Customer Reviews

Of Masques and Martyrs (The Shadow Saga, Book 3)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Golden is a golden writer. This series is one of the most exciting, fresh ideas in vampire mythos I've read in a while.
Part fantasy, part horror, all explosive and action-packed, Golden weaves a richly drawn tale full of awesome characters of good and evil.
Hollywood really needs to take a good, hard look at this one.
Actually, the 4th book following this, is the best.
His newest Menagerie Book # 1 is magnificent. Check it out.

I have read all of this series, and each book shows the tale of the Shadows and how they have emerged into our world, and we in to theirs. Of Saints and Shadows, and Angel Hearts and Devil Souls shows us how vunerable we are to being human. This one showed that even those who seemed famned into forever hunting and the for eveer hell, that is not true. Peter Octavian shows us that even the most battered soul, may still shine.

Like all the sequel, I could not stop reading the moment I started. Christopher Golden is a genius that way. Peter with his shadow and human followers live in an ex convent while Hannibal and his vampire followers are rampaging all over the "world" (note, world is mostly the US, but we are used to it). Things go really wrong when Will is caught, tortured and killed by Hannibal, who had created a drug that removed all the vampire/shadows powers. From then on, there is war between shadows and vampires. Humans, by then decide to kill them all. Trust me, really worth reading it.

While Of Masques and Martyrs was a good read, I was disappointed with the ending Golden chose. I agree that he killed off too many of the great characters. I also agree that it was good that he chose to end it when he did though I found myself wishing that it ended differently.

I apologize in advance to those people who actually liked this book, but I think it blew goats. Now, the first two books in the series were phenomenal. Well written, captivating, and did I mention they both had plots? The third, however, seemed to be just a vehicle for gratuitous violence and rather disgusting sex. The occasional bit of porn is fine, but that crap with Hannibal and Allison is precisely what I don't need to be reading...ever. I appreciate what Mr. Golden was trying to convey (yeah, Hannibal's a whackjob), but...EWWWW! All in all, I should have saved my money and smacked my head against a brick.

If you like "happily ever after" stories, perhaps this book is not for you. Killing off main characters was integral to the plot and I liked the way Golden wrapped things up. Peter Octavian is first and foremost human and Golden portrays this quality beautifully. Although not my favorite in the series, it was a great read and I look forward to reading more of the author's books.

THE FIRST TWO BOOKS OF THE SERIES WERE CLASSIC. GOLDEN FAILS AT HIS ATTEMPT TO PUT CLOSURE ON THE SERIES. HE SHOULD HAVE STAYED WITH WHAT GOT HIM THERE. HE KILLED OF TOO MANY GOOD CHARACHTERS REPLACING THEM WITH INDIVIDUALS CREATED OUT OF NECCESSITY. GOLDEN HAS 2/3 OF A GREAT SERIES.