A Throne of Glass Novella (Throne of Glass series Book 1)

I really enjoyed the characters in this novella. It was refreshing to have a fresh set of characters to learn about. I loved Ansel and the dynamic she plays with Celaena. It’s interesting to see the difference in the two assassins’ and learn about how Ansel grew up. I also loved the Mute Master. He is kinder than Arrobyn Hamel and treats his assassins better than Arrobyn ever would. I liked that the Silent Assassins were more of a brotherhood and worked together.

The change of setting was refreshing also. Instead of being in a town Celaene finds herself in the middle of the Red Desert with no one else but the Silent Assassins around for miles. I feel that the remote setting gives Celaena a chance to think for a while and better her skills.

THE ASSASSIN AND THE DESERT (YA novella #2) by Sarah J Maas

The second novella The Assassin and the Desert(Mar 30, 2012) in the Throne of Glass series finds 17year old Celaena Sardothien-Adarlan's greatest assassin severely punished and sent to train with the Silent Assassins in the Red Desert. For defying the King of the Assassins, Celaena is ordered to earn the trust and respect of the Mute Master before returning to Adarlan. But her hopes of an audience with the Mute Master soon vanish when she is forced to undergo the training regimen of the other Silent Assassins. When Celaena catches the eye of the Master's son, she is suddenly saddened by the memory of her best friend Sam. Not knowing what ever happened to Sam eats away at Celaen's conscience.

Celaena finds a friend and roommate in Ansel. A young woman with a few secrets of her own, Ansel helps guide Celaena on their daily duties and introduces Celaena to some of the others.

Lord Berik is the cruel and abusive ruler of Xandria. Berik's men routinely attack the hall of the Silent Assassin, but following the latest attack, Ansel is ordered to seek out the Lord to discuss a form of cease-fire. But Ansel has other plans that do not include a friendly form of peace. When Celaena finds herself drugged and abandoned in the Red Desert, she knows that Ansel's true intentions were never to protect the Master, but to bring his head to the Lord. Betrayal and death at the hand of a friend, force Celaena to make some decisions that could affect her career as an Assassin.

The Assassin and the Desert continues to tell the story of Celaena as she traverses the pitfalls and traps in her life as an assassin. Building on the premise of her upcoming storyline, Sarah J Maas once again introduces a cast of characters that we will assuredly meet in the new YA release of Throne of Glass.

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This is the second of four novellas that serve as prequels to Throne of Glass. I will quickly add that I maintain my suggestion to read the full novel first and then these prequels. Not that anything is given away but the allure of Celaena's mysterious past is one of my favorite elements of the full novel. Reading these after is helping me see why she acts the way she does later on but I am glad to not have known these details at the time.

Another reason why I would strongly suggest the reading of the full novel first is because we are seeing a completely different side of Celaena in these novellas. We all know that Celaena is in the prison of the salt mines at the start of Glass of Throne. Before this she was a bit... shall I say... stuck up and cocky? Yep that about sums it up. Her attitude is not bothering me as much because I know how Celaena will be once she gets knocked down a peg or two. But if I had not read the full novel first I am unsure if I would really like Celaena in these. Although we do still get to see how noble she is in her beliefs and her hatred toward slavery so we do see a glimpse of the real Celaena behind the walls she puts up around herself.

The Assassin and the Desert picks up very shortly after The Assassin and the Pirate Lord. We find Celaena being punished for her act of treason against her master, Arobynn Hamel. In the main novel we do learn a bit about Arobynn and get the idea that he was not a kind man. Well... if there were any questions about that then this novella sure helped dispose of the doubts. What a complete jerk.

There is no Sam in this novella which was a bit sad, I was hoping to see more of him and Celaena. She has been sent by Arobynn to the red desert to train with the Silent Assassins. The story is fast paced and as always full of adventure and betrayal.

Another quick fun read!

Christine
Rainy Day Reads
[...]

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: Celaena trains with another group of assassin's and learns a valuable lesson on friendship and patience.

Opening Sentence: There was nothing left in the world except sand and wind.

The Review:

Celaena Sardothien has been sent to train in the Red Desert with the Mute Master of the Silent Assassins as punishment for the events that happened in The Assassin and the Pirate Lord. She must train with the Master and come back with a letter of recommendation before she will be allowed back at the Assassin's Keep.

Celaena learns a lesson of life and the value of friendship in this short novella. The potential for supernatural grows in this series with evil witches and crazy, horse sized spiders that bargain for your soul or youth. As these are only discussed and not seen, I'm not too sure how heavily paranormal events will play in this series. This novella really sets up for many other stories that I am already wanting to read.

Overall, The Assassin and the Desert shows deeper character development for Celaena. She came off a little impersonal in the first novella but in this one I really felt for her plight, even if she is a little selfish and spoiled. I can't wait to see what adventure Celaena goes on next.

FTC Advisory: I purchased my own copy of The Assassin and the Desert. No goody bags, sponsorships, "material connections," or bribes were exchanged for my review.

I really enjoyed this prequel. It functions to move Celaena along the path to maturity and - maybe - a little bit of a temperance of her selfishness and smugness. Ok, well her selfishness anyway.

It also explains some things the reader may find out about in the actual novels.

As I read the novels first, I fell in love with Celaena and her world, so despite the fact that others may not like her as a person in some of the novellas, I see he development of a character I have already grown to love.

She's sent away after betraying the King of Assassins by reuining his deal with the Pirate Lord. She was beaten then forced to join the silent assassins in the red desert. She's miserable and slightly broken. She has a month to get a letter of approval but there's so much more going on here than she was expecting.

She found her first best friend. She's never known what having a friend meant but she's so grateful to have found someone now. There is a boy who shows interest in her but her heart isn't in it because all she can keep thinking about is the boy back home. The boy who had to watch her get beaten to pulp. Sam.

She is betrayed and forced to choose saving herself or saving the silent assassins.

I really didn't know if I'd like this one or not because there was no Sam. (Yes, I'm a sucker for the romance, sue me) I am surprised to say I really loved this without him in it because it's when she realized how she truly felt about him. What's that saying, distance makes the heart grow fonder or something? Totally true. Once she realized how she felt I couldn't wait for her to get back home and see what happened. Again, another surprise, I wasn't actually all that eager for her to leave. Looking back at these novellas, I think this may just be my favorite one.

This was the second novella in the Throne of Glass series. In this story, we learn more about how Calaena came to be the great assassin she is today. We learn about how she goes to the Red Dessert to train with the Silent Assassin and the master. She befriends a sweet girl and there was a slight dusting of romance (not even sure you could really call it that.)

There was a twist at the end, but I had figured it out earlier so it came as no surprise. The novella was definitely interesting enough and I look forward to reading the third one!

I have re-read all of the assassin novellas recently, preparing myself for the release of Crown of Midnight. This novella was my favorite of the four last year, and my feelings have not changed. All of the novellas provide details that complement the world of Erilea, and the information presented in the novellas is mentioned with greater frequency in Crown of Midnight. All four novellas are worth reading, but The Assassin and the Desert was my favorite.

The various areas of Erilea make Throne of Glass intriguing, and it is fun to watch Celaena traverse and adapt to a new place. This novella captures the awesome world of Erilea while telling a compelling story, and I truly did enjoy Celaenas time with the silent assassins. I am eager to see Celaena fight the spider one day, or run into her old friend Ansel.

Celeana is sent to the silent assasins in the desert to train with the master. She makes a real girlfriend and catches the attention of a young man. In the end her humanity is tested as well as the bonds she has made.

These books are so addicting and well written. You love the characters, especially Celaena (she's the assassin.)
I love that Celaena is personable, pretty, young, and clever, which is not normally how I would think of an assassin. I love the story plots, and overall this series is just amazing. I love it and can't wait for more books to come out.

This is the second novella in the Throne of Glass novella series, but it was the first I came across, and it was what hooked me on the series. It remains my favorite of the ones I've read so far. The characters are well-developed and both believable and intriguing, and the plot moves quickly and satisfyingly.

I always read book reviews before selecting a book and find them very helpful. I've never written a review so I thought I would try to be helful too : ) I love books filled w/ action and a strong, tough, female. However, I am so sick of the "awkward, shy, not the prettiest, why would this guy pick me?" heroine. I love the character in the Throne of Glass series. She is beautiful, tough, funny, strong, empathetic, moral, and likes to have fun! Finally! I girly girl that's tough and can have fun!! Celaena is tied w/ the girl from the hunger games for my favorite character in a book. I loved loved this series, and I'm looking forward to more!!!