You’re standing in the bookstore or scrolling through a digital library, and you see it. That familiar hood. The hidden blade. But then you realize there are over twenty books, and they don't exactly line up with the games you played on your console. It's a mess. Honestly, trying to figure out the assassin's creed books in order feels a bit like trying to synchronize a viewpoint while someone is throwing rocks at you.
Most people think these are just cheap novelizations. They aren't.
Oliver Bowden (the pen name for Anton Gill) and Christie Golden have actually put some serious work into expanding the lore. Some books are straight-up adaptations of the games, like Renaissance following Ezio Auditore. Others? They’re completely original stories that fill in the massive gaps the games leave behind. If you only play the games, you’re missing about 40% of the actual story. That's just the truth of it.
The Chronological Headache vs. Release Date
Should you read them in the order they came out or the order the history happens?
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If you go by release date, you start with Renaissance (2009). It’s fine, but it’s basically a beat-for-beat retelling of Assassin’s Creed II. If you go chronologically by history, you’re starting in Ancient Egypt with Desert Oath.
I usually tell people to stick to the "Saga" method. Group them by the characters. It’s way less confusing than jumping from the Italian Renaissance to the American Revolution and then back to the Crusades just because that's how the books hit the shelves.
The Altaïr and Ezio Era
This is where most fans start. It's the "classic" feel.
- Renaissance: This covers Ezio’s early life. It’s Assassin's Creed II in prose.
- Brotherhood: Picks up right after, focusing on the Rome campaign.
- The Secret Crusade: This one is unique. It’s narrated by Niccolò Polo (father of Marco) and tells the entire life story of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad. It covers the first game but goes way beyond it, showing his old age and his eventual end.
- Revelations: The finale for Ezio.
Here’s a weird detail most people miss: The Secret Crusade is technically the third book released, but it takes place earliest in the timeline—well, until the newer "Ancient" books came out. It’s arguably the best written of the early bunch because it feels more like a biography than a gameplay script.
Why the Kenway Saga Changes Everything
Then we get to the American stuff.
Forsaken is the book that usually surprises people. In the game Assassin's Creed III, Haytham Kenway is the villain. Or at least, the antagonist. But the book? It’s Haytham’s journal. It starts from when he was a kid and explains exactly why he became a Templar. It makes him one of the most tragic characters in the whole franchise.
If you haven’t read Forsaken, you don’t really know who Haytham is. You just know him as the guy with the cool hat who betrayed you at the start of the game.
Then there’s Black Flag. It follows Edward Kenway. It’s a pirate novel, mostly. It follows the game closely but adds more internal monologue about his obsession with gold and how it ruined his life before the Assassins even found him.
The "Hidden" Stories You Won't Find in Games
This is where the assassin's creed books in order get interesting.
Most people stop at the game adaptations. That's a mistake. You have books like Heresy, written by Christie Golden. It features a modern-day protagonist named Simon Hathaway. He’s a high-ranking Templar. The book dives deep into the trial of Joan of Arc.
It’s dense. It’s smart. It treats the Templar vs. Assassin conflict with a lot of gray area rather than just "hooded guys good, suits bad."
And don't even get me started on the Last Descendants trilogy by Matthew J. Kirby. These are technically Young Adult, but don't let that fool you. They deal with the Draft Riots in 1863 New York and the Aztec Empire. They introduce the "Ascendance" concept which is basically a weird, shared genetic memory between multiple people in the Animus.
The Odyssey and Valhalla Expansion
When the games went full RPG, the books had to change too.
In Assassin's Creed Odyssey, you can choose to play as Alexios or Kassandra. But the book? The book confirms Kassandra is the "canon" choice. If you want the official version of the story as Ubisoft intends it, you read the novel.
Same goes for Valhalla: Geirmund's Saga. It doesn’t even follow Eivor. It follows a Viking named Geirmund Hel-hide. It’s a side story that runs parallel to the game's events. It gives you a much better sense of the political landscape of 9th-century England than the game does, mostly because you aren't distracted by collecting 400 yellow dots on a map.
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Making Sense of the Full List
If you want a straight checklist to tick off, here is the most logical way to consume the main sequence of assassin's creed books in order without losing your mind.
- Desert Oath (Prequel to Origins)
- Renaissance (Ezio’s start)
- Brotherhood (Ezio in Rome)
- The Secret Crusade (Altaïr’s full life)
- Revelations (Ezio’s end)
- Forsaken (The life of Haytham Kenway - READ THIS)
- Black Flag (Edward Kenway’s pirate years)
- Unity (Follows Elise, not Arno. Very different perspective!)
- Underworld (Prequel to Syndicate, focusing on Henry Green)
- Heresy (Modern day / Joan of Arc)
- Odyssey (The official Kassandra story)
- Geirmund's Saga (The Valhalla era)
- The Magus Conspiracy (Set in 1851, very much a Victorian thriller)
There are also the "Chronicles" and "Fragments" series. Those are usually shorter and focus on places like Japan or China. They’re cool, but not essential unless you’re a completionist who needs every scrap of lore.
The Unity Anomaly
I have to mention Unity.
The game was... well, you remember the glitches. Faces melting off and all that. But the book is actually one of the strongest in the series. Why? Because it isn't told from Arno's perspective. It’s told by Elise de la Serre.
It's a Templar's perspective on the French Revolution. It makes the romance between her and Arno feel much more grounded and heartbreaking. If you hated the game, you might actually like the book. It’s a weird phenomenon, but it happens a lot with this series.
What Most People Get Wrong
The biggest misconception is that these books are just for kids or "non-readers."
Look, they aren't Tolstoy. They’re fast-paced action thrillers. But the historical research is genuinely impressive. Whether it’s the Borgia papacy or the brutal reality of the 18th-century London slums in Underworld, the authors do their homework.
You also get a much better look at the "Modern Day" story. In the games, the modern-day stuff often feels like an interruption. You're having fun being a ninja, and suddenly you're a guy in a lab. In the books, the transitions feel smoother. You understand the stakes of the Abstergo conflict because you’re inside the characters' heads, not just watching a cutscene.
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How to Start Reading Today
Don't try to buy all twenty-plus books at once. You'll get burned out by the third time a character does a "Leap of Faith" described in text.
Start with The Secret Crusade. It's the most "Assassin" of the Assassin's Creed books. It spans decades. It shows the growth of a cocky kid into a wise, somewhat broken old man. It gives you the philosophy of the Creed—what "Nothing is true, everything is permitted" actually means—in a way the games sometimes struggle to articulate.
Next, pick up Forsaken. Even if you haven't played Assassin's Creed III, it’s a fantastic piece of historical fiction. It’s a story about a father and son who are on opposite sides of a war they didn't start.
Finally, check out the fragments or The Magus Conspiracy if you want something fresh.
The newer books are moving away from just "retelling the game" and are becoming their own things. The Magus Conspiracy is basically a historical spy novel that just happens to have Assassins in it. It's a sign that the series is maturing.
If you're using an e-reader, look for the "The Ezio Collection" bundles. They usually save you a few bucks. But honestly, there’s something about having the physical copies with the white covers on a shelf that just looks right.
Keep an eye on the "Assassin's Creed: Engine of History" series too. These are newer and focus more on the historical accuracy and the "what if" scenarios of the lore. They’re proving that this franchise has legs beyond just pressing the 'X' button to parry.
Go find The Secret Crusade. It's the best entry point. Read that, see if the style clicks for you, and then dive into the Kenway journals. You'll see the games in a completely different light the next time you pick up a controller.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Audit your current knowledge: If you’ve played the games, skip Renaissance and Black Flag for now; you already know those plots.
- Prioritize "The Secret Crusade": This is the essential bridge between the first game and the rest of the lore.
- Track the "Original" novels: Look specifically for Heresy and The Magus Conspiracy if you want stories that weren't told on your TV screen.
- Check your local library: Most libraries carry the Oliver Bowden books in the "Media Tie-In" or "Science Fiction" sections.
- Focus on the Authors: If you like a darker, more personal tone, follow Christie Golden’s entries. If you prefer straightforward action and historical set-pieces, stick with Oliver Bowden.