling the reader on why Asher has decided to renounce his role as an Arakesh.
Also, I would be remiss if I didn’t at least mention how cool the Arakesh are! The Nightseye elixir with the red blindfold is so freaking cool. I loved how Quaintrell walked the reader through the different, enhanced senses that the assassins were experiencing that allowed them to interpret the world around them. The addition of details such as the Father removing his eyes to fully embrace the darkness or the fact that Arakesh sleep in the light created a sense of realism that cemented the Arakesh as some of my favorite assassins I’ve ever read.
The epigraphs at the beginning of the chapters from The Night Codex and the Ranger Bestiary were fantastic, both for setting the initial dark tone for the Arakesh and for introducing us to the varied, monstrous inhabitants of Verda. I’m excited to continue to explore Verda and experience more monsters.
I also thought the betrayal by “Geron” was fantastic. I do tend to be someone who reads a book as it comes and isn’t trying to constantly guess what kind of twist the author is going to throw at me. I let the story flow over me like the rapids of a river. That being said, I really didn’t expect that the rangers of The Ranch were going to betray Asher and reveal themselves to be extortionists. Quaintrell does such a good job writing Geron’s character. The banter between him and Asher as Geron works on opening Asher up to develop a friendship was exceptionally believable and heartbreaking for Asher as the rug is ripped out from underneath his feet. He can’t trust anyone. Except maybe Hector.
The showdown at the end with Evric was epic and well executed. When I initially heard that the court of assassins was going to be composed of 4 different assassins, I was worried that the remainder of the book was going to feel formulaic as we saw Asher meet and defeat each of the assassins. And while, ultimately, that is what happened, Quaintrell did a great job handling that story progression while keeping it fresh and forcing the reader to stay on their toes.
Quaintrell has left a bunch of questions open which make me wicked excited to continue with this series. Why does Asher have this magical ring? Where did he get it from? Who is he really? Are the assassins of Nightfall really going to let him alone? What side is Nasta really on?
Overall, Court of Assassins was a fantastic, thrilling romp through Verda. There were a ton of awesome, interesting monsters and Asher is a freaking menace of an assassin. I can already feel the world of Verda sucking me in and refusing to let me go. I anticipate that this is the beginning of a long and heartbreaking sojourn in Verda. On to Blood and Coin!
