Of Masques and Martyrs (The Shadow Saga, Book 3) [Mass Market Paperback]

Christopher Golden (Author)

Book Description

Series: Shadow Saga | Publication Date: December 1, 1998

Led by Peter Octavian, the Shadows continue their battle against the ruthless Hannibal and his vampiric minions, who mean to enslave humanity-and devour all in their path.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Ace (December 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441005845
• ISBN-13: 978-0441005840
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #647,428 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

CHRISTOPHER GOLDEN is the award-winning, bestselling author of such novels as The Myth Hunters, Wildwood Road, The Boys Are Back in Town, The Ferryman, Strangewood, Of Saints and Shadows, and (with Tim Lebbon) The Map of Moments. He has also written books for teens and young adults, including Poison Ink, Soulless, and the thriller series Body of Evidence, honored by the New York Public Library and chosen as one of YALSA's Best Books for Young Readers. Upcoming teen novels include a new series of hardcover YA fantasy novels co-authored with Tim Lebbon and entitled The Secret Journeys of Jack London.

A lifelong fan of the "team-up," Golden frequently collaborates with other writers on books, comics, and scripts. In addition to his recent work with Tim Lebbon, he co-wrote the lavishly illustrated novel Baltimore, or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire with Mike Mignola. With Thomas E. Sniegoski, he is the co-author of the book series OutCast and The Menagerie, as well as comic book miniseries such as Talent, currently in development as a feature film. With Amber Benson, Golden co-created the online animated series Ghosts of Albion and co-wrote the book series of the same name.
As an editor, he has worked on the short story anthologies The New Dead and British Invasion, among others, and has also written and co-written comic books, video games, screenplays, the online animated series Ghosts of Albion (with Amber Benson) and a network television pilot.

The author is also known for his many media tie-in works, including novels, comics, and video games, in the worlds of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Hellboy, Angel, and X-Men, among others.

Golden was born and raised in Massachusetts, where he still lives with his family. His original novels have been published in more than fourteen languages in countries around the world. Please visit him at www.christophergolden.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic bookend to the series., November 4, 2003

By 

Joel T. Dohrmann (Florissant, Missouri USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Of Masques and Martyrs (The Shadow Saga, Book 3) (Mass Market Paperback)

The third installment of Christopher Golden's Shadow Saga "trilogy" was one of those books that has definite re-read potential. The first book of the series (Of Saints and Sinners) was absolutely fantastic. It was by far one of the most creative stories that I have ever read. If you read my Amazon review of that book you will see what high praise I had for that book, along with my one serious disappointment that prevented the rating from acheiving 5 stars. Even with that disappointment, I read book two. Book two took care of my disappointment, and although not a fantastic book, maintained my interest to continue to book three. Now I get to book three and have no hesitation to rate this book a full five stars. Although the creativity is obviously not as prevalent as in the first book (for the simple reason that book one had a completely open slate from which to work with, and book three is a continuation) the storyline of book three is just as strong as book one without any detractions that could possibly bring the book down. Although when I read book three, I knew that Golden was working on book four of the "trilogy," Of Masques And Martyrs has a definitive ending that leaves enough open so that there could be a fourth book, but tied up the loose ends in a manner that would not leave you disappointed if the series stopped at three books. So, if you even slightly enjoyed book one of this series, continuing through to the the third book is definitely worth the read. Golden proceeds with strong character development, interesting plot twists, and the creatively dark descriptions that made this series one definitely worth reading.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Series, April 20, 2004

By 

Elizabeth "lking173" (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Of Masques and Martyrs (The Shadow Saga, Book 3) (Mass Market Paperback)

This is an excellent vampire series. If this is your first Christopher Golden book I would highly suggest reading this series in order: (1) Of Saints and Shadows (2) Angel Souls and Devil Hearts (3) Of Masques and Martyrs and (4) The Gathering Dark. I enjoyed this series as much as I enjoyed the first four anita blake novels and more than the tanya huff series. I highly highly recommend.

Book #3 continues where Book #2 left off. There is still a huge war between the good vampires versus evil vampires. The evil vampires have taken over the world and are hunting humans. The world used to have sympathy for vampires, but through senseless acts of violence and killing by Hannibal, vampires are hated amongst humans. This makes life even harder for the good vampires who want to live in harmony with humans. This book continues the war with the evil ones. The leader of the good vampires is still our hero Peter Octavian.

This is an excellent vampire series. I highly recommend. You will not be disappointed.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as the first two, but a good ending, March 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Of Masques and Martyrs (The Shadow Saga, Book 3) (Mass Market Paperback)

Let's face it, Of Saints and Shadows was a completely original take on a vampire mythology that had been worn down by countless rehashes. It's very originality, coupled with great writing, made it fantastic. Angel Hearts and Devil Souls delivered the most awesome origin of vampires I could possibly imagine, again coupled with great writing. So each of the first two books were great due to the combination of a great idea and the writing that matched. This is were Of Masques and Martyrs doesn't match up. It still has the great writing, but there isn't that killer idea behind the story that the first two had. Still, it's a good read and ends the series in a way that I think is fitting of the series in general. There's at least one interesting new character in Korumaku, and (as always) a cataclysmic battle of the vampires at the end of the story. I'm glad Golden decided to end it now, rather than try to string out the series and have to quality dwindle down to a formulaic nothingness. A good final effort.