Dear thirteen-year-old me, do you remember going to the library and stumbling upon a book called Assassin's Creed Black Flag? Do you remember how excited you were, because you had been watching a lot, and I mean A LOT, of Assassin's Creed game playthroughs on YouTube? And how you had lost your tiny mind because you didn't know that there were actual books written inspired by the game series? Well, I, your twenty-four-year-old self, am so grateful you discovered that book that day! Because I'm having a lot of fun reading them. So far, I have only read the first book (Renaissance) and now the second book. And by the gods is it fun to read!

The books provide an extra layer to the original story in the game because there's more room for exposition. I feel like I got a better understanding of the characters, the setting and the events that took place. I was sucked into the story from page one. The author paints a very vivid image of who the characters are, what motivates them and how they interact with their beautiful surroundings. Because come on, Italy in the early 1500s? Sign me up!

I also think it was a great choice to separate the 'modern day' storyline from the Ezio timeline in the book because that would've only led to confusion. I did like the little nod to this 'modern day' plotline and 'the future assassins' when Ezio used the Apple. That way, it still feels authentic to the games.

Something everyone should be aware of upon deciding to read Assassin's Creed is the violence. I for one love how the author describes the kills and the fights, but I can imagine that others would not enjoy reading about different weapons piercing through a variety of body parts and a great deal of blood as a result of that. In this particular book, there is also a very descriptive sex scene in which the woman who works as a courtesan, isn't treated very carefully. So also be aware of that.

If you've never played Assassin's Creed, I think you would still enjoy this book! Especially if you're into fantasy-esque stories in historical settings with famous people from that time. The Borgia family, Leonardo Da Vinci and such make frequent appearances.

Although I greatly enjoyed this book, I felt like a few things were missing. I cannot pinpoint what that exactly entails unfortunately, I just know that something is missing from it to be an absolute masterpiece. Maybe it was because at times I got lost in the dialogue. It was a tad too lengthy for my taste at times. Also, the cat-and-mouse game between Ezio and Cesare went on for what felt like ages towards the end of the book. It could have ended sooner and a bit more dramatically. Nonetheless, a fun read! I cannot wait to read the third book in this series.

I mean, I picked it up not expecting it to be good, but it managed to be even more cliched and half-asses than I expected.

Oliver Bowden writes terrible sex scenes. But this book is about what I'd expect of a novelization of a video game. Which is to say it is what it sets out to be.

There's so much potential for a book series based on the lore of the Assassin's Creed universe.
It's a shame they couldn't find a decent author to execute it.

Will not win any litterary awards and let's face it... it's the novelization of the game.

The upside, you can enjoy a great story without the video game bugs ;)

Meh.