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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
5 star - Perfect
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
The back half of this book is significantly better than the first. Be prepared to wade through a ton of drow politics in Menzobarranzan away from the heroes you love. Once things start moving though, it has a thrilling conclusion.
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:
No
Did not finish...
The Time of Troubles diversion - I just couldn't get past it. I've never been a big fan of the Drow of Menzoberranzan (making the early bits of the Dark Elf Trilogy tough to get through) but the significant amount of time spent away from the series's heroes in this book made it impossible for me to stay connected with it.
Very disappointing after how much I loved the Icewind Dale Trilogy and the 2nd half of the Dark Elf Trilogy. Legacy of the Drow, on the whole, was really a struggle for me to get through.
The Time of Troubles diversion - I just couldn't get past it. I've never been a big fan of the Drow of Menzoberranzan (making the early bits of the Dark Elf Trilogy tough to get through) but the significant amount of time spent away from the series's heroes in this book made it impossible for me to stay connected with it.
Very disappointing after how much I loved the Icewind Dale Trilogy and the 2nd half of the Dark Elf Trilogy. Legacy of the Drow, on the whole, was really a struggle for me to get through.
In relation to the rest of the Drizzt series to date (9 books including this one, out of a total of 31 so far... oh Salvatore, what have you done and what have I done by starting to read these...), it was pretty good. It generally ties up the storylines of the Icewind Dale, Dark Elf and Legacy of the Drow trilogies, perhaps a little too well in places by re-introducing characters and factions that I have long forgotten about. These books' fine details don't quite stick in the mind. For example, a bunch of goofy wizards showed up from, I dunno, [b:Streams of Silver|66692|Streams of Silver (Forgotten Realms Icewind Dale, #2; Legend of Drizzt, #5)|R.A. Salvatore|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1457322786l/66692._SY75_.jpg|215324]? For once, Drizzt DOESN't spend the book moping and reproving himself. This was a refreshing change, as was the relative lack of drawn-out move-by-move combat accounts.
Although it was meant to show an epic battle between the evil forces of Menzobarranzan and Mithril Hall and its allies, the overall tone was light and I never felt that epic intent. In places, it felt like it was written in a hurry. At least one key scene seems to be missing (). The end was overly abrupt with everyone rapidly going on their happy ways; I would have liked to see Bruenor reacting to directly since it's a big freakin' deal, and more denouement of a lot of the survivors of the war. As usual for Salvatore's Forgotten Realms books, the attempts at humor fall into the "mildly amusing" category at best.
I can see the writing process at work in the incorporation of the Time of Troubles into this novel. Some people have built an in-world chronology of the Forgotten Realms books, and this detail helps place Drizzt's adventures in that timeline. I don't think this is why it was included. While the loss of or unpredictability of magic created some temporary problems and stresses for both the heroes and villains, given that these were fully resolved before the Drow determined to march on Mithril Hall, it is clearly not part of the major thrust of the book. I figured it out, though. The Time of Troubles was necessary to produce a certain MacGuffin-like solution to the final problem faced by our heroes. I can see Salvatore's thinking at work here (for real end-of-book spoiler here, don't look unless you've read the book or if you just don't care): and the rest of the story was back-written from there.
So, the book is OK purely from a plot-driven perspective, it's light and fluffy for a book about a massive race war, and if nothing else allows Drizzt to move on to the next stage of his legend. You know, for the next 22 books...
Although it was meant to show an epic battle between the evil forces of Menzobarranzan and Mithril Hall and its allies, the overall tone was light and I never felt that epic intent. In places, it felt like it was written in a hurry. At least one key scene seems to be missing (
Spoiler
how Catti-brie masters her sentient swordSpoiler
the fact of his great-great-great grandfather's survivalI can see the writing process at work in the incorporation of the Time of Troubles into this novel. Some people have built an in-world chronology of the Forgotten Realms books, and this detail helps place Drizzt's adventures in that timeline. I don't think this is why it was included. While the loss of or unpredictability of magic created some temporary problems and stresses for both the heroes and villains, given that these were fully resolved before the Drow determined to march on Mithril Hall, it is clearly not part of the major thrust of the book. I figured it out, though. The Time of Troubles was necessary to produce a certain MacGuffin-like solution to the final problem faced by our heroes. I can see Salvatore's thinking at work here (for real end-of-book spoiler here, don't look unless you've read the book or if you just don't care):
Spoiler
how can Drizzt and the gang defeat Matron Baenre with all of her supposed powerful enchantments? Hmm.. how about if all magic stops working for a brief moment? How can I make that happen? I know, magic didn't work during the Time of Troubles, I'll condense that into a temporary magic item...So, the book is OK purely from a plot-driven perspective, it's light and fluffy for a book about a massive race war, and if nothing else allows Drizzt to move on to the next stage of his legend. You know, for the next 22 books...
My least favorite Drizzt book so far. 200 pages of filler followed by 100 pages of tensionless action that barely focuses on the main characters.
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
