Genre: Historical fiction
Series: Standalone
Page Count: 480
Publication Year: 2020
Publisher: Penguin
Special Notes: I received an early copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Summary: A man seeks treasure and land, so, like any sensible person, he goes to a foreign country to take others’ possessions.
I have not played this Assassin’s Creed game but I have played three of the earlier ones, so I am familiar with the basic lore.
The story is simple: Geirmund is dissatisfied with his life as a second son and joins the raiders who’ve set their sights on conquering England. He forms a band of warriors and together they travel all over the foreign terrain in search of silver, land, and battles.
One thing I really like is that the slow pace didn’t bore me. Twenty percent passes before they even reach England and I still enjoyed it. The author’s very good at making a nothingburger plot quite engaging.
Since the plot is straightforward, the problems have nowhere to hide. It’s missing depth, meaning and those extra bits that transform it from a sequence of events, to a lush, full story. It’s one quest in the grand scheme and instead of standing strong on its own, it highlights the fact that all the important action and information is unfolding elsewhere. That’s not to say nothing happens; plenty of action plays across the pages. But because this is an Assassin’s Creed inspired book, I think it’s the wrong type of action.
I know the games have changed a lot since I played them, but what made them cool was the sneaking, climbing, stabbing, intriguing and sense of camaraderie. I saw Assassin’s Creed in this book’s title and immediately had those expectations, which were subsequently assassinated from a haystack (that’s a game reference).
THIS NEXT PARAGRAPH IS A SPOILER BUT ONE YOU SHOULD KNOW PRIOR TO READING THIS BOOK
The Assassins aren’t really in this book. The protagonist of the game does make a few cameos, as well as other characters and locations, but I thought Geirmund would become an Assassin and he doesn’t. He isn’t even aware of their existence. If you don’t capitalize on the biggest aspect of a franchise, why bother? Maybe the author was restricted on what he could write, but if he was, why would they tell him to ignore the best part? It’s such a missed opportunity.
What about the rest of it?
Geirmund is what you’d imagine a Viking protagonist to be. He’s a bit reckless and a battle lover, but with a strong sense of honor that prevents him from being too crazy. He doesn’t needlessly kill and he looks out for his gang. And yet he lacks that spark of individuality and memorability that is vital in main characters. He does his part but I’m sure he could’ve been better.
Since his gang is constantly traveling, we’re not given much time to get to know them and Geirmund even comments that he doesn’t really know some of them. But what is shown is precisely what I expected. They’re warriors, they’re loyal, they go scouting, they dream of Valhalla and they love a good meal. However, it’s great when expectations are expertly subverted. I wish that were the case here. As it stands, I feel slightly bad about criticizing such wonderful displays of loyalty.
I’ve previously talked about simplistic prose and how words like “was,” “had” and “would have” are stagnant and can be cut to create better sentences. I’ve also mentioned that simple prose can still make a good reading experience. This is one of those cases. There’s nothing outwardly special in how this story is told and yet it didn’t lose my attention. The description is decent too.
There isn’t much dialogue, but when they do talk it doesn’t sound modern, which I like.
Not every historical fiction book needs a map, but if the characters are always traveling and giving direction, as they are in this book, there should be a map.
Another thing: several Norse words are included. I like that the author doesn’t stop the story to explain them, because obviously the characters know the words. But then it’s kinda like you’re supposed to already know what these words mean or take the time to research them. Neither of those apply to me, so I appreciate that I could mostly infer their meaning.
As this is an “Assassin’s Creed” book, you may be wondering if you have to play the game to understand it. I’m sure you’d get more out of it if you’d seen the characters, locations and knew the big plot, but it’s still possible to follow it without that context. Actually, if you’ve seen the tv show The Last Kingdom, you’d have a lot of fun with this. I love that show and I recognized several things in here because I’d heard it there first.
I’m not mad at what I read; I’m disappointed that it is so far from what Assassin’s Creed used to be. If you want a Viking story, this isn’t a bad choice. But The Last Kingdom is better.
Check my rating here.
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