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Rating: 
Summary: Killer Killers
Review: Assamites are one of the most intriguing vampire clans. Warriors, scholars, and sorcerers, they are assassins most often used to take down other vampires. They are in a private war with the Tremere, who are vampires made by means of blood magic whom the Assamites see as an abomination. White Wolf has carefully modeled them after the legendary Muslim cult, and the spiritual and religious context of the Assamites is strongly Arabic in tone. Which adds to their mystery.
This volume expands on the Assamite role in the struggles for supremacy in the US. This is a game of elders, we discover, and intrigue is their favorite weapon. Assamites are often the means, set on both sides to carry out tasks that only seem to be chaotic. Fatima al-Faqadi, of ancient blood, is one of the Assamite's deadliest. She is called on to bring death to Cardinal Moncada and his childe Lucita to answer the coming judgment of her clan. Other Assamites dot this story as well - Parmenides (the servant of Vykos, Anwar, Walter James. Assamites have a streak of independence, which has created a large number of antitribu - rebels who fight where they will.
The story spins about Fatima and Lucita shedding bits of light on some of the unexplained mysteries of the paste six volumes, and spreading confusion elsewhere. The two are perfectly matched in deadliness, beauty, and determination. Their paths only cross a few times in the book, but the impact of their meetings will determine the future of the overall story arc.
Fleming again lays his carefully crafted characters out beautifully against the light and shadow of the Masquerade. He has never been one to romanticism vampire life and will often disillusion those who were hoping for vampire romances. Love tends to turn out badly in the world of darkness, eternal life comes at the price of an utter loss of humanity, and altruism is a lost motivation. But like moths, us readers return to it time after time.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Book Overall
Review: Clan Novel: Assamite is a good book and one that stands fairly well on its own, so you aren't *always* left in the dark if you haven't read the previous books in the series. This novel's protagonist, Fatima al-Faqadi, is not exactly a social butterfly, but I actually find her serious, stolid approach rather refreshing for some reason (think of Roland in Stephen King's Dark Tower series and add just a touch of volatile emotion and you'll come fairly close to the sort of person Fatima is). The fact that she isn't obnoxious or sniveling is even better. Anwar, an ambitious young Assamite, is pretty cool, too (if treacherous). However, out of his intense dislike of Lucita, he seems to have an overwhelming desire to try to go to town on her, and I have to wonder about his state of mind over such a Final-Death wish.Something weird I noticed in this book is Lucita's (heightened) attitude (problem): She didn't seem half this rude and uppity in Clan Novel: Lasombra, the book immediately preceding this one (written by a different author, admittedly). Rebelliousness is one thing; pointless barking is another. Lucita's behavior does, however, sorta convey her tense, mixed feelings towards Fatima (and I must admit to nearly laughing outloud at the stunt Lucita eventually pulls in the courtyard just to shock the surveillance crew spying on her). The fact that I don't hate Lucita is why it's so depressing to see her cast in such an unflattering light: She doesn't just behave depressingly but eventually starts getting treated depressingly by her (understandably angry) sire; the two of them certainly make for a nice little dysfunctional "family." Still, against my better judgement, I can't help but like the twisted Monçada - he's brutal and strangely-paradoxically perverted, but he definitely makes for a great villain. This book is one of the consistently better ones in the series. It's compelling (and necessary) in how it focuses on Fatima's inner turmoil: If the circumstances were different, Fatima would carry out her mission with all the detachment and professionalism of any other contract assassin who's had centuries to ply her trade; instead, she must focus on the task immediately before her, else she runs the risk of betraying all that she values. Knowing little more about Fatima other than her clan and profession prior to picking up this book, she proves to have a more interesting emotional landscape than I thought. All in all, a great read.
Rating: 
Summary: Very detailed, distinct and capturing.
Review: First I'd like to point out to those who haven't started the series, don't let the slow start of Toreador put you down the stories are really good. This novel of the clan Assimite does a very unique job of actually capturing the mind set of the clan. It does a great job showing the elders as true followers of their religion and path. What is even more awesome is the way the background is portrayed for the story. Some mysteries are solved yet even more are evolved. Are the Assimites a tool or are they the users? A very capturing book by Fleming, then again anything less should not be expected from such a good author.
Rating: 
Summary: Hell no
Review: I thought most of this was good. What they did to Moncada though? PLEASE. He would've thrashed Lucita and Fatima. What a serious let down. It should have been no contest. Thumbs down.
Rating:
Summary: Hell no
Review: I thought most of this was good. What they did to Moncada though? PLEASE. He would've thrashed Lucita and Fatima. What a serious let down. It should have been no contest. Thumbs down.
Rating:
Summary: Exciting!
Review: It's a cool novel! Exciting, thrilling, amazing! You accompany Fatima al-Faqadi to Alamut, where you get an insight in the structure and inner politics of the Eagle's Nest. You visit a Sabbat invasion in the USA and a showdown with the Lasombra Archbishop of Lisbon. You learn details about some of Fatima's Rafiq colleagues as well as about Clan Elders like Jamal, Ur-Shulgi, Thetmes and Al-Ashrad. Maybe the best VtM book I have read.
Rating:
Summary: Pieces of the Puzzle
Review: The good people at White Wolf seem to have developed a sort of fascination with the Assamites (go and look at the number of entries Assamite characters get in CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT if you don't believe me). Unfortunately, I'm one of those who has never found the Assamites all that appealing. If that isn't your problem, tho, there's a lot in this book to like. It takes you inside the Assamite headquarters of Alamut, for example, and gives you a good sense of the secret workings of the clan and their internal politics. This book is more scattered in its focus than Fleming's CLAN NOVEL: GANGREL but less so than his CLAN NOVEL: VENTRUE. There is a strong central character- the Assamite elder, Fatimah. She shares the stage with other Assamite characters but, more importantly, with the Lasombra Lucita and Lucita's sire Cardinal Moncada. My problem is that I couldn't really find anyone to like in this story. Fatimah seemed stiff and humorless. I generally like the Lasombra (which makes this book especially hard to enjoy for a number of reasons) but I've never gotten Lucita's appeal and she seems to have even fewer redeeming qualities here than usual. Moncada did have the virtue of being truly creepy but loving to hate someone can only do so much. In short, this really wasn't the book for me and I was relieved to get to CLAN NOVEL: RAVNOS after this. Still, if you click with these characters better than I did, then, yes, I would say that this book does tell a story that stands alone- although not as much as GANGREL does- and can be read apart from the rest of the series. But don't do that. First of all because Assamites are creatures of intrigue and unless you know what's been brewing some of the stuff that happens here- especially with the Assamite Parmenides- won't begin to make sense. Second, the really fun and bestest thing here is the delightful way this book fills in pieces of the puzzle created by the earlier books in the Clan Novel series- retelling incidents from other characters' points of view, for example, so that you finally have some idea of what was happening and why.
Rating:
Summary: Assamite
Review: This is a fantastic book and a true credit to the entire clan novels. The entire series gives a great different viewpoint of vampires and this book does a great job of getting into the mind of one of those vampires. The only book at this time better in the series if number 4 Seitte. It also has a fantastic ability to put the reader into the story as a participate and not just as a reader. Both are a must read.
Rating:
Summary: AMAZING!
Review: Though I do not particularly care for the Assamite clan, this novel is the best I have read so far from the entire clan novel collection.
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