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E.M. Prazeman
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Masks (The Lord Jester's Legacy Book 1) Kindle Edition

by E.M. Prazeman (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 113 ratings
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1779, the 26th day of Sooner: The day Mark Seaton’s mother died in his arms, and his father disappeared. The Church plans to sell him to the navy so that he can pay his family’s debts, but a mysterious masked courtier interferes on Mark’s behalf. Is Mark’s gallant savior truly saving him, or leading him into more dangerous waters?

Thrown into a deadly game of politics and paranormal mystery, Mark discovers that the only way to freedom is to play the game.

A lowly pawn can take a king, but Mark intends to become a player.

"Prazeman has crafted a magnificent, credible fantasy where noble lords symbiotically bond with masked jesters whose machinations and assassinations further their ambitions without imperiling their souls. She does a uniquely wonderful job of honoring her readers' intelligence, parsing out little hints and nibbles, barely enough information to figure out what is going on as her hero navigates the intrigue. The result is a swift and satisfying read that leaves us begging for a sequel. Whole-heartedly recommended!" – Lawrence Kane, ForeWord Magazine

"Prazeman's jesters dance fine lines through a world of byzantine politics. Real, fallible people lie behind complex masks. The subtle weave of influences, and the dangers they produce, will keep readers hooked." – Sara Mueller, Endeavor Award Committee Member

"The world of MASKS is a fantasy world unlike any other I've encountered, rich with mystery, intrigue, and danger, and its hero Mark is complex and unusual – a young man trying to solve the riddle of his parents' deaths while concealing dangerous secrets of his own. No one in this book is exactly what they seem, Mark least of all. We all have our masks, and MASKS lifts the façades of its characters and its world to expose the ambiguous truths behind them." – David Levine, Hugo Award Winning Author
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  1. Book 1 of 3
    The Lord Jester's Legacy
  2. Print length
    326 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publication date
    February 16, 2012
  6. File size
    1450 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

What can I say about E.M. Prazeman? Well, for starters, it's a pseudonym. The artist known as E.M. lives and loves and sometimes brawls in the Pacific Northwest, a big change from being an illegal alien refugee from the old Eastern Bloc. Fully naturalized now, E.M. writes and gardens and raises livestock. Has a fondness for swords and history. Is a better shot with a bow than with a gun, but isn't too bad with a .45. In the last year the Prazeman household has hosted Kurdish expatriates, SWAT medics, former special operations soldiers, (ostensibly reformed) criminals, Finnish martial artists and the occasional author or school teacher from a remote village. These people come to E.M. to decompress and think. I know. I'm one of them. - Rory Miller, Author of "Facing Violence"

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B007ABBYWK
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Wyrd Goat Press, LLC (February 16, 2012)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 16, 2012
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1450 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 326 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 113 ratings

About the author

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E.M. Prazeman

E.M. Prazeman

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E.M. Prazeman is the author of The Lord Jester’s Legacy trilogy, a fantasy intrigue set in an 18th century secondary world. Current projects include The Poisoned Past trilogy, of which the first book, Oubliette, was released in July 2015, and The Kilhellion, a classic sword and sorcery epic set on a world where humans and demons vie for dominion. E.M.’s many hobbies, including travel, sailing, art, music, belly dance, archery, gardening, and small acreage farming, often inform her writing. She uses writing as an excuse to do odd things like visiting friends to fire flintlock firearms and taking a free historical fencing class whilst on vacation. She lives in the Pacific NW with her husband, author and conflict communications expert Rory Miller.

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
113 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Mec
5.0 out of 5 stars New favorite
Reviewed in the United States on June 24, 2016
Verified Purchase
I could point out some flaws and things I didn't like, but this is getting five stars and a place on my favorites shelf anyway just for the amount and volume of FEELS it gave me. The setting/atmosphere is gorgeous, the concepts (specifically the lord/jester bonding thing, and the 'living' masks, etc) are beautiful, and the characters (at least the ones that matter) are perfectly complex. I'm floored tbh and that doesn't happen so often.

Content notes: this is like a fantasy adventure-intrigue story, mostly? And it could probably go in the NA (New Adult) category (the protagonist is 11 in the first chapter, 19 through the rest of it). It's not a romance though I'd say the romance in it is significant to the plot and purpose and all; the love interest shows up a bit before the middle of the book. The main character is flamingly gay by the way. This book is not a stand-alone, plenty of things happen but plenty of things are also very unresolved. It's free though (and the sequels are relatively cheap). \o/
One person found this helpful
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Emily French
4.0 out of 5 stars Politics and character development
Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2015
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This is a book about political intrigue and a boy who's forced into the middle of it against his will. Despite his disinterest, once he's trained, he can't help himself but do the job, and do it well.

The intrigue in this book went way over my head. I could feel it there, but I'm not the type to really grasp that sort of thing. It does do a great job of showing a boy in a world of suck who becomes a young man in a world of suck. Mark is highly believable and he's tortured in such delightful ways. His relationships are complex enough that I almost needed a chart to follow them all.

I understand this is part of a series, so I'm not surprised some of the mysterious elements aren't explained, yet I feel that this book doesn't stand on its own. It seems like Part 1 of a miniseries, where you can get into it, but need the rest of the Parts to actually understand the story. It reminds me of the Hobbit movies in that respect.

Magic is minimal and reserved for elite groups, so one shouldn't go into this expecting to see fireballs flung around. It's delicate and subtle, and not well understood by the characters. In fairness, I didn't really understand it, either. The masks are 'alive', the jesters somehow all have dual personalities except for when they don't, and there are soul bindings and healings. Much of the magic seems to be tied up with the prevailing religion. That religion is similar enough to Christianity prior to the Reformation that I failed to see any significant differences beyond the words used.

Overall, the prose is pleasant without being compelling or demanding, and I found this a good, solid read. I recommend it for literary fantasy readers, those who want the politics and characters and relationships without a lot of messy fighting and action.
3 people found this helpful
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Rachel E.B. Robinson
5.0 out of 5 stars I love the world created which has remnants of renaissance combined ...
Reviewed in the United States on May 16, 2015
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From the first chapter I wanted to jump into the story and protect the main character, Mark. Even as he gets older and can handle himself quite well, I still had that feeling. I found myself chastising the villains around him for treating him as they did. This book was hard to put down and I ended up late from lunch one day because of it. Politics, treachery and the church all play a major role in his journey to find out how to navigate the vast world yet stay true to his convictions. In the midst of it he has many infatuations that are sometimes heartbreaking and other times hilarious. I love the world created which has remnants of renaissance combined with a slight hint of steampunk. A wonderful read but don't do it while at work. You may get in trouble for neglecting your work.
4 people found this helpful
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Danny Blake
5.0 out of 5 stars Simply outstanding!
Reviewed in the United States on September 28, 2021
Verified Purchase
I didn't know what to expect coming into this novel. The premise was intriguing which is why I bought it to begin with. But what I found was so much more than I had ever anticipated. What an incredibly well thought out and written story. The characters are deep and moving, each having their own story and history. I'm addicted!
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Sara
4.0 out of 5 stars Lush World Building and Lots of Mystery
Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2018
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Overall, I really enjoyed this book despite some flaws that kept me from outright loving it.

The best parts of the book were hands-down in the second half. Without going into spoilers, I'll just say that lots of world building happens in the first half without much accompanying explanation, but the second half takes advantage of that and gives the reader some nice payoff as the nuances of the world start to actually be relevant to the plot.

On that note, the world building and the setting were both amazing! I loved Seven Churches, the ship, the island... it was all really well fleshed out and quite gorgeous. It reminded me a lot of the lushness and warmth of the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie (I mean that as a compliment, I always associate that movie with warm, bright, vibrant settings).

Ok, so after all that my main gripe with the series is that it's actually just a little bit *too* mysterious. I like when authors withhold information to create a sense of unfolding mystery, generally speaking. But in this case, the super-detailed world building and complicated plotting worked against the momentum of the story. When events unfolded and details were finally revealed I was often so confused about what was even going on that the impact of those twists was completely lost. Hopefully some of this clears up in the next book. I'll definitely continue with the series! The world building and concepts of jesters, demons, and politics is too good to pass up!
One person found this helpful
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Reader 1
2.0 out of 5 stars Confusing
Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2018
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Had a hard time with this book. It's written like we should know more about what is happening than we do. It's confusing and not enough world building and information is given to help make it an enjoyable read.
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Top reviews from other countries

A
5.0 out of 5 stars "Gripping" doesn't begin to cover it.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 2, 2016
Verified Purchase
This book ought to come with a bunch of warnings. Do not open it before bedtime, or bedtime will not happen. Do not read "just a little bit" before work if you have a set time to start work. And absolutely DO NOT read it on a train, unless you're willing to explore new cities or you live at the end of the line.

I'm not kidding. I can't remember the last time I got this sucked into a book. Major adulting failures resulted. Clear yourself a weekend and get in there; you won't regret it.
One person found this helpful
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Li Taylor
5.0 out of 5 stars Really interesting
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 13, 2016
Verified Purchase
This is a fascinating and brilliant story and I loved it. Full of mystery and intrigue. Just needs to be read to get it
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