K. A. Doore

Thana, novice assassin and daughter of the legendary Serpent of Ghadid, sees a chance to prove herself when she accepts her first contract. Her target, visiting diplomat Heru, holds the power to bind souls to his own purposes. Thana’s strategy seems solid until a new and frightening enemy appears and attacks Heru. Clearly, Thana doesn’t have all the pieces to the contract’s puzzle, and she isn’t the only one trying to kill her mark.

When Heru flees Ghadid for the Empire’s capital, show more Thana has no choice but to follow him across the sands even though Mo, a healer from Ghadid and Thana’s crush, complicates matters by tagging along with the target. But Heru’s enemies find him even on the sands and scatter the caravan, leaving Mo, Heru, and Thana alone and dependent on one another to survive. Thana learns there’s much more to this contract than she knew. Whether she fails or succeeds, the price will be high—for her, for Ghadid, and for the Empire.

I was charmed by the first book in this series, The Perfect Assassin, and this sequel does not disappoint. While Amastan makes an appearance, it is Thana who takes center stage here.
Young, determined to succeed, and eager to equal or even surpass her mother’s fame, Thana comes to life on the page. At every apparent obstacle to her goal, I found myself rooting for her.

Doore presented all her characters, even her villains, in ways that surprised me and made them feel more real. Mo and Heru each had their own arc and felt authentic, fully developed. At first, I didn’t like Heru, but that changed as I got deeper into the story. I especially loved seeing Thana and Mo connect in a sweet, romantic way and was glad for them both. Thana’s indecision over whether or not to tell the truth about who she was kept me biting my nails throughout, especially since Mo’s sincerity made her all the more vulnerable. Secrets between lovers are never wise, a lesson Thana learns the hard way.

There’s plenty of action to be had here. The Impossible Contract has its share of fight scenes with assassins escaping out windows and across rooftops, as did Perfect Assassin. But in Contract, we also get conflicts with nature and the threat of death in the wastes, not to mention wild guuli who haunt the sands in search of living bodies they can inhabit. Dark magic behind the bound, undead attackers pursue the characters throughout the book and in many settings. Not all dangers scream. Some whisper. Sometimes those are the scariest of all.

While Assassin’s setting was focused on the city of Ghadid, Contract’s plot unfurls while the characters are on the move. Scenes are vividly shown, whether in Ghadid’s platforms raised above the sands, the Empire’s lush capital city, or out on the sweltering and treacherous sands. Details make perfect sense in each context, like the sacredness of water, the shushing of wind-blown sand, the cultural differences between Ghadid and the capital. Descriptions of the caravan journey and camps along the way brought clear visuals to my mind. I could see and feel the rolling gait of the camels, smell both humans and animals in the group, taste the salty sweat of the travelers. Doore does a delightful job of making her readers long to see these places in real life. If there was a travel agent who could book a trip to Ghadid or the capital of the Empire, I’d take it in a heartbeat.

This is the second book in the Chronicles of Ghadid series. The Perfect Assassin came first; the third book, The Unconquered City, is due out in June of 2020. This is such a rich, detailed world that it doesn’t seem like fiction. Fantasy readers will easily lose themselves in the pages of The Impossible Contract and read long after they should be asleep. Ghadid, and its famous family, will linger long after the last page is turned. Most highly recommended. show less

Novice assassin Amastan is relieved to learn, after passing all his tests, that no new contracts are being issued. He’s not convinced he could really take a life and doubts his future with the secretive guild. That is, until the uncontracted killings start, and the bodies’ jaani are left unquieted to roam wild and murderous through the streets of Ghadid. Worst of all, the killer is taking out skilled members of the Basbowden family. Amastan’s own.

The drum council turns to the show more legendary Serpent of Ghadid for answers. She turns to Amastan, who found the first body. The murders must be solved and the killer found, or the Basbowdens will take the blame and be out of business for good. Season’s end approaches, and time is running out as Amastan puts his skills to the real test: find the killer or become the next victim.

I was charmed with this story from the start. Author K. A. Doore sets The Perfect Assassin in a desert world, where cities sit high above the sands on sturdy platforms. Every detail fits this setting: the sacred nature of water, pitiless heat, sand between one’s teeth, the harshness of the dry climate and the joy that comes at season’s end when storms roll in to refill the city’s aquifer. Caravans and merchants fill the backdrop, along with rooftop glasshouses, teahouses, date wine, men who cover their faces out of modesty, and so much more. Doore’s attention to detail in every setting brought the story to vivid life in my imagination, each tidbit so masterfully woven through the story that you hardly notice, except in appreciating the richness of the narrative.

This novel isn’t all about descriptions, though. There’s plenty of action to be had here. Rooftop chases, weapons play, poisons and antidotes, murders, and lethal, wild spirits who will possess the unwary kept me turning pages long after my bedtime. I could almost see the boards laid across the gaps between roofs to accommodate that mode of travel, as much as I could the bridges that connected one neighborhood platform to another. I could see Amastan and his cousins climbing the sides of the buildings and racing through the night in training and, eventually, in flight for their lives. The red “cloud” of the wild jaani, and the fear they evoked felt palpable to me, so much so that I am anxiously awaiting the second book in this trilogy.

But, of course, the main focus of the story is on Amastan. On the Basbowden family, where cousins are related by their training, if not their blood. On the hard choices made by both. Amastan and his friend Menna develop beautifully through the story’s arc, coming of age in an unforgiving and dangerous environment. Amastan goes in search of clues and instead finds a surprise in Yufit, a young male scribe from the murdered drum chief’s household. I found it sweet to read Yufit’s effect on Amastan—whose heart’s aflutter, his stomach in knots, his nerves on edge—which felt authentic to first love and budding romance. And they weren’t the only LGBT characters, all of whom were woven into the narrative in a completely normalized way. We need more fiction like this.

In Amastan’s reluctance to kill, and the internal dialogue that goes through his mind over the subject, I found an intriguing philosophical debate about the value of an assassin’s guild. In Ghadid, murder is outlawed. Contract killing, on the other hand, is sanctioned as long as certain customs are followed. The mark must have harmed Ghadid or its people in some way, i.e. stealing water. The death of the mark by assassin must be the lesser of evils. The assassin cannot be seen or identified by any witness. Amastan debates with himself the role of the Basbowden family, whether what they do is wrong, no matter what, or whether killing can be a kindness to the mark and/or their family in the long run or a salvation for the city and its residents. Such reasoning felt culturally appropriate in such an unforgiving environment as Ghadid’s. Amastan’s thoughts raised interesting questions on what is the best course of action when there are no good choices, and I found myself pondering his points long after I’d finished reading.

This is K. A. Doore’s debut novel and for me, The Perfect Assassin was a refreshing change in setting, style, plot, and characters. I can’t wait for more. The next book, The Impossible Contract, comes out in November; the third, The Unconquered City, is scheduled for release in June of 2020. Don’t miss out on this thrill ride! show less

When you're trying to convince me that a secret troop of assassins performing extrajudicial killings at the government's command without oversight is cool and societally necessary, your setting, tone, and characters need to project a certain level of grit and maturity just to enable the suspension of disbelief. A YA protagonist rookie assassin who is afraid of death is not going to do the job.

Rounded up from 4.5 because it deserves the five over the four

I discovered this book buried in recommendation lists for books with asexual characters and found it to be a promising fantasy after seeing the excellent reviews. I was not disappointed due to the amazing setting of an Islamic-inspired desert city where the religion and superstitions of the people, as well as the dependence and importance of water, is so deeply woven into the worldbuilding and magic system that this is easily one show more of the most underappreciated fantasies out there and honestly everyone should read it. I liked just about all of the characters and enjoyed the complexity of the plot and themes explored (though I found the mystery to be a bit weak). The main character has a crush and expectations in a relationship are discussed a few times, but sexuality, in general, is just as well woven into the world as the mythos and magic so while it is a part of the character's identity and part of the conflict of the story, it is not focused on any more than the many other arcs. show less