An excellent read, I was hooked on the story right away. The characters were sympathetic and understandable, and the worldbuilding was coherent and logical. I felt a deep affinity for the main character , Amastan, as he struggled to find the meaning in his family legacy and how they could change the world for better or worse. In the end, I only wish that the author had found a better resolution for the romantic plotline with Yufit, rather than just saying "Oh, it turns out that he was the bad guy, and he had to move away and never be seen again."

The Perfect Assassin is the first book I’ve read by K.A. Doore, and I’m absolutely blown away. While the bright color caught my attention when browsing, it was the description and publisher (gotta love Tor) that really sold me here. And I couldn’t have been happier with my decision. If you’re looking for a new fantasy author to follow from the start, then you should look into this novel.
The world is set in a city with limited access to water – thus water is a precious commodity. In this same city there is a family of assassins, though they’re of a higher class than you’d expect. They are the Ghadid. They serve a higher power – keeping the city functioning at all costs. They train and work in secret, which one would expect. But there’s one major twist you wouldn’t expect of an assassin (read below my spoiler warning for more on that).
K.A. Doore’s bio describes The Perfect Assassin as ‘ an adventure fantasy about queer assassins who save the day’ and honestly? I couldn’t imagine a more perfect and concise description if I tried.
I was immediately drawn into The Perfect Assassin and I even ended up finishing it all in one sitting. I just couldn’t put it down. I love the world that Doore built. The characters are interesting and complex, and the situations they’re in were intriguing.
What really caught my attention was how conflicting some of the methodology the assassin family used. For example, one would expect that an assassin would have the greatest chance of success in getting away if the crime went unnoticed for an extended period of time. But in this city the assassins have to be sure that the bodies are found within hours (less than three, to my understanding) of the assassination. There’s a reason for that, and once it is made clear I was able to fully understand the reasoning behind it.
Then there’s the assassin in training that doesn’t want to kill people. Amastan is a brilliant young man, and he clearly wanted more for his life than he had. Maybe that’s why he agreed to the assassin training? It doesn’t change the fact that Amastan wasn’t sure that he wanted to kill anybody – regardless of how much they may or may not deserve it.
There’s more to the plot than all of that of course, but I really don’t want to spoil it all for you. I just really adored how different and unique the assassins are in this series (I’m so glad that it’s going to be a series).
Amastan was a really fascinating character. Getting to be inside his head right from the beginning, we knew all of his fears right away, and yet again and again and again we see him face those very fears. It’s impossible not to respect somebody after all of that. That he always tries to do what is right – even at great cost to himself, mind you – and he quickly became a character I supported and really liked.
The way the plot unfolded was brilliantly done. It really kept me on my toes the whole time I was reading. And while I was able to predict a couple of the larger twists at the end, I’m actually okay with that. For one thing it let me mentally and emotionally prepare for it, and for another it just made sense to have everything play out like that.
I’m actually a bit sad that I read this as an ARC, in an odd way. The book isn’t even out yet, but I desperately want to start reading the sequel. I guess that’s the price you pay though, huh? On a happy note, The Impossible Contract has already been already to Doore’s listing, and it’s supposedly due out in October 2019. I’ll take it!

Review

Murder mystery with gay assassins and ghosts in the desert. I'm sorry, why aren't you already reading this book? 

Writing

TPA is written in third person limited from Amastan's perspective, with short chapters. The writing style itself is very clear and easy to read. As opposed to many fantasy novels which are written more formally (and can be a bit cumbersome) the narrative and dialogue feels more modern. I prefer this because it made the whole experience easier and I barely noticed it while reading.

It isn't flowery and the descriptions are mostly short and clear while still being very immersive, evoking a sense of smell, and touch as well as visuals. I found the first chapter however, was written in a very melodramatic way with a lot of very short sentences and with a lot of repetition but after that she used those techniques for emphasis sparingly.

The few occasions were scenes were very detailed and extravagant was used to show subtle changed in Amastan and his emotional state. At tense/exciting moment the sentences became shorter and more choppy and when he is with the love interest the descriptions are more extravagant.

The world G-d was also censored. I'm not sure why, it felt strange to me because I don't think people would get offended by seeing the word.

Plot

It was a pretty straight forward murder mystery plot. A killer is on the loose, and the Jaan (which I imagine is a mix between a ghost and a Jinni) of the victims are causing havoc in the city. The story had a fast even pace and was never slowed down even at lulls in the actions since most scenes were short. The story overall was very satisfying and exciting. 

Characters

Amastan was great, I found him very endearing from the beginning. I didn't find him very compelling at first since he lacked motivation but his character development was very satisfying. I liked how his asexuality was explicitly stated as was a part of him but did not define him. Considering it was a murder mystery story, Amastan wasn't the brightest spark, not the next Poirot I'm afraid.

Menna who is Amastan's fellow assassin (called cousins because they're all from the same extended family) was great, she was fun and a bit sassy at times. I also enjoyed how she changed through the story. It was subtle but I liked how the story effortlessly handled her growth.

Tamella who is Amatan's teacher was great (all the characters are great) I often didn't agree with her but she was well written. I really enjoyed reading her family dynamic. Her husband Barag, who is Amastan's boss was the best. He had many lines which were basically 'Amastan, I wish you would do a better job...at your job.'

Yufit was interesting and I liked what his presence brought out in Amastan.

World

Walled desert city in fantasy Sahara is literally my favorite setting so I can't be unbiased. Most of the world building, from the clothes to the government and beliefs were woven into the story and the exposition dumps (when they occurred) were short and relevant. There wasn't a lot of world building beyond what was necessary to the story. I was never confused or for wanting more but if you like a lot of (superfluous) world building in your fantasy you might want to readjust your expectations. But there were details about things I actually wanted to know like how the government worked and where the water came from and generally things about how the city could survive and thrive in the middle of the desert.

I really enjoyed the mythology and fantasy elements which was had Jaan (which reminded me of Jinn), Guul (Jaan but worse), Sajaam (ancient giant demons who live in the desert but didn't appear in the story.)

One of my favorite parts was how diverse everyone was. Besides the main character many of the side characters were in same sex relations or were explicitly bisexual. No one ever made a big deal about it. Women were shown to have equal place in this society; many women had positions of power and many of the assassins were women as well. The Drum Chiefs were polygamous, some had both husbands and wives.   

The desert is apparently super haunted which means the caravan drivers are probably the most bad ass people in this world- Think about it. 

Overall, it was glorious, please read/buy it immediately.

I love fantasy. It's such a wonderful escape from the mundanity of our world. It's a balm to the anxious soul.
And what I love even more than fantasy, is fantasy that does something new. And this is it!

It comes with the genre that we expect certain clichés and tropes. Fantasy is often set in a medieval Western world. It often appears appallingly whitewashed. It (used to) feature mainly men and males. It was a price many of us readers were willing to pay, to disappear to worlds with magic and wonder and cities that float in the sky.
This book is so good because it brings all the magic and wonder, and even practically a floating city (it 'floats' above the sands) but is set in an Middle Eastern world. Thank you! Its immediately 100pc more interesting!
The book sweeps us to a fantasy middle east, conjuring images of hot sands and unrelenting baking heat, the desperation for water, and a city that uses water as currency.
Add to that a not often used cultural background, full of myth about souls leaving our bodies, the sand devil's, the clothing, a soft and haunting hint of lgbt romance, and then add assassins and intrigue.... Well! It's a cracker of a book.
I could practically taste the date wine as I read it, and feel the wind grinding sand under my face wrap. This is the mark of quality.
In fact, I'd say, what's not to love? It's well worth every penny, and every hour.
I read it in one sitting, and would happily and eagerly read a sequel.