Mordenheim (Ravenloft) [Paperback]

Chet Williamson (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 31 pages
• Publisher: Wizards of the Coast; First Edition edition (May 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560768525
• ISBN-13: 978-1560768524
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,085,008 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Chet Williamson is the author of over twenty books, the latest of which is The Story of Noichi the Blind. Among his other published novels are Second Chance, Ash Wednesday, Soulstorm, Lowland Rider, McKain's Dilemma, Murder in Cormyr, Mordenheim, Hell: A Cyberpunk Thriller, Reign, The Crow: Clash By Night, and the paranormal suspense series, The Searchers, which includes City of Iron, Empire of Dust and Siege of Stone. He has also written two children's books, Pennsylvania Dutch Night before Christmas and Pennsylvania Dutch Alphabet.

His most recent project was writing the story and dialogue for the computer game, Season of Mystery: The Cherry Blossom Murders, which can be downloaded at www.bigfish.com. His first play, a psychological thriller entitled Revenant, was recently produced, and he has just finished a stage adaptation of The Story of Noichi the Blind.

His books have been translated and published in many languages and countries, including France, Germany, Russia, Italy, and Japan, as well as British editions of several of his novels.

Over a hundred of his short stories have appeared in such magazines as The New Yorker, Playboy, Esquire, and The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, and many other magazines and anthologies. Figures in Rain, a collection of his short stories, received the International Horror Guild Award for Outstanding Collection. He has twice been a final nominee for the World Fantasy Award, the Mystery Writers of America's Edgar Award, and a six-time nominee for the Horror Writers Association's Stoker Award. His work has also been adapted for television, radio, and recorded books. His New Yorker short story, "Gandhi at the Bat," was recently made into a short film and has been shown in festivals worldwide.

Williamson lives in Elizabethtown with his wife Laurie. His son Colin currently works in Seattle as a video game developer for Square Enix.

His website is http://www.chetwilliamson.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book in the tradition of Frankenstein, October 16, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Mordenheim (Ravenloft) (Paperback)

If you like traditional horror stories and fantasy novels, this is a great read. Williamson expands on the Frankenstein plot and even works in a lot of the philosophy of the Shelley novel, but you never feel like you are reading the same book.

New additions to the legend include werewolves, gypsies, flesh golems, and Jack London-type treks across dangerous plains of ice.

A great book is one you don't want to put down, long after you should have been asleep. This is such a book!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful re-imagining of a classic tale, October 20, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Mordenheim (Ravenloft) (Paperback)

This retelling of the old Frankenstein story is more psychological than most horror novels, but also has its share of really weird and scary scenes. If you like classic horror, you should eat this one up.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent take on Frankenstein with a fine literary twist, September 4, 1998

By 

Matt Lynch ([e-mail]) (Massachusetts, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mordenheim (Ravenloft) (Paperback)

Ravenloft has done it again: taken an old story and made it better. This time, the victim is Frankenstein, though the way this one resolves itself is quite different than your grandfather's walking behemoth. Adam- the flesh golem (the best term to describe Frankenstein's monster in RL) Darklord of Lamordia -is the villain (sort of) in this tale, though it is his creator, Dr. Victor Mordenheim, whom I saw as the true Evil and more deserving of the curse than Adam.

Perhaps the best thing about the book, though, was the fact that it takes place far after the inception of Lamordia, but doesn't leave you guessing. At no less than three points in the book do you receive an account of past times that dictated the final outcome, two of them being the same story, only from two greatly different vantage points. The best part about it, though, is that all three are told in first person, without any quotes, chapter by chapter, but as part of the storyline- which is, other than these instances, in complete third person.

The characters were fantastic, and though it took more than half the book for him to arrive, the true masterwork in this novel was Ivan Dragonov, the loup-garou ranger. Williamson did a fine job, too, with the use of firearms (which do exist in Lamordia) and the Vistani, especially their wrath upon an unwitting, unwilling servant.

So, to finish my rambling, Mordenheim is an excellent read and a fine novel. I say cheers to it, and cannot wait for another book by the author.