Strahd's Domain

Here's how I got into Ravenloft in the first place - the novels. They often get forgotten and overshadowed by the game accessories, but the majority are exceptionally good books which don't get all the credit they deserve. All twenty are listed below and given (possibly biased) reviews. Note that the pictures used are of the original paperback covers. I refuse to even look at those hideous new cover designs. I have never abused a book before, but there is a first for everything, and if I'm ever given one of those newly covered fiends, I shall tear its cover off with the same rigour as Bluebeard tearing out a tongue (see Sight and Sound, Tales of Ravenloft).

Key to ratings:

Five severed heads out of five: This book was outstanding. It has been masterfully written and the characters and plot are truly wonderful. The conclusions of each chapter may easily have you wanting to read on and the story is suitably dark for the world of Ravenloft. Once you have finished reading the last sentence in the novel, it would be possible for you to turn back to the beginning and start again straight away.

Four severed heads out of five: A very good read. The book tends to be well written with interesting characters and dark enough to be classed as a Ravenloft novel. Chapters may end on such intriguing cliff-hangers that reading on is almost compulsory! Minor details spoil the perfection of the book but a good enough novel to make you want to read it again some day.

Three severed heads out of five: A fairly good read. Not terribly gripping yet not too boring either. The characters may be dull and the plot may be fairly mundane too. Possibly slow going but good qualities reside in such a book nonetheless. You could happily read this book again, but then again you wouldn't be too upset if you never did.

Two severed heads out of five: A poor book. Not terrible, but severely lacking in quality in at least one way. Either this book is not very well written, has a confusing or questionable plot or is simply a disgrace to the name of Ravenloft.

One severed head out of five. This book should never have been published. It either has been written terribly, has an atrocious plot or does not befit the name of Ravenloft.

Everybody's tastes are different, and what I consider to be an excellent read, others may find abysmal. While we all think our own opinion is correct, tastes are permitted to vary. To allow for this, I've added a rating system at the bottom of each book review so that you can cast your vote as well. Believe it or not, some people don't even like Strahd Von Zarovich as a character! NB: I do not intent to massacre such people!

Author: Christie Golden

Year: 1991; (reprinted in new cover) 2006

Synopsis: Jander Sunstar is a gold elf, a native of magical Evermeet in the Forgotten Realms. He is also a five-hundred-year-old vampire.

Torn by rage and grief, Jander is transported into the nightmare realm of Ravenloft, where he gains the attention of the demiplane's master, Count Strahd Von Zarovich. But can Jander trust this elegant fellow vampire once he discovers that his own quest for revenge is linked to the dark heritage of the count's domain?

Personal review: This is quite simply the best Ravenloft book to have ever been written and certainly brings out Christie Golden's talent as a writer. I don't just think this is the best Ravenloft novel, but also the best novel I have ever read. It's of such great quality that I could easily finish the book and then just start from the beginning again! Strahd and Jander are two truly remarkable vampires and their coexistence is an amusing read but the book's dark enough to be a true Ravenloft novel. It's a skilfully written book which is easy to understand and is gifted with a fantastic plot and interesting characters. All the people and places are completely credible and described in fantastic detail. Jander is a magnificent character and his struggles against his vampiric nature are very touching, but the ending will leave you guessing, which some may find irksome. However, there's a great plot-twist towards the end. Vampire of the Mists is well worth picking up and reading - several times! Five well-earned severed heads out of five!

Author: James Lowder

Year: 1991

Synopsis: On the fabled world of Krynn, Lord Soth finally learns that there is a price to pay for his long history of evil deeds, a price even an undead warrior might find horrifying.

Dark powers transport Soth to Barovia, and there the death knight must face the dread minions of Count Strahd Von Zarovich, the vampire lord of the nightmare land. But with only a captive Vistani woman and an untrustworthy ghost for allies, Lord Soth soon discovers that he may have to join forces with the powerful vampire if he is ever to escape the realm of terror.

Personal review: I started reading Ravenloft on this book, purely by coincidence, but I was glad I did since I had already familiarised myself with Lord Soth from the DragonLance Chronicles and Legends. For anyone who has read DragonLance but not yet Ravenloft, this is a good book to start on seeing as the plot is intriguing, the characters are well-designed and references to Kitiara and Takhisis won't confuse you! It's a great Ravenloft book with an original plot and needless to say, made brilliant by Strahd's presence. But of course, other great characters feature in the story of Soth's desperate attempt to escape Ravenloft and return to Krynn including the Vistana, Magda; Azrael, a dwarven werebadger; Caradoc, a ghost who devoted his life to serving Lord Soth; and Duke Gundar, the ruler of Gundarak. Everything and everyone is described in precise and vivid detail which makes the story that much easier to visualise and as a result, feel immersed in. The book is definitely worth reading more than once, it's just a shame the sequel wasn't as good.

Author: Christie Golden

Year: 1992

Synopsis: Larissa Snowmane is a dancer aboard a magical riverboat. For years the craft has traveled in Ravenloft, unopposed by the sinister beings that rule over the Dark Domains.

When the boat arrives at the zombie-plagued island of Souragne, however, the crew finds itself dancing to chilling music indeed. After discovering the captain's sinister secret, Larissa must rely upon the creatures of the swamp and her mastery of the magical Dance of the Dead to save her own soul.

Personal review: Written with the same fluency of Vampire of the Mists, Christie Golden has wonderfully woven stage performance and the characteristic evil of Ravenloft into one to make a truly gripping novel. No other Ravenloft novel has quite the same balance of fantasy and horror, as the genre would suggest it should. The plot is original and could either have been a disaster or a masterpiece - thankfully it's the latter! Although I never really enjoyed anything with the Maiden of the Swamp in, you can't deny she was important to the plot. Larissa is an interesting character and the other cast and crew members aboard Le Demoiselle de Musarde are believable and carefully planned out. My favourite characters have to be Willen and Anton Misroi who have such great personalities. The novel is a delight to read and I don't doubt I will pick up this book again sometime even though dancing really is a boring subject for me!

Author: J. Robert King

Year: 1992

Synopsis: Revenge. The word rings in Casimir's mind. He has laid his plans for a decade - ten years among the scruffy children, the rats and the fleas of the orphanage. At last Casimir sets his intricate scheme into motion, seeking glorious revenge upon the man who slew his mother and made him an orphan.

But revenge is a merciless master. To slay his nemesis, Casimir summons a dark and powerful curse. And when that terrible curse is summoned, he must confront the greatest foe of all... himself.

Personal review: I was amazed at how brilliant this book became. It seemed a little slow on starting and the words "capricious" and "capriciously" were far too overused when synonyms could have been used. Aside from that, there is hardly anything to say against this book. J. Robert King has clearly thought of how every minor detail can be added to the plotline, and the action and plot twists are legendary. Casimir also grows on you as you read the book because you can understand his struggles. Although Casimir turns on his closest friends and family, his ultimate battle is contained within his very being. He fights with his true identity and cannot figure out whether he is supposed to behave like a man or a werewolf until the notorious Harkon Lukas comes to show him who he really is. The book contains generous amounts of horror, mixed perfectly with fantasy, romance and tragedy. I want to award this book four and a half severed heads, but since that's not possible, it'll have to be five!

Author: Elaine Bergstrom

Year: 1993

Synopsis: A creation of magic as old as Ravenloft itself, the tapestry possesses the power to attract and absorb the evil creatures that roam the Dark Domains. Only a reclusive order of monks, the Guardians, know of the tapestry's might. It is their duty to use it wisely and to prevent the beings bound within the cloth from escaping.

Yet the number of Guardians is dwindling, their hold over the tapestry slipping with each passing year. Their only hope for containing the evil is Jonathan, a youth with strange magical powers. When the boy discovers his ties to the creatures of the cloth, however, he may become the guardians' doom instead of their champion.

Personal review: The title of this book was not encouraging. I think the word 'tapestry' in a horror title put me off straight away, but having read To Sleep with Evil and found that it was a hundred times better than I imagined it would be, I was willing to give Tapestry of Dark Souls the benefit of the doubt and allow it to show its true colours. Unfortunately Tapestry of Dark Souls never followed the same promising path as To Sleep with Evil and I soon discovered that the book was deserving of very little credit. The language was surprisingly simple and almost repetitive - the words 'frigid' and 'nonetheless' cropped up far too often when other words would have provided variety. No exceptional literary features were used and I was very disappointed by the lack of description of both places and characters. Not once did a really powerful or well-written sentence crop up to help expiate the rest of the dull prose. The characters were confusing and rather boring - no one really grew on me and so it was very hard to put myself in anyone's position and get really involved in the plot. The storyline was hard to follow and the plot was mundane. The book was not a total disaster though and at times the storyline was good, but never anything exceptional. It had a nice mixture of third and first person narratives which worked successfully, and there was a fair amount of horror. All in all the novel was was a good idea which never really got off the ground. The characters could have been described more and the writing style could be improved on greatly. It is a book with potential, but it needs a lot more adaptation before I could consider it to be a good Ravenloft novel.

Author: J. Robert King

Year: 1993

Synopsis: A shriek rings out over the tents and boardwalks of Carnival l'Morai, followed by a plea for help from Marie, the blind juggler. Other performers arrive at the young woman's wagon to find her covered in blood. On the bed beside her lies the sword-swallower, impaled upon his own blade.

Marie and her friends have few clues to track down the murderer - until they find the next body and the next.... Their quest to capture the killer reveals horrors undreamed of, even for a troop of freakish performers trapped in the heart of the Dark Domains.

Personal review: [None - I haven't read this book yet]

Author: P. N. Elrod

Year: (hardback) 1993; (paperback) 1995; (Wizards of the Coast) 2001; (new cover) 2006

Synopsis: ...Some of the parchment pages were the color of cream, thick and substatial, made to last many, many lifetimes. Other pages were thin and desiccated, positively yellow from age, and crackled alarmingly as Van Richten turned them over. There were no ornate illuminations, no fussy borders, only lines of plain text in hard black ink. The flowing handwriting was a bit difficult to follow at first; the writer's style of calligraphy had not been in common use for three hundred years. No table of contents, but from the dates it looked to be some kind of history.

He turned to the first page and read: "I, Strahd, Lord of Barovia, well aware certain events of my reign have been desperately misunderstood by those who are better at garbling history than recording it, hereby set down an exact record of those events, that the truth may at last be known".... He caught his breath. By all the good gods, a personal journal?

Personal review: Great book. Loads of Strahd for fans like me! It's wonderful to see a Ravenloft book written in first person. You really understand his way of thinking and P. N. Elrod is also gifted as a skilled writer. Unfortunately it contradicts Vampire of the Mists in a couple of places, but other than that it's a good book with a classic plot. It's a bit slow going though and its sequel is far more exciting. If you plan to listen to the audio book of I, Strahd, you will find it has both good and bad aspects to it. The book is read well and clearly spoken. Roddy McDowall uses suitable accents and provides emphasis at the right points in the narrative. The additional music and sound effects allow you to simply drift away and feel like you are actually there right with Strahd and watching his actions both from inside him and as an external spectator. The story lasts approximately three hours but a huge amount of P. N. Elrod's novel has been cut out, which is a real shame. Other than that, I feel I will be listening to this audio book again someday!

Author: Christie Golden

Year: 1994

Synopsis: Sir Tristan Hiregaard is a nobleman in the dark land of Nova Vaasa, to all outward appearances a kind lord who would never harm anyone. Yet, Sir Tristan has a sinister secret, one that even he does not understand....

At times the nobleman transforms into a brutish creature named Malken, a man-beast who finds no act too base, just as long as it extends the killing grip of his vast criminal empire. No one is safe from Malken, and it seems that no one can break his stranglehold on Nova Vaasa - until Tristan himself takes on a quest to destroy his evil side.

Personal review: [none - I haven't read this book yet]

Author: Chet Williamson

Year: 1994

Synopsis: Two young necromancers-in-training accept the invitation of Victor Mordenheim to aid him in his research. Mordenheim, man of science, wishes to revive his dead wife and funnel her essence into a new living receptacle. The newcomers' consternation is brought to a head when one of them, a lovely young woman, is kidnapped by Adam, Mordenheim's creation, who swears to kill her should they pursue their plans. From then on it's a race across the ice, battling lycanthropes, vengeful Vistani, and the dark forces themselves, as the young necromancers try to escape the dark domains.

Personal review: [None - I haven't read this book yet]

Author: [various]

Year: 1994

Synopsis: From the dark domains and files of Dr. Rudolph Van Richten come these new tales of terror featuring your favourite darklords and ladies. Shudder at the sight of the Headless Horseman. Scream at the shrieks of the wailing banshee. Cry at the moonlit attacks of the werebeasts. Shapeshifting berserkers, manor-bound ghosts, even the vampire Count Strahd Von Zarovich - they're all here in tales taken straight from the realm of terror itself - Ravenloft.

Personal review: This book is a brilliant starting place for all new Ravenloft readers. It's a good book comprising nineteen short tales written by the authors of most of the other Ravenloft novels so if you're not in the mood for reading anything long or want to read a self-contained story on the train to work, these are great. Tales of Ravenloft is a variety of stories, all set in different locations and told by different people from different view points, even told by objects! Most (but not all) of the tales are exciting, surprising and enthralling in many ways. These tales are not lacking in the quality of any of the full-length Ravenloft novels but obviously take less time to read. They provide an adequate taster of what horrors you can read about in the full-length novels. The book allows you to find out which authors' styles you like best, and most likely, your favourite authors will have written other novels. It's worth reading all the tales and you can enjoy the horrors of Ravenloft even if you do not have much free time.

Author: Mark Anthony

Year: 1994

Synopsis: In the bell tower of Nartok Keep there lives a monster. At least, so it is whispered in the village below. But Wort is no monster. He is merely a man - gentle and lonely, his form hideously twisted by fate.

When a good deed earns Wort only the revilement of Nartok's folk, he makes a dark decision. If they think him a monster, then that is exactly what he will be...

Personal review: [None - I haven't read this book yet]

Author: Elaine Bergstrom

Year: 1995

Synopsis: To the people of Kislova, Baron Janosk was a tyrant, but to young Ilsabet, he was simply Father. When the baron was summarily executed, the people cheered, but Ilsabet wept... and plotted revenge.

The benevolent new ruler could not have known that the blade stroke of an instant would open the wound of a lifetime. But Ilsabet knew, and she kept the wound festering. She worked her revenge slowly and sweetly, a revenge like the best of poisons...

Personal review: [None - I haven't read this book yet]

Author: Laurell K. Hamilton

Year: 1995; (reprinted in new cover) 2006

Synopsis: There is a plague in the village of Cortton, a plague of the dead. Corpses walk the streets in search of the living. The villagers send for the mage-finder Jonathan Ambrose, for they believe evil magic is at work. They are right. Jonathan soon discovers that it is Harkon Lukas who is behind the destruction of the town.

Harkon Lukas has a plan for escaping the bounds of his realm. One of Jonathan's followers is just the person that Harkon Lukas needs. Jonathan believes he is in Cortton to save the villagers, to lay the dead to rest. But if Harkon Lukas escapes his curse and can travel the Dark Domains as he pleases... the slaughter has only begun.

Personal review: Hmm, what to say about this book. Curiously odd - I can't figure out whether it was a good read or not. I wasn't impressed by the number of spelling and grammatical errors, but that's more the fault of the editor. I suppose what was disappointing was the lack of Harkon Lukas, despire supposedly being about him. "Death of a Darklord" is a misleading title, since the story is more concerned with a young woman's struggle to use magic properly, and Harkon Lukas, the Darklord in question was never really a target nor was his life ever in danger, so the title is somewhat arbitrary. When I finished Heart of Midnight, I was very keen to continue reading about Lukas and Death of a Darklord looked to be the obvious choice, but really it wasn't. Lukas features very little in the book and is not mightily important to most of the plot. As for Calum - well, he only features in the first and last chapters and his role in the story is pointless. I feel that the characters were not used properly in this book. Unlike Heart of Midnight where every detail was crucial to the plot, this book seemed to go off the point a fair amount. The characters were bny all means interesting and had great potential, but I don't feel they got it. The travellers from another land weren't really necessary either which is a shame. I didn't feel like I was reading a novel so much as a scripted D&D roleplay but the plot was fairly good and although the first half of the book is slow going, the last half certainly makes up for it with great horror and action. The ending seemed abrupt and a sequel would probably be appreciated, although I doubt one will ever emerge. The synopsis on the back of the book does not really sum up the plot at all, but don't let that put you off reading this book. It's OK, but it's nothing special.

Author: Tanya Huff

Year: 1995

I do not own this book and know nothing more of it... yet.

Author: Gene De Weese

Year: 1996

I know nothing of this book since I don't own it yet, but I will... oh, I will!

Author: Andria Cardarelle

Year: 1996; (reprinted in new cover) 2007

Synopsis: Desperate to escape the terrors of Ravenloft, Marguerite came to Lord Donskoy's castle full of hope for the future. Instead, she found herself betrothed to a mysterious purveyor of flesh whose secret past, like teh dead, refused to stay buried.

Long ago, Donskoy had committed a heinous crime against the Vistani, Ravenloft's enigmatic gypsies. He believed he had escaped their wrath, but the unliving can afford to be patient.

Now Donskoy's marriage has invoked a dark curse, and cast Marguerite into a web of fear and passion spun by a gypsy with the power to reach out from beyond the grave.

Personal review: I procrastinated in reading this book. For over two years it waited patiently on my bookshelf for me to pick it up and read it and when I did finally come to open its musty pages, I still had the feeling that this book was not going to be up to the standards of the other Ravenloft novels I had read. The opening Prologue did nothing to boost my confidence that this novel was going to churn out a good plot and characters. How wrong I was. Each chapter was gripping and made me want to read on until I soon found that I had reached the back cover. The characters are fairly few in number since the entire book is set in Donskoy's lonely castle and the castle grounds. The plot was surprising - you would not think of a lord's desperation to have a son as a suitable plot for a horrific Ravenloft novel and yet horror occurred frequently within the story. The story is brilliant and for once my favourite character is not the lord of the domain. (Sorry Donskoy, but my favourite has got to be Ramus). Small details irritated me about this book such as the fact that we never learn the name of Donskoy's land nor the name of his castle, and the Prologue is not really that relevant to the rest of the book (though it makes more sense if you read it again having completed the book). Also, the book never mentions what Donskoy would say or do if Marguerite had a daughter instead of the son he wanted so badly - it seemed that gender was never an issue. Similarly, we never learn of the history of the domain or even why Marguerite is fleeing Darkon to marry a stranger in the first place. Despite these petty jibes of mine, the book is definitely worth reading again though Jacqueline's comment about Strahd left me rather hurt! I would read the book again straight away but there are too many small details which are frustrating to award this book five severed heads. Still, the book turned out much better than I ever expected which just goes to show that you can't judge a book by its cover... especially when the cover doesn't really have anything to do with the plot, like To Sleep with Evil's cover doesn't... never mind!

Author: Gene DeWeese

Year: 1997

I have no more information about this title currently; I don't yet own it!

Author: William W. Connors and Carrie A. Bebris

Year: 1998

I know nothing more than this yet because I haven't got this book myself.

Author: P. N. Elrod

Year: 1998

Synopsis: For more than a century, Strahd Von Zarovich has ruled Barovia with an iron hand, feeding on the blood of his vassals and fearing no one. In all the years of his tortured rule, none have dared defy him.

But now the Vistani have returned to Barovia, bringing with them a warning for the dread Lord of Barovia. One is coming to oppose Strahd, an opponent who may not only bring the existence of the vampire lord to an end, but may destroy all of Barovia as well.

Personal review: Absolutely brilliant! Loads of Strahd! It's wonderful to see the First Vampire and the King of the Dead making a forced alliance. You can read what both Strahd and Azalin have to say about each other and the dramatic irony is great. It's a bit biased towards Strahd's point of view, but hey, he wrote the book! A joint favourite with Vampire of the Mists, and a lot better in plot than the first I, Strahd. Some of the things those two say and do to each other will have you laughing out loud, and yet the book is severely dark in places making it a genuine Ravenloft novel but with Strahd and Azalin's eloquent jibes at each other for amusement. The plot is original and very well written - it has to have five severed heads out of five!

Author: James Lowder and Voronica Whitney-Robinson

Year: 1999

Synopsis: In this chilling sequel to the best-selling Knight of the Black Rose, factions vie for control of Sithicus as Lord Soth - darklord and former knight from the DragonLance world - fights to keep his reign from crumbling. Even as he struggles to defeat his enemies, rumor reaches him that the White Rose haunts the land. Has Kitiara finally returned to Soth, or is this another spectre from the death knight's tragic past?

Personal review: Quite frankly, a waste of paper. Yeah OK, it saw the return of the Death Knight, Lord Soth, complete with Azrael and Magda, but why bother? There was no plot and only a few minor characters who just got on my nerves. Not nearly enough of Lord Soth considering the book is named after him. It was a big disappointment. The minor characters were too annoying and one guy keeps shouting the name "Helain" - it's all just irritating and badly written. Rubbish book. Such a shame to end the Ravenloft novels on such an anticlimax; why couldn't it have been published before the War Against Azalin, or not at all? I tried to give it another go to see if it could redeem itself, but I couldn't get past chapter 5 without being bored stiff and throwing it back on the bookshelf! The fact that the cover is of a different style almost suggests to me that this is not a true Ravenloft book, or at least it shouldn't be! Only one pitiful severed head for this disgrace!