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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
I give 5 stars because I cried. I hate it when someone mourns for the death of a loved one. I also liked how certain truths were revealed and some grudges have been forgotten and forgiven. Time goes on and there is a greater battle ahead...
adventurous
tense
fast-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:
Yes
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
adventurous
dark
hopeful
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Having never read any o the Forgotten Realms books before you'd think I might be in out of my depth, but no... As someone who has cohabited with roleplayers since the 1980s Drizzt Do'Urden is a household name. I didn't expect him to be quite such a whiney angst-muffin though.
Full disclosure and standard biases; I don't like fights scenes, let alone battle scenes, and race wars are about the worst of the lot. It took me about an hour to figure out that I was going to have to listen to the audio book on 125% speed, and even then I felt like every battle was a grind. Somewhere about half way through I started to feel invested in the plot but the story suffered from some ugly writing. "His smile was two-fold" had me picturing awkward birth defects that endow the character with two mouths. I know what you mean.. but saying it that way is just silly.
I was beginning to see Drizzt as a seriously self-centred agent until I encountered this offering: "it is not enough to ...expand power and influence, if said power and influence is to the benefit only of the powerful and influential." As it's his own personal writing, it's not the same sort of narrative as the rest of the book, but it was at least something that was vaguely philosophically engaging.
The depiction of both Orcs and Dwarves comes across as pointlessly battle hungry, and the attitudes toward women are pretty awful. There is more character to Drizzt's pet cat than to King Obould's consort, and it is treated with more affection and respect. There is maybe ONE conversation between 2 women that has nothing to do with a guy, but 99% Bechdel fail, and there are only 3(?) female characters who say anything at all.
I did find that for the most part the book was emotionally disengaged. The battles relied on a swishy cool-factor. They were dynamic and cinematic, but .. kinda too long for me to care about. The action of tear-jerking farewells was hosed on a bit thick, especially when they were pre-planned by the characters. Supposedly poignant and emotional scenes felt contrived and difficult to take seriously, and more than once they seemed done for arbitrary reasons. There were many near-death experiences where someone unlikely and heroic stepped in to turn the tide of battle. At times really dumb characters did really dumb things and survived because of the grace of the DM. (Who rolls up a character and decides his main weapon is going to be a giant spike on the top of his helmet?!) Yes, I suppose it does flow like your regular D&D game.
There are more books in this series... if I choose to check them out, I may have to consider whether or not I have a sense of self-preservation at all.. possibly by also checking if I'm thinking it's a good idea to gnaw off my own arm.. yes? no? maybe not.
Full disclosure and standard biases; I don't like fights scenes, let alone battle scenes, and race wars are about the worst of the lot. It took me about an hour to figure out that I was going to have to listen to the audio book on 125% speed, and even then I felt like every battle was a grind. Somewhere about half way through I started to feel invested in the plot but the story suffered from some ugly writing. "His smile was two-fold" had me picturing awkward birth defects that endow the character with two mouths. I know what you mean.. but saying it that way is just silly.
I was beginning to see Drizzt as a seriously self-centred agent until I encountered this offering: "it is not enough to ...expand power and influence, if said power and influence is to the benefit only of the powerful and influential." As it's his own personal writing, it's not the same sort of narrative as the rest of the book, but it was at least something that was vaguely philosophically engaging.
The depiction of both Orcs and Dwarves comes across as pointlessly battle hungry, and the attitudes toward women are pretty awful. There is more character to Drizzt's pet cat than to King Obould's consort, and it is treated with more affection and respect. There is maybe ONE conversation between 2 women that has nothing to do with a guy, but 99% Bechdel fail, and there are only 3(?) female characters who say anything at all.
I did find that for the most part the book was emotionally disengaged. The battles relied on a swishy cool-factor. They were dynamic and cinematic, but .. kinda too long for me to care about. The action of tear-jerking farewells was hosed on a bit thick, especially when they were pre-planned by the characters. Supposedly poignant and emotional scenes felt contrived and difficult to take seriously, and more than once they seemed done for arbitrary reasons. There were many near-death experiences where someone unlikely and heroic stepped in to turn the tide of battle. At times really dumb characters did really dumb things and survived because of the grace of the DM. (Who rolls up a character and decides his main weapon is going to be a giant spike on the top of his helmet?!) Yes, I suppose it does flow like your regular D&D game.
There are more books in this series... if I choose to check them out, I may have to consider whether or not I have a sense of self-preservation at all.. possibly by also checking if I'm thinking it's a good idea to gnaw off my own arm.. yes? no? maybe not.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gore, Infertility, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol
I adored this latest Forgotten Realms book a lot. The look into the future was a perfect touch to cement the overall power of the story, and it was a new way for fans of the series to see the story progress. Overall the action was strong, as always. Though I do wish that there had been more drawn out action. The moral quibble of the story was honest and poignant.
adventurous
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
3.75-4/5 stars. Would have been an easy 4 stars if it weren't for the end Spoiler Bruenor winning in single combat against Grguch was a bit much. Think would have been more epic of the fight had continued with Obould. I get why Salvatore finished it off with both Bruenor and Obould delivering fatal blows against Grguch, setting up the Treaty...but Bruenor winning a prolonged 1 vs 1 against a half-ogre that was supposed to be the baddest of bads, with the fight between Grguch and Obould described as a fight between Titans... I dunno. And it's not even just that, but Bruenor's fight against Grguch just wasn't as epic as most others going on either in that scenario or the rest of the book. Just felt like a too easy ending without epic payoff, if that makes sense. Otherwise this was an awesome book! It was the best Drizzt book since The Thousand Orcs(not counting Promise of the Witch-King since Drizzt wasn't in that one)! I really loved the direction the lore went, the orc storyline and the discovery of Baffenburg.
OK read, full of plot twists and unfortunately repetitive battle scenes. Also, be aware that this is not a story set 100 years after The Two Swords as Wikipedia and many reviewers would lead you to believe. The main part of this book continues with the action set at the end of the previous one, although its prologue and epilogue are set 100 years in the future.
adventurous
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:
Yes
Good stuff.
We've got all of the usual's back and facing the threat of orc's. Lot's of fighting. Lot's of character development. Enjoyable read. Salvatore is a discovery writer as opposed to a "plot writer" and there are times when a more fully developed plot would serve him well but all in all this was a good tale. I enjoyed where Salvatore took us even though the plot was a bit thin.
Looking forward to the next adventure.
We've got all of the usual's back and facing the threat of orc's. Lot's of fighting. Lot's of character development. Enjoyable read. Salvatore is a discovery writer as opposed to a "plot writer" and there are times when a more fully developed plot would serve him well but all in all this was a good tale. I enjoyed where Salvatore took us even though the plot was a bit thin.
Looking forward to the next adventure.
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Well, this was a real disappointment. I haven't read a Drizzt book in a long time, but I was eager to get back in touch with my favourite dark elf and his friends.
Unfortunately, I felt lost from the very beginning. Not having read the preceding few books in the series, I thought I'd be able to jump right in since this was billed as the first in a new trilogy. Uhhh... not so much. Salvatore spent heaps of time rehashing the previous books and yet still managed to leave me utterly confused. I found myself struggling to follow the story, which was a shame.
Plus, the fight sequences were just ridiculous. Maybe they always have been, and I've forgotten, but it was hard to suspend my disbelief when any of the main characters took on countless orcs at once, John Wick style. The over-the-top action felt forced and went on forever.
Moreover, the characters lacked the passion, excitement, and heroism I expected from Salvatore's writing. Instead of the old band of adventurers, I was met by stand-ins that seemed more like political manipulators than anything else. I really missed the old gang. It was hard for me to care about any of the characters, let alone what was happening to them. The lack of depth made the book feel flat and unengaging.
So... yeah. I really wanted to re-immerse myself in this series, but I won't be picking up any more of Salvatore's work in the future.
Unfortunately, I felt lost from the very beginning. Not having read the preceding few books in the series, I thought I'd be able to jump right in since this was billed as the first in a new trilogy. Uhhh... not so much. Salvatore spent heaps of time rehashing the previous books and yet still managed to leave me utterly confused. I found myself struggling to follow the story, which was a shame.
Plus, the fight sequences were just ridiculous. Maybe they always have been, and I've forgotten, but it was hard to suspend my disbelief when any of the main characters took on countless orcs at once, John Wick style. The over-the-top action felt forced and went on forever.
Moreover, the characters lacked the passion, excitement, and heroism I expected from Salvatore's writing. Instead of the old band of adventurers, I was met by stand-ins that seemed more like political manipulators than anything else. I really missed the old gang. It was hard for me to care about any of the characters, let alone what was happening to them. The lack of depth made the book feel flat and unengaging.
So... yeah. I really wanted to re-immerse myself in this series, but I won't be picking up any more of Salvatore's work in the future.