I have a friend who loves Strahd/Ravenloft and did the entire Curse of Strahd campaign. When I discovered this book existed, I grabbed a copy and it has been sitting on my shelf for a while. Now, because it is Halloween, I decided to say 'eh, let's read this instead of Dracula'.

So I did.

I think the problem I have with this book is how basic it is. There is no depth, no background, no 'history'. I can't tell if it is because there simply isn't a history written about him or if the author was told not to go into detail about that because it was technically not her character to do so. Whatever the reason, it just felt like the book was way too fast and I couldn't really get into Strahd's motivations or personality. Sure, I got that he was an older man who was saddled with being first child, sent off to war, no time for luxury and or relaxation.

There was a character I really enjoyed (who appeared in the campaign we played) that died incredibly fast. I really hoped they would have remained as a second through the entire book but alas, no. I wanted backstory on them, too.

I just felt like all the people mentioned in the book as supporting characters/people that Strahd killed, etc, were people I didn't know and didn't understand/connect with.

I enjoyed the book but I wanted more?