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crtsjffrsn's review against another edition
3.0
Drizzt Do'Urden may never have thought he'd return to Menzoberranzan. The the Drow city, his former home, is his destination. But this should be a quick in-and-out- visit. Traveling with unlikely companions, he must rescue Dahlia, a former love.
And his current (and forever) love, Cattie-brie, finds herself working with some unlikely allies as well. Her team, including Gromph Baenre, Archmage of Menzobarranzan, must work to rebuild the one thing that can keep the ancient primorial under Gauntlgrym in check.
So two unpleasant but important tasks lie before them. And both know that accomplishing their goals will come with challenges. But when a Drow force to be reckoned with--one thought long gone--reveals herself, it becomes clear that the challenge is just beginning.
I have been waiting for some action to return to this series for a couple of books now. Things have been moving slowly. But this one really bought things back into focus. There was an intensity here that I think both longtime and new Drizzt readers can appreciate.
I also enjoyed getting to see a bit more of some of the non-Companions characters. Jarlaxle and Gromph feature a bit more in this book. And readers are re-introduced to a character who could be the biggest game-changer since the Companions of the Hall returned.
I certainly look forward to the next book in this series. The game is truly on now. And I could see it ending in many different ways.
[Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
And his current (and forever) love, Cattie-brie, finds herself working with some unlikely allies as well. Her team, including Gromph Baenre, Archmage of Menzobarranzan, must work to rebuild the one thing that can keep the ancient primorial under Gauntlgrym in check.
So two unpleasant but important tasks lie before them. And both know that accomplishing their goals will come with challenges. But when a Drow force to be reckoned with--one thought long gone--reveals herself, it becomes clear that the challenge is just beginning.
I have been waiting for some action to return to this series for a couple of books now. Things have been moving slowly. But this one really bought things back into focus. There was an intensity here that I think both longtime and new Drizzt readers can appreciate.
I also enjoyed getting to see a bit more of some of the non-Companions characters. Jarlaxle and Gromph feature a bit more in this book. And readers are re-introduced to a character who could be the biggest game-changer since the Companions of the Hall returned.
I certainly look forward to the next book in this series. The game is truly on now. And I could see it ending in many different ways.
[Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
max343's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
ferrisscottr's review
3.0
And we're back for (I believe) the 32nd book in the Legend of Drizzt, the middle book in the Homecoming trilogy.
My rating is based on my enjoyment of the book and let me explain.
This is a very good book and probably one of Salvatore's best but my enjoyment wasn't as high as usual because it was all doom and all gloom all the time and that had me at times not wanting to read it, not wanting to spend an hour with murder, rape, torture and all of the other evils of Menzoberranzan.
We have two main plot points.
Cattie Brie trying to rebuild the Host tower of the Arcane to prevent the escape of the primordial.
And we have Drizzt, Artemis Entreri & Jarlaxle heading to Menzoberranzan to rescue Dahlia.
Drizzt, Entreri & Jarlaxle of course are a fighting force of nature and are pretty amazing together but they also have to battle magic and that leads to a bunch of times where the unbeatables are slapped down.
The pacing was great - no real 10 page fight scenes that drag on just a little too long. The tension and plot escalate slowly until we have a pretty good conclusion.
Characters are amazing as always.
World Building - Faerun is great and we spend a ton of time in the politics and house dealings in the Underdark.
Really the only thing that wasn't amazing was me. Maybe it was the mood I was in but I found it really hard to maintain enjoyment when 90% of the book takes place in the most evil depressing place in Faerun and compared to previous books, it's more dark and gloomy than it ever has been in the past.
But I am excited to continue the series and see where Salvatore takes us next.
My rating is based on my enjoyment of the book and let me explain.
This is a very good book and probably one of Salvatore's best but my enjoyment wasn't as high as usual because it was all doom and all gloom all the time and that had me at times not wanting to read it, not wanting to spend an hour with murder, rape, torture and all of the other evils of Menzoberranzan.
We have two main plot points.
Cattie Brie trying to rebuild the Host tower of the Arcane to prevent the escape of the primordial.
And we have Drizzt, Artemis Entreri & Jarlaxle heading to Menzoberranzan to rescue Dahlia.
Drizzt, Entreri & Jarlaxle of course are a fighting force of nature and are pretty amazing together but they also have to battle magic and that leads to a bunch of times where the unbeatables are slapped down.
The pacing was great - no real 10 page fight scenes that drag on just a little too long. The tension and plot escalate slowly until we have a pretty good conclusion.
Characters are amazing as always.
World Building - Faerun is great and we spend a ton of time in the politics and house dealings in the Underdark.
Really the only thing that wasn't amazing was me. Maybe it was the mood I was in but I found it really hard to maintain enjoyment when 90% of the book takes place in the most evil depressing place in Faerun and compared to previous books, it's more dark and gloomy than it ever has been in the past.
But I am excited to continue the series and see where Salvatore takes us next.
jess_eats_books's review against another edition
5.0
I’m enjoying this trilogy more than any I’ve read since Sellswords.
Seeing Drizzt, Entreri, Jarlaxle, Cattie Brie, and Gromph unite to fight a common enemy was absolutely epic. I especially enjoyed the exchanges and power struggle between Gromph and Cattie Brie, I’m really curious to know more about him now. Jarlaxle’s dialogue never disappoints, and it’s good to see Entreri back in the game.
This book was an all around great time, and I’ll be starting the next immediately.
Seeing Drizzt, Entreri, Jarlaxle, Cattie Brie, and Gromph unite to fight a common enemy was absolutely epic. I especially enjoyed the exchanges and power struggle between Gromph and Cattie Brie, I’m really curious to know more about him now. Jarlaxle’s dialogue never disappoints, and it’s good to see Entreri back in the game.
This book was an all around great time, and I’ll be starting the next immediately.
nerdlife's review against another edition
3.0
Too much written about dark elf politics and not enough of the companions adventuring. I really wish Salvatore would go back to his roots and write a trilogy where the original cast simply goes on an adventure. I'm so sick of dark elf matron mothers and their ilk. It's incredibly boring.
stein's review against another edition
5.0
This is the best drizzt book I've read in awhile. I was annoyed at Archmage's laborious setup and find the dwarf centric stories more boring. But Maestro has a lot more focus. The antagonist, Yvonnel, feels more weighty than anything in recent memory. The Cattie-Brie subplot is the weakest part for me, but still enjoyable. Five stars as far as the legend of drizzt goes.
vaderbird's review against another edition
3.0
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
strangecurrencies's review against another edition
3.0
It shouldn’t be so easy to combine reviews of two different books in a series into one, let alone one that is necessarily shorter than a normal review. Sadly, as we reach book number THIRTY in this series that I’ve been reading for over two decades, it becomes increasingly easy to do. This series could quite well be being written by a computer at this point and we’d never know. Things seem like they are going well, but not so fast heroes, you need to get pulled into yet another over-complicated and epic problem that only you can solve, even though your setting is literally 80% heroes and 20% normal people. Then in a fight that you probably should win easily, we’ll make sure we remember that there are stakes by having somebody get seriously hurt even though they just get healed again instantly, and then for the rest of the book, no enemy can even touch them.
Read the full review at Strange Currencies
https://strangecurrencies.org/2017/01/24/review-of-maestro-and-hero-by-r-a-salvatore/
Read the full review at Strange Currencies
https://strangecurrencies.org/2017/01/24/review-of-maestro-and-hero-by-r-a-salvatore/
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