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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
BookClub: Me, Myself & I *
Month: September, 2024
Theme: Read a Book From a Favourite Author
* BookClub Me, Myself & I is just a "book club" where I pick up a prompt each month and I have to "force" myself to read a book that fits that prompt.
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Favourite character? Mr. Weatherall.
Synopsis:
The story begins a little bit before 1789, as Paris sees the darn of the French Revolution. The division between the rich and the poor are accentuated each year.
Arno and Élise, two young man and woman who have lost it all, are drawn into a centuries-old battle between the Assassins and the Templars.
Review:
First of all, I must comment once again how beautifully written and incorporated the historical events are with the fictional story. As always, it is done in such as seamlessly manner that it is not regarded as info-dumping. In this case, the incorporation of the French Revolution without making it the centre of the story but also without discard it as a side event that didn’t influence the story was amazing, truly well done and in congruence with the Assassin’s Creed series.
There is a lot of action, a lot of typical things that one would love in an Assassin’s Creed book, perfectly balanced with romance and political intrigue.
Before I start my reviewing of the characters, we have to remember, when criticising, that the book is written from a particular perspective – it’s not only first person POV, but it’s also a journal entry. It gives a partial, highly biased perspective and description of events.
Élise was both a character that I admire and that annoys me: she’s an entitled brat, tempestuous, often unaware of the consequences of her actions and, when she is aware, she’s just reckless and doesn’t particularly care. There’s often a lack of understanding or empathy, blended with a bit of arrogance from her social status and even an overvalue of her own skills and intelligence.
Do I hate her? No. It’s quite the opposite. I think she’s a perfectly flawed character, a sort of tragic hero or an anti-hero who attempts to be a hero but falls into the traps of their own lack of ability to change and improve oneself.
I’m confident if she were a man, she’d be adored amongst the fandom and revered as a tragic hero. But she’s a woman, so she’s often hated.
That doesn’t mean I agree or condone everything she says and/or does.
Although the ending was predictable, it was still sad. I wish there were more entries from Arno’s journal and not just a reflection on what he had just read from Élise’s journal.
With the Haytham’s sister’s storyline, a lot more could’ve been done to mend or shorten the bridge between Assassins and Templars but Élise gives it two seconds of thought every once in a while and then forgets about it.
Despite it there being a love story, there is little evidence that leads me believe Élise and Arno actually fell in love with each other when they were kids. We’re only told they played together, with barely any descriptions of what happens and then suddenly, we’re supposed to expect they actually loved each other? Bro.
Personally, in terms of plot and story-telling, this book might be weakest for me. It was not a bad book, by any chance, but it was a bit disappointing in some aspects.
Month: September, 2024
Theme: Read a Book From a Favourite Author
* BookClub Me, Myself & I is just a "book club" where I pick up a prompt each month and I have to "force" myself to read a book that fits that prompt.
------------------------------------------------
Favourite character? Mr. Weatherall.
Synopsis:
The story begins a little bit before 1789, as Paris sees the darn of the French Revolution. The division between the rich and the poor are accentuated each year.
Arno and Élise, two young man and woman who have lost it all, are drawn into a centuries-old battle between the Assassins and the Templars.
Review:
First of all, I must comment once again how beautifully written and incorporated the historical events are with the fictional story. As always, it is done in such as seamlessly manner that it is not regarded as info-dumping. In this case, the incorporation of the French Revolution without making it the centre of the story but also without discard it as a side event that didn’t influence the story was amazing, truly well done and in congruence with the Assassin’s Creed series.
There is a lot of action, a lot of typical things that one would love in an Assassin’s Creed book, perfectly balanced with romance and political intrigue.
Before I start my reviewing of the characters, we have to remember, when criticising, that the book is written from a particular perspective – it’s not only first person POV, but it’s also a journal entry. It gives a partial, highly biased perspective and description of events.
Élise was both a character that I admire and that annoys me: she’s an entitled brat, tempestuous, often unaware of the consequences of her actions and, when she is aware, she’s just reckless and doesn’t particularly care. There’s often a lack of understanding or empathy, blended with a bit of arrogance from her social status and even an overvalue of her own skills and intelligence.
Do I hate her? No. It’s quite the opposite. I think she’s a perfectly flawed character, a sort of tragic hero or an anti-hero who attempts to be a hero but falls into the traps of their own lack of ability to change and improve oneself.
I’m confident if she were a man, she’d be adored amongst the fandom and revered as a tragic hero. But she’s a woman, so she’s often hated.
That doesn’t mean I agree or condone everything she says and/or does.
Spoiler
She got mad at Arno for becoming an Assassin but she had years, likely a decade, to convert him into a Templar. She flat-out refused to do so because she didn’t want him to stop playing with her. Which is weird reasoning, because bringing him into the Templar would ensure he would still become friends with her.Spoiler
It’s her personality, her lack of growth and her inability of being impartial, of reasoning before acting that leads to her end. Élise could have gotten her revenge and become the grandmaster of the Templars if only she had used her head instead of her emotions and played the long game. She wanted instant and immediate revenge, leading her down a path of destructive and reckless actions which, ultimately, condemned her to her death. It was an unnecessary death (not in terms of plot, but in terms of character) and that’s what makes it tragic.Although the ending was predictable, it was still sad. I wish there were more entries from Arno’s journal and not just a reflection on what he had just read from Élise’s journal.
With the Haytham’s sister’s storyline, a lot more could’ve been done to mend or shorten the bridge between Assassins and Templars but Élise gives it two seconds of thought every once in a while and then forgets about it.
Despite it there being a love story, there is little evidence that leads me believe Élise and Arno actually fell in love with each other when they were kids. We’re only told they played together, with barely any descriptions of what happens and then suddenly, we’re supposed to expect they actually loved each other? Bro.
Personally, in terms of plot and story-telling, this book might be weakest for me. It was not a bad book, by any chance, but it was a bit disappointing in some aspects.
adventurous
informative
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm a fan of Assassin's Creed Unity. It's probably one of my favourites in the franchise, honestly. So I was looking forward to reading this one.
Unfortunately, this struck me as one of the weakest of these tie-in novels. Not a bad book, but a bit disappointing. It's from the perspective of Èlise, who in the game is a bit of an enigma but definitely a likeable character.
In this book, I found her to be arrogant, entitled, and naïve. She had her flaws in the game, but she was a good character. This book did her a disservice in my opinion.
It also fell into the pitfall of these tie-in novels in that it rushed through much of the actual game story, and in this one it felt particularly egregious. Considering how firmly Èlise's story is tied to the events of the game, that didn't work for me.
It's a shame the book wasn't as good as the game, or other books in this series. Not bad, just not as good as the other AC tie-ins.
Unfortunately, this struck me as one of the weakest of these tie-in novels. Not a bad book, but a bit disappointing. It's from the perspective of Èlise, who in the game is a bit of an enigma but definitely a likeable character.
In this book, I found her to be arrogant, entitled, and naïve. She had her flaws in the game, but she was a good character. This book did her a disservice in my opinion.
It also fell into the pitfall of these tie-in novels in that it rushed through much of the actual game story, and in this one it felt particularly egregious. Considering how firmly Èlise's story is tied to the events of the game, that didn't work for me.
It's a shame the book wasn't as good as the game, or other books in this series. Not bad, just not as good as the other AC tie-ins.
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
fast-paced
I'm really enjoying these Assassin Creed computer game tie-in novels. Rather than just re-do the plots of the games, they tend to tackle the events from a different angle, offering previously unknown story detail. For example, this one takes place amidst the backdrop of the French Revolution but rather than focus on the POV character of Arno, as in the game, we get to see events unfold from Elise's perspective.
Those that have played the game know that you play as Arno, a young man who eventually becomes a member of the Order of Assassins. But he is orphaned as a young boy and is raised in a household with a surrogate father who is none other than the Grand Master of the Order of the Templars. Elise is his only child and therefore in line to become the next Grand Master. Arno and Elise are childhood playmates but there are vast stretches of the game where time goes by, Arno and Elise grow up, and we don't know exactly what Elise has been up to.
This novel corrects that. It's told via a series of journal entries, mostly from Elise. We get to finally see her journey and conflict as she tries to bring about a peace between Templars and Assassins and make them realize they have a common enemy. But events take control of her destiny and her goal changes largely to one of revenge. Players of the game will already know how this turns out but I thought it very interesting to read from Elise's perspective. And, of course, as always with these sorts of novels, it's great fun to see the various aspects of the game also play out.
Those that have played the game know that you play as Arno, a young man who eventually becomes a member of the Order of Assassins. But he is orphaned as a young boy and is raised in a household with a surrogate father who is none other than the Grand Master of the Order of the Templars. Elise is his only child and therefore in line to become the next Grand Master. Arno and Elise are childhood playmates but there are vast stretches of the game where time goes by, Arno and Elise grow up, and we don't know exactly what Elise has been up to.
This novel corrects that. It's told via a series of journal entries, mostly from Elise. We get to finally see her journey and conflict as she tries to bring about a peace between Templars and Assassins and make them realize they have a common enemy. But events take control of her destiny and her goal changes largely to one of revenge. Players of the game will already know how this turns out but I thought it very interesting to read from Elise's perspective. And, of course, as always with these sorts of novels, it's great fun to see the various aspects of the game also play out.
I am a fan of the Assassin's Creed series of games, although I never played the game Unity, I saw this book and wanted to read it. I grew so attached to Elise, I loved her growth throughout the novel. After reading this book I watched a playthrough of AC Unity and realised that as much as I enjoyed the story, this novel highlights Elise in such a beautiful way and you never truly know here until you read this book. I would recommend this novel for anyone who enjoys Historical Fiction with a Fantasy twist because my mother, who knows nothing about Assassin's Creed read this book and enjoyed it. So, you don't have to know anything about the series to enjoy this read.
adventurous
challenging
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Élise should have been the main character of the game because after reading this I’m even more certain that she is so much cooler and more badass than the wet wipe that is Arnaud