Svetlana's Reads and Views

Name of Book: Vampire of the Mists 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 d...

Name of Book: Bury Me Deep Author: Christopher Pike ISBN: 0-671-69057-4 Publisher: Archway paperback Type of book: Hawaii, vacations, past ghosts, 1990 Year it was published: August 1991 Summary: Jean is on her way to Hawaii for a week of fun in the sun. But the vacation gets off to a gruesome start. The boy sitting beside her on the plan suddenly chokes and dies. Jean tries to push the incident out of her mind when she arrives on the island, but finds it impossible. Part of the reason is because Mike keeps coming back to her in her dreams. Horrible dreams filled with cold blood. Two of Jean's friends are waiting for her in Hawaii—Mandy and Michele. They have already made friends with two young men who teach scuba diving at the hotel, Dave and Johnny. Jean and Johnny quickly become friends. But there are problems in paradise. Dave and Johnny have recently lost a partner in the ocean. No one knows how he died. No one can find his body. But then Jean finds Mik...

Name of Book: The Wakefields of Sweet Valley Author: Francine Pascal ISBN: 0-553-29278-1 Publisher: Bantam Books Part of a Series: Sweet Valley Saga Type of book: 1866-1973, immigration, potted version of American history, lost love, unrequited love, soul mates Year it was published: 1991 Summary: Follow the riveting stories of the women who came before Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield: Alice Larson, a bold sixteen year old from Sweden, arrives alone in America to start a new life- but with a broken heart. Headstrong frontier tomboy Jessamyn runs away to join the circus, leading her sensitive twin Elisabeth, into a desperate search that ends in tragedy. Spirited twins and rivals Samantha and Amanda battle for the love of the same boy during the glamorous Roaring Twenties. Marjorie, stranded in France during Word War II, becomes a heroine of the Resistance. Alice Robertson, child of the tumultuous sixties, makes a painful romantic choice she will hide forev...

Name of Book: The Unicorns go Hawaiian Author: Francine Pascal ISBN: 0-553-15948-8 Publisher: Skylark Part of a Series: Sweet Valley Twins and Friends specials Type of book: Sweet Valley twins, California, curses, unicorn club, secrets, 1985 Year it was published: 1991 Summary: Just when Jessica Wakefield becomes bored with Sweet Valley, she wins a trip to Hawaii! She brings five of her best friends from the exclusive Unicorn Club, and they're ready to have the time of their lives. But things don't turn out the way they had planed: Jessica has a streak of bad luck, Janet Howell is convinced that she is a Hawaiian Princess, and Mandy Miller, Mary Wallace, and Ellen Riteman find out a secret that they must keep from Lila Fowler. The girls don't understand why their trip to paradise is turning out to be the worst vacation ever...until they discover the curse of the Hawaiian volcano goddess! Characters: The characters are very naive and absurd. Jan...

Name of Book: People of the fire Author: W. Michael Gear and Kathleen O'Neal Gear ISBN: 0-812-52150-1 Publisher: TOR Part of a Series: First North American Series Type of book: Dancing, spiritual, families, fate, prehistorical, -8000, fire, adult, Native Americans Year it was published: 1991 Summary: It is a time of fire. A small band of pioneers struggle valiantly to keep their ancestors' dreams alive in an unforgiving, drought-stricken land. Driven by the promise of an awesome vision, a heroic young dreamer and a fearless woman warrior unite to lead their people to a magnificent destiny. A towering epic filled with tragedy and triumph, courage and conflict, People of the Fire is the second compelling novel novel in a majestic new saga of America's first peoples. Characters: The characters are much more round and memorable than in People of the Wolf. Fire Dancer is somewhat similar to Wolf Dreamer and despite him hesitating to do what is right, ...

Name of Book: The Qualinesti Author: Paul Thompson, Tonya Carter ISBN: 1-56076-114-8 Publisher: TSR Part of a Series: Elven Nations trilogy; Firstborn, Kinslayer Wars prequels Type of book: Fantasy, young adult- adult. Year it was published: 1991 Summary: Kith-Kanan becomes the first speaker of the Suns. His reign can claim many triumphs, including a pact with thre reclusive dwarves of Thorbadin that results in the great monument of Pax-Tharkas. But Kith-Kanan is haunted by his failures: acrimony between the elven factions and the mysterious behavior of his son, his future successor. Characters: The characters seemed to be flat and little motivations were revealed. I would have really liked to know Ulvian's deeper psychology and motivations instead of what I was given. Other than that the characters didn't seem to satisfy me. Theme: Have faith that everything will be okay. Plot: This was written from omniscient third person point of view. I pers...

Name of book: The Kinslayer Wars Author Name: Douglas Niles ISBN: 1-56076-113-X Publisher: TSR Part of a Series: The Elven nations Trilogy; Firstborn before, The Qualinesti afterwards Type of book: Adult, elves, fantasy, Dragonlance Year it was published: 1991 Summary: The leader of the Wildrunners, Kith-Kanan, commits the ultimate heresy and falls in love with a human of intriguing background. His twin brother, the firstborn ruler of all Silvanesti elves, Sitahs, declares war on the Ergothians, and Kith-Kanan must choose sides. Nobly, he fights alongside his proud race in the terrible Kinslayer Wars. But when the historic Swordsheath Scrolls is signed, Kith-Kanan and his followers are forced into a tragic exile. Characters: Although the author tried, the characters didn't match up to the ones from The Firstborn. Kith-Kanan gives in to a temptation and apparently the times he spent with Anaya were somehow pointless. (I kept hoping that Hermathya used an ench...

Name of book: Firstborn Author Name: Paul B Thompsons, Tonya R Carter ISBN: 1-56076-051-6 Part of a Series: The Elven Nations Trilogy: The Kinslayer Wars next, The Qualinesti afterwards Publisher: TSR INC Type of book: Young adult-Adult, fantasy-historical Year it was published: 1991 Summary: Silvanos, the august founder of the united elven nation known as Silvanesti, is dead and buried in a crystal tomb. The leadership of the clans and households has fallen to his son, Sithel, who is himself father of twin sons. The princes Sithas and Kith-Kanan represent emerging factions among these elves: Kith-Kanan is the leader of the Wildrunners, a group of elves that stirs tension by forging contacts and trade with the humans of Ergoth; Sithas closely allies himself with the court in the elven capital. The rivalry between kin climaxes with their father's mysterious death. When Kith-Kanan is vaguely implicated, Sithas, the firstborn twin, is enthroned. Characters: The...

Name of book: The Kitchen God's Wife Author Name: Amy Tan ISBN: 0-8041-0753-X Publisher: Ballantine Books Type of book: Young adult? (Not sure if schools use this book for curriculum) Adult, fantasy China, historical, modern Year it was published: 1991 Summary: From amazon: " Fans of Tan's Joy Luck Club (Putnam, 1989) will love her powerful second novel. Here she creates an absorbing story about the lives of a Chinese mother and her adult American-born daughter. Pressured to reveal to the young woman her secret past in war-torn China in the 1940s, Winnie weaves an unbelievable account of a childhood of loneliness and abandonment and a young adulthood marred by a nightmarish arranged marriage. Winnie survives her many ordeals because of the friendship and strength of her female friends, the love of her second husband, and her own steadfast courage and endurance. At the conclusion, her secrets are uncovered and she shares a trust/love relationship with her...

Name of book: Whisper of Death Author Name:  Christopher Pike ISBN:  0-671-69058-2 Publisher:  Archway Paperback, Simon and Schuster Type of book:  Young adult, horror, contemporary, science fiction Year it was published:  December 1991 Summary:  Roxanne and Pepper are a teenager couple with problems. They leave their small town for a weekend to try and solver them. They don’t really succeed, and when they return home they find their town empty. They call other towns. They find the whole world empty. But eventually they discover three other kids their age who are still alive in the town. They cannot imagine why the five of them seem to be the only ones left of the entire human race. They have only one thing in common. They were each directly or indirectly involved in the death of Betty Sue-the plain, shy girl who committed suicide only a short time ago. Betty Sue-the quiet, brilliant girl who wrote short stories about ...