The Assassin and the Desert Audiobook By Sarah J. Maas cover art

The Assassin and the Desert

A Throne of Glass Novella

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The Assassin and the Desert

By: Sarah J. Maas
Narrated by: Jennifer Gambino
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About this listen

The Silent Assassins of the Red Desert aren't much for conversation, and Celaena Sardothien wouldn't have it any other way. She's not there to chatter, she's there to hone her craft as the world's most feared killer for hire. When the quiet is shattered by forces who want to destroy the Silent Assassins, Celaena must find a way to stop them—or she'll be lucky to leave the desert alive.

©2012 Sarah J. Maas (P)2025 Dave Tony
Epic Fantasy Paranormal Paranormal & Urban
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What listeners say about The Assassin and the Desert

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Narrator kills it.

Throne of Glass is a well loved piece of work. The entire series is available. I cannot fathom why this narrator didn’t listen to any of the available works to learn the used pronunciation. It makes me irrationally mad and I cringed every time one of the characters and or locations were butchered. There is also no life or strength to her voice like we are used to from the prior books. She may be a great narrator but she was poorly prepared for the venture. I would skip the audio and read the novella I physical form or e-book if you have the tism and these things matter. Story was great it was a refreshing dip back into the world. Unfortunately it will be a once and done for me unless they fix the narration.

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2 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

READ BEFORE PURCHASING: You might already own this

TLDR: If you're a Sarah J. Maas/Throne of Glass fan, you might already own this. It's one of the stories included in The Assassin's Blade, which was released as an audiobook in April 2021.

I received a notice from Audible that a new Sarah J. Maas title was available. Because I was just about finish a book, I decided that, at worst, I'd be entertained. So without further thought, I went to purchase the book. Noting that the cash price for the title was only $4.86, I decided that it didn't make sense to use a credit and made a cash purchase.

What a mistake! I started listening to the book and two things struck me: The audio quality was terrible. It was tinny and the performer was extremely sibilant. I rolled my eyes and tried to get into the story. Unfortunately, as I continued to listen, I couldn't shake the feeling that I already knew this story. "Maybe this expands on something in further detail?" I thought to myself.

Nope. This is included as one part of The Assassin's Blade, which I had already purchased (and enjoyed) ages ago.

Why was this published in 2025 on its own? And, FYI: Audible will only refund credits; they will not let you return a title that you've purchased with cash. (NB: I have never tried to return a title before, but I really felt angry and fleeced at Audible for trying to market this as something new.)

Audible: Your algorithms have come to know what I like AND WORSE already know what I've purchased and read. Shame on you for not clearly identifying in the description that this story is included as part of a collection that you have been selling for FOUR YEARS (and that most fans have likely already read given the publishing timeline).

I won't get into the narration quality; other reviewers are already spot on.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Mispronunciation

Why would someone that has obviously never listened to the other books narrate this one??

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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Horrible Narrator

Was this an accidental draft that got published? It's Assassin's Blade with terrible narration with repetitive title announcement before each chapter. Listening to this narrator was like being in the most boring college lecture in a monotone voice, no variation between characters, mispronounced basic words, characters, and locations, to the point where I fell asleep mant times. I'm going to see if I can get my credit back.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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Unsure how to feel

I don’t really know how to feel. Maybe I missed the point but I don’t see any real difference in this book from the information we already have in the other books. The narrater was so fast and almost weird in the way she put together the sentences. The names of characters and cities were pronounced incorrectly. Really didn’t enjoy this

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

It’s… meh

My biggest complaint is the narration. I thought it sounded like she was talking into a tin can, and her inflection was the same for every single sentence. I don’t think she’s listened to the audiobook versions of the main series because her pronunciation of names was different, which really bothered me. I also felt the story had already been told in the main series, I didn’t get anything new from this novella. Not necessarily worth using the credit in my opinion.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Just get the Assasin’s Blade

I didn’t realize that this was the same story as the one in the Assasin’s Blade until I started listening to it. This narrator is terrible compared to Elizabeth Evans who makes the novella in Assasin’s Blade come alive. I would not get this and just get the Assasin’s Blade.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great novella

Enjoyed the book! It just bothered me that some of the words were pronounced differently than the main books.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Terrible narration

Same story as the book no new additions and narrator was so dry and mispronounced names. Love Sarah and her books but pass on this one.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Rinse & Repeat

I was surprised to be disappointed as this is the first book by Sarah J. Maas that is felt like she didn’t put effort in. It is a repeat of other Throne of Glass books.

Shifting from Elizabeth Evans was a mistake.

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