Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (novel)

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood is a novel based on the game of the same name, released on November 25, 2010. Written by Oliver Bowden, it is a direct sequel to Assassin's Creed: Renaissance.

Description

"I will journey to the black heart of a corrupt Empire to root out my foes. But Rome wasn't built in a day and it won't be restored by a lone assassin. I am Ezio Auditore da Firenze. This is my brotherhood."

Rome, once mighty, lies in ruins. The city swarms with suffering and degradation, her citizens living in the shadow of the ruthless Borgia family. Only one man can free the people from the Borgia tyranny - Ezio Auditore, the Master Assassin. Ezio's quest will test him to his limits. Cesare Borgia, a man more villainous and dangerous than his father the Pope, will not rest until he has conquered Italy. And in such treacherous times, conspiracy is everywhere, even within the ranks of the brotherhood itself...

Plot Summary

Prologue

Ezio is reminded of the event of what had just occurred in the Vault of the Sistine Chapel. He remembered touching the lid of a granite-like sarcophagus, he touched its welcoming glow and a woman appeared, spreading word of a disaster that occurred many years ago and saying that it's likely to happen again. Ezio experienced the planets and heavens surrounding him. She tried to spread hope that the humans will not repeat the mistake from years ago and then faded into darkness. Ezio left and found that Rodrigo had supposedly taken poison. Ezio left the Sistine Chapel and met up with the other Assassins.

Part One

1- Ezio was still delusional and Mario was trying to snap some sense into Ezio. He thought he had defeated the Pope, leader of the Templars. Ezio had the Piece of Eden which was bestowed upon him. He doubted that Rodrigo was dead, he then contemplated whether or not he should have killed the Pope. He wished he could return to his old home in Florence and settle down. Ezio returned to where he had left Rodrigo to die but only to find that the Templar leader was gone. Mario questioned Ezio about what is inside the Vault but Ezio only replied in short answers and then, when he tried to pry the Staff from the ground, it disappeared into the Earth. Ezio and Mario then left the area and into the city of Rome.

2. Being told the others had left to go home, Ezio expresses on how he should have killed Rodrigo while being taunted as a "demon" by Priests and they both flee the Vatican.

3- Ezio and Mario are chased by guards throughout the streets of Rome and are lured towards the Tiber. Ezio contemplated throwing the Apple into the River but Mario takes it from him and keeps it until Ezio can make a decision. They then left Rome and into the mountains where they would then travel to Monteriggioni.

4- Ezio and Mario arrive in Monteriggioni for Ezio to find the arsenal upgraded and was greeted cheerfully by his sister, Claudia. Ezio helps many which include; helping a woman carry a box of flowers to the Villa, helping a man obtain the horse of Mario's which he had lost and also helped some mercenaries get the Monteriggioni canons and defenses working.

5- Ezio enters the Villa Auditore and is greeted by Caterina Sforza, she wants to form an allegiance with the troops at Monteriggioni to help her troops at Forlì. Ezio tells Caterina that chances are high of giving her the Troops to help the battle at Forlì.

6- Ezio meets up with Niccolò Machiavelli and Maria Auditore da Firenze as well as Mario, Claudia and Caterina to discuss recent events. Ezio tells them of the extraordinary wonders he saw inside the Vault and admitted that he was wrong about Rodrigo poisoning himself. Machiavelli tells Ezio and the others of a newer threat and leaves for Rome. The night was then silent and feelings were revealed.

7- Leaving the dinner and off to his room, Ezio got some rest and was eventually joined by Caterina. They made love for a night and eventually went to sleep, they were interrupted by canons which eventually led to the destruction of the Villa and from there, the Siege of Monteriggioni begun.

8- Ezio jumps down from his room and meets up with Mario who reassures him that the apple is safe with him. Caterina tries to flank the attackers while Mario will try to lead a frontal assault and take them head-on. Ezio loses his armor bestowed to him by his father before his execution. He rides through the town of Monteriggioni and tries to lure back the attackers. But all seems to be failed.

9- Mario is captured by Cesare as well as his helpers. Leonardo da Vinci was there with him and soon, after a short speech, Mario is shot with an arquebusier and is killed. Ezio is shot twice and is awoken by 2 mercenaries.

10- Ezio goes to his sister aid and escorts her inside while fighting. Once inside, he meets with his mother and begins to escort the citizens out of Monteriggioni through a secret passage.

11- Ezio escorts the citizens through the catacombs under the city and once explaining to everyone about Mario's murder but all is put to a close as Cesare's men are circling around the walls. Ezio sees Cesare in the distance, waving Mario's head while chanting 'You're Next.'

12- Ezio orders his family to go back to Florence while he rides for Rome.

13- Passing out from his horse, Ezio is bought to Rome by Machiavelli and is cared by Margherita dei Campi, Ezio is also given new robes to replace the ones he had lost during the siege. Ezio wanders the streets of Rome and gets Medical help from a doctor. Ezio then stays at a small inn.

14- After leaving the inn, Ezio meets up with Machiavelli and discusses his plan to rid Rome of the menace known as Cesare Borgia and his allies that give him power. A thief attempts to steal money from Ezio but is easily overpowered and the money is returned to Ezio. Ezio once again meets up with Machiavelli and discusses plans further, they make their way towards a Thief whose job is to intercept a letter, but found that he had been caught. Machiavelli and Ezio aided the thief and defeated his attackers. Once he swipes the letter from the courier. Ezio goes to meet with Machiavelli but instead is attack by the Sect of Wolves and investigates where they come from. Ezio emerges from the underground, and meets with Machiavelli once more.

15- Letting his horse return to the stables, Ezio tries the tunnels founded by his father. Ezio makes his way to the Tiber Island headquarters and meets with Fabio Orsini, cousin of Bartolomeo d'Alviano. From the headquarters Ezio takes leave to help and recruit the Thieves, Mercenaries and Courtesans to the cause.

16- Ezio arrives at the La Volpe Addormentata and requests aid from La Volpe, a thief. Turning him down hastily, he accuses Machiavelli of betraying the order. Trying to prove Machiavelli's betrayal, La Volpe leads Ezio to a meeting which involved Machiavelli and a guard. Once Machiavelli had left, a fight had broken out with some thieves and Borgia guards. Dispatching of many Borgia guards to save Claudio, Ezio rescues the young thief and directs him to La Volpe and his father. After the rescue, Ezio goes back to La Volpe Addormentata and recruits his aid and this time he accepts but claims his eye will still be on Machiavelli. After this, the place is revamped into an Inn and Ezio assigns the thieves with the task of locating the Apple.

17- Arriving at the Barracks where Bartolomeo was stationed, Ezio was greeted kindly by his old friend and introduced to Bartolomeo's wife, Pantasilea Baglioni. Bartolomeo is alerted by an attack and rushes to the Battle.

18- The Borgia launch an attack on the Barracks, Ezio and many mercenaries including Bartolomeo, fight back and send the soldiers fleeing. After this, the barracks are revamped and Ezio discusses about the forces that he needs. He needs to know what Cesare's men are doing and when. After this, Bartolomeo leaves for the fights claiming he has bet money on the match. Ezio then takes his leave.

19- After his arrival at the Rosa in Fiore, Ezio tries to locate the owner of the place, Madonna Solari but soon finds out she was taken hostage by Slave traders. Ezio goes to the headquarters to locate a boat. Once done, he finds the boat where Madonna Solari is being held and gives the slave traders the thousand ducats they requested. But without hesitation, after the money had been given, the Slave traders kill Madonna but they soon find themselves dead by Ezio's blade. Ezio whispers one last word in the dying Head slave trader's ear and then leaves.

20- Ezio returns to the Rose in Fiore and discovers his mother and sister never left for Florence but instead, went to Rome instead. Without a leader, the girls are in distress but Claudia offers to take the position. After taking it, the place is in the stage of being revamped and Ezio assigns Claudia's girls to locate Caterina Sforza.

21- The Rosa in Fiore is fully revamped and Ezio begins to question Claudia on the location of Caterina, claiming that her girls are working on it, Claudia attempts to make amends but stops before she can say anything. Ezio, after he finishes the conversation, leaves the Brothel.

22- Reuniting with Machiavelli and the others, Ezio discovers the location of Caterina Sforza from Claudia. He claims he will go to the Castel Sant'Angelo not only to rescue Caterina but also to take the life of Rodrigo and Cesare Borgia.

23- Arriving at Castel, Cesare's sister, Lucrezia Borgia steps out of a carriage with a prisoner which soon turns out to be Caterina. Ezio tries to convince Machiavelli to let him rescue her, saying that they were going to torture her. Scaling the walls of the Castel, Ezio eventually located Cesare. Cesare greeted Lucrezia and they discussed some more. Eventually Cesare left leaving Ezio in wonder of why and where he was going.

24- Lucrezia enters the cell which Caterina was being held in and beats her. Ezio oversees this through the window and soon makes his way inside the Castel once Lucrezia is gone. Ezio locates Caterina and plans to rescue her.

25- Ezio finds Lucrezia flirting with her lover, Pietro Rossi. Once Pietro has left, Ezio confronts Lucrezia and takes out the Guards who try to stop him. Ezio carries her to Caterina's cell and once there, Caterina is freed and Lucrezia gets knocked out. Leaving the Castel, an explosion is heard, distracting the guards and giving them time to escape.

26- Ezio reunites with Machiavelli and explains to him about how Cesare and Rodrigo left before he could strike. La Volpe is not convinced that this is a coincidence. Caterina had arrived and was being tendered to by a Doctor. Ezio was then made Mentor of the Italian Assassins but was told to keep it secret so that a "formal" vote could happen. Ezio then talks to Machiavelli about his plan to rebuild the Brotherhood back to its former glory.

27- Ezio recruited many to the cause that day and after following a strange noise that had been calling him, Ezio finds out the voice is his old friend, Leonardo da Vinci. Claiming that he was one step ahead of them and once had possession of the Apple but it was taken from him by Rodrigo. He tells Ezio of some contraptions he was obligated to make for the Borgia, stating that his contraptions consisted of the Tank among others. Ezio requests to have his Codex weapons remade and soon enough, after the money had been given, Leonardo left. He tells Ezio of the first thing he would do when he left and that is, go shopping for supplies.

28- Soon after he returns to the Hideout, Ezio plans his assassination of Octavian de Valois. Machiavelli tells Caterina of the danger she is in and explains to her that she must leave the city, her kids are already safe in Florence and that is where she must ride. She then makes her preparations to leave.

29- Ezio argues with Caterina about the night they spent at the Villa, claiming that she used him. Ezio admits he did not rescue her because of the cause and all turns silent for the rest. Soon enough, Caterina leaves and Ezio is left in wonder.

30- Locating a senator who goes by the name of, Egidio Troche, Ezio manages to dispatch some guards who were harassing the senator for money. Traversing through the streets to escape from guards, Ezio escorts Egidio to his home and from there, they discussed Cesare's banker, Juan Borgia the Younger. Offering to pay the senator's debts to the banker, Ezio gave the man the money he needed and awaited for the time when Egidio would be forced to give the money to the Borgia.

31- Ezio tails Egidio and soon watches the senator pass the money onto the Guards. From there, these guards escort Egidio to the Pantheon and from there, comes across a Borgia captain called, Luigi Torcelli. He gives the Captain the money and from there, Ezio scales the walls and infiltrates the Pantheon giving him enough time to kill Luigi and take his armor and place. Managing to call off the guards from killing Egidio, Ezio navigates around and manages to gain entrance into the Banker's party.

32- Luigi's body is found and the guards are on the lookout for Ezio but he manages to blend and navigate through the crowd, following the money until it changes hands to the Banker himself who leaves the money there where courtesans manage to steal it. Ezio follows the Banker into the supposed, celebration of man. Cesare makes a speech and soon leaves the area and from there Ezio watches as the Banker flirts with a courtesan.

33- The night goes on and soon, Ezio is discovered but he manages to get the final kill on the Banker and exchanged words before he passed. Once back at the Rosa in Fiore, Ezio finds the same woman who the Banker was with, injured. It turns out the Banker molested her and left her for dead but was saved by possible recruits. Claudia then forced Ezio out of it so her girls could get everything sorted.

34- Ezio refreshed himself at the Hideout and quickly makes haste for the Rosa in Fiore, from there, he sees the sign of a struggle but was greeted by the same girl who was molested by Juan Borgia the Younger. Ezio discusses with Claudia briefly once he knows his mother and her are safe. Ezio gets paid interest and then leaves the Brothel.

35- Leonardo is at La Volpe Addormentata which Ezio soon finds out when he's pulled into a dark room. From there, he discusses briefly with Ezio, saying that his friend Salaì knew he was here but wouldn't betray his trust. They exchange in pleasantries and soon, Ezio is given back his Codex weapons that he lost as well as a new item called Poison darts. Ezio then sees La Volpe and tells him of his intentions to track Pietro, Lucrezia's lover. They learn from thieves about the location of Micheletto Corella, an associate of Cesare. La Volpe then expresses to Ezio about how he believes he knows, Machiavelli's a traitor and tells him to do something about it or he will. Ezio then gathers a horse from La Volpe and visits his sister, Ezio then is given backup Codex weapons and then decides it's time to put his Apprentices to good use.

36- Ezio overlooks a meeting involving Cesare himself, Micheletto and Francesco Troche. They discuss about Egidio's actions for warning the Venetians about plans and as soon as Cesare has heard enough. Micheletto strangles Francesco, Cesare gives the orders to the Guards to dump his body in the Tiber. Ezio follows Micheletto as he finds out Pietro is in a Passion Play at the Colosseo. Ezio infiltrates it and orders his Recruits to put on the armor that he had stolen from the men who were meant to be in the play. From there, Ezio infiltrates it and soon enough, attempts to assassinate Micheletto but in the end, he lets him go and saves Pietro who soon gives him the key to the Castel. Ezio then comes across a man from the Villa attack, he tries to run away but is stopped and from there. Ezio learns that he was in fact, the traitor after all, not Machiavelli.

37- Trying to find La Volpe, Ezio is urgently requested by his mother to hunt down some traitors of the Courtesans. But Ezio then leaves quickly to find Machiavelli once more.

38- Ezio rides towards La Volpe Addormentata and finds La Volpe with his dagger, ready to take Machiavelli's life but is stopped as Ezio reveals to La Volpe the letter and the betrayal of one of his own men. Machiavelli is relieved and claims his will substitute the letter to keep them off track. La Volpe then tells Ezio of a new bunch of Thieves known as the Cento Occhi. But Ezio explains that they will not be a problem.

39- Making his way to the barracks, Ezio immediately knows that something is wrong and rushes further. He discovers that the French once again have put pressure on Bartolomeo's men. After closing the gates, the Baron approaches the Barracks but keeps a safe distance, but reveals to Bartolomeo that he had kidnapped his wife and that if he wants her back alive, he would have surrender by dawn. Bartolomeo soon charged out once they were gone and so did Ezio and many more Mercenaries.

40- Ezio has a plan and puts it into action after he manages to steal 20 Frenchman armor, they soon march down to where the Baron was stationed and bought the Captain General to him. Before trying to kill her, Ezio uses his gun as a distraction but the Baron gets away. Ezio follows him but has to sneak around or else the Baron would kill Pantasilea. Ezio quietly navigates around and soon, Ezio struck, killing Valois. Bartolomeo enters and comforts his wife, soon they walk off and she quietly gives Ezio her gratitude.

41- Ezio is finally made official Mentor and his younger sister, Claudia, is inducted into the Assassin order. They go to the rooftop of their hideout and Claudia takes her first Leap of Faith. Machiavelli then claims he will write a book about Ezio one day but Ezio responded that if he does, he should make it short and then leaps from the rooftop.

42- Ezio infiltrates the Castel and overhears Lucrezia being told by a Servant that Cesare is back from his journey. Lucrezia then left to ponder why Rodrigo didn't tell her.

43- Ezio manages to locate a window through which he can oversee Cesare arguing with Rodrigo. Cesare is in denial, believing that his father had the Baron and Banker killed. Rodrigo admits the Assassins performed these tasks. Cesare then bites an apple, and Lucrezia rushes in to say that it's poisoned. Cesare then spits it out and kills Rodrigo with it. Lucrezia acknowledges that she knew Rodrigo had taken it and Cesare reveals that he never loved Lucrezia and started choking her, demanding the Apple. Eventually she gives in and Cesare tries to escape and then Ezio manages to climb through a window and get inside. From there, he closes the eyes of the dead Pope and is told the location of the Apple, with this information, Ezio takes leave.

44- Escaping the Castel, Ezio makes it to the Apple's location before Cesare despite Cesare being more likely to have ridden by horse. Ezio uses the power of the Apple to aid in his escape from the basilica and blended with the crowd wondering how long until news of Rodrigo Borgia's death would spread and when a new Pope would take his place.

45- Ezio returns to the Hideout and informs Machiavelli that although Rodrigo was dead, Cesare still lived. Machiavelli explained to Ezio that without Rodrigo to hold him back, Cesare can still gain back what the Assassins had taken from him. Ezio then went to confront Cesare who was trying to regain his title. But Ezio intercepts it and kill those who he tried to persuade. Cesare gets away before Ezio can take his life.

46- Ezio tracks Cesare down to the Colosseum and finds him trying to use the next Pope who's in charge. Ezio's arrival scares of the Cardinals who Cesare was trying to convince to change the Pope they've selected for the position. Cesare's guards then surround Ezio and try to fight him but they all fall, during the battle itself Ezio is truly injured and Cesare gets away.

47- Finding Cesare at the very gates that lead into Rome, many of Cesare's followers gathered, mostly guards. Ezio and the other Assassins gather at the gate and attempt to fight off the Borgia guards. Once finished, Cesare believes that Micheletto's army had massed behind him but instead, under the instruction of Fabio Orsini, arrest Cesare instead of aiding him as he thought. Screaming that no chains or man could defeat him or hold him.

48- Ezio is reunited with Leonardo once more and is not convinced Cesare would be held by chains. Ezio embarks on a journey with Claudio, the young thief he had once rescued, to locate Cesare once he broke out of prison and soon, hijacks Cesare's ship and makes his way back to Ostia.

Part Two

49- Ezio discusses with his ally, the new Pope, Julius II. Not expecting resources to be provided to him, he was told to locate somebody who was close to Micheletto and who might know something of their whereabouts.

50- Pondering why the Apple would not show Ezio where Cesare was, Ezio calls a meeting of the Brotherhood where Machiavelli states that a victory is not a victory unless absolute and then explains that Cesare is, in fact, alive and so is his former henchman, Micheletto. Ezio and Machiavelli journey to find Micheletto but soon, Claudia is kidnapped and held hostage. But is soon saved by Ezio who shows no mercy at first but in the end, ends the suffering of the kidnapper. They soon know for sure that Micheletto is alive.

51- Ezio tracks Micheletto and scramble through his forces, from there, they imprisoned him in the same place Ezio's father spent his last days, in a cell inside the Palazzo della Signoria. Inside, he was tortured and interrogated him, the days of Micheletto as a killer were done. Ezio would not be so sure that they could break Micheletto considering he was very strong willed.

52- Pope Julius knows of the Apple, Ezio finds this out because the Pope himself asks about its power. Ezio immediately knows who told the Pope, Leonardo's friend Salaì. Ezio explained its powers and what the Borgia intended to do with it which the Pope understood.

53- Ezio locates Cesare's old physician, Gaspar Torella and gains some ideas of where Cesare might be. Spain is the first thing Gaspar would guess, considering Cesare's Spanish heritage.

54- Ezio finds out from Machiavelli that Micheletto has escaped and realizes that they must track him with the Apple before it's too late.

55- Ezio uses the Apple to locate Micheletto who appears to be in Navarre, then through the Apple, Ezio sees a final picture of a massive, wealthy seaport, with ships drawn up on a sea and an army which was gathering. But Ezio had no clue about any of these places.

56- Rosa, a woman whom Ezio had met in Venice, takes control of the Rosa in Fiore and is left in charge along with La Volpe to watch over Rome while Ezio and Machiavelli leave to hunt down Micheletto.

57- Ezio brings the Apple to Leonardo and tries to use it, from there Ezio hears a noise which Machiavelli and Leonardo cannot seem to hear. It seems to be the Apple communicating with him, telling him to take the Apple to a Vault under the Capitoline and leave it there. Afterwards, it tells him to go to Naples where Micheletto was trying to reach Valencia. Ezio then tells them that the next destination is Naples. They arrive in Naples on Ezio's 46th birthday, they learn much of Micheletto's destination from a lady who appeared to know much about him and soon enough they go further to hunt down Micheletto on ship.

58- One of three survivors who Ezio had not killed, is found and killed by Ezio, who showed no mercy, but as he was dying the man spoke of Micheletto who was rushing to Castillo de la Mota where Cesare was being held. From there, Ezio left and continued on with the hunt.

59- Praying that they were in time to thwart Micheletto's plan, they picked up their things from the Lone Wolf Inn and took off.

60- Micheletto makes it to the Castillo and frees his former master, Cesare Borgia who was already contemplating the slowest death possible to the Assassin.

61- Delayed because Leonardo was ill, Ezio discovers that Cesare escapes, Ezio wanted to abandon Leonardo but Machiavelli restrained. But events were to prove him right and Leonardo invaluable.

62- Killed by Cesare, Micheletto's body is discovered and knowing where to go, Ezio and his 2 companions went their separate ways.

Part Three

63- Ezio travels across Spain and arrives at his destination and finds it under siege. While there, he needed to restock on weapons which he was kindly greeted by a man who gave him what he needs.

64- Riding his horse through the Battle, Ezio eventually lost his steed. Ezio still traverses on and witnesses a harsh action by Cesare in which he orders guards to slit a woman's throat just for showing consideration and concern for her son.

65- Ezio soon finds Cesare on the Castle walls in which Ezio scales and then battles Ezio ferociously. Ezio eventually overpowers Cesare who tries to explain how supposedly no man could murder him. Ezio then seized Cesare and threw him off the walls, leaving him to fate.

66- It's Ezio's 48th birthday in which they discuss their plans for the future. Machiavelli explaining about a book known as The Prince in which he was writing and Leonardo explains how he will journey to France. Ezio and Machiavelli offer Leonardo a place at the Brotherhood but Leonardo declines and with this, they all say Farewell and go their separate ways.

Differences in the Novel

Characters

The novel references to how Cesare's face had been mutilated by the "New Disease" (which relates to the recent outbreak of syphilis - an affliction that plagued Cesare Borgia in reality), leading him to wear a mask. In the game, however, his face is always fully shown without any signs of such deformities.
According to the Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood novel, Cesare excelled at bullfighting. Machiavelli believed he showed such an interest in the sport due to his aggressive nature and partly being Spanish, where the sport originated.
It is stated by Machiavelli that Paola taught Ezio his skills in Venice but in Assassin's Creed II he clearly gets taught in Florence
In the novel, Machiavelli does not become the Italian Assassin leader after the death of Mario Auditore, even though his in-game database suggests so. In the novel, no new leader is elected, however, Ezio and Machiavelli both act as chiefs. When Ezio begins recruiting Assassins, La Volpe suggests Ezio to be their new leader, but he is not officially elected until the initiation of Claudia, as seen in the game.
In the book, Ezio is a Christian while in the game it is never alluded to.
In the novel, Leonardo is offered a place in the Brotherhood, though he declines.
The traitorous thief from Monteriggioni was said to be named Paganino and had once served Antonio in Venice, before being recruited by the Borgia.
Some of Ezio's recruits are said to be wanting to get back to the normal life they once had, after the defeat of the Borgia.
Maria Auditore passes away due to a long-time illness sometime between 1504 and 1505.

Relationships

In the novel it goes into more detail regarding Ezio's relationship and feelings for Caterina Sforza, as well as his distaste for being used by her.
At the start of the book Mario Auditore makes reference to Claudia being married and then widowed; where as in the game this is not mentioned.
Pope Julius II is said to be allied with the Assassins upon Ezio's arrival in Rome and after the fall of the Borgia in Rome, Ezio becomes his counselor.

Equipment

Ezio is said to have lost all of his Codex inventions at the Siege of Monteriggioni and Leonardo in Rome rebuilds them for Ezio, as well as some additional inventions. In the game, Ezio claims that he had lost all of the Codex inventions Leonardo once fashioned for him, while only having lost his second hidden blade.
Guns are used much more frequently by enemies in the novel; in the game they are only used by arquebusiers, Papal Guards and Cesare Borgia.
The poison darts given to Ezio by Leonardo are not fired from Ezio's Hidden Gun like in the game, but instead they are tossed as ordinary darts.
In the novel it is Leonardo who constructs Ezio's crossbow for him, and Ezio only uses it in one mission - while escorting Bartolomeo to 'surrender' to the French Army.
Leonardo reveals that he used the Apple to locate Ezio in Rome, similarly to how Ezio discovers where Cesare is headed after his escape from prison.
Ezio does not use the Apple as a weapon against Cesare.

Assassinations

Il Carnefice, Malfatto and Silvestro Sabbatini are not mentioned at all, and Ezio does not use his recruits to assassinate any targets.
Juan Borgia's party is not held outdoors in the Trastevere, but instead in his own palazzo in the Vatican. Ezio does not assassinate him from a bench, but corners him and a guard in a small room before finishing them both off.
In the game, Ezio can either air assassinate the Baron de Valois or shoot him from above; in the novel Ezio corners him and kills him with his sword.
The fight between Ezio and Cesare is a little different in the novel. They begin the battle only with their fists, however, after Cesare punches Ezio they both resort to swords. After disarming Cesare, Ezio parries an attack from his dagger by cutting Cesare's hand, almost severing it. Realizing his defeat Cesare desperately shouts that he can not die by the hands of man, to which Ezio replies "then I leave you in the hands of fate!" and seizes Cesare and pushes him from the edge, without looking down.

Other Events

Ezio and Mario both rode horses while escaping the Vatican and did not jump into the Tiber like in the game.
After waking up in Rome, Ezio decided to go to a doctor after the pain he felt before performing a Leap of Faith from the church unlike in the game, in which Ezio meets the doctor first.
Mario Auditore is both shot and beheaded during the defense of Monteriggioni. Cesare then waves Mario's head at Ezio when he catches up to their escape under the tunnels, shouting "You're next!" after him.
Ezio and Cesare meet during the Siege of Monteriggioni and Ezio is shot by Octavian de Valois. In the game, Ezio and Cesare don't meet until later, and Ezio is shot by an arquebusier.
Leonardo da Vinci is present and stands with Cesare at the Siege of Monteriggioni, against his will.
Ezio uses his Apprentices to destroy Leonardo's inventions, and to guard Leonardo from the Borgia. In the game, Ezio himself destroys the war machines, and it is never mentioned that he left Leonardo with any protection.
In the game the passion play and the events concerning the distrust La Volpe had for Machiavelli take place after killing Baron de Valois. In the novel it is reverted.
In the novel Thief and Courtesan missions are executed by Assassin recruits.
The fall of the Borgia loyalists is covered in more detail in the novel.
In 1504, Claudia Auditore da Firenze steps down as the Madam of the Rosa in Fiore, after being kidnapped by Borgia loyalists, and Rosa replaces her.
Machiavelli is present when Ezio hides the Apple under the Colosseo. In the game, it is assumed Ezio is alone.
None of the events of The Da Vinci Disappearance are mentioned.
A more detailed account of Ezio's hunt for Cesare after he escapes from prison is given. It details Micheletto being killed, and describes Ezio in Spain with Leonardo and Machiavelli trying to find Cesare.
In the game, all of the events, from Ezio emerging from the Vault to Cesare's arrest, take place in four years. However, due to the final scene in Assassin's Creed: Renaissance being said to take place in 1503 instead of 1499, these events only take place in a few months.
None of the modern day events were mentioned, it's simply focused on Ezio Auditore's life.