On 29 November 2011, US version, Oliver Bowden published the final book in the Ezio storyline.
Synopsis: Older, wiser, and more deadly than ever,
Master Assassin Ezio Auditore embarks on an epic journey to find the lost library of Altaïr--a library that may hold the key to defeating the Templars. However, a shocking discovery awaits him. The library holds not only hidden knowledge but also the most unsettling secret the world has ever known, a secret the Templars hope to use to control humankind's destiny. Five keys are needed to access the library--to find them, Ezio must travel to the troubled city of Constantinople, where a growing army of Templars threatens to destabilize the Ottoman Empire. Walking in the footsteps of his predecessor, Altaïr, Ezio must defeat the Templars for the final time. The stakes have never been higher, and what started as a pilgrimage has become a race against time. . .
The novel opens with Ezio arriving at
Masyaf only to find it occupied by
Leandros
and an army of Templars. Ezio gets captures, and rethinks on how he undertook this journey: he found a letter to
his father and recalled the first
Codex and decided to head to Masyaf; he also recalls learning from
Machiavelli that
Caterina is dead, leaves
his sister temporarily in charge, and travels with
Bartolomeo to Bari; from there, Ezio travels to
Cyprus, then to Greece, and finally to
Acre. Once Ezio is done rumenizing, he fights his way free
and hunts Leandros down in a town far from Masyaf. Ezio kills Leandros and
discovers a book and that the Templars got it in
Constantinople. Ezio journeys there and chats with Prince
Suleiman; Ezio takes notice of a lovely Italian woman named
Sofia Sartor. Once they arrive in the great city, Ezio is spirited away to the Assassin Headquarters by
Assassin leader Yusuf Tazim. Ezio also learns of the
hookblade and how to use it. Ezio tells Yusuf about his trio and why he's there, but another assassin warns them of an impending two-prong attack on two of the
Assassin Dens. Ezio defends one of the dens while Yusuf goes to defend the other, but Ezio arrives to help out once he's done.
Ezio asks Yusuf the location of the old Polo Trading Outpost, and Yusuf directs him to Piri Reis--the two hit it off and Reis points Ezio in the direction of a new
book shop. At the bookshop, Ezio discovers that Sofia runs the place and asks to take a look inside. He finds a secret passage that leads into
the sewers and promptly tells a curious Sofia that he's "the most interesting man" she will ever meet. He tracks down and the first
key and a map of other books; Ezio returns to Sofia and asks her for help in locating the other books. Sofia gladly does this, provided she can republish the books. During a party, Ezio, as a minstril, saves Suleiman's life. Suleiman requests that Ezio eavesdrop on a conversation between him, his uncle
Ahmet , and the
Janissary captain
Tarik Barleti. He tails Tarik and discovers that the Janissary captain has dealings with
Manuel Palaiologos; with this knowledge, Suleiman requests that Ezio assassinate Tarik. In his dying moment, Tarik reveals that his forces were to
ambush Manuel after gaining his favor. He then entrusts
Ezio to continue his plan, and set sail for
Cappadocia. During all this, Ezio continues to hunt for the books that will lead him to Altaïr's keys and falling in love with Sofia, who loves him.
In the first one, Ezio experiences Altaïr saving
Rashid ad-Din Sinan--Al Mualim--from former assassin
Haras. The second key details Altaïr burning Al Mualim on a pyre and
Abbas Sofian's failed rebellion through utilizing an
Apple of Eden, which Altaïr later retrieved. The third memory details Altaïr's fall from power in 1228; after defeating
Genghis Khan's army with his son
Darim and wife
Maria, Altaïr found out that Abbas had usurped command from Altaïr's appointed proxy
Malik Al-Sayf, and that his son
Sef was murdered by
Swami, Abbas' right hand man. Altaïr confronts Abbas and his loyalists, but was overcome with
rage and used the Apple for revenge, which caused the death
of both Swami and Maria. In the wake of this incident, Altaïr fled
Masyaf with Darim before Abbas could apprehend them. The fourth key
shows Altaïr's return to power in 1247, with the help of several
Assassins who grew tired of Abbas' iron clad rule; he achieved this through Abbas'
death at his hands, where Altaïr used his newly crafted
Hidden Gun.
After the death of Tarik, Ezio informs Suleiman of Tarik's allegiance and Ezio apologizes for killing an honorable man; they are interrupted by Ahmet, who assumes his enemies killed Tarik to lose his small favor with the Janissary guard; Ezio leaves with Suleiman's blessing. After
destroying Constantinople's
Great Chain, Ezio arrives at Cappadocia, then seeks out Tarik's ally,
Dilara in the city of
Derinkuyu. After freeing her captured friends, Ezio blows up the firearms, which causes Cappadocia to go up in flames and smokes out Manuel. Ezio kills Manuel, then is greeted by Ahmet, who is the Grand Master of the Templar Order. The fifth key plays out with Altaïr, now the Mentor, escorting Niccolò and Maffeo Polo from Masyaf as the invading
Mongols drew near the city. Altaïr gave the brothers his
Codex
as a parting gift, and escorted them out of the city. As the
brothers left on their horses, Altaïr gave Niccolò the keys, which he asked
to be hidden from others, so that the one who was meant to know the
message could seek it out.
Ezio races back to Constantinople with Piri Reis and the two arrive in time to find out Ezio's a wanted man.
He races back to Sofia's book shop to find it ransacked and Yusuf dead. Ezio hunts down Ahmet, but Ahmet, after telling Ezio to bring the keys or else he'll kill Sofia, flees; Suleiman witnesses this and tells Ezio to kill his uncle before his Templar fantasy destroys Constantinople. After the funeral, Ezio gathers the assassins and brings Ahmet the keys, then climbs up
Galata Tower and frees a dangling Sofia. But it's not Sofia, it is
one of the assassin's and Ezio
parachutes off the tower to rescue Sofia who's being hanged. Not understanding what's going on, Sofia takes over the horse coach while Ezio picks off Ahmet's guards. Eventually, Ahmet and Ezio crash their carts and they can barely stand. Suleiman's father,
Selim I, arrives with his forces and Selim kills his conniving brother. Meeting with Ezio, Selim went on to threaten that Ezio be killed if he
returned to Constantinople, sparing him only due to Suleiman's good
word. As tensions grew between the two men, Ezio's rage was quelled
by Sofia, and as Selim left, so too did Ezio and Sofia, heading for
Masyaf.
Once they arrive, Ezio completes his tale of how the Assassin's came to be and the tale of the great mentor Altaïr. Once inside the castle, Ezio places the five keys on the door and it opens to reveal an empty library. Ezio, with a torch, scours the scene and comes across a corpse holding a sixth key. Ezio picks it up and witnesses Altaïr telling Darim to flee for
Alexandria, then seals himself in Masyaf castle, places the Apple on the pedestal in the empty library, then sits for a moment to rest. Ezio says "Requiescat in pace" to Altaïr, then looks at the Apple and refuses to do anything with it and
Tinian--Jupiter--appears to give a message to Ezio for someone else; it depicts the end of the
First Civilization and how it can be averted in some other time. After Ezio receives the message, he and Sofia depart Masyaf castle. After arraigning for
Lodovico Ariosto--
Lucrezia Borgia's husband--to be the next Mentor, Ezio and Sofia, now his wife, retire to live outside
Florence. They produce
two children and Ezio, with Machiavelli, watches
Leonardo da Vinci succumbs to memory loss; they learn later that he died. Years later, a young
Chinese Assassin--
Shao Jun--comes to seek guidance from Ezio and he trains her to help her prepare to drive the Templars out of
China. Years later, after she's gone, Ezio and Sofia, with the kids, go for a trip to Florence where Ezio dies of old age.
All in all, a well-crafted book that wraps up Ezio's storyline in the series. Hihgly recommended for all fans of the
Assassin's Creed series.
And with this last tie-in post comes the end of November for me. I will pick up with four books in December to wrap it up. The list, not in order, follows:
Star Wars: A New Hope,
Star Wars: The Last Command,
Honor Harrington: Shadow of Saganami,
Star Wars: X-Wing: Wraith Squadron.
