The Assassin's Creed games are ones that I enjoyed being talked about and watching grow since they first came out back when I was in high school. Now, years later as an adult, I found that a YA adaptation of the games was available for me to listen to on audiobook. Thinking that it may be a good book to get a student interested not only into history but also reading, I decided to give this book a try, and I was thankfully surprised that this book was well written, well executed, and enjoyed the experience.
One of the best attributes of this novel is the atmosphere. The past set in the Animus is during the 1860's New York Draft Riots, and the author manages to understand the feelings of the people there well, as they all try and explain why they are fighting not join the Union Army. The author also creates a sense of mounting tension, as groups of rioters roam the streets, killing anyone that they see as a threat to their cause, all while pillaging and looting along the way. This was very well accomplished and was a highlight as the draft riots continue to grow in size and strength and it seems like even the Army cannot stop them.
The ideas of the Templars and Assassins also fits in well here. No one is going to confuse it for actual history, but as far as the action and fighting is concerned, it was well done kept my interest. In fact, the actual battles between the two groups make up only a small part of the book, but that does not stop the whole novel from being enjoyable.
And speaking of most of the novel, switching between characters in the 1860 was seamless and never lost my interest. We have a cast of six people to follow, all with their own unique backgrounds and stories. Usually, when we have alternating viewpoints, some tend to drag or become tedious, letting only one or two good viewpoints shine through. Here, though, they were all fun to read about as we see if they will survive the days and nights as rioters and looters roamed the streets.
There were a few things that bothered me in this book. One of which was the fact that even though we do feel a connection to the characters of the past, with their emotions being on full display for us, the characters in the modern times remain pretty flat, all things considered. The only character that I really got to understand was Owen, and that was because he was given the most detail. In fact, many of the scenes that take place in the modern era tend to be more boring than their historical counterpart. This, however, as I understand it, is also a curse of the games as well, so points for consistency, I suppose.
Still, I really enjoyed this book, despite what you may think from seeing this book on your bookshelf. I think it was fun to read, and I am going to continue with this series. I give it a four out of five.
