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The Tales of Einarinn #5
The Assassin's Edge
After a long winter spent in the Kellarin colony, the crafty and beautiful Livak is anxious to move on. Now an opportunity is on the horizon. The reclamation of a lost southern settlement is in the offing, but those involved, Livak included, must await the spring arrival of the first ship from the mainland -- an event that will never take place. Unbeknownst to all, the vital trading route to Tormalin is no longer secure. A dire new threat to the colony's survival has arisen. A final battle of strength, cunning and courage challenges Livak and her devoted swordsman-lover Ryshad, one that will force them to take up arms to confront a merciless, many-faceted evil.
514 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 5, 2002
7 people are currently reading
399 people want to read
About the author
Juliet E. McKenna
102 books235 followersJuliet E McKenna is a British fantasy author living in the Cotswolds, UK. Loving history, myth and other worlds since she first learned to read, she has written fifteen epic fantasy novels so far. Her debut, The Thief’s Gamble, began The Tales of Einarinn in 1999, followed by The Aldabreshin Compass sequence, The Chronicles of the Lescari Revolution, and The Hadrumal Crisis trilogy. The Green Man’s Heir was her first modern fantasy inspired by British folklore in 2018. The Green Man’s Quarry in 2023 was the sixth title in this ongoing series and won the BSFA Award for Best Novel. The seventh book, in 2024, is The Green Man’s War.
Her 2023 novel The Cleaving is a female-centred retelling of the story of King Arthur, while her shorter fiction includes forays into dark fantasy, steampunk and science fiction. She promotes SF&Fantasy by reviewing, by blogging on book trade issues, attending conventions and teaching creative writing. She has served as a judge for the James White Award, the Aeon Award, the Arthur C Clarke Award and the World Fantasy Awards. In 2015 she received the British Fantasy Society’s Karl Edward Wagner Award. As J M Alvey, she has written historical murder mysteries set in ancient Greece.
Who’s to say what will come next?
Learn more about all of this at julietemckenna.com and on Twitter @JulietEMcKenna
Her 2023 novel The Cleaving is a female-centred retelling of the story of King Arthur, while her shorter fiction includes forays into dark fantasy, steampunk and science fiction. She promotes SF&Fantasy by reviewing, by blogging on book trade issues, attending conventions and teaching creative writing. She has served as a judge for the James White Award, the Aeon Award, the Arthur C Clarke Award and the World Fantasy Awards. In 2015 she received the British Fantasy Society’s Karl Edward Wagner Award. As J M Alvey, she has written historical murder mysteries set in ancient Greece.
Who’s to say what will come next?
Learn more about all of this at julietemckenna.com and on Twitter @JulietEMcKenna
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
July 6, 2022
4,25 stars - English Ebook
After a long winter spent in the Kellarin colony, the crafty and beautiful Livak is anxious to move on. Now an opportunity is on the horizon. The reclamation of a lost southern settlement is in the offing, but those involved, Livak included, must await the spring arrival of the first ship from the mainland, an event that will never take place.
Unbeknownst to all, the vital trading route to Tormalin is no longer secure. A dire new threat to the colony's survival has arisen. A final battle of strength, cunning and courage challenges Livak and her devoted swordsman-lover Ryshad, one that will force them to take up arms to confront a merciless, many-faceted evil.
I liked the first three books in this series a great deal, then the fourth was quite slow and full of politicking. So while this has more action and adventure I don't think it got back to the quality of the first three. There was a good deal of unnecessary descriptive writing, and I love description, to pad out the tale without much advancing anything, and we could have done with a quick catch-up at the start instead of Livak the thief maundering about how she has to do her own washing. Just my opinion.
Livak and Ryshad find that the colony they have established is cut off from trade and settlers by pirates, and the pirates have the support of the mages from the ice islands to the north.
I didn't much like the lingering on nasty violence and death a few times, and while piracy on shipping is expected in such times, there was no explanation of how the pirates spent their money, given they lived in shanties.
But it's s great that the adventure's back and the lover's together!
After a long winter spent in the Kellarin colony, the crafty and beautiful Livak is anxious to move on. Now an opportunity is on the horizon. The reclamation of a lost southern settlement is in the offing, but those involved, Livak included, must await the spring arrival of the first ship from the mainland, an event that will never take place.
Unbeknownst to all, the vital trading route to Tormalin is no longer secure. A dire new threat to the colony's survival has arisen. A final battle of strength, cunning and courage challenges Livak and her devoted swordsman-lover Ryshad, one that will force them to take up arms to confront a merciless, many-faceted evil.
I liked the first three books in this series a great deal, then the fourth was quite slow and full of politicking. So while this has more action and adventure I don't think it got back to the quality of the first three. There was a good deal of unnecessary descriptive writing, and I love description, to pad out the tale without much advancing anything, and we could have done with a quick catch-up at the start instead of Livak the thief maundering about how she has to do her own washing. Just my opinion.
Livak and Ryshad find that the colony they have established is cut off from trade and settlers by pirates, and the pirates have the support of the mages from the ice islands to the north.
I didn't much like the lingering on nasty violence and death a few times, and while piracy on shipping is expected in such times, there was no explanation of how the pirates spent their money, given they lived in shanties.
But it's s great that the adventure's back and the lover's together!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 7, 2017
Series finale!
Confession: this isn't my favourite book in the series, but that said, none of the Tales of Einarinn rate under 4 stars for me, so...
The Assassin's Edge is a good wrap; Juliet McKenna manages to keep the story well-enough balanced that the outcome seems plausible, without resorting to any Hail Mary saves (totally appreciate that).
Livak, Sorgrad, Ryshad, and Sorgren remain by far my favourite characters of the Einarinn world. While there are other spin-off series set in the same world (and why not, it's a very well-built world), the characters don't have quite that same level of appeal. This team is a nice balance of personalities and ethics that ensures there's always something going on even when they're marooned in the middle of nowhere.
Confession: this isn't my favourite book in the series, but that said, none of the Tales of Einarinn rate under 4 stars for me, so...
The Assassin's Edge is a good wrap; Juliet McKenna manages to keep the story well-enough balanced that the outcome seems plausible, without resorting to any Hail Mary saves (totally appreciate that).
Livak, Sorgrad, Ryshad, and Sorgren remain by far my favourite characters of the Einarinn world. While there are other spin-off series set in the same world (and why not, it's a very well-built world), the characters don't have quite that same level of appeal. This team is a nice balance of personalities and ethics that ensures there's always something going on even when they're marooned in the middle of nowhere.
May 6, 2024
Pretty nice pull-together of the threads originated in this series.
Slight spoilers ahead ...
...
The danger feels real, but the sacrifices are ultimately fairly minor - the most major death on the protagonists' team is more notable in the impact of the death on other characters than to the reader. It didn't spoil it, but seemed a little disappointing.
A bigger complaint was that the climactic battle with the Big Bad Boss was vividly anticlimactic. Again, didn't poison the rest of the book, but very meh. Maybe it was because there were other conflicts still to resolve, but it just didn't pay off.
Slight spoilers ahead ...
...
The danger feels real, but the sacrifices are ultimately fairly minor - the most major death on the protagonists' team is more notable in the impact of the death on other characters than to the reader. It didn't spoil it, but seemed a little disappointing.
A bigger complaint was that the climactic battle with the Big Bad Boss was vividly anticlimactic. Again, didn't poison the rest of the book, but very meh. Maybe it was because there were other conflicts still to resolve, but it just didn't pay off.
March 5, 2020
A great finale to the Tales of Einarinn series, this still has the problem that the author slows down the pace by describing what the characters are looking at, in great detail, when things are dire for them. Very irritating. However, except for Gamblers Fortune, I loved all these books. Even GF was good once the pace picked up.
March 6, 2021
very solid finish to this sequence. all the primary characters get pulled back together. the pacing and development here is probably the best of the five. and there's the requisite sadness of leaving (most of) these folks at the end.
November 4, 2022
Tore through this book.
We have everyone on scene this time, but it felt half finished.
I was at the end just after the action got good. I want more.
I shall give the author's other series a try and see how I go. You like fantasy? then give these a go.
We have everyone on scene this time, but it felt half finished.
I was at the end just after the action got good. I want more.
I shall give the author's other series a try and see how I go. You like fantasy? then give these a go.
January 3, 2019
I'm so glad this series had a strong ending. I was skeptical after loving the first one then feeling a bit meh about the next books, but this last book kind of redeemed the series for me. The middle books felt a bit like filler, maybe this series could have been shortened down a bit.
But otherwise I really enjoyed seeing all the characters come together and use their individual strengths to overcome their enemy. It was a satisfying end for all!
But otherwise I really enjoyed seeing all the characters come together and use their individual strengths to overcome their enemy. It was a satisfying end for all!
January 23, 2014
It has taken a while to get here, and there's been a lot of painstaking world-building along the way, but Juliet McKenna's five-book series pays dividends with this final volume. Everything that has been set up so far comes back into play - and there's not a false note to be heard as every single character acts according to their...erm... character and stray deus ex machinas are denied admittance.
Livak's long journey has taken her to Suthyfer, where Temar is rebuilding the long-lost colony, but she has no particular quest in mind - she's more concerned with making a future for herself and Ryshad. But Suthyfer is a long, long way from mainland civilisation, and the colony is only as secure as its supply routes. Worse still, the pirates intent on causing trouble are assisted by Elietimm Artifice. This isn't a straight-forward battle to the death, even though the fate of the colony depends on overwhelming their foes - McKenna has always been careful to keep the moral and political dimensions to her plots and characters intact, and The Assassin's Edge is no different. The pirate Muredarch has designs on the colony himself, the Elietimm have their own agenda, and the wizards of Hadrumal must decide how openly they can involve themselves in the struggle. This last aspect actually draws the greatest tragedy and though you can understand why the wizards have kept themselves apart, you do end up shouting at Planir - "For god's sake do something, man!"
Muredarch's pirates are also foully moral in their own way. They have rules, and woe betide anyone who breaks them. Their violence is almost more shocking than that of the series's main Bad Guy, the Elietimm warlord Ilkehan. McKenna doesn't gloss over the violence, but nor does she give her characters extended emotional farewells. Once they get their heads smashed in, that's it. To take the sting from the bluntness, the characters Sorgrad and Sorgren are delightfully proto-Abercrombian (this came before The First Law, remember).
Unforgivably, I actually abandoned this series quite quickly when it first came out. I think the split first/third-person narratives put me off. Time and maturity have put me right. Recommended to any reader who likes their characters and plots to have real intelligence.
Livak's long journey has taken her to Suthyfer, where Temar is rebuilding the long-lost colony, but she has no particular quest in mind - she's more concerned with making a future for herself and Ryshad. But Suthyfer is a long, long way from mainland civilisation, and the colony is only as secure as its supply routes. Worse still, the pirates intent on causing trouble are assisted by Elietimm Artifice. This isn't a straight-forward battle to the death, even though the fate of the colony depends on overwhelming their foes - McKenna has always been careful to keep the moral and political dimensions to her plots and characters intact, and The Assassin's Edge is no different. The pirate Muredarch has designs on the colony himself, the Elietimm have their own agenda, and the wizards of Hadrumal must decide how openly they can involve themselves in the struggle. This last aspect actually draws the greatest tragedy and though you can understand why the wizards have kept themselves apart, you do end up shouting at Planir - "For god's sake do something, man!"
Muredarch's pirates are also foully moral in their own way. They have rules, and woe betide anyone who breaks them. Their violence is almost more shocking than that of the series's main Bad Guy, the Elietimm warlord Ilkehan. McKenna doesn't gloss over the violence, but nor does she give her characters extended emotional farewells. Once they get their heads smashed in, that's it. To take the sting from the bluntness, the characters Sorgrad and Sorgren are delightfully proto-Abercrombian (this came before The First Law, remember).
Unforgivably, I actually abandoned this series quite quickly when it first came out. I think the split first/third-person narratives put me off. Time and maturity have put me right. Recommended to any reader who likes their characters and plots to have real intelligence.
March 16, 2011
(Again, a repost - you can find my original review and comments here: http://drying-ink.blogspot.com/2010/1...)
I recently reviewed The Gambler's Fortune by the same author, so I was anxious to see if Juliet McKenna's conclusion to the Tales of Einarinn could live up to its predecessors in the series. While The Gambler's Fortune is certainly accounted a good book, The Assassin's Edge is equally definitely a great one. And I'll explain why in due course, but first, a quick synopsis:
The final volume of the Tales of Einarinn cannot be described in detail - to reveal more than a bare handful of facts will almost certainly ruin the plot. Still, I'll give it a try. Livak and Ryshad are now residents of the Kellarin colony, and even most of the mercenaries, kept on to defend the settlement from any Elietimm invasion, have traded in their swords for farming implements of their choices. While Temar D'Alsennin endeavours to avoid his duties, more serious things are at stake: the first ships of spring will not be arriving, and the Elietimm are back at work. While this threat must be dealt with, a more permanent solution must now be found: and from the title, it might not be hard to guess.
So, what makes The Assassin's Edge a great book? Firstly, the characters experience genuine development: Temar and Allin especially are fun to watch, and newer characters, such as Naldeth, grow into fully-fledged protagonists. Secondly, I thought the magic system could become static after the upheavals of the first few books. I was, happily, wrong. New discoveries are made in a believable - and interesting - manner, and certainly do not serve the role of a deus ex machina: solving the plot in a handy, never-before-described way. Thirdly, the mages get some truly heroic moments, which I thought were lacking slightly in The Gambler's Fortune, and Sorgrad and 'Gren return once more to create relatively amiable havoc.
Although the scene in which one plot thread is resolved is a little concise, this really is the only flaw to the book, making it a definite:
9/10
Highly recommended - if you've read the earlier books.
I recently reviewed The Gambler's Fortune by the same author, so I was anxious to see if Juliet McKenna's conclusion to the Tales of Einarinn could live up to its predecessors in the series. While The Gambler's Fortune is certainly accounted a good book, The Assassin's Edge is equally definitely a great one. And I'll explain why in due course, but first, a quick synopsis:
The final volume of the Tales of Einarinn cannot be described in detail - to reveal more than a bare handful of facts will almost certainly ruin the plot. Still, I'll give it a try. Livak and Ryshad are now residents of the Kellarin colony, and even most of the mercenaries, kept on to defend the settlement from any Elietimm invasion, have traded in their swords for farming implements of their choices. While Temar D'Alsennin endeavours to avoid his duties, more serious things are at stake: the first ships of spring will not be arriving, and the Elietimm are back at work. While this threat must be dealt with, a more permanent solution must now be found: and from the title, it might not be hard to guess.
So, what makes The Assassin's Edge a great book? Firstly, the characters experience genuine development: Temar and Allin especially are fun to watch, and newer characters, such as Naldeth, grow into fully-fledged protagonists. Secondly, I thought the magic system could become static after the upheavals of the first few books. I was, happily, wrong. New discoveries are made in a believable - and interesting - manner, and certainly do not serve the role of a deus ex machina: solving the plot in a handy, never-before-described way. Thirdly, the mages get some truly heroic moments, which I thought were lacking slightly in The Gambler's Fortune, and Sorgrad and 'Gren return once more to create relatively amiable havoc.
Although the scene in which one plot thread is resolved is a little concise, this really is the only flaw to the book, making it a definite:
9/10
Highly recommended - if you've read the earlier books.
Read
October 21, 2007http://nhw.livejournal.com/422672.html[return][return]The fifth in Juliet McKenna's Einarinn series, of which I am a moderate fan (see third and fourth books previously). Once again, competently done, and most of the threads from the first four books pulled together (though I did want to hear more of the lascivious island race from book #2). Among McKenna's strengths (others are mentioned in my previous reviews) are decent battle scenes - just enough detail to make you feel that it's a confusing, violent situation to be in, without at the same time confusing the reader (or at least this reader). There's also a wonderfully described bath scene. And the final confrontations with the bad guys are most satisfying. I was slightly surprised, though it's not really a criticism, by the low-key tone of the final wrap-up chapters after the plot is basically over; I'd somehow expected something more dramatic after five books and 2500 pages. But perhaps McKenna is just trying to tell us that life goes on.
February 16, 2014
Nevím, jestli je to překladem nebo autorkou, ale Ledové ostří ani zdaleka nedosahuje kvalit předchozích čtyř dílů. Chybí mi tam především jazyková vytříbenost a skvělé dialogy, které dřív i z těch nejnudnějších pasáží dělaly něco, v čem jsem se vždycky s chutí porochňala bez ohledu na náladu a denní či noční hodinu. Tady jsem místy přemýšlela, jestli si ze mě náhodou někdo jenom nedělá srandu, obzvlášť u zmiňovaných rozhovorů mezi postavami. Konec temnosráče Ilkehana nebyl očekávaným vrcholem knihy a ten, co přišel vzápětí, byl pro mě spíš tak trochu parodií na mnohem silnější momenty v předchozích knihách. Ale budiž, dostali jsme rozuzlení zápletky, přestože bych si důstojný konec epické pentalogie představovala asi trochu jinak.
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February 3, 2013This was a satisfying end to the series. Although as predicted she was a bit rushed to wrap everything up from the past four novels, the ending left a smile on my face and sad that there wasn’t more to the story.
The plot was a bit scattered and, as with the fourth book, seemed a bit drawn out. If I had to guess her first two books sold well enough that the publisher wanted her to stretch the series out to five and she’d only planned a trilogy or quadrilogy at first and had to add in the extra book/book and a half.
Click here to read the rest of the review on my blog, The Oddness of Moving Things.
The plot was a bit scattered and, as with the fourth book, seemed a bit drawn out. If I had to guess her first two books sold well enough that the publisher wanted her to stretch the series out to five and she’d only planned a trilogy or quadrilogy at first and had to add in the extra book/book and a half.
Click here to read the rest of the review on my blog, The Oddness of Moving Things.
January 27, 2014
The 5th tale of Einarrin. The final (?) battle with the Elietimm enchanters, as usual, once I got into it, it was hard to put it down. There are definitely a few threads opened through the series that don't get completely resolved, so Juliet McKenna will have opportunities (if she wishes) to write about this universe again and resolve them.
May 13, 2010
yea! the series is done. the killed the bad guy - very anti-climatic - the right people all got together - which we knew - people died we didn't want to die. blood, guts, and sharks ... that part was very icky.
November 16, 2013
A decent end to the series, but it didn't engage as well or quickly as the previous entries.
July 26, 2019
A satisfying ending to a decent fantasy series. Not my favorite book in the series, but it does a good job tying up loose ends.
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September 6, 2013The Tales of Einarinn #5
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