An Assassin's Anthem

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

If your house was facing ruin, what would you do to save it? Power gives position if you reach out and take it. Join Riley on a journey to restore the family name. But watch for hidden daggers lurking in the game.

The book plays with politics and power as a new generation rises within a kingdom. The political moves will start slow as our protagonist discovers they are next in line for a failing barony.

LGBT+ characters inside.There will be minor romantic elements in the story.Current Release Schedule is Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and occasionally Saturday (Pacific evening).

Information

Status: Completed
Year: 2024
Author: Samantha Nelson

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.5/ 5.0
Followers: 1,856
Views: 910,713

What readers say about An Assassin's Anthem

“There's never a dull moment in this story, and it feels no need to stumble around subjects that get better served by letting them happen. Riley doesn't spend internal monologues thinking about identity; instead, the story lets her explore it naturally over…”
v0lcanoRoyal Road5.0 / 5
“Short review based on the first five. This crab finds this story to be interesting. It starts in a typical coming of age way, of sorts, with Riley, the main character on a mission to gain a class and levels because this is a LitRPG. As of right now, the plo…”
LazieRoyal Road5.0 / 5

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!

Community Reviews(10)

v0lcanoRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
There's never a dull moment in this story, and it feels no need to stumble around subjects that get better served by letting them happen. Riley doesn't spend internal monologues thinking about identity; instead, the story lets her explore it naturally over the course of things. What happens with her grandparents later on is the same; family isn't as important as being someone who cares.
The strong presence of poetry in this book is unique among books I've read and very welcome. It makes the interaction with the gods feel much more genuine, and the author's poetry talents being translated into Riley serves as a strong justification for one of her classes.
In both writing style and plot development, this story is a 10/10. It just feels great to read, on a paragraph-to-paragraph, chapter-to-chapter basis. Thanks, in part, to the poetry and conversations with the gods. For plot coherence, I'd put it at a 6/10. It lacks some foreshadowing, and the ending feels like a cap on the end of a continuing story, not a final development that was always being built towards. It's a result of the story's developments developing when written, rather than developing to an ending held in mind at the beginning. Still, the quality for every element in the story being so high justifies calling this an incredible story.
It's important to remember character descriptions regarding appearance and position because practically every non-main character will only have it described once if at all. Good, because it doesn't slow the pacing for those with a good memory, but something to keep in mind. I also wish more characters had some basic appearance descriptions, like the rest of Timothy's group, Olivia, and a bit more detailed description for Hassan.
LazieRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Short review based on the first five.
This crab finds this story to be interesting. It starts in a typical coming of age way, of sorts, with Riley, the main character on a mission to gain a class and levels because this is a LitRPG.
As of right now, the plot is moving at a brisk pace, and revealing not only lore about the world, but deep interpersonal character interactions that I'm certain will be important later.
The story is working around concepts of gender identity, and perception thereof, but the good news for fans of MGP is that the parent isn't hateable as of Chapter 5.
There are spoiler boxes at the bottom with some system messages for those used to Samantha's normal ways, as well as the occasional box in text. No sign of stat blocks as of Ch. 5 (which I see as a positive).
All in all, it promises to be an interesting read. Tune in for the rest of Writathon.
Edit:
I forgot to mention the rhyme,
But goodness me there isn't time.
On occassion there is verse,
And it certainly isn't terse.
MizarCaphRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
If there's one thing that I can 100% say about this story, is that it's very different from most stories I've seen on this website. Most of it good, but there is an elephant in the room I'll get out of the way now.
The style in which the story is told will take some getting used to. There are a lot of characters that are introduced relatively quickly, in a story with relatively brisk pacing. This is why I can see how some readers may find it difficult to digest this story.
However, the story itself is overall very good. Everything from the MC to the class system and the hints of worldbuilding that are dropped every so often kept me reading.
Additionally, the author has made clever use of poems in the narrative that doesn't feel forced or contrived in the slightest. This is something I don't see very often even in traditional books, and is a welcome addition in this story.
Overall, I would definitely recommend this story with the caveat that the first few chapters should be read slowly. Because I do believe that once you manage to get a decent grasp of the narrative, Assasin's Anthem does come into its own and improves significantly.
Tarvis K'maraRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Poetry doesn't tend to be something that is included in most LITRPG but if this story is any indication that is a huge mistake.
The Main Character frequently prays to the Gods (who are present and interact with people) in the form of rhyming prayers. It is not surprising that the God Music, among others, has been paying attention.
This is a unique take on the genre and I would recommend it to any and all.
ethelesRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Some stories are written to be an enjoyable distraction: perhaps something you read on the metro on your way to work, or while waiting in line for an appointment. They're usually fast-paced, action-heavy and light on worldbuilding: they have a lot of momentum and sacrifice depth for instant satisfaction. Your average cultivation story that focuses on breaking to the next level of foundation establishment or the LitRPG that leaves you lusting for that next level up are both like that.
This story wants you to pay attention. The author achieves a similarly fast pace and compresses a lot of action by sacrificing exposition instead of depth. The omniscient narrator is not there to hold your hand and give you a CliffsNotes version of how the leveling system works, there is no treatise discussing the fractal nature of class and skill growth, no etiquette lessons on how much a noble dares to say in front of royalty, and no long-winded internal monologues of how the protagonist feels at every turn. It's showing instead of telling all the way: the answers are there in the way people behave, the things they say, the choices they make, but it's up to you to put it together.
It's a demanding read, in this sense, and it benefits from rereading. But what you get in exchange is worth it: it's a fast-paced deep political thriller with intrigue, complex characters that behave in realistic ways, clever action sequences, a detailed system that affects the way people and social systems behave, and it has a protagonist that's playful and a joy to read. There's so much stuff to think about every chapter (and the comments section is pretty lively for it).
This story can be read casually—it is fast-paced and fun—but you will miss a lot of nuance and depth. Personally I've found devoting time and thought to it to be very rewarding. I can wholeheartedly endorse it to any serious, gourmet reader of fiction.
FantasticTeaManRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This is not a story that tolerates lazy reading, skimming or skipping long paragraphs. If you do you'll be lost.
It looks like an editor went through and ruthlessly deleted all the fluff and fat and left behind a lean, compelling story.
The dialogue is tight, the world is harsh and the story is not going to hold your hand.
It's worth it.
sleepy gender fluidRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
This one has an incredibly rough start, and I nearly dropped it several times. I appreciate the character, but it becomes hard to follow the thought process in any meaningful way until you adjust to the author's style. Representation is appreciated, and I love that there didn't need to be a whole thing about it.
kitsunecommuneRoyal Road
★★★★ 4.0
I really enjoyed this story's progression. Riley is beyond competent and blazes through obstacles usually but still has a fair number of losses throughout.
The magic system is a good combination of vague and solid.
The interactions with the gods are entertaining in how informal they are vs how formal it's implied the same interactions are for the nobles.
I absolutely love the bardic take of the class and how the author weaves short poems in that both make sense plot wise and also have enough rhythm that I found myself wanting to put them to an actual tune.
The biggest complaints I have are the characters themselves though. Nobody really has the strongest motivations and character growth is slim. While it's apparent from what Riley and other characters might say, the emotional toll that war and traumatic injury takes aren't really shown very much. I hope in the full release, there's more showing and less telling.
The other aspect of the character lacking is that I don't really feel like any of the characters show any growth. They're very much the same characters at the end, just very souped up and more confident in their ability as they've become a lot stronger.
Still really enjoyable and well worth the time to read through. Looking forward to reading more
greentealoverRoyal Road
★★★★ 3.5
This is a hard review to write, because i enjoyed most parts of the story. The main issue is that it feels disjointed in places, really weird pacing towards the end, and the character development needs to be assumed. The development is not explained or feels warranted in some areas.
Now, that being said, where this work shines is in the lore, pantheon of gods and skills system. I really enjoyed that part, and the music portion and poetry were great and made the characters feel real. Other characters had their own quirks, and it made them endearing. Its also really good at setting things up and creating hooks, its the resolution that needs a bit more work.
TyrgleRoyal Road
★★★ 3.0
This is a story about a young person running around continuously doing things which aren't really explained with no apparent thoughts driving their actions. Just continuous wild action scenes of various sorts, with little characterization.
Who is the main character? Why do they do the things they do? Who knows. They do occasionally ponder their circumstances for a sentence or two and exchange a few broken phrases with their dad, but beyond that? I don't know who they are or what motivates them. There are a few hints but no backstory to flesh anything out.
Besides the main character, the only other characters I really got any idea about were the gods, who seem like a bunch of old buddies who sit around texting mortals and trolling them with ridiculous quests all day.
The pacing is so fast that what should be important events just sort of blow by without any consideration. Someone important tried to murder the protagonist again? Whatever. Hey, look! A book! Shiny!
All that said, the writing is technically quite good and the action scenes are pretty coherent. But if I don't know the characters I can't really care much about their struggle.