The Tamlin Uskevren Thread - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

The Tamlin Uskevren Thread

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
creyzi4zb12
Jun 06, 2010 12:05:06 Since we all know that Cycle of Night is coming up soon, why don't we take a discussion on one of the few characters in the Cale Saga. Personally my favorite....
I've always thought of Tamlin as the Capt. Jack Sparrow of the Realms, even though he was portrayed as dim witted in most novels, he always ends up with a treasure in the end.
He was portrayed mostly in the earlier novels as that impossibly lucky stupid guy who always gets the cash and girl in the end. In the Cale Series, we see a darker side of him...one who prays to Shar, and becoming a shade. The end part of the Twilight War Trilogy it mentions that Tamlin has admitted to himself that he has made a huge mistake in becoming a shade and making an allegiance with the Netheril.....I personally don't find it too bad since he is now the 2nd-3rd most powerful person on Sembia.
I hope we'll be reading more of him on the Cycle of Night Trilogy, he will live forever after all...maybe a battle with Cale's son, or the opposite....maybe there could also be room for romance....maybe he'll become more of an idiot in the end....well never know
#2
LordManshoon
Jun 06, 2010 13:15:01 Personally, I didn't like Tamlin when I first encountered him in the Sembia books, and I still have no fondness for him. Talbot and Tazi were/are much more interesting to me. Whereas Tal was the aspiring performer with a lycanthropic boon who got caught up in a Selunite-Malarite conflict, and Tazi was a quick-thinking rogue who used the night as her playground and braved the Calim, Tamlin took naps and frequented brothels and taverns, like any other well-to-do firstborn heir. He was the runt of the litter, which was funny, considering he was the eldest. I agree that his biggest asset in the Sembia series was his dumb luck, which really made him appear feeble compared to his siblings. Even the resolution in the final book didn't excite me much (except for his vision of the lycanthrope attack).

Suffice it to say, I was surprised to see the about-face in the Twilight War series. The drastic spike in his hatred for Cale and his father seemed to come all too easily, which I thought had resolved itself at the end of the Sembia series. I did enjoy reading about Rivalen's manipulation; I liked how Tamlin was all too eager to listen to the words of some shadowy "ambassador" who acted like a more benevolent version of Thamalon. To me, that just reinforced the notion that Tamlin was a child playing at being the leader of a powerful House, and that he was as gullible as a child.

I expect to encounter plenty more of Tamlin in the CoN trilogy, and I hope to find him vindictive as hell after selling Sembia's soul to Rivalen and the Netherese, against both the Shadovar and Team Mask. Maybe if he shows some backbone and displays some measure of cunning, I'll finally grow to like him. As it stands, I wouldn't mind seeing him get knocked on his arse by either party.
#3
creyzi4zb12
Jun 06, 2010 19:43:54 I'm sure Tamlin would've been a force to reckon with if he prayed to Tymora instead of Shar.
#4
Jorunhast
Jun 07, 2010 12:02:17 Tamlin was never a favorite character of mine, although I enjoyed the Sembia series and the follow-up. He always came across as overly lucky, certainly privileged, and near the end of the original series started to gain some respectability for his good choices. That's turned completely around in the Twilight war, and his good choices were negated by his too-easy and too-quick fall into the worship of Shar. It wasn't all that believable, IMO, given his growth in the Sembia series. He tossed things away way too quickly, which just didn't quite match up with his earlier progress.

Actually, it makes me less interested in the upcoming Cycle of Night series even though I've really loved the author's previous work. I miss the days when editorial control of the plot was a little looser, when every other novel was just good, rich fiction and not "epic" and realms-shaking.
#5
DoctorBadWolf
Jun 09, 2010 6:29:34 You know, when I read in the FR source books that he sold out to the Shadovar and became a shade, I thought to myself, "What the bloody monkey f**k?!"

Because when Cale left Selgaunt, I had gotten the impression that Tamlin was pretty much cool with Cale, and his father, and had grown up quite a bit.

It just didn't mesh with my impressions from that part of the novels. And it pissed me off that House Uskevren became a puppet to Netheril interests. On the bright side, it makes me want to play a character with a personal grudge against him. Maybe a Sembian who somehow became a Shadar-kai, and ended up fighting against Netheril, and blames Tamlin for some part of that.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 creyzi4zb12 Jun 06, 2010 12:05:06	Since we all know that Cycle of Night is coming up soon, why don't we take a discussion on one of the few characters in the Cale Saga. Personally my favorite.... I've always thought of Tamlin as the Capt. Jack Sparrow of the Realms, even though he was portrayed as dim witted in most novels, he always ends up with a treasure in the end. He was portrayed mostly in the earlier novels as that impossibly lucky stupid guy who always gets the cash and girl in the end. In the Cale Series, we see a darker side of him...one who prays to Shar, and becoming a shade. The end part of the Twilight War Trilogy it mentions that Tamlin has admitted to himself that he has made a huge mistake in becoming a shade and making an allegiance with the Netheril.....I personally don't find it too bad since he is now the 2nd-3rd most powerful person on Sembia. I hope we'll be reading more of him on the Cycle of Night Trilogy, he will live forever after all...maybe a battle with Cale's son, or the opposite....maybe there could also be room for romance....maybe he'll become more of an idiot in the end....well never know
#2 LordManshoon Jun 06, 2010 13:15:01	Personally, I didn't like Tamlin when I first encountered him in the Sembia books, and I still have no fondness for him. Talbot and Tazi were/are much more interesting to me. Whereas Tal was the aspiring performer with a lycanthropic boon who got caught up in a Selunite-Malarite conflict, and Tazi was a quick-thinking rogue who used the night as her playground and braved the Calim, Tamlin took naps and frequented brothels and taverns, like any other well-to-do firstborn heir. He was the runt of the litter, which was funny, considering he was the eldest. I agree that his biggest asset in the Sembia series was his dumb luck, which really made him appear feeble compared to his siblings. Even the resolution in the final book didn't excite me much (except for his vision of the lycanthrope attack). Suffice it to say, I was surprised to see the about-face in the Twilight War series. The drastic spike in his hatred for Cale and his father seemed to come all too easily, which I thought had resolved itself at the end of the Sembia series. I did enjoy reading about Rivalen's manipulation; I liked how Tamlin was all too eager to listen to the words of some shadowy "ambassador" who acted like a more benevolent version of Thamalon. To me, that just reinforced the notion that Tamlin was a child playing at being the leader of a powerful House, and that he was as gullible as a child. I expect to encounter plenty more of Tamlin in the CoN trilogy, and I hope to find him vindictive as hell after selling Sembia's soul to Rivalen and the Netherese, against both the Shadovar and Team Mask. Maybe if he shows some backbone and displays some measure of cunning, I'll finally grow to like him. As it stands, I wouldn't mind seeing him get knocked on his arse by either party.
#3 creyzi4zb12 Jun 06, 2010 19:43:54	I'm sure Tamlin would've been a force to reckon with if he prayed to Tymora instead of Shar.
#4 Jorunhast Jun 07, 2010 12:02:17	Tamlin was never a favorite character of mine, although I enjoyed the Sembia series and the follow-up. He always came across as overly lucky, certainly privileged, and near the end of the original series started to gain some respectability for his good choices. That's turned completely around in the Twilight war, and his good choices were negated by his too-easy and too-quick fall into the worship of Shar. It wasn't all that believable, IMO, given his growth in the Sembia series. He tossed things away way too quickly, which just didn't quite match up with his earlier progress. Actually, it makes me less interested in the upcoming Cycle of Night series even though I've really loved the author's previous work. I miss the days when editorial control of the plot was a little looser, when every other novel was just good, rich fiction and not "epic" and realms-shaking.
#5 DoctorBadWolf Jun 09, 2010 6:29:34	You know, when I read in the FR source books that he sold out to the Shadovar and became a shade, I thought to myself, "What the bloody monkey f**k?!" Because when Cale left Selgaunt, I had gotten the impression that Tamlin was pretty much cool with Cale, and his father, and had grown up quite a bit. It just didn't mesh with my impressions from that part of the novels. And it pissed me off that House Uskevren became a puppet to Netheril interests. On the bright side, it makes me want to play a character with a personal grudge against him. Maybe a Sembian who somehow became a Shadar-kai, and ended up fighting against Netheril, and blames Tamlin for some part of that.