Baroness of Blood (Ravenloft) [Paperback]

Elaine Bergstrom (Author)

Book Description

Series: Ravenloft

Witnessing the beheading of her father by a conquering overlord, a young baroness pledges revenge despite the new ruler's just ways, and ingratiates herself to a high position while devising evil plans as a vampire of souls. Original. 75,000 first printing.

Product Details

• Paperback: 310 pages
• Publisher: Tsr from Wizards of the Coast (March 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786901462
• ISBN-13: 978-0786901463
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #201,417 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Elaine Bergstrom was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and is the product of 16 years of Catholic education which, she is sure, has strongly affected her work. Her first novel, Shattered Glass, was among the first vampire romances and created a family of vampiric immortals -- powerful, eternal but with some odd constraints on their natures. It was set in her hometown and the church she attended as a child. It received critical acclaim, including a Stoker nomination,and has been followed by four other novels of the Austra family. Under the pseudonym Marie Kiraly (her grandmother's name), she has written two Dracula sequels: Mina...the Dracula Story Continues and Blood to Blood. She resides in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she runs a novel writing workshop, freelances as a TV and film critic, takes care of too many cats, and writes grumpy old lady letters to her congressmen and local papers. You can get additional information on her books and upcoming appearances at elainebergstrom.com
The kindle edition of Shattered Glass is the "author's cut" version -- including 10,000 words not included in the original paperback.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Birth of a Darklord, September 29, 2003

By 

Ian Hewitt (Wyoming, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Baroness of Blood (Ravenloft) (Paperback)

There are two ways a reader is likely to approach this novel: as a Ravenloft fan reading that line of novels; or as an Elaine Bergstrom fan starved for the latest Austra novel. Neither should be disappointed.

As a D&D novel, this book presents us with much more than we would normally expect and consequently should be more readily accessible to one not familiar with the game or the Ravenloft setting, while at the same time satisfying fans of both.

This book is well-suited to the genre. It would be easy to imagine this as one of those 1960's black and white classic movies or TV shows. 'Baroness' tells the tale of a young noble girl who witnesses the execution of her tyrannical father after his failed conquest of a neighbouring feudal state. Baroness Ilsabet then begins a slippery descent into evil in her pursuit of revenge.

The characters are well rounded protagonists acting within a well-paced (abeit linear) plot that steadily gathers momentum towards its tragicly epic, darkly cinematic, and sadly inevitable conclusion (Ravenloft fans have the added satisfaction of seeing the birth of not only a new Darklord but an entire domain).

A definite time-honoured, easy-to-read 'page-turner' with its concise chapters and spiralling pace that should come highly recommended to all readers, including those approaching from yet a third route: fans of the good gothic-fantasy-horror novel.

Other Ravenloft books by Elaine Bergstrom include:
Tapestry of Dark Souls (and the short story 'The Weaver's Pride which serves as a prologue from the anthology 'Tales of Ravenloft')

The Dracula 'sequels':
Mina
Blood to Blood

The Austra series:
Shattered Glass
Daughter of the Night
Blood Alone
Blood Rites
Nocturne

And the stand alone novels:
Madeline
After the Fall of Usher, Leanna
Possession of a Woman
The Door Through Washington Square

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A contrived, rushed ending nearly ruins finely-crafted tale, September 4, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Baroness of Blood (Ravenloft) (Paperback)

I started BoB with the same timidity I did HoM, as the reviews I had read were not all that flattering. However, unlike HoM, this book almost deserved all the flak it got. Almost.

BoB is a fine novel, with a compelling storyline and a protagonist/villain you have to feel sorry for... for about half the book. Ilsabet Janosk is a great villain, and I finished the book with the question: what is she now? Kislova is also an intriguing domain, with interesting customs, perhaps once located in the Forgotten Realms (a reference to the Shaar being my only basis for that theory), and even though it takes 99% of the book to finally enter the world for which the book bears its logo, the means justify the end: this tale could not have been told any faster without maiking the book horrible.

My only complaint? It seemed to me that the author really wanted to make Kislova a domain and not a province, and got tired of waiting near the end, when a flurry of useless deaths and a contrived ending were all we received after 300 pages of well-crafted storyline to move the tale to its conclusion.

This in itself nearly ruins the entire flavor of the book, but it couldn't have gone on much longer without growing stale. In all, BoB is a good read, but one has to take the ending with a fine grain of salt to truly appreciate it.

4.0 out of 5 stars A Classic in Ravenloft, January 24, 2012

By 

Matt M. Clark (Suffield, OH) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Baroness of Blood (Ravenloft) (Paperback)

Having just finished Baroness of Blood, I must say that I enjoyed the novel tremendously. The ending did seem a bit rushed with a death to nearly all of the main characters, but it was a good climax to the story. If you want to read a Ravenloft novel that shows the creation or birth of a Darklord, then this is the one to read. It would have been preferable to have a chapter or two after the ending to see what life in Kislova would have been like, but all in all I enjoyed the read. Good job, Elaine Bergstrom!