I borrowed a copy of this book from a friend of mine who told me that it was worth the read, particularly for over of the older Ravenloft setting books. To my understanding, these are incredibly hard to get ahold of, so I'm extremely grateful as well that my friend was willing to let me borrow their copy. I can't even think of the last time I saw a Ravenloft paperback novel anywhere, it's been so long.

This has been an excellent exercise in trying to recall the way that various lore was set up in this earlier edition of the setting, back at the time this book was written. There were a few twists and turns that I had predicted and others that I hadn't, and I really appreciate this book's focus on trying to truly explore the bardic aspect of Kartakass and Harkon Lukas, and all the characters that take part in the competition that drives the earliest portion of the book. J. Robert King understood the assignment and rose to the challenge beautifully; perhaps it's simply a sign of the changing understanding of bards within fantasy within pop culture, but Heart of Midnight really goes the extra mile to explore the original concept of bards beyond just "can sing and recite songs" with the challenges in the competition. Beyond this, the story is very well-crafted and when you boil it down beyond the Ravenloft setting, it's an excellent look at a somewhat classic sort of horror story with a unique set dressing.

None of that is to say that it doesn't have its faults. True, there are elements of the book that didn't exactly age well, but I expected that. Moreso, my frustration with it is that at times it really moved slowly, and could leave me feeling like it was starting to slog. Overall it didn't do that, but it had those less engaging moments more often than I liked. But all the same, I enjoyed my time with this, and it was fascinating to read, especially given how significant a role Harkon Lukas plays in this book!