THE MAKING OF A HERO
Generations ago, Ohaern had played the hero's part in toppling the fearsome Ulahane from the tyrant's throne. His reward had been to spend an eternity with the goddess Rahani--and the years had spun away in a tapestry of bliss.
Now humankind had again fallen beneath a despot's heel. Ulahanes son Bolenkar, conceived in savagery and raised in brutality, visited horror upon all the sorry earth. Tenderhearted Rahani turned to her champion to save the world again, but the years had sapped Ohaern's mortal strength. His long-sleeping body awoke aged and stiff and weary. He could guide the fight against Bolenkar, for his wealth of craft and wisdom remained intact. But a younger man must strike the killing blow.
Like a swordsmith seeking to craft a sword, Ohaern sought the raw material from which to craft a hero. He chose the outcast bully Culaehra: a scoundrel, despicable and lazy--but one who might be shaped into something better. And the fire in which he would be forged would cleanse the filth from his soul, leaving behind that which was fine and sharp.
Whether he would be sharp enough to topple a godling, only mortal combat would decide. . .
Join Christopher Stasheff in this world of wonder, where common mortals face utmost peril in their search for freedom and justice, in the fabled land of The Star Stone.
**
From Publishers Weekly
In The Shaman (1995), the first volume of The Star Stone series, Stasheff moved away from the good-humored amusements of his well-known fantasy/adventure series A Wizard in Rhyme. Here, he completely eschews the lighter touch for a heavy might-does-not-make-right message. Ohaern, who has been living in bliss with the goddess Rahani for 500 years, returns to his mortal body in order to foil the evil Bolenkar before the half-god can destroy the younger races of the world. To do this, Ohaern, now known as Illbane, must hone the vicious, rapacious bully Culaehra into a heroic leader worthy of the love and succor of the warrior female Kittishane. Stasheff is far less facile with the language of myth and legend than with more modern speech, and the amount of time and energy the narrative expends on rape seems incongruous in an adventure that otherwise should appeal to adolescents. As always, however, Stasheff renders his characters and settings appealing, even while the plot's predictability makes the novel feel as comforting and familiar as an old leather sandal.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
The sequel to Stasheff's Shaman takes place five centuries later. The shaman Ohearn has been sleeping since he defeated the evil demigod Ulahane, but now Ulahane's son Bolenkar is seeking power and unleashing people's worst instincts all over the land. Ohearn needs to forge not only a sword to kill Bolenkar but also a wielder of the sword, so he faces the task of turning a lazy, thieving young man into a hero. Needless to say, this he accomplishes quite satisfactorily, and the Good triumphs. Before then comes a well-told tale. Stasheff has not lost his knack for keeping us turning pages, and he handles the theme that it doesn't take much to bring out the worst in people particularly well. Oh, maybe this volume doesn't quite stand on its own, but whoever liked its predecessor will be well pleased. Roland Green
Description:
THE MAKING OF A HERO
Generations ago, Ohaern had played the hero's part in toppling the fearsome Ulahane from the tyrant's throne. His reward had been to spend an eternity with the goddess Rahani--and the years had spun away in a tapestry of bliss.
Now humankind had again fallen beneath a despot's heel. Ulahanes son Bolenkar, conceived in savagery and raised in brutality, visited horror upon all the sorry earth. Tenderhearted Rahani turned to her champion to save the world again, but the years had sapped Ohaern's mortal strength. His long-sleeping body awoke aged and stiff and weary. He could guide the fight against Bolenkar, for his wealth of craft and wisdom remained intact. But a younger man must strike the killing blow.
Like a swordsmith seeking to craft a sword, Ohaern sought the raw material from which to craft a hero. He chose the outcast bully Culaehra: a scoundrel, despicable and lazy--but one who might be shaped into something better. And the fire in which he would be forged would cleanse the filth from his soul, leaving behind that which was fine and sharp.
Whether he would be sharp enough to topple a godling, only mortal combat would decide. . .
Join Christopher Stasheff in this world of wonder, where common mortals face utmost peril in their search for freedom and justice, in the fabled land of The Star Stone.
**
From Publishers Weekly
In The Shaman (1995), the first volume of The Star Stone series, Stasheff moved away from the good-humored amusements of his well-known fantasy/adventure series A Wizard in Rhyme. Here, he completely eschews the lighter touch for a heavy might-does-not-make-right message. Ohaern, who has been living in bliss with the goddess Rahani for 500 years, returns to his mortal body in order to foil the evil Bolenkar before the half-god can destroy the younger races of the world. To do this, Ohaern, now known as Illbane, must hone the vicious, rapacious bully Culaehra into a heroic leader worthy of the love and succor of the warrior female Kittishane. Stasheff is far less facile with the language of myth and legend than with more modern speech, and the amount of time and energy the narrative expends on rape seems incongruous in an adventure that otherwise should appeal to adolescents. As always, however, Stasheff renders his characters and settings appealing, even while the plot's predictability makes the novel feel as comforting and familiar as an old leather sandal.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
The sequel to Stasheff's Shaman takes place five centuries later. The shaman Ohearn has been sleeping since he defeated the evil demigod Ulahane, but now Ulahane's son Bolenkar is seeking power and unleashing people's worst instincts all over the land. Ohearn needs to forge not only a sword to kill Bolenkar but also a wielder of the sword, so he faces the task of turning a lazy, thieving young man into a hero. Needless to say, this he accomplishes quite satisfactorily, and the Good triumphs. Before then comes a well-told tale. Stasheff has not lost his knack for keeping us turning pages, and he handles the theme that it doesn't take much to bring out the worst in people particularly well. Oh, maybe this volume doesn't quite stand on its own, but whoever liked its predecessor will be well pleased. Roland Green