Product Description

When Shamur Uskevren, the matriarch of one of Sembia's oldest and most powerful merchant families, is tricked by an angry wizard into an assassination attempt on her own husband, her family is thrown into turmoil. Once the truth is dicovered, she and her husband must struggle to save their family and stop the sorcerer. But in her anger, she has fogotten one thing: in the world of intrigue and decption, of shadows and lies that is Sembia, nothing is ever what it seems.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #349695 in Books
• Published on: 2007-07-10
• Released on: 2007-07-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 320 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780786942664
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
"Byers is a storyteller of uncommon merit." -- C. Dean Andersson, author of the Bloodsong Saga

From the Author
The Shattered Mask is my first book-length Forgotten Realms story, and, come to think of it, my first book-length sword-and-sorcery story, period. I'm a lifelong s&s fan, so I had a ball writing it, and I hope readers will have fun with it too. This is the third book of the Sembia Saga (the first two are The Halls of Stormweather and Shadow's Witness), and it stars my character Shamur Uskevren. But most of the other heroes of the series get a chance to shine as well. Enjoy! Richard Lee Byers

About the Author
RICHARD LEE BYERS is the author of over twenty-five fantasy and horror novels, including the Forgotten Realms titles Dissolution, The Rage, The Rite, The Ruin, Queen of the Depths, The Black Bouquet, and the upcoming trilogy The Haunted Lands. His short stories have appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies, and he is a frequent guest at Florida science fiction conventions and at GenCon Indianapolis, where he participates in the writer's symposium.

Customer Reviews

Crucial installment of the Sembia series
After reading and really enjoying the last two books in the series, I was somewhat nervously regarding the release of this book as it centres around a rather awkward secret and marital problems ( I personally like to avoid these sorts of problems in books and see the characters simply focus on beating the bad guys, winning the girl etc etc).

However the book is well written with the author exploring the past and present of the Uskervan matriach, a character who has been sidelined and treated a bit coldy in most of the previous stories. Richard Lee Byers however does a good job of exploring the character and adds plenty of exciting action to boot. To top it all off the book ends with a happy ending, something which always leaves me with satisfied feelings at the end of a book.

All in all this book is pretty good by the standard of most Realms novels and despite some credibility gaps as to what the characters do, is really pleasing (along with the other stories in the series) for the way in which it threads all the characters and stories together in a way that we grow attached to them and feel as if the family is really changing through the tests it has thrown at it (kinda like a soap opera I guess).

With the standard of the first 3 books in the Sembia series so high, I can barely wait for the next addition to the series "Black Wolf" to be released in December.

HIGH ADVENTURE FUN
This book has all you need for a really fine time. The heroine is feisty and has a big, interesting secret. There's intrigue, monsters, swords and sorcery galore, masterful use of language and characters you can really take to heart.

If you've read other SEMBIA series stories and books, you'll find old friends and if you have not, you'll make some mew ones. Though this book is part of a series, its story is complete.

Buy this one. You'll have a rousing good read!

The Shattered Mask by Richard Lee Byers
The Shattered Mask by Richard Lee Byers is the third book in the Sembia: Gateway to the Realms. The story centers around Shamar Uskevren, the matriarch of House Uskevren. The story follows closely with Richard Lee Byers short story in The Halls of Stormweather, called Song of Chaos.

I'll just simply reword what the description says on the back of the book. It follows Shamar as she learns who poisoned her niece causing her to take her identity and marry Thamalon Uskevren. Lo and behold, she finds that the murderer was none other than Thamalon himself! But revenge clouds her thoughts and she forgets the enemies that Uskevren has made over the years...

Negatives:
1) The pacing. It read slightly slow. I don't know why it is, maybe just after reading Shadow's Witness by Paul S. Kemp and knowing that that story was fast paced, that this one seemed a little slow building.
2) All the 'close calls.' Generally, I know most stories have the main characters barely being missed by either a spear or an arrow, but it seemed like every time something was happening, a action was always a close call. It doesn't bother me to much, but just reading how close the sword got or how so and so felt the wind of a pebble just got a little annoying.
3) Age Limitations? From what I understand, Shamar is about 50 and Thamalon is near 60. Yet, they can take down a lot of people without really showing their ages? I don't know about that... However, afterword they were tired and exhausted, but in reality, they should have been near death...

Positives:
1) The whole plot in general. I liked how the poisoning thing was done and thought out. It seemed like no stone was left unturned in the cover-up and blame placing.
2) Monologuing bad guys. I found it funny that when the 'bad guy' started to monologue, Shamar or Thamalon made him pay in one way or another. Then the Man in the Moon, finally picked up on it.
3) Shamar and Thamalon. I really liked how Mr. Byers portrayed them. I felt myself liking Thamalon more and more than what was written about him in the short stories. I liked Shamar in the short story, and I liked her in this more and more. Also, I liked how their relationship was handled.

Overall: 4/5