Book Review of Vampire of the Mists by Christie Golden
Author: Christie Golden
ISBN: 1-56076-155-5
Publisher: TSR
Type of book: vampire, Barovia, Forgotten Realms, elf, betrayal, mystery, horror, fantasy, sun, future, gypsies, Gothic, castle
Year it was published: 1991
Summary:
BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR --- THE DARK POWERS OF RAVENLOFT MIGHT HEAR YOU.
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 Strand 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?
Characters:
The characters are well developed as well as rounded, despite them being two dimensional. The good characters are good while evil ones are evil and the passage of years doesn't seem to change anything about them personality wise. Jander is best described as a sad melancholy elf who hates being what he is and stands out from Barovia in color and whatnot; Strahd Von Zarovich could best be described as Count Dracula, except he is far more human and despite his deeds, one will feel sorry for him when they will read his back story. The other characters of Sasha, Leisl, Katya, Anastasia and so forth are basically been there but then quickly they pass away from sight (aside from Leisl, Sasha and Katya.) I would have liked to see more of the chemistry between Sasha and Leisl but I don't see the chemistry there.
Theme:
Remain true to yourself and your heart.
Plot:
Although at first the plot didn't grab me, from the first chapter it became exciting and painful as we see Jander's love for the madwoman Anna, his vow of revenge and him being taken to Barovia where he meets Strahd Von Zarovich and learns of the sad fate. The ending itself is an open ending and could be interpreted either way, although I do hope that if Jander does die, he dies peacefully as he deserves instead of violently. The story does change points of views briefly, although the primary characters are that of Jander and Sasha and Leisl to an extent. Towards the end Strahd's point of view is seen. I wish more books could have been written about Jander but I have to be content with what I have.
Author Information:
(from goodreads.com)
born
November 21, 1963 in Atlanta Georgia, The United States
gender
female
website
http://www.christiegolden.com/
genre
Science Fiction & Fantasy, Horror
About this author
Award-winning author Christie Golden has written over thirty novels and several short stories in the fields of science fiction, fantasy and horror. She has over a million books in print.
2009 will see no fewer than three novels published. First out in late April will be a World of Warcraft novel, Athas: Rise of the Lich King. This is the first Warcraft novel to appear in hardcover. Fans of the young paladin who fell so far from grace will get to read his definitive story.
In June, Golden’s first Star Wars novel, also a hardcover, sees print. Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi—Omen is the second in a nine-book series she is co-authoring with Aaron Allston and Troy Denning. Also in June comes the conclusion of Golden’s StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga with the release of Twlight, the third book in the series. The first two are Firstborn and Shadow Hunters.
2004 saw the launch of an original fantasy series called The Final Dance, from LUNA Books. The first novel in the series, On Fire's Wings, was published in July of that year. The second, In Stone’s Clasp , came out in September of 2005. With In Stone’s Clasp, Golden won the Colorado Author’s League Top Hand Award for Best Genre Novel for the second time. The third book, Under Sea’s Shadow, is available only as an e-book
Golden is also the author of two original fantasy novels from Ace Books, King's Man and Thief and Instrument of Fate, which made the 1996 Nebula Preliminary Ballot. Under the pen name of Jadrien Bell, she wrote a historical fantasy thriller entitled A.D. 999, which won the Colorado Author's League Top Hand Award for Best Genre Novel of 1999.
Golden launched the TSR Ravenloft line in 1991 with her first novel, the highly successful Vampire of the Mists , which introduced elven vampire Jander Sunstar. Golden followed up Vampire with Dance of the Dead and The Enemy Within . In September of 2006, fifteen years to the month, The Ravenloft Covenant: Vampire of the Mists enabled Jander Sunstar to reach a whole new audience.
Other projects include a slew of Star Trek novels, among them The Murdered Sun , Marooned , and Seven of Nine , and "The Dark Matters Trilogy," Cloak and Dagger , Ghost Dance and Shadow of Heaven .
The Voyager novel relaunch, which includes Homecoming and The Farther Shore , were bestsellers and were the fastest-selling Trek novels of 2003. Golden continued writing VOYAGER novels even though the show went off the air, and enjoyed exploring the creative freedom that gave her in the two-parter called Spirit Walk, which includes Old Wounds and Enemy of my Enemy .
Golden has also written the novelization of Steven Spielberg's Invasion America and an original "prequel," On The Run , both of which received high praise from producer Harve Bennett. On The Run, a combination medical thriller and science fiction adventure, even prompted Bennett to invite Golden to assist in crafting the second season of the show, if it was renewed.
Golden lives in Loveland, Colorado, with her artist husband and their two cats.
Opinion:
In the past I have read this book multiple times, somehow falling in love with the idea of Jander Sunstar; a golden haired melancholy elf who happens to be a vampire. I think I knew of him and was looking for some books about him and this is the only one I could find. Even almost ten years later I enjoyed reading the novel and could appreciate it more. This is apparently a rare moment that the book hadn't aged and was still enjoyable. Fun thing is that Ms. Golden seems to adapt Russian names as well as the middle names from Russia: (ex: Sasha Petrovich is Alexei Petrovich, Petrovich from Petya who is Sasha's father.) Also, for fun, this is the way I imagine Jander would look like: The picture was not drawn by me and I got it from this website: http://donaruie.deviantart.com/art/RP-Jander-Sunstar-14131620
4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)
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