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Book Title: The Devil's Assassin

Book Genre: Fantasy

Date of Review: March 9, 2016

Chapter(s) Reviewed: 1

Approximate Chapter Length: 2500

Content Flags: Violence, Profanity

Summary (copied from book description)

Two abductions.

Three murders.

One summon.

Iris had been close to finishing an assassination assignment when the Devil herself summoned her back to Hell. With the upheaval of kidnaps and killings in one of their assigned cities, Iris was dispatched to get rid of the problem fast and using any means necessary.

What Iris did not anticipate by accepting this simple mission was rescuing and guarding the killers themselves.

She didn't even want to think about what Devil would do to her if she ever found out about it...

Review

The Devil's Assassin introduces Iris, an assassin with the aid of a sentient weapon. Iris revels in her job, killing and collecting souls without a qualm, until her latest target turns out to be two kids. It's not that Iris would shy from killing them if she were sure they were the correct target, but she's sure there's some mistake, and it's better not to risk it. She lets them go and continues to her next target.

She's only just absorbed the new target's soul when a ring of fire springs up around her, summoning her back to Hell.

This chapter has so many delightful elements. Iris' voice is entertaining to read—she's cocky and blunt, and about as far from politically correct as you can get. The children that turn out to be her targets are quirky little spitfires in their own right. The world introduced in this chapter is already fascinating, from Iris' sentient katana, Inferno, to mentions of her employer, Devil. When Iris swears by the seven layers of Hell, you get the impression she's being literal.

The author is quite skilled at sneaking in setting details. There are still elements in this chapter that could use tightening up, but it is a very strong start.

The flaws in the writing lay in some awkward sentence constructions, a bit of confusion surrounding the initial fight, and a hint that Iris' character might be a teeny bit off.

In the fight, Iris kills one guard, alerting the other three. She backflips out of the way when they circle her, scaling a tree to give herself space to draw on the power of Inferno to attack and kill two of the guards at once. But then she saunters over to the carriage with no mention of the third guard. I'm not sure where the mix up originates—perhaps the author meant to include the original guard that died in the count of three guards—but either way it could stand to be clarified.

As for Iris' character, I'm a little concerned by the contrast between her interaction with the kids and the general sense of joy she gets out of killing. There are assassins who have grown numb to the work, and then there are those who revel in it. Iris is the latter, but that doesn't quite match up to the way she interacts with the kids in the carriage. It's okay for her to question whether these are the intended targets, to decide not to kill them just to be sure; after all, killing can't be undone, but if they prove to be the correct targets she can always kill them later. However, her internal debate feels like more than this. And, after noting that she'll need to bring the girl in because she's developing the powers of a witch, she ends up just letting them go. It doesn't seem to fit.

However, the bulk of the story is very strong, and these are things that can be easily fixed during the revision process. The chapters are on the long side for my taste, but they do read pretty smoothly and easily. This is a book with a ton of promise. I'd be surprised if it doesn't go far.