If you’ve played the Assassin’s Creed games then you are already a fan of intrigue, history, and stories. That makes you a prime candidate to pick up the equally excellent books about the same franchise. Written by Oliver Bowden (The Journey Back From Hell), Christie Golden (A.D. 999), Matthew Kirby (Icefall), and Gordon Doherty (Legionary), any fan who reads this can expect to be treated to a masterfully done series.
But “done” is perhaps the wrong word. As of this writing, there are ten official books in the series with more to follow. Whether or not you plan on enjoying the novels, here is a taste of each that you should be able to appreciate. There is one fun fact from each one to whet your appetite until you get your hands on the hardcovers.
10 Renaissance: Last Rites
Gamers will always be debating which game had the best combat system, but if the assassinations were true to life for Ezio Auditore de Firenze, players would have to take an extra few seconds each time they struck a killing blow.
Despite being driven by grief and revenge, Ezio never lost his faith. In fact, when he managed to kill a target with whom he was sympathetic, he would administer their Last Rites as they passed.
9 Brotherhood: Cesare’s Sickness
The inclusion of the books would greatly adjust the overall body count from each of the protagonists, and it would make it so that the death of Cesare Borgia could only be contentiously counted toward Ezio’s score for those who understand the novel.
Cesare has late-stage syphilis that has ravaged his body so much that he wears a mask to disguise the extent of his illness. Ezio still tosses him off of a cliff, but the action is almost a kindness with this knowledge in mind.
8 The Secret Crusade: The Polos Are Kept In The Dark
A lot has changed since the introduction of the first game and that might be a feature, not a mistake. History is written by the victors, but occasionally, the victors aren’t given all of the details, even by their friends.
Niccolò Polo is the one entrusted with getting the full story from Altaïr Ibn-La’Ahad. Yet, for whatever reason, Altaïr chooses to redact certain stories like the betrayal of Masun entirely. The truth isn’t recovered until you see it yourself with the Animus during the game.
7 Revelations: Ezio Knows About The Isu
The story of Ezio will always be discussed by gamers about ways that it has and hasn’t aged well. But some stories never aged at all because they were never told. As a game, Revelations neglects a key piece of information from the book.
Ezio discusses meeting Jupiter and getting her real first name of Tinia. This is a critical detail as it’s generally believed that the Isu didn’t make their presence known until much later and only to other select individuals.
6 Forsaken: The Grisly End Of Edward Kenway
There is no question that every installment of the Assassin’s Creed series is in consideration for a game that defines its developer Ubisoft, but perhaps none did so more than Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag. If the story reflected the novel, though, Ubisoft would have had a much darker reputation.
Instead of following Connor or Edward, the novel is written as a journal authored by the antagonist Haytham Kenway. In it, readers get some closure on the tragic but predictable end of Edward as he is executed at knifepoint in front of his child.
5 Black Flag: More Than Friends
Tasked with tracking down some of the most lethal Templars in the franchise, it might seem like Edward Kenway can hardly handle any romance at all. Besides, he’s got his old flame back home and players seem to understand that this route is the best way forward.
But this was hardly clear to Edward. In fact, after finding out the identity of William Kidd, Edward expresses attraction and thoughts of romance for his pirate counterpart. He even expressed displeasure when she disguises herself as a male again after this knowledge.
4 Unity: The Making Of Èlise
While players might have a hard time ranking all of the assassins, it should come as no surprise that people’s favorite Templar is likely to be Èlise. The book gives some amazing insight into how she became such an open-minded Templar.
The character is sadly not present in the game, but Èlise’s logic is derived from her sword-fighting instructor Frederick Weatherall. He teaches her not only about combat, but what makes people tick, a lesson that Èlise never forgets.
3 Underworld: The Greatest Assassin That Never Was
Jayadeep Mir, also known as Henry Green or The Ghost, was a romantic interest and part of the crew in Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, yet he would have been the star of the show if only he didn’t let one pesky thing get in the way.
Mir still struggles with the morality of killing someone in the game, but in the book, you find out that this is the one thing that stopped him from becoming the greatest assassin of all time. He displayed supernatural powers even as a child before his training.
2 Desert Oath: Bayek’s Training
How does someone learn the power of the assassins before the order ever even existed? The simple answer is that no one but Mother Nature teaches these abilities; only a harsh climate and an unfamiliar city can make Bayek unleash his true potential.
As the original assassin, Desert Oath details Bayek’s voluntary choice to live in the desert and walk along the Nile. Afterward, he goes to the city of Zawty as a total stranger. Those two experiences taught him the abilities that future assassins would learn.
1 Odyssey: Kassandra Is The Canonical Assassin
Though some might have opinions over whether Kassandra or Alexios makes for the better protagonist, the book establishes that Kassandra is intended to be the misthios. This leaves her brother Alexios to become Deimos.
Gamers had widely believed that Kassandra was the better selection anyhow and the note found in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla helps to confirm what the book already establishes.
NEXT: Ranking The Main Assassin’s Creed Games Based On Length (Shortest To Longest)
