Aron is ripped from the family he loves and the future he was promised, to become an assassin's apprentice--a cold blooded killer for Eyrie. His family and his kingdom is destroyed by the king sworn to protect them and Aron is constantly hounded by the desire for revenge. ( )

Oathbreaker Assassins apprentice is a story about a boy named Aron lives a simple life on a farm with his brothers when he is selected to become assassin’s apprentice against his will. But this event saves his life because just after his entire family is killed by the king’s guard. While being taken away by the assassins he meets a girl named Dari that has peculiar set of powers that most lords of this land would fear. Aron discovers that the reason they chose him out of his siblings was because they new that Aron had powers that are like hers but far more uncontrollable. So he trains with Dari to control his powers which he realizes is very hard. After making it a three fourths of the way they discover that the lords of the land are preparing for battle which means once again the land will torn apart and there world is growing dark. When he makes it to the assassin’s strong hold he discovers that being an assassin is going to be hard work. The book ends as Aron is going to travel to the ruined keep and the only way to get there is a treacherous path.

The reason I liked this book was because it was my first medieval novel. The other reason was because it’s a lot like game of thrones with the lords. Another reason is that it had a good description of character. It also has a good description of scenery. Another reason is that the story was different story than ones that I have read. All in all I think anyone would like this book. ( )

Aron is forcibly taken from his family to become an apprentice to the Stone Guild. Yet being taken saves his life, because hours later the clan lord attacks his people and massacres hundreds including Aron’s family. Aron decides to use his time at the Stone Guild to train for avenging the murder of his family. In another clan, the last heir to the throne is pushed from the roof and left for dead. He is saved by another member of the Stone Guild. Stone will help them train their undiscovered abilities and put their world back together.

This was a fantastic book. I couldn’t put it down. The world building is strong and rich and I was invested in the story really quickly. The viewpoint switches between a few different characters, which took a little getting used to, but each character is so engaging that I didn’t mind. Everyone’s motivations were realistic and compelling. I loved the twist that even though Stone has a bad reputation, they are honorable and will probably be pivotal in saving the world. Be prepared that the story is a cliffhanger, but fortunately the second book is already available. ( )

Basic plot : There's been some terrible event in the past which has caused a kingdom to be split up, and anyone with a trace of magical power to be Harvested by the Stone Brothers ( a guild of assassins). One such boy is Aron who, when he is "harvested" has to turn his back on his family forever and take a new name. Unfortunately for Aron, his harvesting is made all the worse by a coinciding event where all the family members of a ruling house are murdered and the land is plunged into a civil war. Throw in a few very strange dragon-like creatures, giant cats and a mysterious female character called Dari ( who teaches Aron to go into a parallel world via meditation) and we have your usual quest/odd kid out/ dark secret/ medieval fighting guilds/magic story.
Although the ideas in this book are interesting, the editors should have been shot! There is no real explanation of what is happening and basic conventions of storytelling are ignored. As an English teacher, I am appalled that the book could have been published with such glaring errors; surely the publishing industry isn't that hard up! For example, in the first few pages, I had to re-read a couple of paragraphs to infer that the Wolf Brailing character was indeed Aron's father. It is not actually stated and the reader has to guess through the inference of "Aron followed his father" about 4 paragraphs later! The language is stilted and the story does not flow very well. There is not enough background information for the reader to really grasp what is happening - it's all very well keeping some plot secrets but you do have to give us at least a modicum of information to discern what is going on! The stupid thing is: I have actually guessed the identity of the mysterious Canus the Bandit who will be revealed in the next (ho-hum) book. Disappointing.

Reviewed by Joan Stradling for TeensReadToo.com

Aron of Brailing dreams of raising animals, but his dreams are shattered when he is "harvested" by the Stone Guild and forced to become an assassin's apprentice. Unfortunately, someone would rather see Aron dead.

Forced to train with his strange new master, Stormbreaker, and an even stranger young woman named Dari, Aron must learn to control his powerful legacy or meet certain death. Aron isn't sure what lies ahead, but he's determined to face it with all the strength and determination he possesses.

Hopefully, it will be enough to keep him alive long enough to complete his training.

The characters and world are compelling and thrilling as all good fantasy should be. It was easy to connect with the characters and the pacing was perfect, with enough action and adventure to keep me turning pages as fast as my eyes could take them in.

I loved reading ASSASSIN'S APPRENTICE and am very much looking forward to volume two, A PRINCE AMONG KILLERS. Especially since volume one has an amazing cliffhanger ending. ( )