I think it was a really interesting companion to the game. As someone who has never played but has looked up a decent amount of somewhat confusing information on it, this really helped explain a lot of the details of the AC world. I liked reading about it and I was rewarded by actually knowing what people were talking about when I watched a friend play "AC 2: Revelations".

This is Al'tair's story, pretty much from the beginning (when his father is an assassin and he has not yet been inducted into the order) to when he says goodbye to the Polos in "Revelations". Desmond is not in this book - the story focuses purely on his ancestor.

The events in the book are not always the same as those in the game, but I think that some artistic license is allowable, and there was a mix of "I like the book version better," and "I like the game version better", so really neither has the upper hand. If you love the AC world, I would suggest reading this. If you want to get into the AC world but are a poor college student who cannot afford the games, then go and see if your library has this book, because this is where things started. ( )

Was very interested to read this, as the original novelisation was cancelled after the Aga Khan expressed displeasure at the depiction of his Ismaili order:
http://darkush.blogspot.com.au/2007/10/why-even-care.html
Still tempted to get Barnes' collection of short stories, which I think includes a rewritten version of his Invisible Imam.

For a videogame adaptation, it started out really well. The retelling of the first game was surprisingly well-written, which made the rest of the novel, from the novelisation of the PSP game onwards, that much more disappointing. Bizarrely, this was released after Revelations (the game) came out, and yet the depiction of the events of an old Altair often contradicts the story in the game. I can only imagine he wrote his novel before the game's story was firmed up, but it then begs the question: why bother with the novel? ( )

This book was quite vanilla for me. The plot, based on the first main Assassin’s Creed game and the spin-off PSP game, stays true to the story, with dialogue copied word-for-word from the game scripts. The sequence of events differ, but only slightly, and it does not affect the overall delivery of the story.

Oliver Bowden’s writing is, at best, mediocre. It was an easy read, words seeming to flow very well, and sentences were never too complicated. However, Bowden never seems to elaborate too much on anything. Oftentimes, it was hard to picture places or scenes due to lack of detail.

One can safely assume that the book is written primarily for fans of the franchise. With additional background story on Altair’s childhood, it nicely fills in the gaps for pondering fans. While Bowden is not the most technical of writers, but I did find it a fun read, and would label it a decent adaptation of the first of Ubisoft’s famed series. ( )

Finally something that doesn't center around Ezio Auditore. Though I do love reading about Ezio's exploits, by the end of Brotherhood, I had tired of him somewhat. Being able to learn about Altaïr through Niccolo Polo's journal was exciting. It was refreshing to deal with new characters and plots. Many questions are answered about how the Codex came to be, why the Apple came into the possession of the assassin's, the Creed being brought eastward, and so on. Now I can finish the last installment centered around Ezio with renewed enthusiasm. It will be interesting to see how his last bout with the Templars plays out compared to that of his predecessor, Altaïr. ( )

Here we go then. This was, as I thought from the start, a preface, shall we say, to the new game and book coming out in November: Assassins Creed Revelations. It reads as the recounting of Altair's story by Niccolo Polo told to Maffeo Polo, his brother. It goes from Altair's experiences as a young child born into the order, his missions against the Templars (and the betrayal he faces in the wake of this), his return to the Order and his ascent as the Assassin Master. It also brings to light how the Piece of Eden, The Apple, was brought to the knowledge of the Assassins, how Altair learned its secrets and wrote the Assassin Codex, how the Codex was lost and how the Creed was brought to the east.

Another Assassin's Creed book knocked back and I am left feel at once satisfied and hungry for more. This books was a brilliant insight into the life of the greatest of Master Assassins. Released as a bit of a pre-buffer to Revelations, hinting at items called "keys" that, I can only assume, with feature as the main quest driver for the new game. The body of the book is, as I said, Niccolo Polo recording telling Altair's story to his brother Maffeo in his journals. In the prologue and the epilogue the reader is shown that these journals are being read by a Master assassin, later reveled to be Ezio Auditore whom is on his way to Constantinople in search of these scattered and hidden "keys", whatever they may be for.

It was exciting; each chapter left me wanting to turn to the next and learn more. Altair's story was woven so well, throwing up new twists when you felt sure that the bulk of his story was drawing to a close. As the final climax of the story built up I could not put it down: I had to finish it.
And not only was the storytelling engrossing, but the quality was much improved on Bowden's previous work. As always, some klunky writing was present, however the story felt like a whole. It felt like it had a solid beginning, a solid middle and a solid end, whereas Renaissance and Brotherhood did feel kind of like the end was rushed and tacked on as an after-thought. Not with Crusade; it was solid, steady, exciting, engrossing and satisfying while teasing you with enough information and tips about what might come, enticing you as to what the next instalment of AC might bring. I can't wait for Revelations now.

Very good read, if you're willing to overlook some slightly less-polished moments. ( )