Prequel tie in novel by
Oliver Bowden, to the 'Assassin's Creed Origins' video game, and set in 70 BCE Egypt, around 22 years before the events of the game.
We meet a young Bayek, the main protagonist of the game, as well as Aya, the love of his life, and get to know the location of Siwa, a small village, where the game begins and where Bayek is the son of a Medjay, protector of the region.
I liked the characterizations of the central characters, they work well together as a young couple, although with the stresses of events in the book, they become torn towards the end, as they grow into the people we get to see in the game. And the secondary characters, like the second pov of the villain of the book, Bion, is handled really well. The world building is pretty good too, setting up the stage for the time of ancient Egypt and the sandy deserts of the region at the time.
There's plenty of action and intrigue in the book as well, as Bion, hot on the heels of Samu, Bayek's father, tracks them through the desert.
It's a very good prequel that sets up the main character and initial setting for the game with a good engaging plot; a hired killer is out to end the Medjay bloodline, and Bayek must leave the safety of Siwa to travel through an ancient Egypt and find his father, and a believable ancient world with a compelling cast of characters.
Recommended as a stand alone book and definitely if you're a fan of the game it precedes.
