Sarah J. Maas

On a remote island in a tropical sea, Celaena Sardothien, feared assassin, has come for retribution. She's been sent by the Assassin's Guild to collect on a debt they are owed by the Lord of the Pirates. But when Celaena learns that the agreed payment is not in money, but in slaves, her mission suddenly changes - and she will risk everything to right the wrong she's been sent to bring about.

A Throne of Glass Novella

The Assassin and the Pirate Lord

It's so sad every single time she mentions her home😭

Sophia

She walked until a surprisingly cold breeze swept past her. She halted.

Slowly, Celaena turned north, toward the source of the breeze, which smelled of a faraway land she hadn’t seen in eight years. Pine and snow—a city still in winter’s grasp.

She breathed it in, staring across the leagues of lonely, black ocean, seeing, somehow, that distant city that had once, long ago, been her home.

Amanda Autumn Berrey

Sam smiled, his brown eyes turning golden in the dawn. It was such a Sam look, the twinkle of mischief, the hint of exasperation, the kindness that would always, always make him a better person than she was.

“I am going to kill you, Celaena Sardothien,” Rolfe breathed. And he meant it.

Such a cute domestic request to make but it shows how their rivalry has shifted

Sam stared at her for a moment longer. “If we live through this, Celaena,” he said, heading toward the side street that led to the docks, “remind me to teach you how to play cards properly.”

He grinned. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Celaena Sardothien.” He grabbed her shoulder, suddenly closer than she’d like.

“Nervous?” he asked, his voice barely audible above the steady slice of his oars through the calm bay. “No,” she lied. “Me, too.”

Ninety-three. Mostly men, most of them young. The women were a broader range of ages, and there were only a handful of children, just as Rolfe had said.

Sam also picked up a few other pointers that he refused to tell Celaena about.

From flirting with the harlots along the main street, Sam learned that every once in a while, Rolfe covered the tab for all the pirates in his service, and the revelry lasted for days.

Orynth. A city of light and music, watched over by an alabaster castle with an opal tower so bright it could be viewed for miles.

“I think there’s more at work here than this trade agreement.” “What do you mean?” Sam traced circles in the sand between them. “I mean, why send the two of us here in the first place? His excuse for sending us was a lie. We’re not instrumental to this deal. He could just as easily have sent two other assassins who aren’t at each other’s throats all the time.” “What are you implying?” Sam shrugged. “Perhaps Arobynn wanted us out of Rifthold right now. Needed to get us out of the city for a month.”

“We could always just … not return to Rifthold,” Sam suggested.

Sam stared at her long enough for heat to flood her cheek, as if he could see right inside of her—see everything. The fact that he didn’t turn away from whatever he saw made her blood thrum in her veins.

“We kill corrupt officials and adulterous spouses; we make it quick and clean. These are entire families being ripped apart. Every one of these people used to be somebody.”

“I’m not going to let go until you promise to stop attacking me,” Sam said.

Does this mean Arobynn purchased her services

His mother, sold at eight to a brothel, had spent her too-short twenty-eight years clawing her way up from an orphan to one of the most successful courtesans in Rifthold. She’d had Sam only six years before she’d died—murdered by a jealous client. And though she’d amassed some money, it hadn’t been enough to liberate her from her brothel—or to provide for Sam. But she’d been a favorite of Arobynn’s, and when he’d learned that she wanted Sam to be trained by him, he’d taken the boy in.

“A brothel madam might show up at the auction, too.” Sam’s face went white with fury. If there was one thing that set him off, one subject she knew she could always rely upon to rile him, it was this.

So Adarlan wasn’t just snatching prisoners from battlefields and their homes—they were buying slaves for the Salt Mines of Endovier, too.

Unyielding rage boiled up so fast the breath was knocked from her. She didn’t realize her hand was moving toward her sword until Sam knotted his fingers through hers. It was a casual-enough gesture, and to anyone else, it might have looked affectionate. But he squeezed her fingers tightly enough for her to know that he was well aware of what she was about to do.

Conquest wasn’t enough; no, Adarlan had to break them.

She’d forgotten how she must appear—faceless, cloak waving behind her, striding past them like Death itself. Some of the slaves even sketched invisible marks in the air, warding off whatever evil they thought she was.

“Touch me again,” she said, striding to her bed and picking up the spilled food, “and you’ll lose that hand.”

“One day,” Rolfe said, too quietly, “someone’s really going make you pay for that arrogance.”

“Believe me, if I came home without you, Arobynn would skin me alive. Literally. If I’m going to kill you, Celaena, it’ll be when I can actually get away with it.”

Leyla Gulsen

From the very beginning, the novella is an enthralling read, with Maas's fluid writing style making the adventure both vivid and compelling. The narrative moves at a brisk pace, ensuring that readers are hooked from the first page and reluctant to put the book down until the very end. The author masterfully blends action, intrigue, and ethical dilemmas, creating a story that is not only entertaining but thought-provoking. I can't wait to finish the rest of the novellas in The Assassins Blade!

aleksandra

3/5

This year I had planned to re-read a few books in this series, because a few months ago I didn't manage to read all of them. Tower of Dawn is the reason, as I was not a fan of Chaol. I will try this time though. At least, I hope. The heroine of this series is in my top five or even top three favorite main characters in all the books I've read, so I'll do it for her.

This short story was fine. Nothing special. Nothing spectacular. As a person rereading the series it was fun to see The Pirate Lord again. I remember enjoying the battle taking place on his territory in future book.

Madison Keiran

Arobynn deserves to have his skin peeled off his body

Megan Lowe

I love this novella. It’s a great introduction to Caelena, Sam and the Throne of Glass world.

jess

Nice to see Celaena's life before Throne of Glass. Excited to read the next ones.

soph

ya amo a sam, presiento que voy a sufrir mal

Laura

“If you’re done liberating slaves and destroying pirate cities, then let’s go home.”
#0.1: The Assassin and the Pirate Lord ★★★★★
#0.2: The Assassin and the Healer ★★★★★
#0.3: The Assassin and the Desert ★★★★★
#0.4: The Assassin and the Underworld ★★★★★
#0.5: The Assassin and the Empire ★★★★★
#1: Throne of Glass ★★★☆☆
#2: Crown of Midnight ★★★☆☆
#3: Heir of Fire ★★★★★
#4: Queen of Shadows ★★★★★
#5: Empire of Storms ★★★★★
#6: Tower of Dawn ★★★★★
#7: Kingdom of Ash ★★★★★

Lysha Taynish

I’m just gonna go ahead and randomly re-read the novels from The Assassin’s Blade, cause I wanna hurt myself. 😂🥺
Also, I love Sam so much ❤️

Tegan Anderson

I wish I read the novellas before Throne of Glass or at least before I started reading the second book and then decided to abandon the series. They provide so much insight into Celaena’s character and basically fill in all the blanks that put me off the books.

The novellas give a huge understanding to Celaena’s outlook on life and personality, basically explaining her jaded and nonchalant attitude. I’m still frustrated by it, but I understand it a bit more now now. However, as there are so many books in the series, I don’t like how you need to read an additional four or five prequels just to understand the main character.

The best part of the novellas is that we finally get to meet Sam Cortland. It’s almost weird being introduced to him as the memory of him is such a bit part of the series. I loved him from the first glance. This novella started off and bored me at first, but then Sam and Celaena’s chemistry clicked, and I couldn’t put it down. Also, Sam is described in such a beautiful way.

“Sam smiled, his brown eyes turning golden in the dawn. It was such a Sam look, the twinkle of mischief, the hint of exasperation, the kindness that would always, always make him a better person than she was.”

“Embracing Sam was different, somehow. Like she wanted to curl into his warmth, like for one moment, she didn't have to worry about anything or anybody.”

Candyce Kirk

It was so nice to be back in this world. With the last book releasing in October, it's time to reread these stories and books. I love how much fun it is to stumble upon little details I totally forgot about.

Nicole Lucy O'Loughlin

Thoroughly enjoyed reading this, Celeana is a wonderful character and her snarky attitude could keep me entertained for days. I really enjoyed the character development and the new characters that I knew of but hadn't encountered before . Really loved it.

Stephanie Haynes

Marija M

With this being my first Sarah J. Maas, I'm intrigued enough to continue with the rest of these prequel novels. I felt like the beginning of this novella was a bit slow, but I did appreciate Calaena's determination to fulfill her goal. The plot picked up pace quickly, and I was flipping pages to see what'd happen next.
However, she did seem a bit immature at moments, but she is 16, afterall. A 16-year-old assassin. Kind of hard to comprehend for me, but I'm looking forward to seeing more of her story.

Wren Hardwick

Finally I am getting around to reading the adventures of my dear Celaena Sardothien. LOWKEY, I kind of love the assassin more than the queen, but that doesn't mean that I don't love the queen. 

I wanted to read it before I read Empire of Storms BUT I kind of got distracted with other books that were coming out around the same time. I am not a huge fan of novellas, but I do know that some of the characters introduced in the last book were first introduced in some of these novellas in The Assassin's Blade. And because I love 
  Sarah J. Maas's
 story telling and her writing, I am going to go ahead and read these beauties.

So, with that said, I am going to read and rate these so I can finally be completely caught up on The Throne of Glass Series: Throne of Glass, Crown of Midnight, Heir of Fire, Queen of Shadows, Empire of Storms, and Tower of Dawn.

The Assassin and the Pirate Lord (Throne of Glass, #0.1)



What an introduction my dear Captain Rolfe, Lord of the Pirates. I now understand why you hate Celaena so much and might I say, it is pretty funny. And might I add, you are the absolute worst kind of person.

If an assassin, the most feared I might add, and her colleague, Sam, are disgusted with even the idea of slaves, then what is your excuse Rolfe? 

I mean really, you walked into the mess that is Celaena. She may be an assassin, but she has good intentions. She may love throwing temper tantrum, but always be aware that she has something more dramtic up her sleeve for you. 

This was a lovely novella. It sheds a lot of light on Empire of Storms, and why The Pirate Lord was being such a baby about things. 

I would encourage anyone reading this series to read the novellas before Empire of Storms to save you any confusion.

P.S. I already love Sam and I already know my heart is going to hurt when I am done with these novellas.

Jess Houston

Just a short review for now, as I plan on doing a point-by-point review later, but holy hell! I absolutely loved this!! I had decided i wanted to read the Novellas first before ToG & CoM and the Pirate Lord is the PERFECT intro to the series! Easily 5/5

Roos Kuijper 

3.5 ster
I really liked to know more about Celaena and what happend to her before throne of glass

zoe greenbriar 

“Embracing Sam was different, somehow. Like she wanted to curl into his warmth, like for one moment, she didn't have to worry about anything or anybody.”


Sarah J Mass is going to be paying for my therapy after I finish TAB.

Giulia 

Recensione su Giulia's World

Finalmente anch'io mi sono messa di buona lena e ho cominciato a leggere le novelle prequel a "Throne of glass" :).
So che c'è chi consiglia di leggere prima le novelle e dopo i romanzi, io consiglio il contrario. Se leggete prima le novelle non so quanto capirete di come pensa e agisce Celaena, invece se la conoscete un pò meglio alcune sue scelte non vi sembreranno totalmente insensate ;).

In questa prima novella, Celaena viene mandata insieme a Sam all'isola del signore dei pirati a riscuotere un debito per conto del signore degli assassini. Ma quando scopre che il tributo verrà pagato in schiavi, Celaena cercherà in ogni modo di impedire che gli accordi si compiano.

Ormai lo sapete, adoro Celaena. Ma quando ho saputo che in queste novelle ci sarebbe stato Sam, beh ovviamente la mia attenzione è andata su di lui. Ero curiosa di scoprire che tipo fosse, visto che per ovvie ragioni viene sempre solo citato nei romanzi della serie. L'ovvia ragione la scoprirete una volta letto il primo romanzo, ahah pensavate che ve l'avrei detto eh? U_U
Ad ogni modo, ora che ho potuto leggere una storia con lui come coprotagonista devo dire che la Mass sa come creare i suoi personaggi maschili. Come fai a non innamorartene, sono così leali, forti... no cioè seriamente quando questa donna creerà un personaggio maschile brutto e senza palle fatemi un fischio!
Ho adorato questa novella, le scene del combattimento sono sempre fantastiche in ogni dettaglio e la storia è narrata così bene che la si finisce in un battito di ciglia! Non c'è un solo momento morto, il tutto è narrato in modo magistrale, come sempre del resto. 
Sarah J. Mass è una garanzia, se non avete letto questa serie cosa aspettate a farlo? :)

The Assassin and the Pirate Lord A Throne of Glass Novella

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