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A review by weaselweader
The Stiehl Assassin by Terry Brooks
4.0
“He took the first breath of his new life”
I’ve said it before about Terry Brooks’ novels and I’m happy to repeat it for THE STIEHL ASSASSIN.
As the Shannara universe enters its fifth decade and the series novel count approaches 40, it is difficult to believe that Terry Brooks’ writing remains as compelling, as imaginative, as thrilling, as provocative, as evocative and as exciting as the day I first drooled over THE SWORD OF SHANNARA. It is no small matter of personal pride for me that I can say I was one of those lucky fantasy lovers who stumbled upon the epic Shannara fantasy when it was actually first published and that I have been an ardent fan ever since I first encountered it in the late 1970s. To say that I was enchanted by Shea Ohmsford and Allanon, not to mention the magnificent illustrations of the Brothers Hildebrandt would be a masterpiece of understatement. As the Ringwraiths did in Tolkien’s LORD OF THE RINGS, Brooks’ imagining of the Skullbearers simply gave me goosebumps. A first edition illustrated trade paperback copy sits with no small pride in a valued place on my bookshelves.
In THE STIEHL ASSASSIN, recently deposed and exiled High Druid Drisker Arc, aims to avenge himself against the treacherous witch-druid Clizia Porse who seeks, in her own turn, to establish herself as the Lord of Paranor and the Four Lands. She also plots to aid the invading Skaar force in their quest to overrun the length and breadth of the Four Lands and to kill Tarsha Kaynin, an apprentice druid who has inherited the Ohmsford family Wishsong magic. Her brother Tavo Kaynin seems to be recovering from the mental torture inflicted on him by Clizia Porse but his survival and mental capacity seems to be perennially hanging in the balance.
The theme, of course, is the time-tested chestnut, “good versus evil”, but in the hands of Terry Brooks, every book seems to be new and thrilling. There’s nothing stale here and every page begs to be turned so a reader can get on with this absorbing new tale of Shannara and the dangers facing the Four Lands. Aaargh … THE STIEHL ASSASSIN ends on a smoking cliff-hanger and now I must look to the conclusion of THE FALL OF SHANNARA in the closing(?) instalment , THE LAST DRUID.
Highly recommended.
Paul Weiss
I’ve said it before about Terry Brooks’ novels and I’m happy to repeat it for THE STIEHL ASSASSIN.
As the Shannara universe enters its fifth decade and the series novel count approaches 40, it is difficult to believe that Terry Brooks’ writing remains as compelling, as imaginative, as thrilling, as provocative, as evocative and as exciting as the day I first drooled over THE SWORD OF SHANNARA. It is no small matter of personal pride for me that I can say I was one of those lucky fantasy lovers who stumbled upon the epic Shannara fantasy when it was actually first published and that I have been an ardent fan ever since I first encountered it in the late 1970s. To say that I was enchanted by Shea Ohmsford and Allanon, not to mention the magnificent illustrations of the Brothers Hildebrandt would be a masterpiece of understatement. As the Ringwraiths did in Tolkien’s LORD OF THE RINGS, Brooks’ imagining of the Skullbearers simply gave me goosebumps. A first edition illustrated trade paperback copy sits with no small pride in a valued place on my bookshelves.
In THE STIEHL ASSASSIN, recently deposed and exiled High Druid Drisker Arc, aims to avenge himself against the treacherous witch-druid Clizia Porse who seeks, in her own turn, to establish herself as the Lord of Paranor and the Four Lands. She also plots to aid the invading Skaar force in their quest to overrun the length and breadth of the Four Lands and to kill Tarsha Kaynin, an apprentice druid who has inherited the Ohmsford family Wishsong magic. Her brother Tavo Kaynin seems to be recovering from the mental torture inflicted on him by Clizia Porse but his survival and mental capacity seems to be perennially hanging in the balance.
The theme, of course, is the time-tested chestnut, “good versus evil”, but in the hands of Terry Brooks, every book seems to be new and thrilling. There’s nothing stale here and every page begs to be turned so a reader can get on with this absorbing new tale of Shannara and the dangers facing the Four Lands. Aaargh … THE STIEHL ASSASSIN ends on a smoking cliff-hanger and now I must look to the conclusion of THE FALL OF SHANNARA in the closing(?) instalment , THE LAST DRUID.
Highly recommended.
Paul Weiss