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Sembia, Gateway to the Realms #7
Lord of Stormweather
After a sorcerous attack on Stormweather Towers destroys a good part of his family, Tamlin, heir to the Uskevren fortune, finds himself thrust unexpectedly into the role of family leader, a position that makes him the target of greedy would-be heirs. Original.
320 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 1, 2003
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486 people want to read
About the author
Dave Gross
199 books138 followersDave Gross is the author of ten novels, notably the adventures of Radovan and the Count, including Prince of Wolves, Master of Devils, Queen of Thorns, and King of Chaos. Formerly the editor of such magazines as Dragon, Star Wars Insider, and Amazing Stories, Dave has also written novels for the Forgotten Realms and Iron Kingdoms settings. For more tales of Radovan and the Count, including free short stories, check out http://paizo.com/pathfinder/tales.
For more on Dave's current and upcoming projects and events, go to .
For more on Dave's current and upcoming projects and events, go to .
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 18, 2022
A passing the torch tale. Ethereal lands, ghosts, and manor secrets.
May 16, 2010
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 stories 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 becomes 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 all the earlier 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 too much on humor in Forgotten Realm stories, but this had an absolute 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 series and ended on a high note.
Overall: 5/5
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 becomes 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 all the earlier 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 too much on humor in Forgotten Realm stories, but this had an absolute 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 series and ended on a high note.
Overall: 5/5
January 3, 2014
I really liked this book. very happy to see some past characters return from earlier in the series. I really hope this isn't the end of the Uskevren family. I know PSK writes more about Cale so hopefully other family members return too.
September 16, 2019
Now that the two month reading break (self imposed every year) is over, I was able to quickly finish this book. A very fitting end to the series. I applaud the creative concepts contained within the winding up of the series. I understood the need for the loss of Thal the older but understood the reasoning for losing him in the first place. Loved the idea of the “doorways” from the home to the other worlds. Did not like the half-explained workings of the soul stone kept hidden under the stonemasonry of the castle proper, but you have to go with it I suppose. Looking forward to the next set of books that have been waiting in the wings beyond the Forgotten Realms, but it will be fun to start the close out of all of those novels for the library starting sometime in the late fall would be my estimate. Onward!
January 17, 2022
Following the other six books in the Sembia series this book follows the oldest son Tamlin, the heir to Stormweather. Yet unlike the other books in the series this book doesn't focus on just Tamlin or mostly follows Tamlin. There are four story lines going at one time. This book does it's best to tie up all the lose ends of the other 6 books while continuing to show the grow of each family member since the start of the series. All and all it was an okay book. Had slow parts at the beginning and too many story lines at one time.
September 16, 2018
"(He) had been hung over many times before, but never so miserably. His normally silken voice was as rough as charcoal and weaker than a moth's fart when he called out."
"Like all living things, however, it needed to struggle to grow strong."
"Like all living things, however, it needed to struggle to grow strong."
April 7, 2020
Lord of Stormweather may be the best of the Sembia series. A change of pace but really fun read. Intriguing plot and good character development. While it focuses on Tamlin, we do get chapters from the point of view of Thamalon, Erevis Cale, and Chaney Foxmantle (as he shadows Radu Malveen).
December 5, 2023
Started off strong, and I liked it well enough. However, towards the end, it took an unexpected turn for the weird, a weird that was never fully fleshed out or properly explained.
March 9, 2024
Decent final part of above average FR series.
January 4, 2023
Rating of the Sembia series from best to worst;
1. Black Wolf
2. Halls of Stormweather
3. Heirs of Prophecy tied with The Shattered Mask
5. Lord of Stormweather (exciting overall, but with a somewhat unsatisfying conclusion probably aided in no small part to the mess from conflicting schedules with the authors.)
6. Shadow's Witness (haven't read the Erevis Cale trilogy yet, but I will. This book was very disappointing.)
7. Sands of the Soul (initially showed promise, but ultimately forgettable and unsatisfying.)
1. Black Wolf
2. Halls of Stormweather
3. Heirs of Prophecy tied with The Shattered Mask
5. Lord of Stormweather (exciting overall, but with a somewhat unsatisfying conclusion probably aided in no small part to the mess from conflicting schedules with the authors.)
6. Shadow's Witness (haven't read the Erevis Cale trilogy yet, but I will. This book was very disappointing.)
7. Sands of the Soul (initially showed promise, but ultimately forgettable and unsatisfying.)
October 24, 2016
The final installment of the FR Sembia series. It took me a long time to get here.
I do not always like it when TSR would have a series written by a bunch of different authors; for me more often than not, a new author changed the feel of the characters so much that it really took away from the cohesiveness of the entire series...sometime making me even regret starting them. However, each one of these books focuses on a different character, so the flavor is not destroyed by too many cooks! In fact, this is the only one in the series that was written by the same author as an earlier book in the series, so we actually get to revisit some characters from the previous book.
This last book revolves around the eldest son and heir. Magic is used to kidnap his parents and sweep them away to a strange yet beautiful land populated by exotic monsters and filled with warring dwarves and elves. The catalyst of all the fighting is a soccer that is the spitting image of our heir(who does not have a magical bone in his body).
As with all of these books, in the end the mystery is solved and we see our heroes on top. This was a long time coming and I'm glad to have another series under my belt.
I do not always like it when TSR would have a series written by a bunch of different authors; for me more often than not, a new author changed the feel of the characters so much that it really took away from the cohesiveness of the entire series...sometime making me even regret starting them. However, each one of these books focuses on a different character, so the flavor is not destroyed by too many cooks! In fact, this is the only one in the series that was written by the same author as an earlier book in the series, so we actually get to revisit some characters from the previous book.
This last book revolves around the eldest son and heir. Magic is used to kidnap his parents and sweep them away to a strange yet beautiful land populated by exotic monsters and filled with warring dwarves and elves. The catalyst of all the fighting is a soccer that is the spitting image of our heir(who does not have a magical bone in his body).
As with all of these books, in the end the mystery is solved and we see our heroes on top. This was a long time coming and I'm glad to have another series under my belt.
February 22, 2021
A good end to the series.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews