Book Review: Assassin’s Creed Renaissance by Oliver Bowden

I am a history enthusiast. I think that’s what drew me to the Assassin’s Creed franchise in the beginning. Of their many talents, Ubisoft ( the creators) are brilliant at depicting historical locations and periods with next-level authenticity. I have played nearly every Assassin’s Creed game in the franchise, so when I discovered that there were also AC books, I HAD to read them.

So, I read some reviews and many advised readers that some of the first ones written weren’t much more than a direct narration from the game, without variation so the books were a bit shallow. I knew this going in, but I was still disappointed to find out it was true.

This book was a tough read. There was a lot of “stage direction” type writing and very little ‘showing’ with a whole lot of ‘telling’.

There was so much an author could have done with character development, especially for the time when AC Renaissance was set.  The story in both the video game and the novel follows Ezio Auditore, whose father was a banker during the Medici era in Florence, Italy.

What I wished for this book was to expand on the storyline from the game and give the readers more in-depth history. I wanted to see Ezio struggle emotionally and watch his character develop in a way that isn’t possible to witness in the video game.

Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, BUT!

It was a lovely refresher for the story from the video game. If you go in with zero expectations, the book is decent and may even delight someone who hasn’t played the game. For die-hard fans of Assassin’s Creed, this book is a nice keepsake/ piece of merchandise to add to your fan collection.

Despite my disappointment, I will manage my expectations better next time. I plan to continue reading the books in the series, if for no other reason than I find them nostalgic and useful in sating my hunger for new Assassin’s Creed stories/games.