The Assassin's Blade Audiobook By Sarah J. Maas cover art

The Assassin's Blade

The Throne of Glass Novellas

 Preview
Prime Member Exclusive

3 Months Free

$8.99/mo. after 3 months. Cancel anytime.
Get this deal
Offer ends on July 15, 2026 at 11:59 PT.
More purchase options

The Assassin's Blade

By: Sarah J. Maas
Narrated by: Elizabeth Evans
Get this deal

$8.99/mo. after 3 months. Cancel anytime. Offer ends July 15, 2026 at 11:59pm PT.

Buy for $23.18

Buy for $23.18

Bloomsbury presents The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas, read by Elizabeth Evans.

The twist of a knife. The birth of a legend.

Step into the world of the #1 bestselling Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas with this collection of prequel novellas.

Celaena Sardothien is her kingdom’s most feared assassin. Though she works for the powerful Assassin’s Guild and its scheming master, Arobynn Hamel, she yields to no one and trusts only her fellow killer-for-hire, Sam. But when Arobynn dispatches her on missions that take her from remote islands to hostile deserts, Celaena finds herself acting independently of his wishes and questioning her own allegiance.

If she hopes to escape Arobynn’s clutches, Celaena will have to put her faith in her wits and her blade . . . knowing that if she fails, she’ll lose not just a chance at freedom but her life.

A prequel to the New York Times bestselling Throne of Glass, this collection of five novellas explores the history of this cunning assassin and her enthralling—and deadly—world.

Included in this volume:
The Assassin and the Pirate Lord
The Assassin and the Healer
The Assassin and the Desert
The Assassin and the Underworld
The Assassin and the Empire©2014 Sarah J. Maas (P)2021 Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Accolades & Awards

Most Popular
Assassin Fantasy Fiction Suspenseful Feel-Good Epic Epic Fantasy Paranormal Paranormal & Urban
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_c

Critic reviews

Action-packed . . . What a ride! (Booklist on The Assassin’s Blade)
A thrilling read. (Publishers Weekly, starred review, on Throne of Glass)
An epic fantasy readers will immerse themselves in and never want to leave. (Kirkus Reviews, starred review, on Crown of Midnight)
Celaena is as much an epic hero as Frodo or Jon Snow! (New York Times bestselling author Tamora Pierce on Heir of Fire)
Packed . . . with brooding glances, simmering sexual tension, twisty plot turns, lush world building, and snarky banter. (Booklist on Queen of Shadows)
Tightly plotted, delightful escapism. (Kirkus Reviews on Empire of Storms)
Turns a corner from sprawling epic to thrilling psychological fantasy. (HuffPost on Tower of Dawn)
A worthy finale to one of the best fantasy book series of the past decade. (Time on Kingdom of Ash)
Emotional Depth • Character Development • Essential Backstory • Interconnected Novellas • Engaging Plot Twists

Highly rated for:

All stars
Most relevant
I love this series! I actually read TOG first not knowing that this was the first book so it was nice to really know what happened!

loved it!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I’m definitely thankful I read books 1 & 2 before reading this book. They helped me appreciate this book even more!

Loved it

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I really enjoyed the back stories to many of the characters you meet or hear about throughout the rest of the Throne of Glass series, BUT this is not a prequel you should read before starting. It gives too many hints at the surprises to come - nothing is revealed, but knowing what surprises to look for ruins the plot twist further in the series, in my opinion.
Read all 7 of the other books, then (if you loved them) read this one before you re-read the series.

Also, I wish Maas would have added more positive experiences between the love interests - she builds it up through inner monologue, but the only experiences they have together seem tainted by everything else going on. Their love seems unrealistic without some proof of their actual desire beyond the physical connection of 2 young, attractive people. His emotions are more believable than hers... it let me down a little in that respect.

A prequel to read AFTER a first go through series

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
whoever says that this book was just a whole lot of talk doesn't know what they're talking about. maybe this book wasn't the best, even though in my opinion it's one of them, the entire series is brillant and worth sticking with.

amazing

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
If your looking for something gritty, this may not be for you. It’s more of a good doer protagonist that bad things happen around. All and all it was pretty good though.

Cute but pg?

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews