(Found, 18 yrs on...) An even MORE challenging book hunt..

[Skyfire]

Five Worlds Trilogy by Al Sarrantonio. Book 1, Exile, the only one I read, and I didn't really like it all that much. It's funny, because I was looking for it on goodreads so I could rate it, and I couldn't remember the name and searched for it, and came across this thread. My husband remembered the title, and from that I was able to search the author. It's probably far too late, and you're not coming back to check on it, but now others who remember what I did from it will find this thread and know.

 

[Danny McG]

Five Worlds Trilogy by Al Sarrantonio. Book 1, Exile, the only one I read, and I didn't really like it all that much. It's funny, because I was looking for it on goodreads so I could rate it, and I couldn't remember the name and searched for it, and came across this thread. My husband remembered the title, and from that I was able to search the author. It's probably far too late, and you're not coming back to check on it, but now others who remember what I did from it will find this thread and know.

Oh, well done!
I've taken a look at the first book and it does indeed contain the scene where the villain cuts off his captive's eyelids.

Before Dalin could answer, the monster had placed something in front of the king's face: a mirror, with which he could regard himself.
Dalin screamed at what he beheld: a human face with a skeleton's sight: round lidless eyes bulging, always to be open, never able to close.
Laughing, Wrath-Pei drew the mirror away. "Splendid! Thank you! Splendid!"
"Why have you done this to me?" Dalin cried.

 

[Pyan]

I'm marking this as found, as the odds of two books coming up with this detail are slim. If Amabar returns after 18+ years and say's it's not the book, I can always unfind it.