Tomes of Other Realms: Knight of the Black Rose

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: Knight of the Black Rose
Author: James Lowder
Publisher: TSR, Inc.
Format: Paperback
Copyright Date: 1991

There are few forces on Krynn who might possibly prove a match for Lord Soth, the infamous death knight who turned his back on the Oath and the Measure of the Knights of Solamnia, to which he'd risen to its highest level, the Order of the Rose. Certainly he knows none who are his equal. But he soon realizes that there are other forces far greater than he when the strange mists of Ravenloft surround him and deposit him in Barovia, land of the vampire lord Strahd von Zarovich. Now he's searching for a way back to the Krynn he knows and remembers where he is a power among powers. But he must first deal with the powers in this new land, and that includes dealing with the ruler of Barovia, who has his own plans for the death knight. But Soth is not without abilities of his own and he will bow to no one if he can help it, and he can help it, even if it means entering the Misty Border and possibly entrapping himself within Ravenloft forever!

Knight of the Black Rose is the second book in TSR, Inc.'s Ravenloft series. It's a welcome book. Lord Soth has long remained an enigmatic figure ever since his introduction in the Dragonlance series, and it's about time we found out something of what happened to him after the death of the Dragonlord he served. We get to see glimpses into his living days as well as something of his undead days.

One good thing about this book is that we get a glimpse into two other realms other than Barovia. Remember that in Vampire of the Mists we only saw Barovia with no mention whatsoever of any other realms (excluding Toril). This time, though, we get to follow Lord Soth into Gundarak, one of Barovia's neighbors. We also hear briefly about the land of Forlorn where a powerful spirit rules supreme in Forlorn's Castle Tristenoira. These glimpses of other lands allows us to see that not ever place is like Barovia. Certainly Gundarak's ruler makes Strahd look like the Angel of Mercy--at least with regards to treatment of his subjects--and the atmosphere of Forlorn, as described by the werebadger Azrael, makes Barovia look like a walk in the park. To an extent, of course. It makes you wonder what other realms are out there and whether or not there might be some strong beacon of good among these realms of darkness, doesn't it? Well, maybe not.

Knight of the Black Rose is a stand-alone novel that requires little background knowledge of either the Dragonlance or Ravenloft worlds. Just understand the basic rules of the Dungeons & Dragons phenomena and you'll have no problem getting into and enjoying the book!

Rating: Thumbs up! There are just some souls who won't be cowed, and you can tell there are great--though infamous--things ahead for them!

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