I, Strahd: The War Against Azalin

Rating:
Summary: Lesser of two evils?
Review: P.N.Elrod returns with "I, Strahd: The War Against Azalin." To begin, the book is supurbly written. Ms. Elrod has a wonderful grasp of language, and a great sence to her craft as a writer. She also has a wonderful grasp of the characters, both Strahd, and Azalin. Despite being undead, she fills them with the tribulations of the living, only she marvelously stretches them over the course of years, even decades! The manipulations, and the power games which ultimately escalate into a war are wonderfully developed. The entire arrival of Azalin, the powerful, and evil lich; and further, his struggle with his sudden prison and the yoke he finds himself bound under are grand. The continuing struggle for Strahd, to search out Tatyana only to lose her time and time again is heart wrenching (allowing for a macabre irony of course). Despite the fact you have to loath both of the main characters--let's face it, they're abominations!--the author does a wonderful job of pulling you into a position of picking a "worse of two evils." Of course, the novel is written as the journal of Strahd Von Zarovich; so like Dr. Rudolf vanRichten, whether you take it at face value, or ponder whether it's merely Propoganda by the briliant Vampire lord, you have to admit, it's a great read. I recommend this novel to all, especially those who love gothic fantasy/"horror" novels, and more so if you've read either: "I, Strahd: Memoirs of a Vampire"(also by P.N.Elrod) or "Vampire of the Mist"(by Christie Golden).

Rating:
Summary: Lesser of two evils?
Review: P.N.Elrod returns with "I, Strahd: The War Against Azalin." To begin, the book is supurbly written. Ms. Elrod has a wonderful grasp of language, and a great sence to her craft as a writer. She also has a wonderful grasp of the characters, both Strahd, and Azalin. Despite being undead, she fills them with the tribulations of the living, only she marvelously stretches them over the course of years, even decades! The manipulations, and the power games which ultimately escalate into a war are wonderfully developed. The entire arrival of Azalin, the powerful, and evil lich; and further, his struggle with his sudden prison and the yoke he finds himself bound under are grand. The continuing struggle for Strahd, to search out Tatyana only to lose her time and time again is heart wrenching (allowing for a macabre irony of course). Despite the fact you have to loath both of the main characters--let's face it, they're abominations!--the author does a wonderful job of pulling you into a position of picking a "worse of two evils." Of course, the novel is written as the journal of Strahd Von Zarovich; so like Dr. Rudolf vanRichten, whether you take it at face value, or ponder whether it's merely Propoganda by the briliant Vampire lord, you have to admit, it's a great read. I recommend this novel to all, especially those who love gothic fantasy/"horror" novels, and more so if you've read either: "I, Strahd: Memoirs of a Vampire"(also by P.N.Elrod) or "Vampire of the Mist"(by Christie Golden).

Rating:
Summary: Lesser of two evils?
Review: P.N.Elrod returns with "I, Strahd: The War Against Azalin." To begin, the book is supurbly written. Ms. Elrod has a wonderful grasp of language, and a great sence to her craft as a writer. She also has a wonderful grasp of the characters, both Strahd, and Azalin. Despite being undead, she fills them with the tribulations of the living, only she marvelously stretches them over the course of years, even decades! The manipulations, and the power games which ultimately escalate into a war are wonderfully developed. The entire arrival of Azalin, the powerful, and evil lich; and further, his struggle with his sudden prison and the yoke he finds himself bound under are grand. The continuing struggle for Strahd, to search out Tatyana only to lose her time and time again is heart wrenching (allowing for a macabre irony of course). Despite the fact you have to loath both of the main characters--let's face it, they're abominations!--the author does a wonderful job of pulling you into a position of picking a "worse of two evils." Of course, the novel is written as the journal of Strahd Von Zarovich; so like Dr. Rudolf vanRichten, whether you take it at face value, or ponder whether it's merely Propoganda by the briliant Vampire lord, you have to admit, it's a great read. I recommend this novel to all, especially those who love gothic fantasy/"horror" novels, and more so if you've read either: "I, Strahd: Memoirs of a Vampire"(also by P.N.Elrod) or "Vampire of the Mist"(by Christie Golden).

Rating:
Summary: A Sequel Well-Worth the Wait!
Review: The sequel to P. N. Elrod's I, Strahd: The Memoirs of a Vampire is a worthy continuation in the story. The only errors I found were a typographical one on page 265 and a possible error in the name of one of the Tatyanas Strahd is always persuing; the last book said her name to be Olya, but this calls her Allina. No matter. The events set down within concerning Azalin blend almost seemlessly with those from King of the Dead by Gene De Weese, and one is left wondering which account to believe. In all, I,S:TWAA is an excellent novel, and one does not have to know the history of Ravenloft or even had to have read the first novel to understand it. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoyed the first, to Ravenloft fans in general, and to those who like vampire stories, and have never read about a lich before.

Rating:
Summary: everything i wanted out of this sequel i got.
Review: the war against azalin is a excellent addition to the strahd collection. i hope TSR turns this series into a franchise.elrod nails the character of strahd better than anyone else. there were moments that i laughed out loud at strahd's comments and inner thoughts,he's the kind of "villian" i love to root for.azalin is the greatest threat strahd has ever seen...you can't help but be scared of a damn lich!elrod delivers again and again script wise. the book is well paced and easy to follow,you can tell she has a passion for the subject matter! the ending was a bit of a let down,i was hoping for some sort of closure. a bit anti-climatic,however,i see why elrod left it alone as she did...sequel!and it leaves strahd the way he should be,always ready for the next adventure.

Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down
Review: There is somthing about the appeal to this novel I cannot put into words. I really can't say what it is. I found myself so enthralled in the text it felt like I wasn't reading a book, but rather Strahd was standing over my shoulder reading his thoughts out loud. Creepy. Surreal. Those two words come to mind.

Strahd is an evil worth rooting for. But Azalin the lich is worse. The author invariable gives us the lesser of two evils to choose from. While Strahd seems only to be striving to protect his own, one can't help but wonder the real meaning to his actions. Everyone colors their own stories. Strahd's viewpoint must indeed conflict with Azalin's, and we catch a glimpse of it through a few biting commentaries by the master wizard himself. It would be very interesting to read the title, "I, Azalin: The War Against Strahd".

Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down
Review: There is somthing about the appeal to this novel I cannot put into words. I really can't say what it is. I found myself so enthralled in the text it felt like I wasn't reading a book, but rather Strahd was standing over my shoulder reading his thoughts out loud. Creepy. Surreal. Those two words come to mind.

Strahd is an evil worth rooting for. But Azalin the lich is worse. The author invariable gives us the lesser of two evils to choose from. While Strahd seems only to be striving to protect his own, one can't help but wonder the real meaning to his actions. Everyone colors their own stories. Strahd's viewpoint must indeed conflict with Azalin's, and we catch a glimpse of it through a few biting commentaries by the master wizard himself. It would be very interesting to read the title, "I, Azalin: The War Against Strahd".

Rating:
Summary: A chess match on steriods!
Review: This excellent novel continues the story of Strahd the magically talented vampire extraordinaire by recounting the time Azalin made his entrance into the Mists of Barovia. Azalin, an opponent whose power dwarfs Strahd's, realizes that he needs Strahd ( for a while anyway) in order to escape this plane. Strahd in turn bides his time by assisting Azalin and acquiring more magic skills from him, until the moment he can rid himself of Azalin and liberate Barovia from the plane of Mists that hold it captive. And so the two reluctant adversaries make a delicate truce to reach their common goal of freedom. But all the while they engage in an intense yet subtle game of cloak and dagger. Each of them covertly endeavors to learn the other's strengths and weaknesses, waiting for the moment to strike. The dynamic between these two well written characters is truly engaging. Elrod continues to write Strahd's story from the first person perspective, which is very satisfying as it lets the reader get directly into Strahd's head. We know his fears, his motivations, everything. My only problem with the novel, and perhaps this is just nit-picking, is the title. The novel isn't really about a war. The war does eventually occur, ofcourse, but it's not the heart of the story. The story's true appeal is the dynamic between Strahd and Azalin.

Rating:
Summary: Back in the Saddle Again!
Review: This time the saddle was on a war horse as Strahd gears up to fight against his greatest enemy, Azalin the Lich.

Strahd is a fascinating character to me; he may be evil, but still has a tattered sense of honor left to him--as well as a highly developed instinct for survival! Facing down a bad guy as powerful as Azalin was no picnic, even for the Lord of Barovia!

I was greatly helped by Gene DeWeese, author of Lord of the Necropolis, which is Azalin's story. Gene not only provided me with encouragement, but a valuable timetable of Ravenloft events, and cheerfully consented to my lifting the scene of Strahd and Azalin's first meeting from his own book. My version told things with the exact same dialogue, but with Strahd's unique spin on the event. Gene and I both had a good chuckle over that one!

This isn't the first time we've swapped stuff. In his book, Gene cleverly showed Azalin swiping a body out of Strahd's closet--something that has left Strahd mystified for centuries!

Cheers, all.

Rating:
Summary: A captivating tale of the animosity between two undead Lords
Review: This was only my third Ravenloft novel, and it was far and away the best. Strahd and his mortal enemy Azalin are both terrific characters. Perhaps the most captivating part of PN Elrod's latest effort is the exploration of the mysterious new lands. I recomend this to anyone in the mood for an interesting, quick read(But read I, Strahd part 1 first). Let me also say that I've never participated in any Dungeons and Dragons game either, and I still found I, Strahd: The War Against Azalin very enjoyable.