Book Review: Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood SPOILERS!

On 30 November 2010, Oliver Bowden wrote and published another lame edition to the Assassin's Creed series, this time badly adapting the events of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. Synopsis: "I will journey to the black heart of a corrupt Empire to root out my foes. But Rome wasn't built in a day and it won't be restored by a lone assassin. I am Ezio Auditore da Firenze. This is my brotherhood." ―Ezio Auditore. Rome, once mighty, lies in ruins. The city swarms with suffering and degradation, her citizens living in the shadow of the ruthless Borgia family. Only one man can free the people from the Borgia tyranny - Ezio Auditore, the Master Assassin. Ezio's quest will test him to his limits. Cesare Borgia, a man more villainous and dangerous than his father the Pope, will not rest until he has conquered Italy. And in such treacherous times, conspiracy is everywhere, even within the ranks of the brotherhood itself . . . 

The novel opens briefly recapping the opening to Brotherhood as Ezio and Mario flee Rome for Monteriggioni. Once there, Ezio calls a war council together and tells them what happened, but Niccolò Machiavelli is displeased that Ezio spared Rodrigo's life. Later that day, Caterina Sforza and Ezio have sex to form an alliance. The following day, Cesare Borgia―son of Rodrigo―along with his sister and lover Lucrezia, banker and Cardinal Juan Borgia, French general  Octavian de Valois, and Micheletto Corella, storm Monteriggioni and kill Mario Auditore, steal the Apple, then severely wound Ezio. Ezio wakes up to help Claudia (his sister) and Maria (his mother) escape, then rides off. He faints due to his wounds and wakes up in Rome. He meets Machiavelli and the two plan to take down the Borgia―though Ezio would rather use the courtesans, thieves, and mercenaries to help him while Machiavelli believes they should strike now. He helps Bartolomeo d'Alviano secure his small fortress from further attacks by Cesare's guards, helps La Volpe establish a better thieves guild in Rome, then, with anger, helps Claudia set up a better brothel for the courtesans to work in. While he does this, he frees certain parts of the city from Borgia control. La Volpe, however, believes Machiavelli to be a traitor to the Brotherhood and voices his suspicions to Ezio. Learning that his former lover, Caterina, is being held by the Borgia, Ezio sets off to rescue her, but he's told by Machiavelli to make sure that Rodrigo and Cesare die first.

Entering Castel Sant'Angelo, Ezio learns that Cesare has left for the battlefield while Rodrigo is locked in a meeting with the Cardinals. Ezio, after capturing Lucrezia, gets Caterina free, then they escape. During this, Caterina declares that she only slept with him so he would send the Assassins to help defend Forlì, but soon after she's healed, she leaves. Ezio, heartbroken, resumes his work. He meets Leonardo da Vinci―also "working" for the Borgia―and gets back many of his damaged equipment (and some of the stuff only available in game if the player completes the four Leonardo missions). From Claudia, Ezio learns that a certain senator owes the mysterious Banker money and helps him. Ezio, during a party―which Bowden describes somewhat differently than the game, with orgies instead of occurring outdoors―kills the Banker, who is none other than Juan, Cesare's uncle. Ezio then helps Bartolomeo rescue Pantasilea Baglioni, his wife, from Octavian's clutches; Ezio kills Octavian. Later that week, Ezio tails Micheletto―Cesare's right hand man―and steals costumes for his Assassin's to use during a play. At the play, Ezio prevents Micheletto from killing Lucrezia's boy toy, then notices a thief that supposedly died during the Battle of Monteriggioni. Ezio captures him, but the Borgia thief declares that the Borgia will kill the Assassins and impales himself of Ezio's hidden blade. Ezio takes a letter off the dead man and knows that it was the deceased thief, not Machiavelli, who sold out the Brotherhood.

He stops La Volpe from killing Machiavelli and the men reunite. Ezio arrives back at the brothel and finds several guards killed. Fearing for his family's safety, Ezio storms in, only to find more dead guards surrounding Claudia; he inducts her into the Italian Assassin Brotherhood. Machiavelli proclaims that Ezio is the true Mentor and allows Ezio to take over the reigns since Mario's death. Together, the Brotherhood decides to fully up their game and openly take back Rome. Ezio learns that Cesare has returned and storms Castel Sant'Angelo again, then watches as Cesare, infuriated at the loss of his funds and troops, bickers with Rodrigo. Rodrigo, however, has poisoned Cesare, and demands that his son needs to die because he brought the Assassin's down on them because of his (Cesare's) stupidity. Lucrezia informs her brother that their father has poisoned him and Cesare kills Rodrigo, then storms off to find the Apple. Ezio learns from Lucrezia what Cesare intends to do and races to find the Apple. Ezio steals it and for the next couple of days, deprives Cesare of all support, eventually leading to Cesare's arrest. Ezio, Machiavelli, and Leonardo learn that he's been freed by Micheletto in Spain and they race to stop him, but Leonardo becomes ill and he and Machiavelli depart, leaving Ezio to finish the task. Ezio watches as Cesare kills his right hand man, then departs for Viana. During the Siege of Viana, Ezio kills Cesare, then takes the second Apple and hides both away.

All in all, a mediocre book that pales next to its game counterpart. The only good thing Bowden does is explain that it took a month to rebuild Rosa in Fiore, Bartolomeo's hideout, and The Sleeping Fox Inn each. But unlike Renaissance, Bowden refuses to use the down-load content (DLC) The Da Vinci Disappearance. Though, once more, Bowden refuses to acknowledge the existence of Desmond and the gang or the real time events. All the Courtesan, Thief, and Leonardo missions are said to have been performed by Ezio's recruits. Definitely not worth reading for fans of the game.

Up next: Assassin's Creed: The Secret Crusade by Oliver Bowden.

Book Review: Assassin's Creed: Renaissance SPOILERS!

In March 2010, Oliver Bowden published the first novel in the Assassin's Creed set of novels. It's a tie-in to the events of the game Assassin's Creed II, stars Ezio Auditore da Firenze as he takes up the responsibilities of being an Assassin in Renaissance Italy, taking us from Firenze (Florence) to Monteriggioni to San Gimignano to Venice to Forli as Ezio hunts down those responsible for killing his family. Synopsis: "I will seek vengeance upon those who betrayed my family. I am Ezio Auditore da Firenze. I am an Assassin . . ." Betrayed by the ruling families of Italy, a young man embarks upon an epic quest for vengeance. To eradicate corruption and restore his family's honor, he will learn the art of the Assassins. Along the way, Ezio will call upon the wisdom of such great minds as Leonardo da Vinci and Niccolò Machiavelli--knowing that survival is bound to the skills by which he must live. To his allies, he will become a force for change--fighting for freedom and justice. To his enemies, he will become a threat dedicated to the destruction of the tyrants abusing the people of Italy. So begins an epic story of power, revenge, and conspiracy. Truth Will Be Written In Blood.

First, let it be noted that Bowden has taken extreme liberties with the game. Unlike the game, certain things don't happen at all, such as Ezio sending money back to rebuild Monteriggioni, taking away Ezio's eagle vision to spot targets, rewriting the ending. But he does include the down-load content such as the Battle of Forli and the Bonfire of the Vanities, as well as adding in the Cristina flashbacks. Note: he does change Cristina's last name from Vespucci to Calfucci, changes Dante Moro's ex-wife's name from Carlotta to Gloria, got rid of the Sword and Armor of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, and had all the codex pages limited to being found on the Templars. No mention is made of Minerva's message to Desmond Miles--instead, Bowden treats it as if it doesn't happen.

The novel opens in Firenze (Florence) with Ezio, preparing his men for a fight with Vieri de' Pazzi and his men, is hit in the forehead with a rock by Vieri (note: in the game, Ezio got hit in the upper lip). After a very brief fight, Ezio's brother, Federico, appears and has Ezio loot the bodies of Vieri's men, then takes him to a doctor to heal his wound; it's during this that Ezio recalls the first time he met Cristina and how he fought Vieri because the young Pazzi was harassing her. Ezio sneaks into the "Calfucci" house and sleeps with Cristina. In the morning, after being chased off by her father, Ezio returns to the Auditore house, where he's sent on a number of quests--beating up Duccio, Claudia's cheating fiance; collecting feathers for Petruccio, the youngest Auditore; and delivering letters to Lorenzo de' Medici, warning him of a conspiracy against the Duke of Milan (note: the game has it as a plot against Lorenzo)--before helping his mother bring over a painting done by Leonardo da Vinci. Later, Ezio delivers letter to three people--a mercenary, a thief and his courtesan companion--then retrieve a letter warning Giovanni--Ezio's father--about the Pazzi family moving that night. Ezio returns home to send Claudia and Maria to the housemaid's sister. Once that's done, he goes and sees his father, but is warned off and told to find a chest in Giovanni's office. Ezio finds the Italian Assassin robes and a broken hidden blade. He runs to Uberto Alberti for help, but the man betrays him and has his father and brothers hanged, while Rodrigo Borgia watches on; Ezio attempts to fight, but ends up running for his life. He finds Cristina and tells her what's happened; she agrees to help Ezio burn his father and brothers bodies, then asks her to go with him, but she refuses. Returning to find Anneta, she takes him to her sister Paola who teaches him how to blend in with the crowd. Then, she sends him to Leonardo to have the gifted man repair the broken blade. Once that's done, and the Codex page inside it deciphered, Ezio hunts down Uberto and slits his throat, then declares that the Auditore family isn't dead. He's promptly chased off and goes back to Paola's courtesan house where they make their escape to Monteriggioni.

Vieri's waiting for them and tries to attack, but Mario Auditore--Ezio's uncle--drives him off. Ezio sends Claudia and Maria to a nunnery (in the game, Mario welcomes them into Monteriggioni), then trains with Mario. Ezio wants to travel farther, but ends up helping Mario invade San Gimignano to kill Vieri, who's a Templar working for Rodrigo Borgia; Ezio kills Vieri and retrieves another Codex. He learns about the history of the Templars and Assassins from Mario, then takes the Codex pages to Leonardo, who tells Ezio that there are new ways to assassinate people. Ezio then tracks down La Volpe (in the book, he's called Gilberto) and finds out where the Pazzi are hiding, then learns that there's a conspiracy to take over the Republic of Florence by the Pazzi, supplied by the Barbarigo family in Venice, and supported by others, and led by Rodrigo. They plan on killing Lorenzo de' Medici during church, but Ezio foils their plans. Ezio helps Lorenzo get to his safehouse, then find and kills Vieri's father, Francesco, and hangs him as a warning to the elder Pazzi, Jacopo. Jacopo and his allies (Bernardo Baroncelli, Stefano da Bagnone, Francesco Salviati, and Antonio Maffei) flee to San Gimignano where Ezio spends a few years hunting and killing them all, except for Jacopo. Jacopo meets with Rodrigo and Emilio Barbarigo and both promptly severely wound Jacopo. Ezio delivers the killing blow after kissing Jacopo on the forehead. Ezio then goes back to Florence and finds out that Cristina's engaged to a man who gambles, but Ezio sets him straight. Then, he tells Lorenzo that the Pazzi are dead, then goes to see Leonardo, but finds that he's leaving for Venice. Ezio rides with Leonardo's convoy (in the game, it was just the two of them), and then fights guards who are after Ezio. Ezio meets Leonardo in Forli, and rescues Caterina Sforza, who ensures that Ezio has proper passage to travel to Venice; Ezio is struck with how beautiful she is. Once in Venice, Ezio helps a wounded Rosa get back to the thieves hideout, where he meets Antonio de Magianis. Antonio and Rosa help Ezio find and kill Emilio, then spends more time tracking the rest of the Templars. He learns that Carlo Grimaldi, a government official and member of the Council of Ten, was close to Giovanni Mocenigo, the Doge of Venice, and hoped to turn him to the Templar cause.

But this proved too much and instead Rodrigo ordered his death. Ezio fails to stop the assassination attempt, but does kill Carlo. Days later, Marco Barbarigo is named the new Doge and hosts a party during Carnevale, but Ezio--with Sister Teodora, another courtesan and ally of the Assassins'--plan to kill Marco. Ezio runs into Cristina and kisses her, but she gets angered when she finds out it was Ezio and tells him to leave her alone. Ezio then competes in several competitions and wins, only for a bribed judge to declare Dante Moro the winner. Ezio steals the grand prize, a golden mask which will allow the wearer to enter Marco's party undetected, and enters the party. He kills Marco with his hidden gun undercover of the fireworks, then flees back to Teodora's brothel. With his quest nearly complete, Ezio learns that Silvio Barbarigo and Dante are fleeing to Cyprus, for unknown reasons. Ezio enlists the help of Bartolomeo d'Alviano, who leads the Venetian mercenaries, and they storm the Venetian Arsenal. Ezio kills both Dante and Silvio, again retrieving more Codex pages. Two years later, and involved in a large love life with Rosa, Ezio finally learns that the Templar ship has arrived and is carrying a Piece of Eden. It's being delivered to the "prophet", but when Ezio arrives, he finds Rodrigo and they attempt to fight over who gets the Apple. La Volpe, Mario, Paola, Antonio, Teodora, and Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli arrive and help Ezio force Rodrigo into fleeing. They then induct him into the Assassin Brotherhood. Mario, Ezio, and Machiavelli take the Appel to Leonardo for examination, but they end up sending Ezio and Machiavelli to Forli to hide it with Caterina, another member of the Brotherhood. When they arrive, however, Forli comes under attack by the Orsi brothers, Checco and Ludovico. They've taken Caterina's two of her kids hostage, but Ezio frees them and kills Ludovico. He returns them to Caterina who informs him that she and Machiavelli were ambushed by Checco who stole the Apple. Ezio hunts Checco down and kills him, then succumbs to his wounds and the Mad Monk Girolamo Savonarola takes the Apple. Ezio heals and has a short but fun relationship with Caterina before he departs for Florence.

Ezio kills Savonarola and his allies in the Bonfire of the Vanities, and finds Manfredo--Cristina's husband--dying. Ezio asks him where Cristina is and Ezio chases after her, killing the men on her tail, but she dies in Ezio's arms, saying that she wished they'd had a second chance. Ezio, grieving, takes the Apple back to Monteriggioni where every Assassin met in the game is there. Ezio discovers that Lorenzo is dead and that Rodrigo is now Pope Alexander VI. The Codex pages contain a map that leads Ezio and company to Roma (Rome) where the Vault is hidden. Rodrigo plans to open it with the Staff of Eden, but Ezio interrupts. They fight and Ezio looses to Rodrigo, but Ezio, unwilling to give up, chases him down and defeats Rodrigo. Rodrigo declares that it was his destiny to open the Vault, but Ezio denies this to the old man and enters himself. He meets Minerva, who claims to be one of "Those Who Came Before, and she tells him that he's a cipher for someone else (though Bowden refuses to use Desmond's name). Ezio leaves and Rodrigo, having poisoned himself, asks to know what Ezio found, to which Ezio replies "Nothing." He leaves and rejoins his friends to rebuild the world. (Note: this never happened in either ACII or Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, the game.)

All in all, a decent novel that barely fleshes things out. Good enough for a non-gamer, but not good enough for fans of the series.

Up next: Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood by Oliver Bowden.

Book Review: Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire SPOILERS!

On May 1996, Steve Perry and Ballantine Spectra books published the novelization to the Nintendo 64 game Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire. It removes the entirety of the Hoth sequence in favor of starting with an introduction to the main villain, Prince Xizor. The events of the game and novel take place between Star Wars: Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars: Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. Synopsis: It is a time of crisis. Han Solo, frozen in carbonite, is being taken to the vile ganster Jabba the Hutt. As Princess Leia mounts a rescue mission and Darth Vader scours the Galaxy for Luke Skywalker, another sinister figure emerges. Cunning and ruthless, leader of a powerful crime syndicate, he will pit himself against Vader for the favor of their mutual master . . . the dreaded Emperor. His name is Xizor, Underlord of a galaxywide criminal organization called Black Sun. He seeks to displace Darth Vader as Emperor Palpatine's right hand. To do so, he will hatch a brilliantly evil plan to discredit Vader in the Emperor's eyes. But in the meantime he will join the Dark Lord in an unholy alliance whose common target is the young Rebel hero, Luke Skywalker. While Vader and Xizor bait their trap for Luke, Han Solo is being held captive, flash-frozen in a carbonite slab. Mourning the loss of the man she loves, Princess Leia mounts a rescue mission to free Han. She enlists the aid of Luke, who is sharpening his skill in the Force at Ben Kenobi's home on the edge of Tatooine's Western Dune Sea. Skywalker organizes a crack fighting force, including Wedge Antilles and his famous X-wing squadron; Lando Calrissian; and the mercenary Dash Rendar. Yet the fierce battle that ensues to rescue Han will not go according to plan. For the Empire's spies are everywhere. What's worse, though he is cold and reptilian, Xizor has a certain predatory charisma that not even Leia can totally resist. Against the judgment of Chewbacca, who has promised Han to keep her from harm, Leia walks willingly into Xizor's lair in a dangerous play of passion and willpower to get the information she needs to defeat him. At the same time, Luke stands in the crosshairs of a conspiracy of assassins and bounty hunters recruited by Xizor's lieutenant, the beautiful but lethal Human replicant Guri. As the struggle between Xizor and Vader intensifies, Luke finds himself the potential prize of the two most evil entities in the galaxy — one who wants him alive, and one who wants him dead. In a final, explosive showdown, the Rebels must infiltrate Xizor's impregnable stronghold and fight the combined forces of Black Sun and the Empire in deep space. With death and betrayal looming on every side, Luke, Leia, Lando, and Chewie must use every weapon and resource at their disposal, including the Rebel fleet and some intriguing new allies, if they are to prove victorious. In Shadows of the Empire, Steve Perry adds an exciting new chapter to the Star Wars saga and introduces important new characters and situations no Star Wars fan will want to miss.

The novel opens with Xizor witnessing Palpatine talking to Vader about Luke Skywalker during the events of The Empire Strikes Back and how Vader will turn his son to the dark side. On Tatooine, Leia has a nightmare about the day Han was frozen in carbonite, while Luke is off trying to keep up his Jedi training. Later, Lando arrives and informs Leia that an old friend named Dash Rendar says he's tracked Boba Fett to Gall, the moon of Zhar. The gang leaves and lands on Kile, the other moon, where Dash and Rogue Squadron's waiting for them. Together, Luke leads Rogue Squadron in a battle to keep the Imperials distracted while Dash, in his ship Outrider, takes Lando, Leia, and Chewbacca--on Millennium Falcon--to the surface of Gall. During the battle, an X-Wing pilot is killed and Dash bails when they approach the base. During the rendezvous back to the rebel base, Luke's attacked by Wes Janson's X-Wing--it's revealed that Wes' droid's been programmed to kill Luke. Luke disables Wes' ship and they land on the base, but Luke demands answers about why Dash left; Dash states that he was paid to lead them there, not stay and fight. In the hangar, Wedge and Luke are ambushed by a mechanic who killed the droid; they find out that he was working for someone, but unbeknownst to anyone, the hit came from Xizor. Prince Xizor's looking for a way to strike back at Vader for killing his family on Falleen many years ago.

The group splits up: Leia, Lando, Chewbacca, and C-3PO heading for Rodia to ask Black Sun for help while Luke goes back to Tatooine in case Fett shows up. Leia pays Dash to keep an eye on Luke. Luke's ambushed by bounty hunters and, after a chase through Beggar's Canyon, Dash arrives and saves Luke. They find a package waiting for Leia--it tells them about the Bothan's having recovered technical plans for a secret project the Emperor is overseeing. The two, plus R2-D2, head to Kothlis to find out. They arrive and join with the Bothans to prepare a fight, but it goes wrong and Dash's missile seemingly destroys the Bothan squadron. Devastated, Dash begins to lose faith in his abilities, despite the fact that they recovered the intel. Meanwhile, on Rodia, Guri arrives per Xizor's instructions and brings Leia and Chewbacca to Imperial City to meet with the Dark Prince. Once there, Xizor attempts to seduce Leia, but fails when Chewbacca interrupts. Chewbacca flees Xizor's palace while the Dark Prince holds her captive. Alone, Luke's captured by Barabel bounty hunters; they tell Vader, but before Vader can arrive, Lando and Chewbacca break him out. They head to Imperial City to rescue Leia. Vader's not pleased and angrily returns to Imperial City. While there, he senses Luke, but also Leia, though he doesn't realize it at the time. Luke, Lando, and Chewbacca run into Dash who agrees to help them.

They suborn a Black Sun member who leads them through the sewers into Xizor's Palace. He attempts to kill them, but Dash kills him. Once inside, they rescue Leia. Xizor, annoyed by the fight taking place, heads them off, but Lando drops a thermal detonator down a chute to the bottom of the palace. Xizor flees to his skyhook in orbit while the others race to the top. Luke fights and defeats Guri--she flees--and board the Falcon, piloted by C-3PO and R2-D2. They manage to escape, but Xizor sends his fleet to fight them; even with the arrival of Rogue Squadron, they can't hold off much longer. Earlier in the novel, Vader warned Xizor multiple times to stay away from Skywalker and his friends, and having found out what's going on and why Xizor bears a grudge against him, arrives. Vader demands that Xizor stand down, but the Dark Prince refuses. Vader orders the crew of the Executor to open fire on the skyhook. Xizor's killed, and the rebels manage to escape, but not before Dash, now on his ship, is seemingly killed. In the end, back on Tatooine, Luke finishes his recording to Jabba Desilijic Tiure and installs his lightsaber into R2-D2's dome. He and Leia get word from the Bothans that Dash is considered a hero and to let him know that he didn't kill the Bothans, it was the Imperials who fired a shot at the same moment Dash's missile impacted. The novel closes, setting up for Star Wars: Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.

All in all, a well crafted and paced novel. Steve Perry gracefully cuts away the dried action of the game and replaces it with a sense of epicness that the game sorely lacks. The cut level of the Battle of Hoth is referred to, but not shown since it has no bearing on the novel or the game itself. Xizor is also given some missing cunning and evilness that the game doesn't have. It utilized the Original Trilogy heroes and villains well. A must read for all Star Wars fans.

Up next: Assassin's Creed: Renaissance by Oliver Bowden, the first novelization of any Assassin's Creed game. Yes, this means I'm going to do them in the order they were published.