Kurata, Minoji
AVERAGE REVIEW SCORE:
3 out of 5
(2 books)
TOP PICK:
Assassin's Creed: Blade Of Shao Jun - Volume 1
Assassin's Creed: Blade Of Shao Jun - Volume 1
(Art by Minoji Kurata)
The first part of a Manga series adapting the story of the computer game Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China, set in 1526. After the Brotherhood of Assassins is all but wiped out in Ming Dynasty China, its sole surviving member Shao Jun flees to Florence to seek the aid of Mentor Ezio Auditore. Two years later she returns to China bent on revenge against the Templars who have seized control of the nation.
Whilst I've never played the game this is based on, I loved the set-up of the story from the word go, with Ming Dynasty China being a perfect setting for the story and Shao Jun being a very cool protagonist. To my surprise, the modern day sections, with a woman called Lisa using the Animus, were actually quite engaging too. Since the very first AC game, the stuff going on in the modern day has always been an annoyance breaking up the historical action, but here it adds a genuinely interesting new layer to the book.
Unfortunately, general style and concept aside, the actual story of this book is kind of repetitive, with the game mechanics of 'go there, sneak in, kill boss character, repeat' rapidly becoming the format of the book as a whole. It means that, whilst it's an enjoyable read, there are no surprises to be found here.
3 out of 5
Assassin's Creed: Blade Of Shao Jun - Volume 2
(Art by Minoji Kurata)
Book two adapting the computer game Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China. In 16th Century China, Shao Jun has to escape Macau as the city is set ablaze by the Templars. Her descendant Lisa is then shown that the war between the Templars and the Assassins continues in her own time and that she is being put in danger by her use of the Animus.
Where the first book of the series had lots of action but was a bit repetitive and lacking in depth, this book goes the other way. There's very little action and the main plot isn't advanced much, but we do get a lot more exploration of the characters of Lisa and Shao Jun through stories of their respective pasts. I enjoyed this bit of character development and continue to be surprised by how engaging the modern day sections of the story are but it has to be said that this book doesn't move the story on very much. I think a balance somewhere between how this book and Volume 1 unfolded would've made both more enjoyable.
An interesting side note is that this book seems to reference the events of the poorly-received Assassin's Creed movie with Michael Fassbender, which was not something I was expecting. (For the record, I didn't hate the movie but I did think it was a bit bland and forgettable).
3 out of 5
Read more...
Assassin's Creed (here)