5/9/2023 0 Comments Streetlethal by Steven Barnes![]() ![]() ![]() A manipulation you would expect from those controlling the discourse in the West. Starting almost immediately after their appearance in the conflict, they have been demonised as drug-soaked religious fanatics. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the original assassins have never had a very good press. Western writers tend to support the Christian sides of the wars so it makes a change to see what a contemporary American author makes of the politics of the times. Let’s begin this discussion with the faintly unusual decision to tell the story from the point of view of one of the Hashishiyyin. Starting with the initial novel Streetlethal, he specialises in characters with supreme fighting skills. This is characteristic of much of Steven Barnes’ fiction. We can ignore the faintly superhuman qualities of our antihero, Abdul-Wahid, who later assumes the name Haytham. With the exception of one element in the final pages suggesting a supernatural entity, this is intended to be an essentially straight historical novel. It kicks off in 1178, and more or less ends with the death of Barbarossa in 1190. ![]() The short novel is set around the time of the Third Crusade. This collection by Steven Barnes from ISFiC Press is made up of an original short novel called Assassin: The Invisible Imam, plus four short stories and a teleplay. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |