Based on the games, but I constantly felt the game is based on this book. It is not as exciting as the game, but the details, the feelings and the immersion into the corrupt world of Italian leaders are delivered and the fights between them and the Assassins are shown here geniously. Bowden had a hard job with writing this story but he managed excellently, even though it is a really fast paced story with shallow (in the means of portraying them) but loveable characters. Bowden hid many historical insights and clues, making tasteful jokes about Leonardo and Machiavelli, and leaders of the era, meanwhile the reader can feel the seemingly invincible loneliness of Ezio, the cruelity of corruption and the constant thirst for power. I am glad I could read this book in English which is not my native language, because Bowden used a great variety of words of the era, describing the beauty of the cities or realistically showing fightings. I recommend this book for all who wants to read "something else", as this story is more like a written movie, which you indeed need to imagine and be in it wholly.