Lord of Stormweather

Lord of Stormweather by Dave Gross is the seventh and final book of the Sembia: Gateway to the Realms series. The focus of the story is mostly on Tamlin Uskevren, the eldest son of the Uskerven family, but the story focus on other characters just as much. Thamalon Uskevren, Radu Malveen, and Chaney Foxmantle are other main characters which the story focuses on. The events on this book encompass the entire Sembia series, as well as all the short storys in The Halls of Stormweather. I'll just simply reword what the description says on the back of the book. Thamalon Uskevren II, commonly called Tamlin, is the heir to Stormweather Towers. The only thing is, he is more into the latest tends than matters of business. Tamlin's world changes when his parents and the butler, Erevis Cale, suddenly disappear. When the enemies of Uskevren challenge Tamlin, he becames a true lord of Stormweather, but not all threats and secrets are from the outside. Negatives: 1) Confusing Scenes. There were a little bit of confusing scenes throughout the book. They just seemed to go by to fast and with not enough detail to wade though them. 2) Character Focus. When I picked this up, I thought it would be focused upon Tamlin. Instead it focuses on 3 other characters including Tamlin. However this isn't a really big problem because it works well into the telling of the story. Positives: 1) Characters. All the character, major and minor, were well done. Dave Gross really read the previous stories because his character traits really did follow how the other authors wrote different characters. So I have to give some props to that. Also, in the short story, Night School by Clayton Emery (which focuses on Tamlin, in Halls of Stormweather anthology), Tamlin came off boring and uninteresting. However, Gross made Tamlin a fun character. 2) Humor. I don't really say to much on humor in Forgotten Realm stories, but this had an abundance. It worked really well. The dialogue between Radu and Chaney was fun and almost anything Tamlin said could be funny. 3) Plot. I was kind of surprised that this is the first book in which I didn't flip to the final couple of pages to see what happens. The story wanted me to continue to read it. 4) The Ending. I thought it really wrapped up the whole series and ended on a high note. Overall: 5/5

"Lord of Stormweather" is the seventh and final installment in the very good "Sembia" series of novels. This time, the emphasis is on Tamlin, the heir to Uskreven fortune. The book is written by Dave Gross, who wrote Black Wolf (Forgotten Realms: Sembia series, Book 4), in my opinion the best book of the series so far. I just loved this book from the very beginning to the end. This novel offers more substance than some trilogies, and course of events makes you flip page after page. Gross shows fantastic control over the flow of the book, finishing chapters with cliff-hangers, then moving to other characters and plots, just to return to that particular cliff-hanger after a chapter or two. You simply can't find a dull page in this novel. Author's style is detailed and rich, subtly reminding you that you are in the Forgotten Realms page after page. The novel is also bursting with veiled and unveiled witticisms. In terms of character development, Tamlin gets fleshed out to become one of the most complex characters in the world of FR. All of the other protagonists from earlier books of the series play a prominent role in this closing novel. Villains are equally interesting, with one recurring villain from "The Black Wolf" given a new dimension. Fantastic. Plot-wise, Gross somehow succeeds in weaving intrigue, mystery, magic, love, ambition and treachery flawlessly together. Now comes the part where I write about the things I didn't like about a novel. In the case of this particular one, I have only one complaint. It was only 300 pages long. A pity. I could've effortlessly read a 1000 more. To put it short, a magnificent novel to end great series (Five good, one mediocre and only one weak book). Better than Black Wolf (Forgotten Realms: Sembia series, Book 4), believe it or not. One of the best books ever to come out of WotC publishing. Make absolutely sure that you don't miss this one.

Ignore all other editorials! This book is excellent! While, obstensibly, it is about Duece, the firstborn son of Thamalon Uskerven it actually involves the entire Usk family. LOS neatly wraps up the Sembian series and sets up a new novel that will be released in 2004! While some things are left unfinished as there are new series coming out involving Erevis Cale and Tazi, so if you are looking for closure with them forget it! As for Thamalon the elder, Shamur, Tamlin, and Talbot we do see completion.The book also brings back some old characters from Gross's earlier Sembian novel, Radu and Chaney. Centering on the evils of the Hulourn and Drakkar and a fiendish plot to eliminate the heads of the merchant houses. There are plenty of evil murders to go around as well as a mystery involving Tamlin.The tale is paced quite nicely, and just when you get involved in one portion of the tale you are swept into another. This book is a definate improvement over Gross's previous novel BLACK WOLF. While Wolf was good, this novel really does what it sets out to do, and manages to entertain all the way through.