Imperial Assassin by Mark Robson

Imperial Assassin by Mark Robson
Buy Imperial Assassin by Mark Robson at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: Teens
Reviewer: John Lloyd
Summary: The fantasy trilogy continues with a middle portion that features the growth of one character, and sets up a great third part, while still refusing to set the world alight. The set is still recommended by the Bookbag though.
Buy? Maybe	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 336	Date: 6 Nov 2006
Publisher: Publisher: Simon & Schuster Childrens Books
ISBN: 978-1416901860
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The first book in this trilogy featured the newly installed Emperor Surabar wanting to ban the Guild of Assassins, as an unnecessary threat to justice and stability in his capital city. Here he carries out his threat to squash the league of shadowy killers, by using his best young female spy, Femke, and her new young warrior friend Reynik, to infiltrate the Guild and learn its secrets.

Reynik is no master spy, however, nor able to pass as a lethal underground murderer, until Femke can guide him through a rigorous training section of this book. Then the fun begins…

The concentration on Reynik and the way he has to learn new skills might be seen as a turn to the masculine for this series – but perhaps I considered the first book as more girl-friendly than it was (Femke is a beauty when it comes to tomboyish fighter characters who should manage to appeal to all).

Elsewhere the book changes the mood of the series a little, by featuring a bit more in the way of magic – which is introduced here in a deliciously dark way. It certainly beats the initial scene of macho bickering and latrine-building. Hmm… If anything the book remains darker than the first, and verges on the 12A as opposed to PG, for a little more gore and extra combat.

On the other hand, the book does drop occasionally into a flawed reflection of the preceding section of the saga – the dress-maker is back, and the segments where the young heroes feel guilt at taking lives, and the relationship side of things are both back and broader than in the first book – broader not always meaning better, either.

Despite that the quality level is sustained, and the book remains perfectly readable and enjoyable, if again never giving the feeling this will remain on one’s shelves for years to come. Mark Robson, who impressed me with the first volume’s intelligent approach to his medieval world of political shenanigans and murderous skulduggery, is here very strong indeed in getting into the trainee assassin’s mind, only once falling into a showy mannerism.

The world of these books remains very well defined – although the map at the beginning of each book is still never needed. It allows for a distinctive trilogy of mature machinations between an emperor enough people in power don’t approve of, his agent Femke, and the nicely nasty baddies. Here also the surprises are consistently meaty, and fans of the first book will not find anything lacking in the ‘he killed him off?!’ department.

On the subject of the surprises and baddies, however, I am forced to mention two alerts. First, do NOT read the dramatic personae at the beginning, for it gives far too much away. Second, buyer beware – while I would say each book is very smartly self-contained in this trilogy, there is no way you could happily to get to the end of this volume with wanting to instantly devour the third.

For that reason I am especially grateful to the author for sending all three books to the Bookbag for a sample – I am sure the trilogy as a whole would make a very absorbing gift for fans of distinctive fantasy, teens or otherwise.

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Reviews of other books by Mark Robson

Imperial Spy

Imperial Traitor

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