The closer you get to being a pro, the closer you can get to the client. The knife, for example, is the last thing you learn.’

It’s time once again to go Tough Travelling with Fantasy Faction,  On the first day of each month, with a pre arranged theme in mind, we will all come up with out own individual selection of books that take us travelling through the tropes of fantasy.  This month’s theme: Assassins

Assassins are ubiquitous throughout fantasyland. Sharp-eyed readers (or even dull-eyed ones) will notice that their hooded forms often adorn book covers, and that they frequently appear – rather improbably – not to mind being the sole focus of our attention. Whether they’re spotlight hogs or camera-shy and brooding, most assassins will have trained for years and are very, VERY good at their job (i.e. killing people for money).

Apart from the opening title (taken from Leon) I’ve gone with a cast of female assassins:

Nona – from Red Sister, (book of the Ancestor #1) by Mark Lawrence.  Nona is only a young girl when she is taken to the Convent of Sweet Mercy to train as an assassin, but don’t let her age lull you into a false sense of security – Nona has a bloody history in spite of her young years.  This is a great coming of age story with a strong cast of characters told in Mark Lawrence’s highly discernible style and set in a harsh world.

Mia Covere – from Nevernight (The Nevernight Chronicles #1) by Jay Kristoff.  Again, Mia is a young protagonist when the story begins and similar to Nona she attends a school for assassins where staying alive is the most important lesson of all. Mia can use the shadows to cloak herself in darkness and in fact the shadows themselves provide her with the constant presence of a companion – a cat she calls Mr Kindly.  To be clear this book is not a YA novel – there is plenty of bloody violence and other material that would be unsuitable for younger readers so don’t be misguided by Mia’s age or the school type setting.  Hogwarts this isn’t.

Katsa – from Graceling (Graceling Realm #1) by Kristin Cashore.  In the world created here some people are born with certain skills – these people are known as gracelings.  Katsa seems to have been graced with the gift of killing which has led her to be used by her uncle, the king, as his own personal hit woman.  If Katsa comes to visit then your days are numbered.

Rhisia Sen -from Assassin’s Charge by Claire Frank.  This was one of the finalists from the Self Published Fantasy Blog Off.  Rhisia, also known as the Reaper’s Bride, is arguably the best at what she does.  When she is offered a very lucrative purse for a job she grabs the chance thinking that this will be her last hit.  Unfortunately, when Rhisia eventually locates her target she discovers that even she has boundaries – and killing a young boy it not something that she can do.  Her new found conscience means that she herself is now on the ‘most wanted’ list and so her only hope is to take the boy and try to keep them both alive.

Another very recent read:

Pyrre – from Skullsworn by Brian Staveley.  Pyrre is a devotee of the God of Death – not yet a priestess the book tells the story of her trial in which she must complete a number of objectives dictated by an old song.  For this, strangely enough, Pyrre will have to fall in love.  This is a great story with a fantastic setting.

Finally, lets finish with this character from SinCity (a series of comics by Frank Miller): Miho – often referred to as ‘Deadly Little Miho’ because of her lethal ability with twin Samurai swords.  Assassin and enforcer for Old Town.

Next month’s theme will be non-human protagonists – get your thinking caps on now.