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Having kept up with author Alan Zadoff’s The Unknown Assassin trilogy from the very beginning, I was interested in getting to finally see how Boy Nobody’s—or, Zach—story would finally wrap up. Considering the unending action that filled I Am The Traitor’s predecessors, I was excited to delve into a novel that would offer a brand new story that would ultimately make or break the series.
In I Am The Traitor, we are reintroduced to Boy Nobody’s world full of espionage, betrayal, and secrets. His doubts toward the Program are made plain and he has no problem with bringing them down. But Zach’s defiance brings about a whole new problem when he discovers that his old friend and ally, Howard, is in trouble. Forced to look back to his past assignments, Zach is reconnected with past connections, as well as introduced to brand new faces who have also been affected by the Program. What Boy Nobody doesn’t anticipate is that you might not be able to let anybody too close and that the Program, no matter how hard he might fight to escape it, will never be too far behind.
Right off the bat I can say that, like the novels that came before it, I Am The Traitor is filled with action sequences and other badass goodness. I felt right at home reading fight sequences that flowed naturally, watching as Boy Nobody battled against his typical antagonists, and reading about the conflicts that have plagued him in every novel of the trilogy. Like always, if you are a fan of action then The Unknown Assassin trilogy is for you. What accompanies the fast-paced action scenes is a thrilling atmosphere that cannot be ignored and leaves readers on the edge of their seats.
Zadoff’s writing creates a unique world where readers can experience the life of an assassin and realize that it certainly isn’t what it’s cracked up to be. Zadoff’s prose is simplistic and allows for a quick read. While I do wish that there were more instances where descriptors could have been provided, it was easy to establish an idea of the scene in my mind while reading.
However, I will admit that while all of the fighting was awesome, there was no denying the fact that the plot of the novel began to feel a lot like the same old same old. In previous novels, Zach/Boy Nobody has been given an assignment, typically involving a teenage girl, whom he gets close to and inevitably has sexual relations with the girl, before finishing his assignment off and moving on to whatever the Program has given him next.
While Zach is far from pro-Program in this novel, I did feel like the same song and dance was being repeated in I Am The Traitor. If you’ve read the novel, you know what I’m talking about—and if you haven’t and are about to, you will find out. I certainly wasn’t underwhelmed by I Am The Traitor, but I wasn’t blown away either. I’m a firm believer that the final novel in a trilogy should be definitive of the entire series, and that it should leave the reader with an experience that they’ve never had before.
I would recommend The Unknown Assassin trilogy to any readers who are big fans of spy thrillers a la the Bourne movies. Any readers who are looking for an interesting, thrilling read should also give The Unknown Assassin novels a read. Lastly, any readers who are fans of novels that feature major character development across a series should definitely give it a try.
This review can also be found at Carole's Random Life.
"We are soldiers," Mike says. "Never forget what that means."
I really enjoyed the first book of this series (not as a big of a fan of the second though) so I was really eager to see how this series would end. It has been a little while since I've read the second book but from the beginning of this one I had no trouble remembering what had happened and who each character was.
Zach is back and now he must rescue Howard from The Program. There is a small complication when he discovers Howard is being held with a girl named Tanya and he is unsure as to whether or not she is trustworthy. Zach must also deal with whether or not he will trust and continue to work with The Program.
Throughout this series I have felt that at times Zach has been far too trusting of people and this book is no exception to that. For someone who is supposed to be a trained assassin he can be pretty trusting and naive. Then again he is just a teenager.
I really loved the first 3/4ths of this book. It kept me on the edge of my seat and I had no idea what would happen next. The last fourth of the book had me disappointed. It did not live up to my expectations. Quite honestly I was expecting it to blow my mind or at least be something that I couldn't guess easily on my own. The series is leading us to this moment and if you try hard enough you'll figure it out without trying all that hard.
Despite my feelings towards the ending I did enjoy this book. Other fans of this series might love that ending so I would recommend reading this if you've enjoyed the previous books. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the galley.
Wow. It's easy to see how this book was selected as a YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers in 2014. If this book doesn't hold your interest, I think you may have made up your mind before cracking the cover...but even the cover is awesome!
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