Tales of Ravenloft

Ravenloft #10

by Brian M. Thomsen (Editor), David Wise (Contributor), D.J. Heinrich (Contributor)

A vampire tale featuring Count Strahd Von Zarovich highlights this all-new collection of chilling short stories set in the RAVENLOFT world of vampires, werewolves, and other dark creatures. The stories focus on new dark domains and classic villains including Harkon Lukas, Azalin, and Hezlich.

Genres: Fantasy, Horror, Fiction, Anthologies, Short Stories, Dungeons and Dragons, Vampires

316 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 1, 1994

About the author

Brian Thomsen was a founding editor of the Questar Science Fiction line of books, and served as managing fiction editor at TSR, Inc.; he also wrote over 30 short stories, and collaborated with Julius Schwartz on Schwartz's autobiography. He also worked as the publisher for TSR's Periodicals Department at one point. He was a consulting editor at Tor Books; as an author he was a Hugo Award nominee.

He died on September 21, 2008, at his home in Brooklyn at the age of 49. He was survived by his wife, Donna.

Reviews

[Tarl · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the Ravenloft campaign setting, so when I got a chance to revisit it in this collection of Ravenloft stories, I jumped at the chance to do so. I have read other books from that game world, and I thought that an anthology of short stories set in that world would hold the same atmosphere.

'Tales of Ravenloft' is a mixed bag of stories. Some are truly wonderfully done. They manage to mix the fantasy-horror setting with a master's touch and leave the reader glued to the pages. Alone, these stories are amazing.

However, the majority of tales in this collection fall far from these shining examples, dragging what could have been an amazing collection downwards. There were more than a few of these stories that felt as if they had been written for other anthologies and had gotten shoe-horned into this collection only because they were semi-horror themed. Others were just weakly written, and the horror element fell flat with not enough of a build of tension throughout the tale.

In the end, this anthology was just okay. It was a nice trip back to Ravenloft, but next time I think I am going to read the full sized novels rather than a short story collection. If you are looking for a good example of horror-fantasy, this is not it. I really don't recommend it, and really do suggest you turn to the full novels instead.

[Angel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had read a couple of the Ravenloft series books, so this seemed like a good one to pick up. The fact that it was short stories was appealing, as it makes it an easy book to pick and put down as need be. I got it used at Half Price books. We'll see how it turns out.

* * *

After a few months, I finally got it done. The nice thing about short fiction for me is that I can pick it up and drop it, then come back to it. That is what I did with this one. I had a couple of library books I needed to read sooner, so I put this to the side for a while. Overall, I will say this was a pretty good collection. The stories later in the book get better. There is one where Strahd Von Zarovich, the lord of Ravenloft appears, and another featuring the Knight of the Black Rose. These are regular characters of the series. While it is not necessary to have read other novels in the Ravenloft series, readers who have will probably appreciate the stories a bit more. I particularly liked the twist at the end on the Black Knight's tale. Actually, twists were a common feature in this anthology. If I recall, only one or two stories towards the beginning were a bit slow, but past that, the selections were good, some a bit scarier than others. Overall, if you are looking for some light entertainment with a horror element, this may be the book for you.

[Myke Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

To be clear, this rating a review is based on my recollection of my one and only reading of this back in fall of 1996. I was a junior in high school, 16 years old, and smack dab in the middle of my metalhead/goth/raver/punk/rivethead/badass/horror/enlightened jackass phase. Ravenloft, of course, was the perfect geek credential to put on my shelf. Why not? I couldn't afford the actual RPG books and boxed sets, and damned if my parents would get me them for Christmas, so I went with the next best thing.
I couldn't put this down. I loved the stories, each more so than the last. I got into a lot of trouble for reading this in class, but it was worth it. Now, I'm 37 years old and a bit more refined on the reading palette, so chances are I wouldn't think the same if I tried to read it now. Still, the memories I have of the time in my life when I read this and how much I loved it? Five stars, no doubt.
I read a few more Ravenloft books (okay, one, Strahd, natch!), but moved on to other things that doubtless wouldn't have come along if not for this gateway.

[Rob C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

some great stories some not so great...but a worthwhile read

[hope h. · Rating 4 out of 5]

okay i enjoyed this SO MUCH and i wasn't expecting to?? like i was expecting to enjoy it, but wow i was not expecting the sheer 90s campy d&d horror delight that this was. soooo good (although there was definitely a heavy dose of the racism that was so prevalent in 90s fantasy)

individual ratings -

the crucible of dr. rudolph van richten - 3/5
the vanished ones - 4.5/5
the house of a hundred windows - 3.5/5
song snatcher - 4.5/5
undefiled - 5/5
the briar at the window - 3/5
nocturne - 4/5
the wailing - 3/5
von kharkov - 5/5
sight and sound - 5/5
the judgement of abd-al-mamat - 4/5
the rigor of the game - 3.5/5
cold, hard silver - 3/5
objets d'art - 4/5
the freak - 2/5
the weaver's pride - 4/5
the glass man - 4/5
dark tryst - 3/5
caretaker - 5/5

[Mouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've had this book just short of 20 years and this is my 3rd time reading it! It's the kind of book that you can dust off every few years and reread the short stories inside.
The stories are hit or miss, some being good and some just kind of okay, but none that are really terrible. Lots of the stories are quite abrupt and leave you wanting more from Ravenloft.
I was always a huge fan of the Ravenloft setting in Dungeons and Dragons and my love was recently restoked as I ran a group of players through the Curse of Strahd Campaign. I recommended this book and also I, Strahd to my players as fluff for the game and to help get immersed into their characters.

[Rainer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Da es sich hier um eine Anthologie handelt, ist eine Bewertung des Buches, auf Grund der unterschiedlichen Qualität der beinhalteten Kurzgeschichten, relativ schwierig. Es waren schon einige sehr gute Stories dabei, die die Atmosphäre von Ravenloft extrem gut rüberbringen, andere hingegen waren eher bescheiden und wirkten mehr wie Platzhalter. Dennoch, für alle Fans von Ravenloft definitiv lesenswert!

[CopperKettle · Rating 3 out of 5]

A perfectly serviceable introduction to the Ravenloft setting in the form of a horror anthology. Stories range from cliche to interesting with the occasional standout.

[Francisco Becerra · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mixed collection of short stories that give a good feel of the RPG setting. However, some are better done than others.

[Vasilis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting stories here with a high nostalgia value.

[Darren · Rating 4 out of 5]

This anthology is quite a mixed bag, some stories being quite horrific, such at The Freak which instils fear into the reader, while other stories hardly seem to fit into the horror fantasy of the Ravenloft setting at all such as The Judgment Of Abd-Al-Mamat which reads more like an excellent Arabian nights tale.
The first two tales are the worst in the book, the first being quite badly written, while the character from the second having little agency in the story. The best stories for me are The House Of A Hundred Windows, The Briar At The Window, The Rigor Of The Game, and the previously mentioned The Freak, all of which have a great sense of horror and dread over the other stories.
Overall this is a pretty good, fun anthology and certainly worth reading particularly for those who are into Ravenloft or horror fantasy, although it’s quite approachable for those who know nothing of the realm of Ravenloft.

[Merewyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun enjoyable collection of a variety of classical horror setting types of short stories set in the well loved D&D setting of Ravenloft/Demiplane of Dread. :) My favorite stories in this book were The Crucible of Dr. Rudolph van Richten by David Wise and Caretaker by P.N. Elrod. Plenty of the others were enjoyable romps through the demiplane, although one or two were so horribly bad they were hilarious. :D But! overall, I would recommend this for anyone looking for a fun collection of some classically themed horror stories to read just before bedtime. ;) If you like Stoker's Dracula and Shelley's Frankenstein, then you will enjoy this collection of short stories. :)

[Nate Hanson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wasn't expecting high literature from a collection of short stories based on a gothic horror campaign for Dungeons & Dragons. But even with rather low standards, a handful of mildly entertaining stories couldn't rescue the rest of the collection from cliched mediocrity. I honestly wondered if some of them were written by high school sophomores.

Oh, well; not every $0.25 flea market buy is going to rock my socks.

[Matthew · Rating 1 out of 5]

I originally had this back in the 90's as a teenager. Just recently re-read it after nearly 25 years. I can't recommend it at all. There's only a few stories in the book that are worth reading.

It's like there's not enough Dungeons and Dragons for DnD fans, but probably too much DnD and not enough gothic horror, for fans of gothic horror.

One of the stories isn't even Ravenloft, it's Al-Qadim.

Very disappointing book.

[Stjepan Lukac · Rating 2 out of 5]

I gave the book a two star rating, though 2.4 would be more accurate.

Some of the stories in this collection are astonishingly good and well-written, whereas others seemed somewhat shallow and didn't really manage to grab my interest.

Overall I think it's a worthwhile read if you're enthusiastic about Ravenloft and want to delve deeper into its lore and maybe grab some adventure hooks along the way. Otherwise the might book might turn out to be somewhat disappointing.

[PRJ Greenwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of mostly entertaining Ravenloft-themed short stories. Lots of cautionary tales in the classic horror vein, with people reaping the ghoulish consequences of their actions, falling for nasty traps and generally getting their comeuppances.

One of the better Ravenloft outings I've read, and gives fillip to the idea that the milieu is better suited to the short story format.