Official Review: Assassins Code by Stephen Ashby

Wyland · Post by **Wyland** » 16 Dec 2019, 18:06

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Assassins Code" by Stephen Ashby.]

2 out of 4 stars

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No doubt for the money, a former member of a special unit takes on a hitman’s job. He lives big in a secretive and decommissioned missile silo with a bevy of beauties as apprentices. But his real strength lies in his hi-tech tools (which include an armory), a dedicated support structure, and an array of extermination methods to choose from. Regrettably, though, he talks of having a code for his line of work; the more I read his novel, the more I realized this was a veiled attempt to lend a veneer of propriety to his unnatural obsession with bloodletting.

As it were, little is conventional in the Assassins Code by Stephen Ashby. Even its classification as a Romance novel is overrated as its main characters are lascivious and sadistic at best, a description that is hardly anything close to the glamour associated with plain vanilla love. I’d think that it’d be better suited classified in the Crime genre. Moreover, the characters include a fellow, Fangster, with a knack of popping in and out of existence at will. To the lead character, Bill Sampson, Fangster represents “the supernatural council,” the ubiquitous body whose requests Bill can’t turn down even if he wanted to.

As a result, I found Bill’s belligerent tone to his would-be targets disturbing and uninspiring, more so because he relies on second-hand knowledge to eliminate a victim. It matters little he takes steps to minimize collateral damage as the fact remains he is the judge, jury, and executioner all rolled into one. The only redeeming quality with his autobiography is that Ashby discourages anyone from constructing his explosive devices or trying to use his book as a guide for staging assassinations.

All the same, Ashby’s book presents a black-and-white picture of a harsh world that still seeks the services of an assassin. Call it choosing the lesser of two evils, if you may, but Ashby’s story contains incidents that seem to suggest Bill’s skills are highly sought and attract a premium rate. I, therefore, leave it to the reader to discover how Bill is approached, plans his operations and executes his orders, or if at all, he’ll eventually survive in his chosen preoccupation. He also mentions a lot of high-sounding terms relating to munitions which I thought would be better suited for a military operation rather than a civilian one.

Lastly, the novel needs some work on the editing: some of the errors I identified included some typos, a few possessives and homonym errors, and a couple of misplaced words in sentences. The other major weakness with the novel has to do with the plot or foundation of the story. I found the information presented poorly organized because the assassination incidents dominated other portions of the author’s story, e.g., his social life, background, etc. As a result, the story eventually became monotonous to read; because of the two mentioned flaws with this novel, I rate it 2 out of 4 stars.

I recommend this novel to those who like crime thrillers, as the central characters perpetrate crime and the novel highlights the criminal methods used. On the other hand, it’ll be less suited to those who dislike stories featuring vampires and sadism. And for this latter reason, I should add that the book should only be read by mature readers.

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Assassins Code
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Gabriel Merêncio · Post by **Gabriel Merêncio** » 17 Dec 2019, 09:57

This novel sounds... odd, to say the least. It's probably not the sort of things I would read. Still, there are plenty of readers interested in assassins, so I can see an audience for this. Thanks for the review!

Post by **kandscreeley** » 17 Dec 2019, 20:06

I agree with @Tomah. This sounds incredibly odd. I don't quite know what to make of it, except it's not for me. Thanks for the review; it was enough to warn me away.

Kelyn · Post by **Kelyn** » 18 Dec 2019, 10:12

This definitely sounds like it falls flat in the romance department. It seems to be a mixture of crime and horror with a little bit of the supernatural thrown in as if the author was trying to cover all the bases. I think I'll be skipping this one. Thanks for the honest review!

Kanda_theGreat · Post by **Kanda_theGreat** » 18 Dec 2019, 10:34

I'm developing a soft spot for crime genre especially one that features in assassins; and this may possibly be my next read.
Thank you for the review.

Valar · Post by **Valar** » 18 Dec 2019, 10:57

This book seems to be complicated. I don't think I will read this book. Thank you for the great review!

Juliet+1 · Post by **Juliet+1** » 20 Dec 2019, 21:04

There doesn't seem to be a category for novels like this that are mostly "crime," but have fantasy elements (like vampires) that would fit into SFF. Either way, it sounds like a truly crazy story. Many thanks for a wonderful review.

Falconcrest · Post by **Falconcrest** » 21 Dec 2019, 02:25

Its unfortunate because the books heading is enticing and i would have thought this would really have been a great story. I always enjoy your reviews Wyland there always so informative and you never miss a thing. Thanks for another outstanding review.

Wyland · Post by **Wyland** » 24 Dec 2019, 01:06

Tomah wrote: ↑17 Dec 2019, 09:57 This novel sounds... odd, to say the least. It's probably not the sort of things I would read. Still, there are plenty of readers interested in assassins, so I can see an audience for this. Thanks for the review!

Thanks for your comments.

Wyland · Post by **Wyland** » 24 Dec 2019, 01:07

kandscreeley wrote: ↑17 Dec 2019, 20:06 I agree with @Tomah. This sounds incredibly odd. I don't quite know what to make of it, except it's not for me. Thanks for the review; it was enough to warn me away.

Thanks for your comments.

Wyland · Post by **Wyland** » 24 Dec 2019, 01:09

Kelyn wrote: ↑18 Dec 2019, 10:12 This definitely sounds like it falls flat in the romance department. It seems to be a mixture of crime and horror with a little bit of the supernatural thrown in as if the author was trying to cover all the bases. I think I'll be skipping this one. Thanks for the honest review!

Thanks for your comments.

Wyland · Post by **Wyland** » 24 Dec 2019, 01:10

Kanda_theGreat wrote: ↑18 Dec 2019, 10:34 I'm developing a soft spot for crime genre especially one that features in assassins; and this may possibly be my next read.
Thank you for the review.

Thanks for your comments!

Wyland · Post by **Wyland** » 24 Dec 2019, 01:26

Valar wrote: ↑18 Dec 2019, 10:57 This book seems to be complicated. I don't think I will read this book. Thank you for the great review!

Thanks for your comments.

Wyland · Post by **Wyland** » 24 Dec 2019, 01:31

Juliet+1 wrote: ↑20 Dec 2019, 21:04 There doesn't seem to be a category for novels like this that are mostly "crime," but have fantasy elements (like vampires) that would fit into SFF. Either way, it sounds like a truly crazy story. Many thanks for a wonderful review.

Thanks for your kind comments.

Wyland · Post by **Wyland** » 24 Dec 2019, 01:32

Falconcrest wrote: ↑21 Dec 2019, 02:25 Its unfortunate because the books heading is enticing and i would have thought this would really have been a great story. I always enjoy your reviews Wyland there always so informative and you never miss a thing. Thanks for another outstanding review.

Thanks for your kind comments.