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Book Review: Assassin’s Creed: Heresy by Christie Golden (Dueling Reviews)

Two for the price of one, today: Aaron Fletcher and I both reviewed Assassin’s Creed: Heresy. Read on to see what we thought!


Assassin’s Creed: Heresy by Christie Golden

Ubisoft Publishing, 2016

ISBN:  978-1-945-21002-0

Available:  Hardback, paperback, ebook (Kindle, Nook)

Review #1

Assassin’s Creed: Heresy is set in the universe of the Assassin’s Creed  action-adventure video game franchise produced by Ubisoft, and has been published recently, in order to take advantage of the soon-to-be-released Assassin’s Creed movie (note, this story is not a novelization of the movie but an original novel). The game takes advantage of real-world historical events and individuals, and sets up two opposing organizations, the Assassins and the Templars, who influence these events and people, and attempt to collect unique objects called Pieces of Eden. The Assassins fight for peace with free will, and the Templars fight with peace with control. I haven’t played the game, and read the book without knowing this, but it is my understanding that typically, players see what’s going on from the Assassins’ point of view.

Assassin’s Creed: Heresy is written from a Templar’s point of view. The Templars are able to send a person back in time to view history through an ancestor’s eyes. Simon Hathaway, the new head of Abstergo Industries’ historical research division and a recent initiate into the Templars’ inner circle, has an ancestor who knew Joan of Arc, who was the last person to wield the legendary sword Piece of Eden 25. When he requests time to show that a wider exploration of the time period will be more successful than the current approach, he is given one week to learn what happened to the lost sword and how to reactivate it.

This is where the book gets really interesting– Simon travels back to observe his ancestor’s interactions with Joan, and we get to experience his interactions with her, and the events around her.We get the impressions of both Simon’s ancestor, a French peasant boy who was her steadfast friend, and Simon the Templar historian, which means we get background and commentary while also immersed in the interactions with historical characters and events in the life of Joan of Arc. Christie Golden manages this without ever making it seem intrusive, and it’s like getting history without the slow parts. The present-day storyline wasn’t terribly interesting– the characters seemed flat, and I felt like I had been dropped into the middle of an ongoing tangle of intrigues that weren’t well-explained– but Golden’s handling of the historical sequences was very well done.  Despite having never played the game, I got into the book. With a little more background, this could have worked well as a stand alone novel  for a wider variety of readers. Assassin’s Creed: The Essential Guide (not reviewed here) was released at the same time as this book, and together, I am sure they make for a much more complete experience. With or without the additional background, though, both new and old fans and players of  Assassin’s Creed should enjoy this book. Recommended.

Contains: violence

Reviewed by Kirsten Kowalewski

 

Review #2

Joan of Arc is rumored to have possessed a sword that made her invincible: one of the legendary Swords of Eden, Piece of Eden 25.  Imbued with unique properties, little is known of its history.  Templars and Assassins alike have owned it over time, as they fought over control of mankind.  Now it is safely ensconced in the office of Alan Rikkin, CEO of Abstergo Industries, but its incredible powers of invincibility no longer function. Somehow, before Rikkin acquired it, it was damaged, and now it is just a sword.  Rikkin wants to make it whole again, for the Templars.

Simon Hathaway, the new head of Abstergo Industries’ historical research division, is determined to prove to his boss that his new approach is better than past techniques.  The Templars have a technique available that allows them to travel back in history at different points in the life of one of their ancestors, in order to track the location of Pieces of Eden. Instead of fast-forwarding through the life of Joan of Arc to the historically important parts, Simon will live alongside her as much as possible to get the maximum experience he can.  He follows Joan and finds out how she got the sword, what happened to it, and how to get it working again.  For history, for the Templars, and for mankind.

This is a very enjoyable story: a fun action-adventure with a historical setting that tied in perfectly with the video game franchise.  The plot and pacing were fast and kept me turning pages.  The descriptions were well done. I felt like I was right there with the characters! Christie Golden gives readers enough to keep them in the world, but still guessing what will happen next.  The suspense built very well, and I especially liked the ending.  I was pulled in from the first page and did not emerge until the last word.   I look forward to reading more from this series and this author.  I have not read any of this series or this author’s work in the past, though I have played a few of the video games this was based on. Highly recommended.

 Reviewed By:  Aaron Fletcher

 


 

Posted on December 17, 2016 by , Reply

Book Review: The Trials of Apollo: The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan

The Trials of Apollo: The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan

Disney-Hyperion, 2016

ISBN-13: 978-1484732748

Available: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition, Audible

 

The Hidden Oracle is the first book in a new series in the world of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Trials of Apollo. This book takes place six months after the war with Gaea and the giants’ army, at which time Apollo was cast out from Olympus by Zeus. Now Apollo finds himself living a mortal life as a sixteen year old boy, indentured to Meg, a cranky demigod with a bad temper, hidden past, and voracious appetite. Apollo has many lessons to learn. Always vain about his appearance, now he faces himself in the mirror as a homely teenager with acne. Used to changing the world to suit himself, he must now find a way to fit in to the world as it is, and learn the worth of others. Arrogant about his supernatural powers, it’s quite a comedown to him when things no longer come as easily.

The Hidden Oracle is told only from the point of view of Apollo, and it’s an unusual point of view to find in a children’s or YA book, because Apollo has had the experiences of an ageless adult, in an adult body, but with the temperament and selfishness of a teenager. While he’s stuck in the body of an actual teenage human, his view is complicated by this combination of life experience, temperament, and the unfamiliar physical limitations of being mortal. When he’s wounded, for instance, his son, Will, acts as his healer… but physically, Will is nearly the same age, and has more emotional maturity. Apollo is matter-of-fact about things that can often be hot buttons in children’s books, like his regrets about his love relationships with Daphne and Hyacinthus, and his description of Will’s and Nico’s relationship (their bantering is a high point in the book). As the book advances we see Apollo the god begin to mature and connect emotionally with others as he learns his limits and how far he can push himself. As with any self-absorbed teenager, he can be incredibly irritating, but it’s worth it to see his self-reflection and changing attitudes.

The plot follows the arrival of Apollo and Meg at Camp Half-Blood with a storyline about communications being cut off with the outside world, the camp’s oracle deserted, and campers wandering into the woods never to be seen again. Apollo and Meg accidentally get lost in the Labyrinth during a camp exercise and discover that the physical location of Oracle of Delphi has been taken over by the monster Python, working with a mysterious character named the Beast. The Beast is attempting to take over all the oracles and destroy them. Meg has had some frightening experiences with him in the past: he’s responsible for the death of her father, and she will do anything to avoid him.

On returning to camp, they find that two of Apollo’s children wander off into the woods. Apollo and Meg go after them, battling giant ants with both weapons and musical talent, and answering marketing surveys from geyser gods (one of the funniest parts of the book) They finally find the missing campers and, despite the destruction of the other oracles, are able to discover a prophecy that can send them on a quest.  A terrifying standoff with the Beast reveals Meg is much more vulnerable than she looks, and leaves a fracture in the relationship between Meg and Apollo… and there’s still a battle to be fought for Camp Half-Blood. It’s quite a lot to pack into 376 pages, and the story rockets along.

The Hidden Oracle is worth reading more than once– there is a lot of character development that takes place, and it’s easy to miss if you get caught up in the action. This really isn’t a book intended for the same age group that read the original Percy Jackson books, though, or even the Heroes of Olympus books, which are really targeted at teens and, while they are darker, have a much more YA soap-operaish feel. Because of its more adult themes on relationships, trauma, and abuse, and the frequently adult perspective of the narrator, The Hidden Oracle seems intended for more mature readers. I recommend reading the previous two series, though, particularly Heroes of Olympus, because that’s where the events of the story begin, as well as Nico’s and Will’s relationship, and there are references to characters and events from earlier books. If you are a fan of Riordan’s work going all the way back, this is a great addition to his Greek mythology series, and more complex than his other books. He is writing a series grounded in Norse mythology concurrently, and I much prefer this. I look forward to seeing where Riordan takes the story of Apollo from here. The second book in the series, The Dark Prophecy, will be released in May 2017, and will undoubtedly answer some of the questions raised in the first book while introducing new ones. Highly recommended for YA and “new adult” readers, for middle and high school libraries, and for Rick Riordan fans.

 


Posted on December 3, 2016 by , Reply

Book Review: B.P.R.D Hell on Earth volume 14: The Exorcist

B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth Volume 14: The Exorcist  by Mike Mignola, Cameron Stewart, Chris Roberson, and Mike Norton

Dark Horse, 2016

ISBN: 9781506700113

Available: Trade paperback, Kindle edition, comiXology ebook

 

B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth Volume 14: The Exorcist collects B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth: Exorcism #1–#2 and B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth #140–#142.

B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth: Exorcism was a 2 issue mini-series published from June to July 2012. The plot focuses on field agent Ashley Strode as she investigates a series of exorcisms in a rural Indiana town. After a failed exorcism, and angering the priest in control of the ritual, Agent Strode is deployed to a Mexican village after a demon commands her to release one of its brethren, or lose the soul of a child. Strode attempts to purge a demon from an aged, retired, exorcist, using a deadly rite that sends both of them into a spiritual hell.

B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth: The Exorcist continues Agent Strode’s career. Strode is searching for missing children in a town called Yamsay, a small mining town that has fallen on hard times. She discovers the reason for the missing children in the abandoned, dilapidated house of the town’s founder, Eustice Coupland. His daughter, long deceased, tells Strode the story of her father’s secrets, and what happened to the missing children of Yamsay. What she doesn’t reveal is more sinister and dangerous than Agent Strode could ever imagine.

I was really impressed with the storytelling in this volume, especially when it comes to Agent Strode’s character development: she begins as a freshly minted rookie in the first story arc, and becomes a confident and capable field agent in the second. In The Exorcism storyline, she puts herself, and others, in danger: she can’t even bring herself to hand the priest the holy water, and then directly addresses the demon, who may or may not be lying to her. Her following interaction with the retired exorcist is what helps form her into the agent she becomes later. He warns her that she needs to be alert and trust in her abilities, especially when they enter the spiritual realm. In the second storyline, she’s working independently in Yamsay, and holds her own very well. I’m finding that I want to read more about her.

The book is also visually appealing. The demons, in particular, are unique and well-rendered. At the end of this volume is an artist’s sketchbook with notes about the creation of Ashely Strode, the demons, and more. This is a nice addition that allows you to see the creative energy that went into these storylines. Recommended.

Contains: some blood

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker



Posted on November 30, 2016 by , Reply
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