the Jester
Legend
Read one of 'em, wasn't impressed. YMMV (but you are asking for opinions).
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Drizzt Novels...
- Thread starter Ogrork the Mighty
- Start date
BluWolf
Explorer
I really enjoyed the first trilogy and I will agree, it is very pulpy.
Of the second series homeand was the best. After taht they start getting alittle repetitive.
Alittle too "I hate myself for being the perfect killing machine".
I don't know who is the bigger whiner, Drizzt or Wolverine.
Of the second series homeand was the best. After taht they start getting alittle repetitive.
Alittle too "I hate myself for being the perfect killing machine".
I don't know who is the bigger whiner, Drizzt or Wolverine.
Uzumaki
First Post
IronWolf said:
The books didn't change any after they became really, really popular. People enjoying it doesn't make a book any better or worse than what it already is. I hate it when people hate something just because a lot of people like it.
Not saying you do this, IronWolf, just saying this in general. Anyway, the ID trilogy were okay. I'm not a fan of just one battle scene after the other. But the Dark Elf trilogy is probably one of Salvatore's best works. Definitely pick it up.
Evilhalfling
Adventurer
ditto.
I still have and reread the homelands, I only bought the first icewind book, after borrowing and reading the others - I tried Starry Night (the next Drizz book after homeland trilogy) - bleh.
never bothered with any of the others. Also the paperback was released after the hardcover and had an extra chapter - WTF? the annoyance this caused outwieghs any memory of the books actuall content beyond its mediocraty.
I still have and reread the homelands, I only bought the first icewind book, after borrowing and reading the others - I tried Starry Night (the next Drizz book after homeland trilogy) - bleh.
never bothered with any of the others. Also the paperback was released after the hardcover and had an extra chapter - WTF? the annoyance this caused outwieghs any memory of the books actuall content beyond its mediocraty.
Ringmereth
First Post
Dark Elf trilogy is quite good, as the first examination of drow culture, and a great backstory to Drizzt. If memory serves, there wasn't much angst, either. The Icewind Dale trilogy wasn't bad either. After that, quality drops and repetition rises; people appear to die, Drizzt gets angry and kills other people, dead people end up alive through some plot device. If Salvatore had restrained himself a bit more and concluded the series at, say, 12 books, it would have been much better.
However, such an enormous quantity of novels has produced a few gems. The most notable is 'Servant of the Shard'. While you'll have to wade through all the books preciding it (or just read a synopsis and spoil 'em-not too great a loss), it's a very good book about his best character, Artemis Entreri. He's an assassin, Drizzt's semi-nemisis (who he's fought way too many times with no real point except to fill space), and a generally cool guy who's somewhere between villian and anti-hero. Unfortunately, he basically disappears in the latest trilogy in favor of Drizzt, higher bodycounts, and heavy doses of angst.
As for the latest trilogy, I give it a definite 'meh'. You get the feeling that Salvadore is just dragging the series on to keep raking in the money, instead of finishing up Drizzt's tale with a bang. He's a 'hero' of sorts, but he hasn't done anything with real lasting impact as befiting his near-epic status. Salvatore should have him kill Lolth or something suitably heroic, and be done with it. Entreri is a more interesting character, anyway, and deserves his own trilogy (one with a real conclusion, at that).
Oh, and if you like Salvadore's writing with a real conclusion, the Cleric Quintet is okay, and The Highwayman is quite a bit better. You still get a little angst, but it's on the whole more gritty and relevant than his FR work.
However, such an enormous quantity of novels has produced a few gems. The most notable is 'Servant of the Shard'. While you'll have to wade through all the books preciding it (or just read a synopsis and spoil 'em-not too great a loss), it's a very good book about his best character, Artemis Entreri. He's an assassin, Drizzt's semi-nemisis (who he's fought way too many times with no real point except to fill space), and a generally cool guy who's somewhere between villian and anti-hero. Unfortunately, he basically disappears in the latest trilogy in favor of Drizzt, higher bodycounts, and heavy doses of angst.
As for the latest trilogy, I give it a definite 'meh'. You get the feeling that Salvadore is just dragging the series on to keep raking in the money, instead of finishing up Drizzt's tale with a bang. He's a 'hero' of sorts, but he hasn't done anything with real lasting impact as befiting his near-epic status. Salvatore should have him kill Lolth or something suitably heroic, and be done with it. Entreri is a more interesting character, anyway, and deserves his own trilogy (one with a real conclusion, at that).
Oh, and if you like Salvadore's writing with a real conclusion, the Cleric Quintet is okay, and The Highwayman is quite a bit better. You still get a little angst, but it's on the whole more gritty and relevant than his FR work.
Zweihänder
First Post
Both the Icewind Dale Trilogy and the Dark Elf Trilogy are quality; however, if you want the best R. A. Salvatore has to offer, go for the Cleric Quintet (Canticle, In Sylvan Shadows, Night Masks, The Fallen Fortress, and The Chaos Curse). I swear, Cadderly is one of the most lovable characters I have ever encountered. And, in addition, Ivan and Pikel Bouldershoulder are in all of the books! ^_^
Yami no Hon
First Post
I liked the Dark Elf trilogy, not only do we get to see the drow culture on the inside, but we also get to see Illithid culture, and life in the wilderness of the underdark. The Icewind Dale trilogy is alright. It's very cut and dried, and the three books are kind of disjointed from one another. They are also Salvatore's first books, and his writing deffinatly has improved with time. Read the Halfling's Gem, if nothing else from that series, because that is Entreri's first apperance(sp?).
Then find yourself spoilers to read for all the other books between the end of the Icewind Dale trilogy and Servant of the Shard. Seriously, I'm sorry I ever looked at the one that takes place during the Time of Troubles, and if you read it, you will be too. Servant of the Shard is rocking awsome, so read that one and join the crowd waiting for the next book about Entreri (coming in November).
Then find yourself spoilers to read for all the other books between the end of the Icewind Dale trilogy and Servant of the Shard. Seriously, I'm sorry I ever looked at the one that takes place during the Time of Troubles, and if you read it, you will be too. Servant of the Shard is rocking awsome, so read that one and join the crowd waiting for the next book about Entreri (coming in November).
Hypersmurf
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Dark Jezter
First Post
I like R.A. Salvatore's Forgotten Realms novels. While there are one or two that I didn't really care for, on a whole they've managed to entertain me with their exciting tales of high adventure and memorable characters (particularly the Bouldershoulder Brothers). My favorite R.A. Salvatore novel, Servant of the Shard, dosen't even have Drizzt in it at all, instead focusing on Artemis Enteri and Jarlaxe. Needless to say, I'm excited for Promise of the Witch-King: not only because it focuses on those two characters, but also because it takes place in the Bloodstone Lands, which is one of my favorite regions of the Forgotten Realms.
Another insteresting thing about R.A. Salvatore is the response he provokes. While on a whole he is pretty popular, there are some people out there who really hate his novels, and the fact that he's so popular absolutely enrages them. So whenever the subject of R.A. Salvatore comes up, you'll see people claiming that he's a no-talent hack and that Drizzt Do'Urden is singlehandedly responsible for destroying everything that made D&D great.
Another insteresting thing about R.A. Salvatore is the response he provokes. While on a whole he is pretty popular, there are some people out there who really hate his novels, and the fact that he's so popular absolutely enrages them. So whenever the subject of R.A. Salvatore comes up, you'll see people claiming that he's a no-talent hack and that Drizzt Do'Urden is singlehandedly responsible for destroying everything that made D&D great.
