The Silent Assassins of the Red Desert aren’t much for conversation, and Celaena Sardothien wouldn’t have it any other way. She’s not there to chatter, she’s there to hone her craft as the world’s most feared killer for hire. When the quiet is shattered by forces who want to destroy the Silent Assassins, Celaena must find a way to stop them, or she’ll be lucky to leave the desert alive.
My Review:
In The Assassin and the Desert, Cel finds herself at the mute Master's doorstep after a long month's journey. She's being sent there by her Master to learn discipline and respect after he beat the living daylights out of her for freeing the slaves (in The Assassin and the Pirate Lord) and costing him a lot of money.
Cel has no regrets as to what she did, though she's tormented by what has happened to Sam. She blacked out after her Master was beating her senseless, so she has no clue what has became of Sam's fate.
She's instructed to earn the mute Master's respect and get a letter of recommendation from him in a month's time. If she cannot obtain the letter, then her life is forfeit and her Master has every right to hunt her down and end her.
Cel arrives through a harrowing trek through the desert and is put in the same room with Ansel, a flamboyant girl who's been there several years, trying unsuccessfully to get the mute Master to train her. Still, Ansel hasn’t been idle and has been getting her training from other assassins in the fold.
Cel also meets the mute Master's son and though he's quite attractive, she can't stop thinking about Sam and what's become of him.
The mute Master has an enemy, Lord Barick (? Sorry, can't recall the name), and has been constantly trying to make peace with him, sending Ansel as his emissary for years. Through Cel's stay, some attacks are made at the compound, but it's nothing the assassins can't handle.
An interesting side note: While Cel waits in the market for Ansel to finish her peace talk, Cel meets a merchant who's selling Spidersilk.
Spidersilk is super rare and hard to come by. It's said the spiders who spin it only give it up by taking a person's life or years off them. The only way to get back the years a spider took from you is to kill it.
The merchant who's only 25, but looks 40, enlists Cel's help to get back his youth from the spider and Cel agrees, but just not at the moment. She's got a letter to acquire first. *flails*
This side story really got me excited. Can't wait to read how this comes about! Anyhoo, back to the story. . .
But then everything changes when Cel accompanies Ansel to one of her peace talks with the Lord B. Can Cel stop these two factions from their incessant need for war? Will she ever get her letter of recommendation? And what of Ansel? What is up with this mysterious beauty? Will Cel discover her secrets before it's too late?
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I really enjoyed this story, but there were so many interesting side stories, I was left wondering what direction the story would actually take. The ending was a huge surprise.
No way would I let someone who had betrayed me live, so the fact that Cel and the mute Master allow this just boggled my mind. I mean HELLO! they are assassins!
A S S A S S I N S!!! They kill people just for kicks. So when someone truly wrongs you and you let them live????
The Assassin and the Desert features:
- Young Adult
- no sexual content
- intrigue
- mystery
- suspense
- military
- betrayal
Rating: 4 Kisses
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