The Assassin and the Desert

Better than the last one, for sure. The character is actually beginning to grow. I think this story would have been better combined with the last novella, mostly because there was no personal growth in the previous book. I enjoyed watching the main character grow, and the twist at the end was no what I was expecting. Interesting read and a vast improvement on my view of the series as a whole.

Better than the last one, for sure. The character is actually beginning to grow. I think this story would have been better combined with the last novella, mostly because there was no personal growth in the previous book. I enjoyed watching the main character grow, and the twist at the end was no what I was expecting. Interesting read and a vast improvement on my view of the series as a whole.

This was the second novella in the Throne of Glass series; there are four novellas that take place before the Throne of Glass novel and this is the second of those. I really enjoyed this novella even more than the first one; it gives the reader a good look into how Celaena became who she ends up being in the Throne of Glass novel.

Celaena is in trouble following the events of the The Assasin in the Pirate Lord, where she lost her master a ton of money because of all of the slaves that she freed. As part of her punishment she is sent to a well known assassin school in the desert. She is supposed to get a certificate of training from the head master there; instead she gets pulled into politics between the assassin school and the local show more nobility.

This was a very well done novella. Watching as Celaena learns and trains with the assassins is interesting and intriguing. The whole time you are trying to unravel the mystery behind the headmaster. The tension as to whether or not Celaena will get what she needs from him really propels the story forward.

The plot is well done and has some excellent twists and turns. This is the first story where we get to see a good picture of Celanae’s loyalty to those around her and also get a sense of her determination to succeed. I felt like this story gave us a better glimpse as to who Celanae will become in future stories (and in the Throne of Glass novel).

There is a tiny bit of romance, but it is definitely not the focus of the story. There are some truly awesome action scenes and getting to watch Celanae in action is fabulous. I also really enjoyed the scenes where she trained with the Headmaster.

Overall I really enjoyed this novella. It takes us further along Celaena’s path to how she got to where she was in Throne of Glass, both as a person and as a journey. There is some great action, some wonderful characters, and a wonderful world. Highly recommended to fantasy fans, as is the first novel in this series Throne of Glass. show less

I really like these prequel novellas by Sarah Maas. They are an introduction to her series "Throne of Glass" which I am getting more and more eager to read. I have to read all four of these novellas first. I suggest other potential readers to the same. For $4 readers can buy all four of these charming, exciting, fully developed stories. In this second installment, "The Assassin and the Desert", Celaena is being punished for what she did in the first installment. The King of the Assassins, (essentially Celaena's owner) sends her to the Red Desert to train with the Mute Master and his group of desert assassins. She makes a friend quickly, another girl named Ansel. I loved seeing this friendship develop. I especially loved the different show more things that Celaena learned in the desert under the Mute Master. I think she learned for different lessons that Arobynn, the King of the Assassin's ever imagined. I enjoyed the scene with the horses very much. Its so hard to write a review when you don't want to spoil a single surprise. I will say that this adds very much to the overall story of Celaena and how she comes to be where she is at the beginning of "Throne of Glass". I know not a lot of these novellas and prequels are necessary but I just truly think these are. Plus they are so darn fun to read. Also I was honestly shocked by the twist in this story. Maas hit me out of nowhere with the ending of this one. show less

This episode takes place a couple of months after Celaena's adventures with the Pirate Lord. She needs to be trained by the Master and get a letter of recommendation from him before returning home. When she arrives, she is befriended by a young woman named Ansel who has been with the Silent Assassins since she was thirteen. Ansel becomes the first friend she has ever made. The local lord - Berick - wants to curry favor with the king of Adarlan by destroying the Silent Assassins and sending him the Mute Master's head. The assassin's have been able to fend off the previous attacks but are always waiting for the next one. Ansel is sent to Lord Berick as an intermediary and brings Celaena along but doesn't let her attend the meeting. Ansel show more shares a secret about her past when they are on the way back home. Later the two girls fight and Celaena is drugged and sent away. This story has friendship, betrayal, and courage and some tough decisions for Celaena to make. show less

4/5 stars
You can find all my reviews here

The Assassin and the Desert is the novella about Celaena training with the silent assassins in the heat of summer, her punishment for disobeying Arobynn.
In this one I really loved the addition of Ansel and I believe there is an opportunity to come back to her later. And if they do, I genuinely cannot wait. The master and his son were both characters that I like and wouldn’t mind seeing again as well.

As all the others have been it was well written and interesting. Sarah J. Maas really has a talent and has become one of my favorite authors in the last few weeks.

1st read: December 2019
2nd read: September 2023

Celaena's arrogance and immaturity are still obnoxious, but she's improving somewhat. I like some of the other characters in this novella and I would have liked to read some of their perspectives.