The Assassin's Blade

The Throne of Glass Novellas

By: Sarah J. Maas

Narrated by: Elizabeth Evans

Length: 12 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

Bloomsbury presents The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas, read by Elizabeth Evans.

The twist of a knife. The birth of a legend.

Step into the world of the #1 bestselling Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas with this collection of prequel novellas.

Celaena Sardothien is her kingdom’s most feared assassin. Though she works for the powerful Assassin’s Guild and its scheming master, Arobynn Hamel, she yields to no one and trusts only her fellow killer-for-hire, Sam. But when Arobynn dispatches her on missions that take her from remote islands to hostile deserts, Celaena finds herself acting independently of his wishes and questioning her own allegiance.

If she hopes to escape Arobynn’s clutches, Celaena will have to put her faith in her wits and her blade...knowing that if she fails, she’ll lose not just a chance at freedom but her life.

A prequel to the New York Times bestselling Throne of Glass, this collection of five novellas explores the history of this cunning assassin and her enthralling—and deadly—world.

Included in this volume:

The Assassin and the Pirate Lord

The Assassin and the Healer

The Assassin and the Desert

The Assassin and the Underworld

The Assassin and the Empire

©2014 Sarah J. Maas (P)2021 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Critic reviews

"Fans and libraries will delight in having this gorgeous edition of the interconnected stories. Action-packed and full of insight into Celaena’s character.... What a ride!" (Booklist)

Loved it!

This book was very satisfying. 😁 You get all of Caelena's back stories that were hinted at in the Throne of Glass series. I'm wondering if it would have been better to read this book first before reading the series. IDK. Depends. But,fyi, reading this one first will not ruin the series at all. It will just give you early insight.

Don’t skip this novella series book!

Ugh I really liked this book. Maaaaan, this is a prequel so I KNEW to expect heartache but I woke up this morning still sad about it so you know it’s a good book. I was truly surprised by this one. The TOG book series is easily becoming one of my top favs now.
Came back to add: I’m reading these in publishing order and I HIGHLY recommend reading this third in the series. It made a huge impact for me at least. Now on to Heir of Fire!

So many emotions!

I was pulled into this story from the very first sentence. The characters and details are so well written. I was on a rollercoaster of emotion the whole time. Can't wait to read the rest of the series.

great narration!

The Beginning- Her Background

Alright, so this is a collection of five novellas set before Throne of Glass (TOG). All five feature Celaena Sardothien in different adventures. The novellas add to the story and help you better understand why Celaena behaved the way she did when the events of TOG start. While these are technically a prequel, I recommend reading/listening to this book after COM or HOF. Why? Simple, as stand alones, it can be difficult to capture your attention and may stop you from continuing the story. All of these stories are things Celaena references in the first three books, so for me, that added in my appreciation for them. Yes, you know how many of these stories end, but, it’s still worth reading to get the full story. So read it/listen first or later, but for sure before QOS. I choose to listen after HOF every time because having this fresh in my mind adds to the stories to come in the next books.

Amy

This is such a good story and the narrator did a fantastic job I love this character so much she is so cool! Going to have to do a re-listen of all of Her books in the order that they were released.

Great background to enhance the later books

I listened to this book between Heir of Fire and Queen of Shadows and it was the perfect time to be introduced to a bunch of characters who take on a larger role during QoS, and also helps land that Emotional punch after the emotional ride of HoF.

Sad + spoiler

Why Do we have to fall in love with him just to make him die

Excellent

I’m not sure why it took me this long to get to this book! I can’t wait to dive into the next one!

I wish I would have read this first.

I’ve read a couple books into this series already and I don’t know why I didn’t start with this one. If I could go back, I would have read it first.

Loved It!

Loved every minute of this book. It is in my revolving books to re-read between new books.