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The Watcher's Mask
A two-souled person, Jamil the Watcher/Alasil the Executioner, has been the most loyal of the emperor's minions. But time “blackouts” – periods when neither of her personalities can account for the actions of her body – cause her to fear she is succumbing to madness. Little does she realize she is beginning a journey of self-awareness that will lead her to discover the true nature of her race, and in so doing, to overturn the destiny of her world.
256 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 28, 2025
I have a very soft spot for Marks, so it was exciting to finally get to this book. After reading it, having fresh The Steerswoman by Rosemary Kirstein in mind, it occurred to me that both have this vibe of calm bonkersness, a certainty that takes its time to unfurl, or maybe it is just me being bonkers.
I think the story had great potential for another book, some loose or unexplored parts needed more room to develop, maybe they needed the same steady treatment as the rest. Anyhoo, that aside, I really enjoyed the world-building, story and characters. The many souled folks were fascinating, Jamil, hard and cold, tough to like, never stopped being interesting and left me very invested.
I enjoy a lot stories that somewhat make me feel like wandering through the plot, without rush, having no great clue of what is going to happen or when my tired surviving neuron lights up briefly and I do have a tiny clue, the ride is just wonderful.
Clearly I want more, I am a greedy reader.
I think the story had great potential for another book, some loose or unexplored parts needed more room to develop, maybe they needed the same steady treatment as the rest. Anyhoo, that aside, I really enjoyed the world-building, story and characters. The many souled folks were fascinating, Jamil, hard and cold, tough to like, never stopped being interesting and left me very invested.
I enjoy a lot stories that somewhat make me feel like wandering through the plot, without rush, having no great clue of what is going to happen or when my tired surviving neuron lights up briefly and I do have a tiny clue, the ride is just wonderful.
Clearly I want more, I am a greedy reader.
November 10, 2017
This early work by Laurie J. Marks contains some of the ideas that make her later books so great, but ultimately it's a disjointed novel. Characters who seem important either disappear entirely or reappear only by means of unlikely coincidence, and some of the most interesting premises are hardly explored. In many ways, it felt like it needed to be longer. Not a bad book, but not an amazing one either.
September 14, 2022
4.5 stars
Another magical, beautiful, mysterious and brutal world created by Laurie J. Marks. This is the fourth book of hers that I've read and I've enjoyed them all immensely. Jamil was such an interesting characters and I wanted to figure out what was happening just as much as she did. The plot seems to be a little aimless in the beginning, but, by the end, it all makes sense. The only thing that would have made it better would have been if this book were the start of a series because I wanted more (although that's just me being greedy since the end ties most of the loose ends up).
Another magical, beautiful, mysterious and brutal world created by Laurie J. Marks. This is the fourth book of hers that I've read and I've enjoyed them all immensely. Jamil was such an interesting characters and I wanted to figure out what was happening just as much as she did. The plot seems to be a little aimless in the beginning, but, by the end, it all makes sense. The only thing that would have made it better would have been if this book were the start of a series because I wanted more (although that's just me being greedy since the end ties most of the loose ends up).
March 6, 2025
The description on the back of this 📖 is so roundabout, that I wasn’t sure what to expect. However, the writing is good and it drew me in right away. Ultimately, this is a story about finding yourself, embracing all aspects of your personalities, and remembering who you🫵 are. I enjoyed it.
2025 reading challenge-a book with waves on the cover
2025 reading challenge-a book with waves on the cover
May 5, 2022
3 stars, Metaphorosis Reviews
Summary
Jamil is one of the Emperor's enforcers - a Separated One with two selves in one body - feared all over the Empire, except perhaps in mountainous, unconquered Asakeiri. Despite her protections and resources, Jamil suddenly finds herself alone, hurt, and soon enough captured and abused. What she finds will lead her to reassess all she's believed.
Review
While published first, this was the second Laurie J. Marks book I read, after Dancing Jack – a completely separate book that nonetheless uses the same cover theme of a woman’s face half-covered by a broken mask. I liked the two well enough that I went on to Marks’ Elemental Logic series, but didn’t find those so effective.
This book is full of interesting elements, but, frustratingly, Marks follows through on relatively few of them. While the protagonist is a dangerous, feared Separated One, she spends most of the book captured or abused. While she works for the Emperor’s elite corps, the Emperor shows up only briefly, at the end of the book.While the land is threatened by a restive dragon (the name applied to volcanic activity), the resolution to that risk is vague, to say the least, and mentioned largely in passing.
The core theme of the book is the idea of multiple persons in one body, and how they affect Jamil (and her other self, Alasil). While Marks does go to some effort to explain this, much of the explanation comes late and in fairly summary fashion. It’s never clear why Separated Ones are particularly useful to the Emperor, why they’ve been made into the corps they are, or why they were feared in the first place. Some of this, Marks might get away with, but not all of it, and not with so little of the story dedicated to exploring it. It’s an interesting effort that, in my view, didn’t really pay off. Instead, the book functions as a little more of an entertaining travelogue and exploration of Asakieiri culture.
Summary
Jamil is one of the Emperor's enforcers - a Separated One with two selves in one body - feared all over the Empire, except perhaps in mountainous, unconquered Asakeiri. Despite her protections and resources, Jamil suddenly finds herself alone, hurt, and soon enough captured and abused. What she finds will lead her to reassess all she's believed.
Review
While published first, this was the second Laurie J. Marks book I read, after Dancing Jack – a completely separate book that nonetheless uses the same cover theme of a woman’s face half-covered by a broken mask. I liked the two well enough that I went on to Marks’ Elemental Logic series, but didn’t find those so effective.
This book is full of interesting elements, but, frustratingly, Marks follows through on relatively few of them. While the protagonist is a dangerous, feared Separated One, she spends most of the book captured or abused. While she works for the Emperor’s elite corps, the Emperor shows up only briefly, at the end of the book.While the land is threatened by a restive dragon (the name applied to volcanic activity), the resolution to that risk is vague, to say the least, and mentioned largely in passing.
The core theme of the book is the idea of multiple persons in one body, and how they affect Jamil (and her other self, Alasil). While Marks does go to some effort to explain this, much of the explanation comes late and in fairly summary fashion. It’s never clear why Separated Ones are particularly useful to the Emperor, why they’ve been made into the corps they are, or why they were feared in the first place. Some of this, Marks might get away with, but not all of it, and not with so little of the story dedicated to exploring it. It’s an interesting effort that, in my view, didn’t really pay off. Instead, the book functions as a little more of an entertaining travelogue and exploration of Asakieiri culture.
March 2, 2021
Laurie J Marks is my favorite (or anyway one of them). I read this book for the first time ten years ago and one of the Amazon reviews said "well even if I didn't have multiple personalities I would have liked" and at the time I did not bring that perspective to the novel. Re-reading it I do, it seems so obvious, perhaps as I have come to realize how perilously close I have come to dissociative disorder myself.
Anyway, the novel is finely written, with a gripping plot, and a perplexing protagonist. She makes more sense at the end of the novel, and a truly horrifying institution is dismantled. I guess that is a spoiler, but we should all acknowledge with JRR Tolkein that "eucatastrophe," the opposite of catastrophe, is the essence of fairy tales and perhaps of all good fantasy.
Anyway, the novel is finely written, with a gripping plot, and a perplexing protagonist. She makes more sense at the end of the novel, and a truly horrifying institution is dismantled. I guess that is a spoiler, but we should all acknowledge with JRR Tolkein that "eucatastrophe," the opposite of catastrophe, is the essence of fairy tales and perhaps of all good fantasy.
April 14, 2023
Early work of one of my favourite fantasy authors.
Unusual premise, a double-souled woman protagonist, raised from childhood to be one of the Emperor's top assassins in the Order of Separated Ones.
While the story has flaws in execution, especially in world-building, some implausible plot devices, inconsistent pacing, and the rushed ending which didn't quite work for me, I can forgive these flaws in such an early work.
However, Laurie Marks' skills in character development and drawing unique fantasy tropes are in evidence and only get stronger in her later books.
Overall, a solid and enjoyable read.
Unusual premise, a double-souled woman protagonist, raised from childhood to be one of the Emperor's top assassins in the Order of Separated Ones.
While the story has flaws in execution, especially in world-building, some implausible plot devices, inconsistent pacing, and the rushed ending which didn't quite work for me, I can forgive these flaws in such an early work.
However, Laurie Marks' skills in character development and drawing unique fantasy tropes are in evidence and only get stronger in her later books.
Overall, a solid and enjoyable read.
November 23, 2010
definitely not the strongest of Marks' work, but a good read nevertheless. This one gets off to a slow and rather expository start, but picks up speed after around 70 pages, and then maintains strong character interest and a solid plot after that. the ending is beautiful, and left me feeling that it was worth finishing this book before picking up Lois McMaster Bujold's brand new Vorkosigan novel, which had been eyeing me from the table throughout.
July 21, 2012
I will never forget this book as it resonated with me so strongly when I read it as a teen. Dual personalities raised by the government and trained as the perfects spies and assassins, love, betrayal, and self-discovery...this book has a lot going for it. Definitely worth a re-read or two.
January 26, 2011
Beautiful opening paragraph. Unfortunately, all downhill from there.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews