Tomes of Other Realms: Heart of Midnight

Tomes of Other Realms

Welcome to the lands of swords and sorcery, where people live and die by the sword and only the bravest of souls stand between the common folk and the forces of darkness. Join me as I wander different planes and hear the stories of their greatest defenders and the sagas of their worthiest warriors.

W A R N I N G !

This review does not represent the opinions of the general public. It reflects my personal thoughts and opinions on the book.

That said, on to the review!

Title: Heart of Midnight
Author: J. Robert King
Publisher: TSR, Inc.
Format: Paperback
Copyright Date: 1992

Revenge is the foremost thing on young Casimir's mind: revenge upon the man who murdered his mother, orphaned Casimir, and bestowed upon the young man a terrible heritage that forces him to do bloody murder beneath the full moon. That man, however, holds a position of tremendous power and influence as the meistersinger of Harmonia. Finally, though, Casimir is in position to attain his dark desires. For Casimir is not simply the meistersinger's illegitimate son, he is also a singer of tremendous skill and ability, a rival for the meistersinger himself. But there is a darkness in Casimir that has drawn the attention of the true lord of the land, and it will be a dark time in the Kartakan town of Harmonia before that man is done with Casimir. A dark and bloody time.

Heart of Midnight is the fourth in the Ravenloft open-ended series. It draws us into a new land of darkness with little reference to previously encountered lands. The only one mentioned is Gundarak, which appeared briefly in Knight of the Black Rose and is a neighbor of Kartakass. In Kartakass, however, the forces that rule aren't exactly undead. Instead, they are shape-shifting wolfweres, or wolves that transform into men (as opposed to werewolves, which are men that transform into wolves). This makes for interesting dynamics after dealing with undead forces for the past three books.

Although it was expected, it was still upsetting to see how the lands of Ravenloft twist even the best of intentions into dark and destructive results. I mean, Casimir isn't all that bad as far as werewolves go. He apparently has a beautiful singing voice and mostly good intentions--vengeance isn't exactly what you'd call good, is it? He also cares for others besides himself, as seen in his feeling towards his friend Thoris and his bride, Juliana. It isn't until the wolfwere, Harkon Lukas, works to twist Casimir that he goes downhill. I wonder if we'll ever get to see a land of Ravenloft where good is actually dominant. Then again, if that ever happened, it wouldn't be Ravenloft anymore, would it?

Heart of Midnight isn't for the faint of heart, although none of the books of Ravenloft really are. On the other hand, it is filled with exquisite moments of beauty and happiness that lightens the darkness for a spell. Just take a look for yourself, won't you?

Rating: Step away from the darkness of undeath and look at the evil in the living for a change!

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