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Sembia, Gateway to the Realms #6
Sands of the Soul
An exciting series especially for readers new to the Forgotten Realms (R)!
Thazienne Uskevren, the only legitimate daughter of the wealthy Uskevren family, has suffered blow after blow to her body and spirit. Even as she struggles to mend her fractured soul, Tazi finds herself on a journey that will take her far from the safety of Selgaunt and into the deadly heart of the Calim Desert. There the shifting sands hide an old foe, who holds the key to Tazi's salvation--or the doom of Sembia.
Thazienne Uskevren, the only legitimate daughter of the wealthy Uskevren family, has suffered blow after blow to her body and spirit. Even as she struggles to mend her fractured soul, Tazi finds herself on a journey that will take her far from the safety of Selgaunt and into the deadly heart of the Calim Desert. There the shifting sands hide an old foe, who holds the key to Tazi's salvation--or the doom of Sembia.
320 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 1, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
May 16, 2010
Sands of the Soul by Voronica Whitney-Robinson is the sixth book in the Sembia: Gateway to the Realms series. The focus of this story is on the Uskevren families daughter, Thazienne. The events in this book follow the events in The Price by Voronica Whitney-Robinson, a short story in The Halls of Stormweather anthology.
I’ll just simply reword what the description says on the back of the book. Thazienne, or Tazi to her friends, is a thief in the city called Selgaunt. After a simple robbery, she finds out her nemesis’ plans. In order to protect her friends souls, she must journey to the Calim Desert to save them and herself.
Negatives:
1) Usage of minor characters. It just seemed like all the minor characters were there just enough to move the story. Yes, I know that this is generally what they there for, but it just seemed like some characters were only there to come in and help. The biggest example is Asraf, who appeared to be a very interesting and promising character, turned out to be just filler.
2) Character depth. I didn’t think any character had any real depth or grew during this book. Even the main character stayed the same and didn’t really grow. Yes, there was some growth in a few characters… but it was hardly noticeable.
3) Lack of excitement. All and all, I didn’t feel that excited a lot of the time. There was a lack luster romantic feel, the action was a little anti-climatic, and the dialogue seemed forced and predictable. It started promising, but just fell flat.
Positives:
1) Plot. It was an interesting plot idea, it just needed to be fleshed out a little more.
2) The talk between Tazi and Erevis Cale. After reading the Erevis Cale trilogy, particularly, Twilight Falling by Paul S. Kemp, the reactions between Tazi and Cale made me understand what happened early on in that book. Plus, seeing Cale not able to act on his feelings was interesting and sad at the same time. Also, seeing how Tazi treats and talks to Cale, I can almost see a ‘thing’ there.
3)The first few chapters. I liked the first few because they did seem to promise something different. But as it moved on and progressed it fell into the “been there, done that” feel. I just wish the story kept the emotions and feel of those few chapters.
Overall: 2/5
*After reading the promising short story, this was a let down.*
I’ll just simply reword what the description says on the back of the book. Thazienne, or Tazi to her friends, is a thief in the city called Selgaunt. After a simple robbery, she finds out her nemesis’ plans. In order to protect her friends souls, she must journey to the Calim Desert to save them and herself.
Negatives:
1) Usage of minor characters. It just seemed like all the minor characters were there just enough to move the story. Yes, I know that this is generally what they there for, but it just seemed like some characters were only there to come in and help. The biggest example is Asraf, who appeared to be a very interesting and promising character, turned out to be just filler.
2) Character depth. I didn’t think any character had any real depth or grew during this book. Even the main character stayed the same and didn’t really grow. Yes, there was some growth in a few characters… but it was hardly noticeable.
3) Lack of excitement. All and all, I didn’t feel that excited a lot of the time. There was a lack luster romantic feel, the action was a little anti-climatic, and the dialogue seemed forced and predictable. It started promising, but just fell flat.
Positives:
1) Plot. It was an interesting plot idea, it just needed to be fleshed out a little more.
2) The talk between Tazi and Erevis Cale. After reading the Erevis Cale trilogy, particularly, Twilight Falling by Paul S. Kemp, the reactions between Tazi and Cale made me understand what happened early on in that book. Plus, seeing Cale not able to act on his feelings was interesting and sad at the same time. Also, seeing how Tazi treats and talks to Cale, I can almost see a ‘thing’ there.
3)The first few chapters. I liked the first few because they did seem to promise something different. But as it moved on and progressed it fell into the “been there, done that” feel. I just wish the story kept the emotions and feel of those few chapters.
Overall: 2/5
*After reading the promising short story, this was a let down.*
October 17, 2022
More about Calimport. Worshippers of darkness and drow. Strained relations. The Dark Bazaar was a fascinating area. Sometimes being blind in a dungeon is an advantage.
April 25, 2019
3 1/2 stars really. I enjoyed this book. While it is a simple enough rencounter from the first story concerning Tazi, it is all about the telling that matters and this was well written enough for me to enjoy and follow along easy enough every time I had to put it down. Naturally, I was hoping for a different ending, but this is a series and the bad guy failed again, even with a ton of time, literally the entire novel, to prepare for his final encounter. I thought the whole premise, hoping to be a consort to a god, was silly enough, but I went with it and it left a bad taste in my mouth. The end as well sucked because Ciredor should have been in complete control and blew dog at the end. I guess his sort of madness blinded him from his own ambition/hope and wound up being irrational at best. Here is a better ending off the top of my head: Ciredor winds up being a consort of a god who does not allow for hope and he suffers eternal torment from being with her forever while Tazi acts as a conduit for Shar (could still happen in the future) as her avatar in life, once in a while getting her own divine acts of torturing Ciredor in her spare time? Kinda like that one better than the outright rejection of Shar.
February 20, 2022
Utterly lacklustre and unengaging.
To be fair and as others have said, the first third or so showed promise. But, the rest is just a frightful bore; I just skim read the last chapter. When you've read Byers, Cunningham, Jaleigh Johnson, or Smedman, an author that pens something like "Sands of the Soul" just leaves you with a bitter taste of the memory of wasted time spent on this thoroughly bland offering. I mean, what is the obsession with 'logic'? It's not a god or a magic spell, but it certainly felt like the author put it up on a pedestal as some kind of beast to be wrestled with. Oooh, the inner conflict! So heart wrenching. The dialogue was poor, and hardly felt like how people really talk. Personal interactions laughably inadequate. The villain a contemptible caricature.
If you want a master of introspective narrative, look no further than Jaleigh Johnson. Skip Whitney-Robinson altogether. In fact, I refuse to read "The Crimson Gold".
A message to those with oppositional defiant disorder who feel compelled to read this after my review; enjoy your neurosis and wasted time, idiot.
To be fair and as others have said, the first third or so showed promise. But, the rest is just a frightful bore; I just skim read the last chapter. When you've read Byers, Cunningham, Jaleigh Johnson, or Smedman, an author that pens something like "Sands of the Soul" just leaves you with a bitter taste of the memory of wasted time spent on this thoroughly bland offering. I mean, what is the obsession with 'logic'? It's not a god or a magic spell, but it certainly felt like the author put it up on a pedestal as some kind of beast to be wrestled with. Oooh, the inner conflict! So heart wrenching. The dialogue was poor, and hardly felt like how people really talk. Personal interactions laughably inadequate. The villain a contemptible caricature.
If you want a master of introspective narrative, look no further than Jaleigh Johnson. Skip Whitney-Robinson altogether. In fact, I refuse to read "The Crimson Gold".
A message to those with oppositional defiant disorder who feel compelled to read this after my review; enjoy your neurosis and wasted time, idiot.
January 13, 2022
Over all it was a good book that kept you engaged and wanting to read more. Tazi is a character that grabs your attention and makes you want to keep reading. This book was basically a continuation of the short story from "The Halls of Stormweather", it has all the same characters in it. On the down side there is a lot, a lot of time spent trying to cross the dessert. I get that this is suppose to show how dangerous the journey is but it slows the book down a bit. Then the climax of the book is over and done in no time leaving it almost anticlimactic. There was more of a fight with the evil necromancer in the short story then in this book. Also the book just ends..... I think the author spent so much time showing how dangerous the dessert was that they didn't want to spend the time figuring how to get back across the dessert now that they are hurt, without supplies or animals, and no water. On top of this the journey back to Sembia would take a year or longer unless they find some gimmick to get them back like the one that transported them to Calim.
November 28, 2023
Started off very strong and then just completely petered out into, well, nothingness (Shar would have been proud, if she cared). Characters stopped developing, and the plot became meandering and pointless, and the ending was super disappointing and vague.
Spoilers Below:
"One last gift from Shar"? From what I've read and seen in BG3, Shar is a selfish, sadist. Shar does not give gifts, at least not anything that doesn't completely benefit herself in the end. So exactly what gift did the Lady of Loss grant by taking Farrah's body? Besides tricking two stupid people into thinking, she gives a damn about anything but herself and her goal and proving they don't really care about their supposed friend?
Spoilers Below:
"One last gift from Shar"? From what I've read and seen in BG3, Shar is a selfish, sadist. Shar does not give gifts, at least not anything that doesn't completely benefit herself in the end. So exactly what gift did the Lady of Loss grant by taking Farrah's body? Besides tricking two stupid people into thinking, she gives a damn about anything but herself and her goal and proving they don't really care about their supposed friend?
March 25, 2020
Thazienne, how the previous entry travelled out of Sembia to the lands just north, here the adventures goes far to the south and east to the desert kingdom of Calimshan. In Calimpprt about 15 years after the Companions of the Hall. Most of this time is spent underground in the Muzad, which is kind of one of the upper layers of the underdark.
The first chapter is homage to Jak’s escapade at the start of Shadow’s Witness.
Strong crude innuendo I found more unsettling than funny. Their incompetence for the obvious and competence for unobvious is laughable. Not what I was expecting from Tazi, who otherwise seems extremely capable. Easily my least favorite of the Sembia series so far.
The first chapter is homage to Jak’s escapade at the start of Shadow’s Witness.
Strong crude innuendo I found more unsettling than funny. Their incompetence for the obvious and competence for unobvious is laughable. Not what I was expecting from Tazi, who otherwise seems extremely capable. Easily my least favorite of the Sembia series so far.
August 12, 2018
"There are always choices," he whispered back. "Sometimes only wrong ones, though."
"Sometimes you can make all the right choices and still lose."
"You can do everything right and sometimes it isn't enough. However, sometimes it is."
"Sometimes you can make all the right choices and still lose."
"You can do everything right and sometimes it isn't enough. However, sometimes it is."
November 1, 2024
Some of the character development was a little odd. Some parts felt odd and disjointed. Ending was a let down considering the build up. But like an adventure it isn't the destination that matters, but the journey there.
December 31, 2020
not for me.
July 11, 2021
Great story, I really liked the ending.
August 19, 2024
Not a lot of substance, but a relatively entertaining way to spend a few hours.
March 28, 2016
I wanted to like this book more.
This is the sixth book in a series of seven that takes place in Sembia. This story focuses on the Thazienne, daughter of the merchant lord Uskevren. She lives in the lap of luxury, but has a dark side and sneaks out into the streets at night to steal from the other rich families in the city of Selgaunt.
A quick synopsis of plot would be that Thazienne (Tazi) has discovered that a scorned lover, who has become a fairly powerful wizard, has concocted a maniacal plan to steal the souls of her friends in order to gift them to his evil goddess and elevate his status amongst her followers. Tazi has to travel to the desert of Calim to stop the evil wizard and save her friends.
This story starts out strong. I haven't read anything by this author before, and I was excited to be introduced to a new solid writer within the Forgotten Realms genre. But, alas, about a third of the way in, the plot really seemed to slow, character development stopped, and we are left with a fairly mind numbing bit of fantasy. That is not to say that it wasn't worth the time, especially if you have come this far to have read the other 5 books in the series...but my mind wasn't blown.
One more book to go and I can put this baby to bed.
This is the sixth book in a series of seven that takes place in Sembia. This story focuses on the Thazienne, daughter of the merchant lord Uskevren. She lives in the lap of luxury, but has a dark side and sneaks out into the streets at night to steal from the other rich families in the city of Selgaunt.
A quick synopsis of plot would be that Thazienne (Tazi) has discovered that a scorned lover, who has become a fairly powerful wizard, has concocted a maniacal plan to steal the souls of her friends in order to gift them to his evil goddess and elevate his status amongst her followers. Tazi has to travel to the desert of Calim to stop the evil wizard and save her friends.
This story starts out strong. I haven't read anything by this author before, and I was excited to be introduced to a new solid writer within the Forgotten Realms genre. But, alas, about a third of the way in, the plot really seemed to slow, character development stopped, and we are left with a fairly mind numbing bit of fantasy. That is not to say that it wasn't worth the time, especially if you have come this far to have read the other 5 books in the series...but my mind wasn't blown.
One more book to go and I can put this baby to bed.
December 28, 2013
I love Tazi and I liked how this went overall.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews