Age of Assassins by RJ Barker
I had a great time reading this book. At first I was reluctant to accept that a master assassin would ever choose someone with a physical disability as their apprentice but Merela and Girton Club Foot are a different pair and assassins in this world are not the black clothed, non speaking, raised from birth Spartan variety that is so common in a lot of fantasy. The story and the characters quickly intrigued me and once I began reading it was tough to wrench myself from the world Barker has created.
The writing style is fantastic and I loved the way the use of the assassins skills was expressed in beautiful poetic phrasing like Seventeenth Iteration – The Drunk’s Reversal. It sounds like a dancing manoeuvre, gives the promises of more techniques to come and communicates a moment of action perfectly. Another ability that I loved was The-Whisper-that-flies-to-the the ear, a way of speaking to someone without being heard by others and there are dozens of these talents that we get to see at work. Many of them seemed to have been learned as a consequence of training rather than a deliberate focused studying, with their uses coming unconsciously and flowing with instinct over any rigid or forced system. It makes me wonder what else Girton has up his sleeve that he doesn’t know about or what he would choose to learn himself given the opportunity of practicing a different style of killing.
Another change of pace is that this pair have been tasked with stopping a killing and so must use their skills to look as harmless as possible to maintain their disguise. Girton is strong and disciplined enough that he does not whine when things don’t go his way but uses every moment as an opportunity for learning and advancement in his own trade. It’s an admirable trait and makes him an enjoyable character to read and he succeeds in flying under the radar when others would be revealed by their pride or loss of face.
The plot and the politics are interesting and fulfilled what I hoped for but also left me wanting more and so...........look let's cut the crap. You should buy this book now. I’ve got the Blood of Assassins on the way and I cannot wait to get started.
9/10
