History Literature / AssassinsCreedIVBlackFlag

* BlackBestFriend: Adewale ''wasn't'' this in the game, being quite willing to call Edward out on his B.S. as well as being bitterly disappointed the crew would rather have the Welshman as Captain than himself... but in the book, Edward goes on and on about Adewale's support and loyalty as well as [[BlatantLies his graceful bowing out from the Captain's position, which is manifestly ''not'' what happened]][[note]]In the game Adewale flat-out declares himself to be used to being snubbed by "''Faces of such''... Fairness"[[/note]]. Frankly speaking, they were VitriolicBestBuds for most of the game rather than HeterosexualLifePartners as Edward suggests.

* BrokenAesop: The thrust of the main game is Edward learning that money isn't everything and that people around him matter. It's hard to see that here, since for all his TraumaCongaLine, in the end Edward [[spoiler:for the time being at least, gets all he ever wanted and still likes to call himself an Assassin.]] On the other hand, it may end up becoming a FamilyUnfriendlyAesop, since [[spoiler:Edward's attempts to 'go straight' and live a respectable life result in him getting betrayed by Reginald Birch years later.]]

[[Literature/AssassinsCreedIVBlackFlag Assassin's Creed: Black Flag]] is a novel written by Oliver Bowden, released in the UK on 7 November 2013 and the US on 26 November 2013. The novel focuses on the events of the [[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIVBlackFlag game of the same name]].

** By the end of the book, Edward Kenway becomes this, especially to the people [[spoiler:who bullied him when he was in Wales, for his exploits as a pirate have by now reached home and all of them run and hide in reasonable fear that he'll come back and take revenge, with the Templars finally pleading to (seemingly) TrueNeutral Sir UsefulNotes/RobertWalpole to solve the situation... though that's by him basically giving Edward temporary KarmaHoudiniWarranty.]]

** Edward's memory of Stede is a bit dissonant as he thinks of the man as quite unfortunate and an utter failure as a pirate. In the games, Stede is actually deliriously happy up until his death.

* AppliedPhlebotinum: Bartholomew Roberts amazing real life success as a pirate,he was, arguably, the most successful of all time, is implied in the book to be the result of his [[spoiler: using the Observatory to view the Templars and their schemes.]]

** By the end of the book, Edward Kenway becomes this, especially to the people [[spoiler:who bullied him when he was in Wales, for his exploits as a pirate have by now reached home and all of them run and hide in reasonable fear that he'll come back and take revenge, with the Templars finally pleading to (seemingly) TrueNeutral Sir UsefulNotes/RobertWalpole to solve the situation... though that's by him basically gives Edward temporary KarmaHoudiniWarranty.]]

** Jenny, like Caroline was also in an arranged marriage she did not want. She also dreamed of something greater than her position, just like her mother.

* LoveAtFirstSight: How Edward feels when he first Caroline Scott, noting that it was the first time he went home and thought of something ''other'' than alcohol and his ambitions.

* KnightTemplarParent: Emmett Scott is perhaps the worst father in a series filled with the likes of Rodrigo Borgia and Haytham Kenway. Not only does he disapprove of Caroline's marriage to Edward and goes out of his way to KickTheDog by even offering money to Edward to abandon her, he still acts like a jerk even after she comes back to the house presumably learnt her lesson. This extends to [[spoiler: believing that she's faking her illness when she wasn't making her die before her time. Also he turns out to be a Templar himself.]]

* ObnoxiousInLaws: Emmett Scott to Edward though not Caroline's mother who was a good woman. He [[spoiler: refused to treat his daughter out of pure spite, and doesn't take her illness seriously. Edward finally kills him.]]

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Stede Bonnet's fate is explained in the novel. [[spoiler: He's hung.]]
** Edward's memory of Stede are a bit dissonant as he thinks of the man as quite unfortunate and an utter failure as a pirate. In the games, Stede is actually deliriously happy up until his death.

* AllOfTheOtherReindeer: Edward can't go two minutes in his hometown without someone making fun of him for being poor, Welsh, a drunk and the son of a sheep farmer. His marriage to a daughter of a wealthy businessman only makes it worse. He has to stave of thugs who beat him up, attack his family home and further torment from Caroline's JerkAss father.

* AmbitionIsEvil: This is played through even more strongly in the book than in the game. Despite having a great stroke of luck in marrying a rich girl, loving parents and talent to turn things around if he chooses to, its not enough for Edward who wants a fortune and to see the world. He admits that what ruined his marriage wasn't Caroline's parents or her former suitor Mathew Hague but himself.

The book is technically a prequel to ''Literature/AssassinsCreedForsaken'', which first dealt with Edward's backstory. It also has canonical status, at least for the events that don't appear in the game itself, as per writer [[WordOfGod Darby McDevitt]] and in fact an excerpt from this book can be found in one of the hacked computers in Abstergo Entertainment. Specifically Chapter 3, which details Edward's first meeting with his wife Caroline.

The Golden Age of Piracy – a time when greed, ambition and corruption overcomes all loyalties – and a brash young captain, Edward Kenway, is making his name known for being one of the greatest pirates of his time. In the brilliant new novel, Assassin's Creed: Black Flag, discover the story of how Edward, a young privateer, became one of the world's most deadly pirates and was drawn into the centuries-old battle between the Templars and the Assassins.

* DeusExMachina: How the book resolves itself. Out of nowhere, [[spoiler: SirRobertWalpole, England's first Prime Minister appears and makes Edward give up his revenge on the Hagues and even rewards him with a new life and a pardon.]]

** By the end of the book, Edward Kenway becomes this, especially to the people [[spoiler:who bullied him when he was in Wales, for his exploits as a pirate have by now reached home and all of them run and hide in reasonable fear that he'll come back and take revenge, with the Templars finally pleading to (seemingly) TrueNeutral SirRobertWalpole to solve the situation... though that's by him basically gives Edward temporary KarmaHoudiniWarranty.]]

* {{Foreshadowing}}: At the end of the book, [[spoiler: SirRobertWalpole offers Edward property and a new life in London, via his contacts with the Stephenson-Oakley family and their associate Reginald Birch; Tessa Stephenson-Oakley would marry Edward and gave birth to and raised their son Haytham, while Birch would play a fateful role in his later life. For more read ''Literature/AssassinsCreedForsaken'']].

* YouCantGoHomeAgain: A repeated theme in the book. First [[spoiler: Edward's childhood home is burnt down and he's told by Templars to stay away from England, then he loses Nassau and then when he comes home, his mother disowns him and the people in Bristol look at him in fear or contempt for becoming a pirate. He's finally given a chance for a new life in London by SirRobertWalpole.]]

* AdaptationDecay: Some great moments from the game like Edward pickpocketing the Templars at their first meeting and his sneaking across Tulum are left out of the novel.

* AdaptationalBadass: Inverted, played straight, and otherwise toyed with. Edward rarely kills people in the book yet has an epic duel with El Tiburon when, canonically, he just shot him.

* AppliedPhlebotinum: Bartholomew Roberts amazing real life success as a pirate (he was, arguably, the most successful of all time) is implied in the book to be the result of his [[spoiler: using the Observatory to view the Templars and their schemes.]]

* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler:Arguably Woodes Rogers, though as per Robert Walpole, he's kicked out of the Templars and is in debtor's prison, which he tries to convince Edward is punishment enough]].

** Though this might be justifiable since its hard to translate gameplay into the written word.

* TraumaCongaLine: The Kenways' lives in a nutshell. Bernard Kenway and his wife suffer because their son pissed off some powerful people [[spoiler: Templars]] and their business decayed to the point that Bernard died poor with his wife forced to be a barmaid. Readers of ''Literature/AssassinsCreedForsaken'' and players of ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIII'' know it only goes [[FromBadToWorse downhill from there for the next three generations]][[note:their son Edward, their grandson Haytham, and their great-grandson Ratonhnhaké:ton/Connor]].

* BlackBestFriend: Adewale ''wasn't'' this in the game, being quite willing to call Edward out on his B.S as well as being bitterly disappointed the crew would rather have the Welshman as Captain than himself. In the book, Edward goes on and on about Adewale's support and loyalty as well as [[BlatantLies his graceful bowing out from the Captain's position]][[note]]in the game Adewale flat-out declares himself to be used to being snubbed by "''Faces of such''... Fairness"[[/note]]. Which is, manifestly, ''not'' what happened. They were VitriolicBestBuds for most of the game rather than HeterosexualLifePartners as Edward suggests.
* BrokenAesop: The thrust of the main game is Edward learning that money isn't everything and that people around him matter. It's hard to see that here since for all his TraumaCongaLine, Edward [[spoiler: for the time being at least, gets all he ever wanted and still likes to call himself an Assassin.]]
** [[spoiler: May become a FamilyUnfriendlyAesop as Edward's attempts to 'go straight' and live a respectable life result in him getting betrayed by Reginald Birch years later.]]

* CutLexLuthorACheck: [[spoiler: A heroic example. Robert Walpole offers Edward land, title, and a pardon in exchange for his sparing Mathew Hague.]]

** By the end of the book, Edward Kenway becomes this, especially to the people [[spoiler: who bullied him when he was in Wales. His exploits as a pirate have reached home and all of them run and hide in, justified, fear that he'll come back and take revenge with the Templars finally pleading to (seemingly) TrueNeutral SirRobertWalpole to solve the situation and he basically gives Edward, temporary, KarmaHoudiniWarranty.]]

* EvilIsPetty: In addition to secretly wanting to or claiming to run the world, the Templars find time to help a brother out by burning down the home of Edward's family purely because he managed to beat the son of a Templar to a girl's heart. It borders on ComedicSociopathy.
* FreudianExcuse: Oliver Bowden invents a story about how Edward's family farm was burned down by Templars before the beginnings of the game.Likewise, Edward is (initially) forced into piracy at (literal) sword point.
** Edward's class angst is further, and believably, expounded upon, in that he doesn't like the fact that even if Caroline's father Emmett is a local big fish and New Money, his family have to be extra kind and grovel at him during his wedding. His alcoholism is also driven by his sense of hopelessness since it helps him forget about his problems. As happy as his marriage to Caroline is, the constant reminder that he's UnableToSupportAWife eats at him.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: At the end of the book, [[spoiler: SirRobertWalpole offers Edward property and a new life in London, via his contacts with the Stephenson-Oakley family and their associate Reginald Birch. Edward's second wife Tessa belonged to the former family while Birch would play a fateful role in his later life. For more read ''Literature/AssassinsCreedForsaken'']].
* FromNobodyToNightmare: Related to [[CreateYourOwnVillain Create Your Own Hero]], but the Templars go the distance to make a LowerClassLout barfly into, well, a "man of quality" that is a man who torpedoes all their plans and sends them running scared.
* GoodParents: Edward's humble parents Bernard Kenway and Linette Hopkins are decent, common people. [[spoiler: They are deeply disappointed by Edward's seeming disdain to working on the farm and especially him becoming a pirate.]]

* {{Hypocrite}}: Edward's accepting [[spoiler: a vast payoff to become a Lord in London despite the fact he ''just'' gave up his massive fortune in the Carribean to redeem himself]].
** Though Edward also notes that [[spoiler: the pardon extended to his own crew who were all pretty keen on it so it might also have been Edward thinking of the bigger picture.]]

* IgnoredEpiphany: [[spoiler: The book turns Edward's conversion into an Assassin into one as he gives up revenge on his (Templar) enemies in exchange for pardon and wealth.]]

* LoveAtFirstSight: How Edward feels when he first Caroline Scott, noting that it was the first time he went home and thought of something other than alcohol and his ambitions.
* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler:Arguably, Woodes Rogers, though as per Walpole, he's kicked out of the Templars and is in debtor's prison, which he tries to convince Edward is punishment enough]].
** In the eyes of Edward's parents, [[spoiler: he himself is one, since he profited from plunder and murder which they abhor, and in the end is rewarded for it.]]
*** [[spoiler: Mathew Hague]].

* NoTrueScotsman: Edward's opinion on Benjamin Hornigold is that he was never a ''real'' pirate or rather his GentlemanThief nature and military air made him seem more aloof from the rest of the gang, at least compared to Blackbeard who was AFatherToHisMen. Aspects which are visible and consistent with his portrayal in the main game.

* RetCon: The book changes a few details from the gameplay:
** Edward ''doesn't'' [[spoiler: kill Assassins Havana while escorting the sage. That part is removed and his conflict with the Assassins is much less tense.]]
** Edward also [[spoiler: murders Guardians on his way to the Observatory, when the gameplay's Full Synchronization options state that he disabled them non-violently and that it's Torres and his soldiers who massacre them at the end.]]
** Edward's conflict with Charles Vane [[spoiler: is shortened here, with the SanitySlippage forcing Edward to act pre-emptively rather than Vane's epic VillainousBreakdown to start HuntingTheMostDangerousGame.]]

** Edward and Caroline do love each other and she does bring the best out of him, he quits drinking and tries to applies himself but he can't make headway partly because working at the farm will not provide anywhere near the same money she's had growing up. But the social pressure and endless humiliation in addition to physical and emotional abuse heaped on Edward by her former suitor and her father only spurs him to become a Privateer and make them eat their words and this was a last straw for their marriage.

* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: [[spoiler: Caroline was not only a wonderful wife but pretty much an ideal woman. Which seems purely designed to twist the knife further in Edward's heart.]]

* TraumaCongaLine: The Kenways lives in a nutshell. Bernard Kenway and his wife suffer because their son pissed off some powerful people [[spoiler: Templars]] and their business decayed to the point that Bernard died poor with his wife forced to be a barmaid. Readers of ''Literature/AssassinsCreedForsaken'' and players of ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIII'' know it only goes [[FromBadToWorse downhill]] from ''here''.
* UnreliableNarrator: Assuming the events of the game are what ''really'' happened, Edward doesn't mention his murder of assassins and changes numerous other events that reflect poorly on him and makes conflicts less contentious than it was.
** Though he's more than upfront about his roving eye and shameless infidelity.

* WorthyOpponent: Edward bestows this title on Governor Torres, or rather of having some respect for him.

* BlackBestFriend: Adewale ''wasn't'' this in the game, being quite willing to call Edward out on his B.S as well as being bitterly disappointed the crew would rather have the Welshman as Captain than himself. In the book, Edward goes on and on about Adewale's support and loyalty as well as [[BlatantLies his graceful bowing out from the Captain's position]][[note]]in the game Adewale flat-out declares himself to be used to being snubbed by "''Faces of such''... Fairness"[[/note]]. Which is, manifestly, ''not'' what happened.
** Adewale was absolutely Edward's friend in the game, and his [[CallingTheOldManOut calling the pirate out]] is done with a tone that suggests he's trying to steer his friend in the right direction. Critique doesn't necessarily imply animosity.

* AdaptationExpansion: Like all of Oliver Bowden's adaptations, new material is added. Most of which deals with Edward Kenway's childhood in Bristol. Including adding a Templar-related plot which drove him to the West Indies.

* BlackBestFriend: Adewale ''wasn't'' this in the game, being quite willing to call Edward out on his B.S as well as being bitterly disappointed the crew would rather have the Welshman as Captain than himself. In the book, Edward goes on and on about Adewale's support and loyalty as well as his graceful bowing out from the Captain's position. Which is, manifestly, ''not'' what happened.

* EvilIsPetty: In addition to secretly wanting to or claiming to run the world, the Templars find time to help a brother out by burning down the home of Edward's family purely because he managed to beat the son of a Templar to a girl's heart. It borders on ComedicSociopathy.

* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler: Woodes Rogers. Though as per Walpole, he's kicked out of the Templars and is in debtors prison which he tries to convince Edward is punishment enough]].

* DeusExMachina: How the book resolves itself. Out of nowhere, [[spoiler: SirRobertWalpole, England's first Prime Minister appears and makes Edward give up his revenge on the Aubreys and even rewards him with a new life and a pardon.]]

* AssholeVictim: Edward tells Jennifer that most people he met were [[GrayAndGrayMorality a mix of good and bad]] but that Laurens Prins was all bad and that [[spoiler: despite his own selfish interests in the Sage, it pleased him to kill that slaver who earned a fortune from other people's suffering.]]

* AppliedPhlebotinum: Bartholomew Roberts amazing RL success as a pirate (he was, arguably, the most successful of all time) is implied in the book to be the result of his [[spoiler: using the Observatory to view the Templars and their schemes.]]

* DeathByMaterialism: [[spoiler: What the ending means for Edward.]]
** Given the entire ''point'' of the game was Edward getting over this, it plays heavily into the BrokenAesop and {{Hypocrite}} elements.

* MaleGaze: Edward's journals, which were written for ''his daughter'' spend a surprising amount of time talking about Mary Read and Anne Bonnie's bodies. Edward unashamedly admits that he loves women wholeheartedly.

* TheMentor: Whereas in the game Edward was mentored by Ben Hornigold, he is instead mentored by the more famous Edward Thatch. This changes the dynamic from the game where the two Edwards were more akin to equals.

* UnreliableNarrator: Assuming the events of the game are what ''really'' happened, Edward doesn't mention his murder of assassins and changes numerous other events that reflect poorly on him.

* AdaptationExpansion: Like all of Oliver Bowden's adaptations, new material is added. Most of which deals with Edward Kenway's childhood in Bristol.

* CutLexLuthorACheck: [[spoiler: A heroic example. Robert Walpole offers Edward land, title, and a pardon in exchange for his sparing some of his men.]]
** [[spoiler: This ties into a WhatAnIdiot and TooDumbToLive for Edward as one of the men assigned to Edward's household is the Templar Reginald Birch who proves to be a FalseFriend in the book's prequel ''Literature/AssassinsCreedForsaken''.]]

** [[spoiler: Becomes FridgeBrilliance and FridgeHorror when you realize Robert Walpole is most likely doing this so the Templars can find out what Edward knows about the First Civilization.]]

* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: Edward continues his talent of this by [[spoiler: trusting Robert Walpole.]]
* {{Hypocrite}}: Edward's accepting a vast payoff to become a Lord in London despite the fact he ''just'' gave up his massive fortune in the Carribean to redeem himself.

* {{Jerkass}}: Caroline's father Emmett is a major one. To him his daughter's marriage to Edward was a loss to a valuable business contact with the Aubreys and a chance to rise in society. He's a real spiteful piece of work.

* KnightTemplarParent: Emmett Scott is perhaps the worst father in a series filled with the likes of Rodrigo Borgia and Haytham Kenway. Not only does he disapprove of Caroline's marriage to Edward and goes out of his way to KickTheDog by even offering money to Edward to abandon her, he still acts like a jerk even after she comes back to the house presumably learnt her lesson. This extends to [[spoiler: believing that she's faking her illness when she wasn't making her die before her time.]]
* MaleGaze: Edward's journals, which were written for ''his daughter'' spend a surprising amount of time talking about Mary Read and Anne Bonnie's bodies.

* TheMentor: Whereas in the game Edward was mentored by Ben Horningold, he is instead mentored by the more famous Edward Thatch. This changes the dynamic from the game where the two Edwards were more akin to equals.
* NoTrueScotsman: Edward's opinion on Benjamin Hornigold is that he was never a ''real'' pirate.
* ReformedButRejected: Edward's reaction from his mother after he's abandoned piracy. He doesn't say a word in his defense.
* RevengeBeforeReason: Edward seems bent on this as he's long since outgrown his childhood enemies. [[spoiler: Subverted]].

* TraumaCongaLine: The Kenways lives in a nutshell.
* TwistEnding: Edward accepts a pardon from Robert Walpole, a confessed enemy of the Templars. [[spoiler: Who is almost certainly a Templar himself and the secret employer of Reginald Birch.]]

* WorthyOpponent: Edward bestows this title on Governor Torres.