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3.43 AVERAGE
3.43 AVERAGE
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Really hard to rate a RA Salvatore book this low, but this just didn't hit it for me. Love the Drizzt books, love them with my full heart, but this just doesn't really work. It's not very well balanced, it's lacking in many things. Maybe the second book solves these mistakes, but I have very little desire to read it
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.5. Reads like your standard D&D quest, which if you’re missing playing D&D like I am makes for a fun story!
We really only get one storyline in this book and it's of the reluctant hero, Luthien. He picks up a comedic sidekick on his journey (to find his brother?) who (if you listen to the audiobook) has a French accent. There is a Dragon guarding a pile of gold, a duke who gets possessed by a demon, and elves and dwarves. The cyclopians were a good change on the classic ogre or giant. However, the cadence of this story was very slow and the action sequences were just plain boring. The halfling sidekick had some funny lines but there wasn't anything pushing forward of interest for me.
This is a VERY derivative book. That's a problem that plagues the fantasy genre, but there's literally a whole chapter that was basically Bilbo's initial encounter with Smaug. The main character Luthien spells his name the exact same way Luthien spells her name in Tolkien's Silmarillion. I also couldn't help but picture the movie Highlander. There's an eccentric foreign swordsman who helps Luthien that constantly reminded me of a less interesting version of Sean Connery in Highlander. The names other than Luthien's, particularly for the humans so far, are more or less Scottish -esque, particularly main characters. Stuff about a magic sword yadda yadda. You've been here before if you ever consume fantasy books.
I could forgive it all if the story wasn't so slow and average. If you've ever watched any B fantasy movie, you've heard this story before. It's textbook generic. It's only small saving grace is that it's not bad. It's just average. There's nothing new here, Salvatore took no risks and every twist was predictable well before it even happens.
I could forgive it all if the story wasn't so slow and average. If you've ever watched any B fantasy movie, you've heard this story before. It's textbook generic. It's only small saving grace is that it's not bad. It's just average. There's nothing new here, Salvatore took no risks and every twist was predictable well before it even happens.
One of R.A. Salvatore's earliest non-D&D efforts, this isn't a very well-known series -- justifiably so IMO. Lots of detailed fighting sequences that all seem same'y after a while. Decent enough to finish and keep in my collection, but my to-read stack of books is too high for me to want to read the 2nd and 3rd books in this trilogy.