"The Stiehl Assassin" by Terry Brooks is a thrilling addition to the world of Shannara. Brooks skillfully weaves a narrative that introduces compelling characters and a complex plot, ensuring readers are hooked from the start. The story follows an eclectic group of heroes who embark on a dangerous quest to stop a mysterious and deadly weapon, the Stiehl. Brooks' strengths lie in his ability to craft a vivid and immersive fantasy realm, allowing readers to lose themselves in the rich tapestry of his creation.

However, amidst the enchanting world-building, some readers might find the pacing a tad uneven, with occasional dips in intensity. The plot, while captivating, can at times feel familiar to those well-versed in the fantasy genre. Additionally, certain character arcs may leave readers wanting more depth and development.

"The Stiehl Assassin" is a satisfying read for fans of high fantasy. Brooks' mastery of storytelling and his gift for crafting imaginative landscapes make this a worthwhile addition to the Shannara series, offering both new and longtime readers an enchanting escape into a world of magic and danger.

“Assassin” is the third installment in Brooks’ “The Fall of Shannara” series. The book was highly engaging and enjoyable. As I have stated about Brooks in the past, he is a formulaic writer. Seldom does he diverge from his successful formula. His writing process often leaves the reader feeling as if they have read this story before.

While the book is formulaic, it was entertaining. Longtime Brooks’ fans are sure to enjoy this latest chapter in the Shannara series.

Note: An ARC was received from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review

Another solid story in this series. The author does a great job of making sure that it never gets dull or repetitive, there are always new challenges, new twists and great characters. There are old favorites and a mix of new players that keep in interesting and challenging.

Terry Brooks is an exceptional writer and all of his work has a special place in my heart. The Stiehl Assassin does a great job setting up the massive finale for the 4th book of The Fall Shannara. This installment of the story had an interesting plot and well-developed characters that kept the reader intrigued.

As always, Brooks writes a compelling story with an all encompassing world. If you are new to Brooks, this one is a great pick. And if you are a long time fan, you will not be disappointed.

It feels so good to be back in the Four Lands. I'll admit, it's been a while. Now that I've returned, I don't know how I'll ever leave again.
I've been reading Terry Brooks for twenty years now. Not consistently, since I haven't read every single Shannara book, but I hope to remedy that soon.
My thoughts on The Stiehl Assassin:
One thing about Terry Brooks, you can pick up any book, anywhere in the series and soon learn what you need to understand what's happening. I don't recommend reading in this way, but it takes a special kind of author to have this ability. Terry Brooks has always had it.
Since the last Brooks book I read, somewhere along the Jerle Shannara series, it appears that magic has been overcome by science. At first, this felt unnatural, and I missed the Shannara of old where the Elfstones and Sword were the key components to almost every story. The price each character had to pay for success always astounded me and left me begging for the next story.
But as I read, the story took over, and I lost myself to this new Four Lands with its science and inventions. I loved the characters, the individuality of each person and how they reacted to situations. Don't even get me started on the ending. I can't wait to get my hands on the next book.
One thing I love about Terry Brooks's characters are that there are so many and each has a particular purpose. There is never just one hero, at least, not for me, and the use of anti-heroes is one of his signatures.
If you enjoy fantasy, I cannot recommend this author enough.
I requested a copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not required to leave a positive review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

I've been reading Terry Brooks' Shannara series for the better part of my life and I've been loving these last entries in the series. The characters are fleshed out nicely and I love books with regular, everyday people thrown into incredible situations, learning to control their magic in order to destroy evil. Really great entry to the series and reminds me of the original books. Great read!

I really loved this addition to the series. As happens with many longer series, it got a bit tedious a few books in, but the more recent books have been on a streak of fantastic again!

In this next book of the series the Skaar have invaded, ready to vanquish all those standing in their way. Existing side by side with anyone that isn't a Skaar doesn't play a part in how they live their lives so all must go. The full army of the Skaar is ready to conquer those who might keep them from reaching their goal of taking over the land that will be their new home. Things aren't looking good for the Four Lands, they don't appear to have anyone prepared enough or able to stop the Skaar. Enter Tarsha Kaynin, who is learning to control her powers but isn't quiInte there yet, does she have the grit she will need to take on such a fight. With help from her brother Tavo and the Druid who betrayed Drisker Arc she hopes that they will be able to defeat the army and recover that which is being lost. Even with her brother possessing one of the most impressive weapons around she worries that Tavo's path might stray from helping their people. Follow along on an adventure of a lifetime in a world that will feel like it was created just for you. Brooks truly knows how to weave each word into an exciting read that will have you on the edge of your seat. I've been reading his books since I came across my first one in high school years ago and I can say he has yet to disappoint. You know an author is great when you can't wait to dive into one of their books and loose yourself for hours or even days. What a fabulous new book, it is definitely science fiction at its best,

You'll love his new book. It is quintessentially Shannara. I didn't think anyone could match the level of mastery with other world creation that Tolkien set, but Terry does just that. If you love Tolkien, you'll love Terry Brooks' Shannara series. I got a galley digital copy of the book, so I got to read it before it was released to the rest of the world. You're in for a treat, so be sure to set aside however many hours you need to read it from cover to cover. It's that good!

We are approaching the ending of what has been a incredible weaved tale spanning some 30 some books. We down to the one more book and wow it looking grim folks. It almost as bad as watching the final season of Game of Thrones your really not sure if anyone is going to survive. I really hope that we get a better ending then what Game of Thrones writes are giving us. It been a long time coming this is the 3 book in the final set of the entire collection books. In this one we meet the Stiehl Assassian who is determined to take out a few key characters in this world. We also see more of the relationship between the siblings who have the wishsong powers and a air crafter that may just hold the key to changing the home land of our invaders. I keeping this review short as i don’t want to spoil anything but your in for some devastation that for sure..

Okay! First let me say — I love this author. Read this all through middle school and high school, and really though it was modern day Tolkien. With that said, I had a super duper hard time getting into the series on the second book!! I just couldn’t follow. With that said, I can’t offer a great review at this time— but will go to book 1 for a solid grounding.

I love love Terry Brooks and was so super thankful to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC! I love everything Terry writes and would be interested in future books for sure!

This is the third book in a four part series about the potential fall of Shannara. Please note that this is not a stand alone book nor is it intended to be one. You need at a minimum to read the first book in the series and better yet the full Shannara series in order to fully appreciate what it presented in this book. As with any series, this one begins where the first second left off and maintains the momentum of the entire series. It ended with a couple of cliffhangers that will be interesting to see in the fourth and inal installment of the series. The author's writing style is very engaging making this a fairly fast read as it is hard to put down. This book is not intended for those who are not serious fans of the fantasy genre.

I received a free Kindle ARC courtesy of Net Galley and the publisher. It was with the understanding that I would provide an honest review and post it on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon and my review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook and Twitter pages.

Another great installment from Terry Brooks. I always love anything to do with this series and this book didn't disappoint. Brooks has painted a wonderful story where we follow Drisker on another skin tingling adventure. This was a fairly quick read and that is why I love Brooks stories so much. They aren't the long drawn out epic fantasies. Don't get me wrong, I do love the epic fantasies, but a good short fantasy is a nice read every once and a while. Read this book. You won't be disappointed.

The latest story in the Shannara saga is a definite pleaser. In a world where magic has ruled since the first story, you are finally getting to see how they are trying to bring science back alive. You get to learn more about some of the characters that you didn't get to become acquainted with as intensely in the previous books. I can't wait to see what happens in the series, and how it all ends, but I am extremely sad to know that the end is coming.

I received an advanced electronic of this book in exchange for an honest review. It has in no way impacted my opinion.

Finally! After Terry Brooks' brilliant start with the initial Sword of Shannara Trilogy, this book is the one to bring all the drifts away from this together. This reading felt much more like like the original trilogy and this is why I personally loved Terry Brooks. For a long time I have drifted to more of a reluctant reader because I wanted the fantasy without as much pure science fiction components. This is finally more in line with that. Yay!

Bringing out some of the long time lands and characters felt like Terry Brooks again for me.

Thank you! Definitely recommend.

#TheStiehlAssassin #NetGalley

Once again Terry Brooks delivers with this next installment of Shannara. The relationship between the Blade and the princess of Skarrsland makes for a fun side adventure and helps to lighten some of the darker tones that are in the book. I think this book helps also to move the story forward and gives a better glimpse into the different peoples who still live in the world and always my personal favorite we get to experience time with the Dwarves.

From the very beginning, I have been vocal about my love for these covers. But the further I get into the series, the more I’m realizing just how terrible of a job the covers (and the titles) actually convey the story.

Each cover features Ajin, the Skaar Princess, yet the title of this book is The Stiehl Assassin, which, if you’ve read The Skaar Invasion, you know the assassin is actually Clizia Porse, the old druid.

So the title and the cover are in a bit of disagreement. Additionally, the titles of the books are rather a poor choice to convey the topic of the story. In Book 1, The Black Elfstone, I noted that the word Black Elfstone isn’t even used until the 90% mark of the story.

In The Stiehl Assassin, it’s a bit of a spoiler to say (but I will anyway) that there are surprisingly few assassinations. In fact, there is only one, and it’s not even really all that important. The book has more to do with the conflict between the Skaar and the Federation rather than any assassinations.

If the assassination had been crucial, I might forgo this analysis, but I was disappointed at how misleading both the title and the cover are for this book.

Despite what I’ve said above, I feel that the Stiehl Assassin was actually the best book in the series thus far. I finished the whole book in just under two days, which is a huge testament to how addictive I found it.

If you follow my updates on Goodreads, you’ll already know that this could be attributed to one of two things. Either A) the book is just that good or B) it’s because this is my third book in the series in just over a week and I’m fully committed to the story.

As much as I’d like to say it’s the first reason, I really believe it to be the second. If I were picking up this story on it’s own after a year of down time, I think that I might not have found it as engaging.

I still found Shea’s POV to be a bit of a drag, even after my beloved heroes joined up with him. The only reason I even cared about that story thread was that Dar and Ajin got tangled in with it, but remove those two characters and I could care less about that whole plot thread.

That being said, I love Ajin so so much and can’t get enough of her. I might have skimmed over Shea’s POV, but I devoured Ajin’s word by juicy word.

There are only two new characters in the Stiehl Assassin and a third that, though she had appeared in previous books, has only just now been given a name and takes on greater importance.

The two new characters are dwarves, and though I don’t remember the name of the one, the other is called Lakodan. Kind of odd names for dwarves, and they don’t talk like I expect dwarves to talk, but that’s all right, they’re Terry’s dwarves. They don’t need to be Tolkeinesque.

The dwarves are interesting characters and are brought in because they possess a technology that is little more than a cropduster basically, but it can be used to help make the invisible Skaar visible. How, why, and all those details I’ll leave to you to read.

I’m a bit conflicted because the dwarves are basically hired by the Federation to fight the Skaar, and in some respects I feel like I should side with them because they’re dwarves, and because the Skaar are invaders. But I really hate the Federation, so I’m disappointed that those I would consider goodly folk are aligning with this organization I wish to see crippled.

But if the Federation is crippled then the Four Lands will fall, and oh man my emotions are just so conflicted throughout this whole book.

There is no one character who I fully support, except perhaps Drisker, Tarsha, and Dar.

Clizia is a hag and needs to be killed. Cor, Ajin’s father, is deceptive and sneaky and I can’t stand him. Kol’Dre, as cool as he is, wants to marry Ajin, but I want Ajin with Dar. Even Ajin, as noble as she seems, is part of the invading Skaar army. I feel like I should support Ketter Vause and the Federation by nature of their opposition, but I hate them. Shea is annoying. Rocan is an idiot. Tindall is crazy.

Who am I supposed to be rooting for here?!?

I just don’t know.

The third new character is Belladrin Rish. She’s the assistant of Ketter Vause (the Prime Minister of the Federation) and it seems like he’s grooming her to take over for him.

She seems like an innocuous character, but keep an eye on her because oh man is she important.

The story moves along quickly enough, again considering that I’ve read the last two books in the last few days as well. There’s plenty of twists and turns and things going on to hold your interest.

I feel we didn’t make a whole lot of progress in the story though. The army’s are still encamped along the river, and they only took a single shot at each other the whole book. I would have expected things to move along more.

At the beginning, it also seemed like we’d get to see more the plot between Ajin, her father, and her step-mother develop, and halfway through, it still seemed promising, but by the 80% mark you realize it’s not going to make it into this book and that was a little saddening.

Overall the events of the Stiehl Asssassin moved with speed, but the progression is going at a snail’s pace.

When we get to the end of the book I was left a bit confused and annoyed all at once. I’ll do my best to avoid spoilers, but let’s just say there’s a conflict, and the conflict made me think it was a total farce and then the story ended without any “gotcha!” moment.

Let me try to be more clear. One hero went head to head with one villain. Our hero knows that it’s a trap and thus plans for the trap, but then the trap is sprung and I kept waiting for our hero to avoid it, but it never happened.

It was a huge let down that this conflict in the Stiehl Assassin that I’d been anticipating for quite some time was over in a matter of seconds without any cleverness on the part of our hero. Perhaps I missed something. Perhaps I’m wrong. Maybe it was magician’s slight of hand and we’ll see it all change in the opening Chapter of Book 4.

But I say that all to tell you to enter the book with an open mind and whatever you expect to happen, realize it doesn’t go that way. This book will surprise you in more ways than one. Some of them satisfying, some of them not.

Either way, I’m sure it will be an enjoyable ride.

I give The Stiehl Assassin a 4.25/5

If you enjoyed the first two books, you’ll love The Stiehl Assassin as Brooks keeps ramping up the heat.

Brooks’ “The Stiehl Assassin” is the third book of four in the Fall of Shannara quadrilogy and something like the 31st book in the Shannara world which includes various trilogies depicting different times and legends of Shannara. This fantasy world includes sword ⚔️ and sorcery, elves, dwarves, druids, and Flying airships ala Burroughs. There are a huge assortment of characters. Unlike Tolkien’s Middle-earth or Howard’s Hyborian age, Shannara is not set in some mythical prehistory but in a future where civilization as we know it has been extinguished and a new age has dawned with magic often replacing technology.

For those of us who made like Rip Van Winkle and slept through the last forty years and the first 31 flavors of Shannara, an introduction might have been in order, giving some background, history, and character development. It would have helped to quickly know who is on which side and what was at stake. For the rest of the reading universe, such would have been an unnecessary waste of pages.

Much of the story is setting up the chess pieces so the battle can begin, and a lot of the action is given in quick bites. Once it gets underway, there’s a lot of action and adventure, and is certainly a worthwhile read. But how it compares to other books 📚 in the series is for others to say.