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The Perfect Assassin: Book 1 in the Chronicles of Ghadid Kindle Edition
| K. A. Doore (Author) Find all the books, read about the author, and more. See search results for this author |
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A novice assassin is on the hunt for someone killing their own in K. A. Doore's The Perfect Assassin, a breakout high fantasy beginning the Chronicles of Ghadid series.
Divine justice is written in blood.
Or so Amastan has been taught. As a new assassin in the Basbowen family, he’s already having second thoughts about taking a life. A scarcity of contracts ends up being just what he needs.
Until, unexpectedly, Amastan finds the body of a very important drum chief. Until, impossibly, Basbowen’s finest start showing up dead, with their murderous jaan running wild in the dusty streets of Ghadid. Until, inevitably, Amastan is ordered to solve these murders, before the family gets blamed.
Every life has its price, but when the tables are turned, Amastan must find this perfect assassin or be their next target.
“The Perfect Assassin is a thrilling fantastical mystery that had me racing through the pages.” —S. A. Chakraborty, author of The City of Brass
“Full of rooftop fights, frightening magic, and nonstop excitement and mystery, I absolutely loved it from start to finish!” — Sarah Beth Durst
The Chronicles of Ghadid
#1: The Perfect Assassin
#2: The Impossible Contract
#3: The Unconquered City
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherTor Books
- Publication dateMarch 19, 2019
- File size5222 KB
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Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Review
“The Perfect Assassin is a thrilling fantastical mystery that had me racing through the pages. With a mix of heart and adventure, and set in a wonderfully inventive new world, K.A. Doore’s debut shines.” ―S. A. Chakraborty, author of The City of Brass
“Doore is a force to be reckoned with, blending a stirring plot, elegant worldbuilding, effortless style, and diverse, empathetic characters. Her debut is sure to be a hit with fans of Sarah J. Maas and George R.R. Martin.” –Publishers Weekly, starred review
“The writing is smooth and the world immersive, the characters lively and distinct; it's queer AF, well-paced and fascinating and political, and grapples with the morality of assassination in a thoughtful and considered way. I loved these stabby Hufflepuffs to pieces!!” ―Sam Hawke, Aurealis Award-winning author of City of Lies
“The Perfect Assassin is one of those rare books that manages to be both thrilling and tender. It's full of rooftop fights, frightening magic, and nonstop excitement and mystery, while at the same time it's a thought-provoking exploration of what it means to be a monster and the power of love and forgiveness. I absolutely loved it from start to finish!” ― Sarah Beth Durst, award-winning author of The Queens of Renthia series
“K. A. Doore has crafted a thrilling and poignant tale on the costs of loyalty. In the city of Ghadid, ideas of justice and family battle and braid themselves around each other in action-packed fashion. Part murder mystery, part family saga, part coming-of-age chronicle, The Perfect Assassin intrigues and excites in equal measure.” –Tochi Onyebuchi, author of Beasts Made of Night
"In a high-flung desert city, a reluctant assassin's choices threaten his family's way of life, those he loves, and, worst of all, the spirits of the dead. Amastan Basbowen's options are all dangerous, but he must move forward. The ensuing intrigue forms the core of a highly exciting adventure.” ― Fran Wilde, Hugo and Nebula nominated, Andre Norton Award winning author of Updraft
“Set in a world of believable richness, The Perfect Assassin combines a suspenseful plot with a memorable cast of characters, and an assassin protagonist who is compelled to make hard choices.” ―Ilana C. Myer, author of Last Song Before Night and Fire Dance
“A bold, original adventure set in a world of enthralling beauty. The Perfect Assassin shimmers with mystery and romance, and with characters whose courage and charisma brighten every page.” ― Ausma Zehanat Khan, author of The Bloodprint
“Fascinating world building with all the mystery and appeal of the One Thousand and One Nights.” ―Duncan M. Hamilton, author of the Wolf of the North series
“Doore’s thrilling fantasy debut is a suspenseful murder mystery wrapped around a coming-of-age story, sprinkled with family intrigue, vengeful ghosts, and a gentle but bittersweet m/m romance. Ghadid, set on platforms hundreds of feet above shifting sands, is vividly described, with a fascinating history and culture that Doore folds in naturally. This author is one to watch.” ―Booklist
Product details
- ASIN : B07CG4LGKZ
- Publisher : Tor Books (March 19, 2019)
- Publication date : March 19, 2019
- Language : English
- File size : 5222 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Not Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 346 pages
- Page numbers source ISBN : 0765398559
- Lending : Not Enabled
- Best Sellers Rank: #220,173 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #962 in LGBTQ+ Fantasy (Kindle Store)
- #2,324 in Action & Adventure Fantasy (Kindle Store)
- #4,744 in Epic Fantasy (Kindle Store)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

K.A. Doore grew up in Florida, but has since lived in lush Washington, arid Arizona, and cherry-infused Michigan. While recovering from climate whiplash, she’s raised chickens, learned entirely too much about property assessment, photographed cacti, and now develops online trainings, none of which has anything to do with – or perhaps has everything to do with – her BA in Classics. The Perfect Assassin is her debut novel.
Customer reviews
Top reviews from the United States
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From the first page, the pace is breakneck in the best sense, giving readers their own dose of the way the main character's world has been turned upside down, leaving him unable to find a foothold. Amastan's routines tidily reveal some elements of the setting, but his first encounter with the unquiet spirits called jaan is as much a learning experience for him as it is for the reader. This unfamiliarity--and the whole concept of the vengeful jaan--lends underpinnings of horror and suspense to this richly detailed fantasy.
On a more personal note, I was pleased with the author's handling of LGBT+ characters. I've never read a story in which queer people felt so thoroughly woven into the fabric of the world. Just as in real life, these characters' sexualities sometimes affected their lives, but were components in the much larger and more complex whole.
The Perfect Assassin is an incredible debut from K.A. Doore and I'm eagerly anticipating a return to Ghadid in the sequel!
Reader, we all know how I feel about anxious assassins, handsome mysterious strangers, and roaming furious spirits of the dead. And let me tell you: things just get better from there.
What kinds of awesome can you expect in this book?
Amastan, my ace, anxious, geek assassin fave
Rooftop fights! Jumps! Rope climbs! Things to make the acrophobic amongst us (me!) gasp a lot!
Intricate desert worldbuilidng–glasshouse gardens, water tokens, water magic, lovely men who hide their faces out of modesty…
Amastan
In fact, the many effortlessly diverse and interesting characters–they’re all very well drawn, with nary a cardboard cutout among them. Even the Serpent (super badass assassin trainer) is more than the stereotype of a martial-arts teacher (for one thing, she’s a super badass assassin trainer auntie, and she is not here for any of your guff)
Ghadid itself. I felt like I had actually traveled there, an experience that few books give me. To explain what I mean by using entirely different genres: McCall Smith’s Ladies’ Detective series contains the same sort of immersive sense of place, to the extent that I will sometimes catch myself saying “I think I want to go to Botswana” when I mean I want to re-read. I can foresee that I’ll be saying “I think I want to go to Ghadid today”.
Did I mention Amastan? Because I love that boy. But not in a way that would make him uncomfortable. (Who am I kidding? Everything about me would make him uncomfortable. If I ever met him all I could do is try to sit quietly and ply him with tea until he relaxed enough to not be anxiously wondering whether he should kill me right then.)
Doore has an excellent sense of characterization and dialogue, a deft touch with pathos, and a very good nose for action. All in all, it was a treat to read–a big, sandswept, heart-rending treat.
If you enjoy deserts, slow builds, having your emotions toyed with, and a solid amount of feeling like you’re very high up and that everybody you love could fall down at any moment, then you should definitely order The Perfect Assassin.
Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy.
I really loved this book. It's a coming of age story set in a dry world and Amastan is a new assassin. I habitually give myself 50 pages in any book I start because sometimes it can take me a while to get used to a new-to-me author's voice. This book has a bit of a slow opening once you get past the first chapter because there's a lot of worldbuilding the reader needs to know about. But I'm so glad I stuck with it through the necessary scene setting because it then grabbed me hard and fast.
The description is so vivid you can almost feel the sand between your teeth and feel the moisture evaporating from your body into the desert atmosphere depicted in this book. You'll want a glass of water to hand while you're reading. :)
I love the cultural details surrounding the world-building too, like the theme of modesty that ran a fine wire of verisimilitude throughout the whole book.
And can I just shout about the queer rep? It's explicit, (not graphic, this book is safe for sex-repulsed aces to read, there're a few chaste kisses, but that's it) on page and beautiful. Amastan is an Ace (asexual) hero, and I got strong demisexual vibes off of him. It was so refreshing to see that in fantasy (that I hadn't written myself). I loved it.
The mystery is well paced and all in all I had trouble putting this book down when I was supposed to be doing other things.
Amastan is my sweet soft deadly cinnamon roll and I want to protect him, as long as he doesn't have access to pointy things or anything he can put in my tea. XD
Read it, you won't be sorry. I've already pre-ordered book two.
Content Warnings:
Violence, Gore, Assassination, Familial disturbance, loss and pain
Just as exciting as the intense assassin main story was the quiet romantic subplot that perfectly normalized LGBTQ+ relationships within the world. To be clear: This is not a romance. It's solid SFF with romantic entanglements, like all believable stories. And it was done masterfully! There were moments when I was like "Boom! That's how it's done!" Those sweet moments contrasted beautifully with all the blood and fire!
I can't wait to see what the future holds when killing is sanctioned and assassins can freely carry out their duties to the city. Oh, and more jaan, please!
Top reviews from other countries
Ghadid is a city above the endless sands of the desert, connected by a series of pumps to an aquifer filled once per year by the annual storms. This makes for a VERY intriguing society and barter/magic/economical system whereby those who plan poorly run out of tokens to access water before the end of season and, basically, die. To complicate matters further, water is essential to the magic of healing - and those who can't pay don't get treated.
Add in to this a series of gruesome murders and a sweet, reluctant assassin who'd rather be a historian and who dips his toe into the waters of romance for the first time, and you've got a hugely engaging novel part thriller, part murder-mystery, and all fantasy. Highly recommended.












