4.5

I have never played a video game, but when I saw that this novel was set in Chinese history, and written by a Chinese novelist, I grabbed it. Glad I did.

I don't think it was completely successful, but in a way that showcases just how good the author is.

Shao Jun, the last of her clan, goes home after she training with the legendary assassin Ezio Auditore, to find everything destroyed. However, she cannot avenge her former brothers and renew the Brotherhood in China alone. She surrounds herself with allies and tries to defeat the Eight Tigers.

First off, she isn't the lone wolf who takes on the world type of hero. She needs to get and rely on allies. If you've read Water Margin, you might be reminded of how Song Jiang, who had the rep of the mightiest of heroes, actually spends a good deal of the four volumes getting allies to help him with each challenge.

The world is terrifically evoked, the martial arts styles impeccably described, and the characters are well drawn. Which brings me to the sense that it wasn't completely successful: I feel that the author was too constrained by the format of a gaming novel (which promises its reader non-stop battles) and so characterization and worldbuilding and themes kept trying to leak through. The result might be slowly paced for the gamer just looking for cool fights, and too mono-thread for a reader looking for a good spec fic novel that uses the Ming era for its springboard.

Still, an absorbing read, and makes me want to seek more of this author's work.

Will not be reviewing due to the type of narrative not being my style, and thus not grabbing my attention. The rating was given in order to not hurt the general rating of the book.

I enjoy the Assassin's Creed series, despite having really fallen behind in the games. I've played several, and those that I have played I've really enjoyed, especially Assassin's Creed: Syndicate (seriously, set anything in Victorian era London I'm going to fall in love with it). But, I've not really experienced all that this ever expanding universe has to offer, so when I saw that Aconyte Books were going to be bringing out a novel set in this universe I was very, very excited.

Assassin's Creed: The Ming Storm follows the events of the side scrolling spin-off game Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China, and sees the assassin Shao Jun returning to her homeland after spending time learning from master assassin Ezio Auditore following the destruction of her brotherhood. Having been taught by the best assassin in the world Shao Jun feels that she's finally ready to take on the members of the Eight Tigers, a group of eunuchs that control the Chinese imperial court.

I'm actually quite glad that I haven't played this game, as it means that I get to come to the book completely fresh, without any preconceptions of what to expect. Though I do expect that there will be moments in this book that directly reference parts of the game, and those will be completely lost on me. However, the book very much feels like a regular novel, and there were never any times where anything felt odd or out of place, like Yan Leisheng was having to put something in just because it was in the game.

Instead of feeling like an adaptation, books that sometimes struggle to have their own voice, or where the parts of the story that the author has added feel tonally very different from those in the original material, Assassin's Creed: The Ming Storm felt like a cohesive and tonally unique book. If I didn't know it was telling the story of the game I'd have believed it was a completely original new story within that universe.

I was also very impressed that Aconyte employed a Chinese author to work on the book. I know this might seem like a really obvious thing to do, but not every publisher would think to do that. Not only does this decision show a great deal of respect on the publisher's part, but it also makes the book feel very different. You can always tell when an author knows the subjects that they're writing about, and when people are writing about places and people that they know over things they've simply researched.

Yan Leisheng wrote in a way I wasn't expecting too, and it took me a while to learn his writing style. This was partially down to myself, and the fact that I was expecting the book to have a certain pace and tone because of the source material it's based upon. I was expecting the novel to move quickly, to be full of action, and to have faced paced dialogue. Instead, it's a book that takes it's time. It spends a good deal of its text going into depth about the people and places, and making sure the reader has a good understanding of things. There are sometimes moments where Leicheng will spend a page or two giving you detail about the history of a person in the middle of dialogue, where the response to what they've just said takes a page or two to come because of the details we're being given.

I'm not sure if this is a cultural thing or not, whether it's a writing style that's more favoured by Chinese authors like Leisheng, or if it's his own personal style. Either way, it made the book a very different type of experience, though if I had to compare his style to another author I'd have to say it reads like Stephen King. Much like King Leisheng goes into depth, provides heaps of context, and doesn't race towards a conclusion, instead allowing the reader to meander through this world he's creating.

Assassin's Creed: The Ming Storm might be based upon a video game, but it felt like a book that was purely its own creation. It's a book that cares more about crafting a living breathing world, filled with characters that have a lot of depth, who the readers can come to understand. Even if you're not normally interested in video game books, or even action books, I'd say it's worth reading because it's a lot more than either of those, and is a book that explores the history and culture of China with care and attention.

thank you to netgalley for the arc

This was an easy read, I loved it and could not put it down. I am a huge fan of the Assassin Creed games and own serveral of the AC compainion books, The Ming Storm is a great addition to the franchise espically since this book is based off of a much smaller AC game ( AC Chronicals China) that I loved and this book not ony blends in the history very well but it also brings more life to the storyline of the game.

I struggled with this book, it is a great storyline and is full of action, however I didn’t get on the the author’s style of writing, I need to say I’m am not the target demographic and am sure the author was targeting other readers. I have read a number of books from the Assassin's Creed universe and enjoyed them all. This book could be suffering from some sections being translated poorly or it could have been me, in any case it’s a good read for a pre teen, again it’s not a bad story and as this was a pre published copy may not have completed the editing process, I recommend you read the sample on Kindle first to see if you get on with it.

FOR MARVEL NOVELS ONLY:

Please Note. If the title you are reviewing is from the Aconyte & Marvel range you MUST use the following hashtags on online reviews #Marvel #MarvelEnt #Aconytebooks #review and mention that the book was given to you for an honest review. You must also add the following legals to the bottom of any review you write:

About Marvel Entertainment

Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of more than 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media for over eighty years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing, publishing, games, and digital media.

For more information visit marvel.com. © 2020 MARVEL

*I have received this book in exchange of an honest review, thank you to NetGalley and Aconyte Books for it.*

In this book we follow a young girl Shao Jun, the last representative of her clan, which has returned home after she has trained with the legendary assassin Ezio Auditore. However, she cannot avenge her former brothers and renew the Brotherhood in China alone. She surrounds herself with allies and tries to defeat the Eight Tigers.

Well, I liked the plot. Good revenge story is what I like :) but... As said in description Shao Jun could not do it by herself, which by all means is okay everybody needs help sometimes, however it seemed to me, that she needed to be rescued or to be helped almost all the time, except two or three fights.
If she had the skills and she was trained also by Ezio, she should be better figther...
Another issue is in my opinion trying to describe every fighting technique, what stretches short fights enormous.
From me solid 3,5 stars :) certainly recommend reading, if you like Assassins and historical setting.

#Aconytebooks #review #Marvel #MarvelEnt
About Marvel Entertainment
Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of more than 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media for over eighty years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing, publishing, games, and digital media.
For more information visit marvel.com. © 2020 MARVEL

I always enjoy an Assassin Creed book and The Ming Storm is no different. I enjoyed reading an AC novel that was set in Asia and not Europe like the other books were. I really enjoyed the characters and the world was well built. I am looking forward to what comes next in the Assassin's Creed world.

This book is a real page Turner. I just could not put it down. I read it in a weekend. I read the whole series and I thought this one was the best one. I definitely recommend it.

The Ming Storm is the latest novelization of the Assassin's Creed video game franchise. While a long time AC fan, this is my first novelization and I was super excited to get started. Unfortunately, The Ming Storm sacrifices the book's flow and charm for the sake of technical specificity. What could have been a fun action-adventure novel got bogged down by trying to name and describe every specific fighting technique, causing short fights to take up pages and pages of mind-numbing descriptions. The storylines and exhilarating fights are what I love about the Assassin’s Creed video games but this book became a martial arts lecture instead. I'd still recommend this book to die-hard Assassin's Creed fans and/or history buffs who will appreciate the overbearing attention to detail, but I wouldn't recommend this book to those looking for a relaxing, easy-to-get-through novel.

In a style that blends science fiction with historical fiction, the first novel in the Assassin’s Creed trilogy features the story of Shao Jun, a young Chinese assassin who’s the main protagonist in the video game Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China. I was not an avid fan of the game series and haven’t played it before, but this novel adaptation surely captivates me throughout the story. Set in 16th century China during the era of the Ming Dynasty, the Middle Kingdom was in a state of turmoil after the death of Emperor Zhengde who reigned from 1505 to 1521. Shao Jun, the former concubine nicknamed Imperial Favourite, barely escapes death and travels to Europe to escape the disaster that befalls the Chinese Brotherhood. In Europe, she trains under the Italian Ezio Auditore before finally returning to China.

The essential conflict in this story is the clash between the Eight Tigers, a powerful bunch of eunuchs in the Ming court during the reign of Emperor Zhengde with almost all members were part of Chinese Templars, with the Assassin Brotherhood which attempts progression of new ideas and maintains freedom. They are described as oil and water, who have fought through all recorded human history, both in East and West. In China, it was said that the first conflict between the two factions had already been in existence since the Warring States period, with the Eight Tigers assisted Qin Shihuangdi in establishing first China’s ruling dynasty. Zhang Yong, one of the Eight Tigers, uses the opportunity after the death of Emperor Zhengde to eliminate all of the Chinese Brotherhood, with Shao Jun finally escapes to Europe as a last resort after the extermination of her clan.

Throughout the journey, Shao Jun meets many people that provide assistance to her in times of need, starting with Master Wang Yangming, the scholar from Jiushan University who takes over the role of Mentor for the Chinese Brotherhood after the Great Rites controversy following the death of Emperor Zhengde and other members of the Brotherhood. There are also countless battles in this story, as battles are the essential part of the game which also appear in this novel adaptation. I’ll have to praise the way Yan Leisheng describes battle scenes that are easy to imagine with unique styled moves that each character possesses.

I was reading this book in the hope of finding something related to the decline of the Ming Dynasty, and I was not disappointed in the relevant historical backgrounds. While this story indeed deviates a bit from the real historical Middle Kingdom, there is certainly enough background on the way maritime laws banned all activities on the high seas. The Ming Dynasty was famous for the maritime expeditions led by the Muslim eunuch Zheng He (Cheng Ho) between 1405 and 1433. One of the Ming Ban happened to take place between 1521 and 1529, starting in the same year as the death of Emperor Zhengde which form the historical background of this story. However, it is against this background that the science fiction element of the story is built in the way the Eight Tigers devise a way to create immortal creatures called yuxiao to assist their goals in hold a tight grip on power in the Middle Kingdom, which is certainly interesting.

Even though this is an adaptation from the game, it’s still enjoyable without knowing the stories from the game first. However, I find it a bit confusing at times with the sheer amount of characters in the story, that I think it would be helpful at least to include a glossary that shows the list of characters. Overall, I enjoyed the battle scenes and the depiction of the Ming Empire in this story. Any fans of historical fiction will surely enjoy this.

The writing was good, but I couldn’t really get into this book. I did not really enjoy this book because I am not really into the game. I couldn’t get into it and barely finished. However, if you are a big fan of the game, I suggest giving this book a try!

“Warmth and cold exists only in my mind. The ten Thousand things of this world are nothing and my mind alone gives birth to them. The weather is what it is, and if you are cold, it is only in your mind.” #AssasinsCreed #ShaoJun #TheMingStorm #YanLeisheng #AconyteBooks

My rating: 4,5 / 5

Well, well, well. I’m so impressed by this book! Despite my huge summer reading plans, I have to explore Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China, somehow, I’ve missed it. Shame on me! For those who don’t know, most of the Assassin's Creed books are fan-fiction. And this book, if I understand it right if a fan-fiction of this game, released in 2015. Game inspired stories. And the best part of this is, you don’t have to be a gamer to understand them, there is advantage though, if you know some pre-stories. For example, in this book, we have flashbacks of Master Assassin, Ezio Auditore and Italian Brotherhood.

The Ming Dynasty, 16th century China. This book is about Shao Jun, Master Assassin of Chinese brotherhood. She is the last of her clan, she runs away from China to Italy and trains as an assassin, her teacher is famous and well known in the world of Assassins Creed, Ezio Auditore. She returns to China, she has to fight the leader of Eight Tigers, and she can’t do it alone, so she starts looking for the allies.

It’s a fast-paced fantasy, and I had so much fun reading it! My absolutely favorite part was, despite this book being fan-fiction, author has made this book feel so authentic, with little author notes, explaining certain traditions, details, characters, items. Great job!

Best part of this is, there is also a Manga book about Shao Jun, I have to read it next. So much love for this character and Assassins Creed universe in China!

Thank you @Netgalley and @AconyteBooks for provided ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was given this as a ARC copy for a honest review and here we go.
Maybe because I am not really a player of the game or because I had not read the others available I could not relate to the characters.
I must clarify however that the writing was not the issue. I would still recommend this if Assassin's Creed is a favorite of yours and you can relate the characters in the story.
Thanks so much for the chance to review, I will try again after I play threw some of the games and see if it helps me relate to the characters and story more.

I got through the first lockdown by playing all the Assasin’s Creed games I could get my hands on for PS3. They really helped me get through those months, so when I saw this book on Netgalley I got very excited. I think I should have stuck with the games though.
This isn’t necessarily the book’s fault though. I always struggle to get into books that give us a lot of action scenes before giving us time to get to know and care for the characters involved in the fighting for their lives. In this case the writing itself also didn’t really work for me. Again, there wasn’t anything wrong with it, yet failed to draw me in and keep me engaged. It was a struggle to read... so I decided to DNF it.

I have received this book in exchange of an honest review, thank you to NetGalley and Aconyte Books for the opportunity.

──────────────────

I'll preface this review by saying that I am a huge fan of the Assassin's Creed games and try to play as many installments as I can, which made me extra excited to start this book given that it's related to the game and in a new location I have not seen before. Therefore, I was prompted to request the book and attempt to read it, which was thankfully approved.

This is 100%, a it's not you, but me situation as I quickly came to realize that I liked playing the game, not reading about it. I say this because the book is easy to get through, there are even text notes for some of the words or proverbs that come up in the book that may need clarifying or a background story and it's got the level of mystery and bloody action that I have come to expect from the franchise.

But, I just couldn't get into it.

I started feeling like I'm forcing myself to continue the book, I started looking up the 2-D game pack so I may debate buying that instead and the worst part of all, is that I started wanting to skim over the paragraphs just so I can get through it faster and that's not something I want to do as someone who reads solely for pleasure. That's without mentioning how totally unfair that is to both author and book so I opted not to do it anymore.

Officially dropped at 32%

Thank you to NetGalley and the wonderful people at Aconyte Books for this ARC.

As a lover of (read: obsessed with) the Assassins Creed franchise this was a gem to read. I love it when the lesser known stories of Assassins and Templars gets told. Expecially when they are told well. A must read for all my fellow nerdy geeks out there.

I am a huge, and I mean HUGE, fan of the AC world and this was a great introduction to a part of history that the AC narrative has never touched on before. I really have always wanted a video game set in this time period, and with this book my hunger has intensified.

Thank you for the e-arc!

If you like the Assassins Creed book series as well as the video game it’s worth a read. Although this book wasn’t my favorite as I didn’t really connect with the characters as much as the previous books, the plot was still decent. #TheMingStormAssassinsCreed #Netgalley

I received a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review
The Assassin Creeds series are all pretty good. The plot was good and I enjoyed reading this.

The Ming Storm by Yan Leisheng, another Assassins's Creed book, felt like an interesting way to include the magical aspects we've seen along with the more mundane parts of the world of AC.