The Automaton's Treasure

The Assassin's Curse #0.6

by Cassandra Rose Clarke

A tale exploring Marjani's first steps beyond Qilar, when she is dismissed from her home for scandalous behaviour.

Marjani's ship is stolen by pirates and, in order to save her own life, she pretends to know the location of great treasure.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Short Stories, Novella, Pirates, Romance, Adventure

33 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Cassandra Rose Clarke is a speculative fiction writer living amongst the beige stucco and overgrown pecan trees of Houston, Texas. She graduated in 2006 from The University of St. Thomas with a bachelor’s degree in English, and in 2008 she completed her master’s degree in creative writing at The University of Texas at Austin. Both of these degrees have served her surprisingly well.

During the summer of 2010, she attended the Clarion West Writers Workshop in Seattle, where she enjoyed sixty-degree summer days. Having been born and raised in Texas, this was something of a big deal. She was also a recipient of the 2010 Susan C. Petrey Clarion Scholarship Fund.

Reviews

[Azbaqiyah · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Great treasure!"

Safin is too cute for an automatan.

[Esmay · Rating 4 out of 5]

"And then I stepped back out into the thick night. The boats were waiting. Jokja was gone. She was gone. But I was ready to find my way to a new home."

4 Stars.

Just like The Witch's Betrayal I had never read this shortstory, which is a backstory to Marjani. I have to say I don't really remember Marjani from the main story so I think it's a good idea to re-read the duology, but I do know her backstory now ahah! I really enjoyed it and the way the story tricks you a little!

[Rahaf Alghamdi · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.8/5


I WANT MORRRREEEE OF THIS WORLD !!!

[Kimmm · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fine. I thought we would get more about Marjani's life before and how she became a pirate. But the Safin was really cute and we learned some new facts about the world. I'm curious to see if this means that Marjani will play a bigger role in the next book. I liked Naji's short story better.

Rating: 3,0 stars

[Shambhawi P. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing particularly new or special though this leads us to think Marjani will be playing an important role in The Pirate's Wish also. This does bring to us a very interesting revelation though - the meaning of which I am very, very interested to read about.

[Ashley Ferguson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of The Assassin's Curse series, and I was super excited to find out that there would be another short story set before Naji and Annana meet. Even more so when I learned it was about Marjani! And I was not disappointed at all.

Like The Witch's Betrayal, this story offers a glimpse into the life of one of the characters before we meet them. If you've read The Pirate's Wish, you already know some of Marjani's secrets, including why she's being sent away. What we didn't know, however, is what happens to her between being sent away and becoming a pirate. This story, aside from showing us one of Marjani's adventures, also helps mold her into a dynamic character and allows us to better understand what motivates her to do the things she does. I love when minor characters get their own short stories.

I also really loved the automaton. I mean, who wouldn't want a bejewled little robot crocodile? And all the poor little thing wants to do is get back to his great treasure. I loved the way that he was portrayed, and the way he talks about his great treasure. Especially after learning what this treasure was. It also gave us a chance to learn a little bit more about this world, I think, since we're introduced to even more creatures and places.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone who has read and enjoyed any of the books and/or stories in the Assassin's Curse series. This is a nice, quick read that will allow readers to get to know one of the more mysterious characters from the books, and will take them on a completely different adventure than we've previously seen in the series. I would give this a 4/5, and suggest that if you haven't read any of the Assassin's Curse books, you go do that ASAP!

[Robin Dee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 2,5/5 stars

It was a bit entertaining, but it was too short to be a good adventure.. I had hoped that there would be more about Marjani's life before The Assassin's Curse, but that was definitely not the case.

The automaton was a nice extra, and I did want to find out what they would find when they reached this treasure, so that definitely kept me going. But the ending was kind of dull I'm afraid.

Anyway, this novella doesn't do The Assassin's Curse, or Marjani, much justice.

[Lucia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cuenta qué llevó a Marjani a huir de su tierra y hacerse pirata. Me gustó pero probablemente sea porque lo leí antes del segundo libro de la saga, cuando todavía Marjani me parecía un personaje interesante :P

[usagi ☆ミ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it. I hope all of these novellas will get printed at some point and I'm so glad this is getting a spin-off series.

[gold]

things I want:
-Marjani's backstory. I know this is suppose to be that but it wasn't, really. I want to know more about her lover and her exile and her background. This was more of a "middle"story.
-The captain and Rafi's backstory. I want to know how he came to be a pirate, why he was banished and how he met Rafi. I NEED to know.
-Safin's and its treasure's story. why did she make it and how? Why use jewels? Why a crocodile? I just have so many questions??

[Ahnya · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick little story about Marjani, and how she came to be among pirates. It was her first venture into the world beyond Jokja. For the first time she had to learn how to take care of herself, and use her own wits to survive.

[Clemy-chan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was very surprised to find this novella to be about Marjani instead of Amani (and no, I did not read the synopsis at all before picking it up), but I can say I would be glad with a story about any of the characters in this universe!

[Madeline · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting and very unexpected backstory for Manjari in The Automaton's Treasure. The automatons were such a brief part of The Assassin's Curse that I forgot they were a thing in this world. It was neat to read a bit more about then.

[Cee · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

I'd probably like this more if I knew the characters... or understood the importance of what just happened. Might need to re-read after reading The Pirate's Wish.

[Candace · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not really sure what the point of this short story was.

[Erika · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well. That explains nothing.
But Safin the automaton was cute.
I’ve pictured him as cute scaly alligator.
(Why do I feel like I’ve heard that name before??)

[Katherine B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I want a Safin!

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review originally appeared on my blog, Books Without Any Pictures:
http://bookswithoutanypictures.com/20...

I absolutely adored The Assassin’s Curse and The Pirate’s Wish, so when I saw that Cassandra Rose Clarke had written a couple short stories set in the same world, I couldn’t resist.

The Automaton’s Treasure is a glimpse into the backstory of Marjani, one of the minor characters in the series. Marjani was a noblewoman who was exiled after her forbidden (lesbian) relationship with a princess. In the later books, she becomes a pirate captain and is a total badass.

The Automaton’s Treasure is set right after Marjani is exiled. She’s traveling on a passenger ship that gets taken over by pirates. While she is locked in her cabin, she is visited by a magical automaton who tells her of great treasure. Marjani decides to help the automaton, convincing the pirates that rather than dismantling the automaton and selling him for scrap, they should follow his directions and seek out the treasure.

This story was so interesting because it’s set before Marjani became the self-confident and capable captain that we see in The Assassin’s Curse. She’s a teenager who is trying to find herself, and that’s further confused by the fact that she just lost the love of her life and is being sent far from home. She doesn’t envision a bright future for herself, but in this story, we begin to see the roots of empowerment as she begins to seize her own destiny.

[Yin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book caught me by surprise. I thought it was a steam-punkish kinda story but I was very much wrong. What struck me the most was how I felt so strongly for the protagonist and so drawn to the conflict and drama and the evolution of emotion and character as the novel progresses.

It is the way she describes things that doesn't bore you or have you skipping lines and text. You do want to know more, to learn more and to unravel more about the mystery that is the automaton. At one point, I had to flip back a couple of pages to re-read just so that my oddly sluggish brain could process what exactly made the automaton tick and be more aware of its, or rather his, actions.

The ending was simple enough that it didn't leave me craving for a sequel, it had just enough substance for my curious and greedy mind to be content and satisfied.

[Miss Bookiverse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cool etwas über Marjanis Vergangenheit zu erfahren. Damals war sie noch gar nicht so abgehärtet wie sie in The Assassin's Curse rüberkommt. Es wird einiges angerissen über das ich gern mehr wüsste (über ihre große Liebe), darüber erfährt man zum Glück in The Pirate's Wish mehr.
Safin, der Automaton war so süß. Nur die "Auflösung" war etwas vorhersehbar.

[Ellie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m guessing this is a prequel to The Pirate’s Wish which I haven’t read yet. It introduces Marjani who is a lady being taken away from her previous life on a passenger ship…which soon gets taken over by pirates. She befriends an automaton on board and hatches a plan to save herself. It’s a nice little adventure sorry but I wonder if it would be better read after book two in the series to give it more context.

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a cute story. Laying out the barebones of Marjani's beginnings. I liked Safin and I'm glad he found his great treasure but part of me wishes that there was a short story telling of Marjani in her old life and all the events that transpired to her banishment. It would add more to the story when she returns home in The Pirate's Wish. I just felt that for as good as this short story was it needed something more.

[Nikki · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

I really liked Marjani from The Assassin's Curse and enjoyed learning more of her background (like why she was sent from her homeland). But the crocodile automaton stole the show for me and I greatly enjoyed him. His quest to get to his "great treasure" was made all the more adorable by what the treasure ended up being. I think Clarke has a knack for writing AIs and automatons--seriously, sign me up for any AI work from Clarke.

[JB Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one veers a bit further away from the characters in the original Assassin's Curse duology, but it does tell us a mini backstory for one of the side characters from that duology and how she became who she was. The addition of the charming little automaton creature was an unexpected surprise and I fell in love with him right away. Definitely read this one, too, if you're a fan of the unique and fantastical world Clarke has created. You won't be sorry.

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh, this wasn't what I thought it would be. While it was nice to have some insight into how Marjani left her upscale routes, I was expecting more of a connection between the Marjani we saw here and the Marjani we have seen so far in The Assassins Curse. I thought the automaton was cute though. I wish I had a talking bejeweled automaton croc :)

[Cynthia Armistead · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a feeling this story would have had more weight had I waited and read the novels first, but I wanted a taste of the author's work so I chose to read this and her other short piece, "The Witch's Betrayal," in chronological order. She writes quite well, and I find myself intrigued by her world so far. This story just didn't engage me quite as much as the first for some reason, though.

[Mel (Daily Prophecy) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like Marjani and it was fun to see more of her. In this story, she stumbles upon an Automaton. This is a bejeweled crocodile who wants to return to his huge treasure, but pirates want to use him. Marjani and the Automaton make a plot together to save their lives.

It's nothing too special, but definitely a nice addition to the true story.

[Kerr · Rating 3 out of 5]

These are the types of prequels you can read before or after I feel, but they wont mean much till you know the characters.
Especially this one, though the mysterious 'she' would drive you up the wall and I think that would be fun, but then the back story in the novels wont fit. Yeah, totally read this one after...

[Lilian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty cool and I know it's talking about marjina (or something, I forget her name) and right after she was banished from her home and how she finds a new life but really the point of this story is well pointless... There's no real goal to the creation of this novella except to indecate how marjina became a pirate

Overall a cool story but really pas rapport as we say in French

[Rachael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Got about half way through this book and that was only because I kept pushing through hoping the characters or story line would develop. Felt like I had been dropped in mid-story and the characters were just so damn boring. Also the first person in her uneducated pirate dialogue was exhausting, it felt forced.