My thoughts about Drizzt novels

My thoughts about Drizzt novels

This is not GURPS-related at all, but something I'd like to talk about. I like reading, but I read much less fantasy than sci-fi literature. In my teen years, I used to read Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms novels, and I remember enjoying them a lot. Several months ago, I decided to read some fantasy novels again, starting with a book that was recommended to me by my friend - Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames. Typically, I often ignore reading recommendations, thinking that I probably will end up spending a lot of time reading something I will not like. But after reading Kings of the Wyld in a single breath, I concluded that that was the best fantasy novel I've ever read. Simply perfect. After that, I decided to revisit Salvatore's Forgotten Realms novels - the main line about Drizzt. I wanted to see how they hold up now, when I'm much older than when I read them the first time, and also to find inspiration for my games, as my last few games... didn't go well. This isn't really a review, but just my ramblings.

Homeland - Exile - Sojourn

As far as I know, while chronologically these books are the first, they were published after The Crystal Shard. I really like these three books, even though they kind of blend in together, and I do not remember where one ends and the other starts. The series provides a lot of insight into the drow society and mindset, the life in the Underdark in general, and Drizzt gets a lot of character development. You know, if you judge by the memes, Drizzt is your stereotypical edgelord character, but in my opinion, he is actually pretty well written and has a lot of depth. I guess people either misremember him or just haven't read the novels.

The Crystal Shard

This is the first novel that created what I like to call "the Salvatore conveyor belt". I would say that this book is merely okay, nothing special. Honestly, I cannot imagine reading it before the first three books - I don't think you'd even understand who the drow are and why Drizzt is even there. I remember reading somewhere (maybe Dragon Magazine?) that Wulfgar was actually supposed to be the main protagonist in the entire series, but Drizzt became one due to being loved by fans.

The plot feels a bit contrived in some places - Drizzt finds Icingdeath - a scimitar designer to kill fire creatures just before fighting a balor that is very vulnerable to it. However, I really liked Crenshinibon, I think that it's a very interesting artifact, even though its backstory isn't really revealed in this book. And the visuals of the crystal tower remind me of the crystal tower from Might and Magic VIII.

The dialogue is "wooden," and characters really like to talk to themselves when no one is around.

Streams of Silver

This book is noticeably worse than its predcessor. I do not actually remember that much about it. I remember the incredibly tough flesh golem that could survive a literal avalanche, and I remember Drizzt being absolutely fine with mind controlling peasants and stealing their horses. Bravo, Drizzt, that definitely is something you would do! We also are properly introduced to Artemis Entreri. I think this is also the book where we are introduced to Harpells that kind of ruin both the tone and the pacing. But the worst is yet to come.

The Halfling's Gem

This is where Salvatore hits rock bottom. This is the worst novel of his that I've read (at least so far). It feels like the author either didn't know how to make a coherent plotline or had no time for it due to "the Salvatore conveyor belt" time restrictions. First, Bruenor survives and escapes from Mithral Hall due to  sheer plot armor. I'm just not buying the story of him climbing through the smoke shaft while being barely alive and then being found by Lady Alustriel who, I guess, decided to take a walk in the mountains a hundred miles from her city. And then she also conjured a bullshit flying chariot to reunite Bruenor with the rest of the party at the time of dire need. That's too many unlikely coincidences for my liking. And at the end we find out that Guenhwyvar not only can bring others along to the Astral Plane, but also can call an entire horse of spectral panthers with it when travelling to the Material Plane. Where was that ability before, where it could have helped a lot? And do you think this asspull will ever be referenced in the forthcoming books? Of course not! The fight between Drizzt and Entreri felt like something from a fighting game, where the developers do not want to kill off a character because people who main that character would be disappointed to see him absent in the sequel.

And after Pasha Pook is deposed, Regis just takes over his huge criminal organization, and Drizzt with his other friends just congratulate and encourage him. Yes, they would definitely approve of his friend becoming a mob boss. Fuck off, book, this is simply insulting.

At this moment I also realized that I didn't really understand why Regis is even a character. He seems to be something of a comic relief sidekick, but he doesn't even do his job properly in that department. He gets zero character development, you do not understand his motivations, you know almost nothing about his background, and even know I wouldn't be able to tell you how he looks aside from being fat. Overall, he's kind of a jerk and a nuisance than a friend and a proper character.

The absolute dross of a book, it almost made me want to stop reading the series at all.

The Legacy

I had to read the plot synopsis to even remember what this book is about. Now I remember that this is a decent, but not very memorable (as you can see) book that is mostly about Drizzt fighting Entreri again. We are introduced to Thibbledorf Pwent who plays the role of a comic relief sidekick much better than Regis, and we also find out the Entreri has the thickest plot armor ever. Come on, his surviving in the end was a load of bullshit!

Starless Night

This is much better, even though the entire plot hinges on Drizzt just deciding to return to Menzoberranzan for some unexplicable reason. Make sure that the drow never attack Mithral Hall again? How? Drizzt, please be reasonable. But overall, at this point you start to notice that Salvatore actually improves as a writer - the descriptions are more vivid, characters are more lifelike, and dialogues are much more natural. It was a pleasant thing to notice, I was happy to see that the author is improving.

Siege of Darkness

This is even better. I like how the book plays out the events of the Time of Troubles, the magic going wrong, and all that. The invasion itself also is pretty interesting. Bruenor and Belvar meeting felt a bit fanservicey. Wulfgar dying did not elicit any emotions from me, even though I like that character.

Passage to Dawn

What the hell was even going on in this book? It jumps around between characters, places, and doesn't really have any plot at all. I also remember the "shocking" reveal that the "prisoner" who Drizzt was going to save was going to be Wulfgar instead of Zaknafein being telegraphed right off the bat. Kind of reminded me of Moneta being revealed to be Rachel in Hyperion (I like that book, but that was not a surprise at all). And bringing Wulfgar back to life right after killing him (yes, I know that it's been 6 years in-universe) feels lackluster.

The Silent Blade

This is where you realize that Drizzt is in the book only to have it sell. He isn't the main character, isn't even a secondary character, but more of a background character here. I actually like this book as it gives some development to the characters of Wulfgar and Artemis Entreri, but the """"""plotline"""""" of Drizzt feels incredibly dumb and unneccessary. What the actual hell was the ending? Don't get me wrong, I actually like Drizzt, but he wasn't needed in this book at all. But I guess now he stopped living rent free in Entreri's head.

The Spine of the World

This is a Wulfgar book, not a Drizzt book, as the latter is not present there at all, but this book's events are important for the general plot of the series. I actually liked this book a lot, the plot more or less makes sense, the characters seem to be well-written, and I was engaged in the story. Salvatore has improved significantly.

Sea of Swords

Well, this is garbage! Not on par with The Halfling's Gem, but pretty close. Apparently, Drizzt has a lot of free real estate not only in Entreri's head, but also in Ellifain's. The reveal that the elf obsessed with killing Drizzt is actually not a man, but a girl whom Drizzt had saved in the very first book is as shocking as the Wulfgar reveal in Passage to Dawn. My favorite part was the party being split, either simply now knowing what they should do and where to go, or going blindly into icy mountains with zero preparation and no idea what they are even looking for. How do you resolve that? You have a friendly wizard teleport everyone together and point them the way. Fuck off, book, this feels as a situation where a GM messed up and misled the players and has to pull a solution of of his ass.

Servant of the Shard

This is actually a book about Artemis Entreri (who is, honestly, one of my favorite characters) and Jarlaxle, and I think that this is legit a very good book. In my opinion, this is the best Salvatore novel by a mile, as least from what I've read so far. Artemis Entreri get a lot of character development, the story is very engaging, and most of the things make sense. The only complaint I have is Jarlaxle hat of magic bullshit that can solve any problem. It would be nice to at least hint at its properties before it is used to escape from an inescapable situation once again. Crenshinibon's backstory gets expanded as an exposition dump, and the story actually is pretty intriguing. I'd love to read an Al-Qadim novel about it, if there is one. Salvatore's books are a rollercoaster of quality - from the dross of Sea of Swords to the peak of Servant of the Shard.

Promise of the Witch-King

Another Entreri/Jarlaxle book, and this one is a disappointment. First, I had to look up the plot synopsis to even remember what it was about, and I finished that book not that long ago. What I remember is that there were just too many characters, and that it felt like a novelization of a D&D adventure module. Athrogate was fun though.

Road of the Patriarch

The third and final Entreri/Jarlaxle book that is much better than the second one. It starts a bit slow and boring, but becomes more interesting in the second and last thirds. Not only does Entreri get even more character development, he also gets his ass handed to him, which is a nice change of pace.

The Thousand Orcs - The Lone Drow - The Two Swords

We are back to Drizzt and his companions, and back to better writing. The story is generally engaging, even if it felt like there were too many secondary plotlines. Just like the first three books, these three kind of blend together, and I do not remember where one ends and the other begins. I actually liked the "secondary" drow characters and the role they played in the plot, and once again it was nice to see the heroes actually lose for once. The one complaint I have is Drizzt suddenly becoming a whiny wuss and going "Noooooo, I did see my friends die, but it was from very far away and I wasn't sure that those were actually them, and I haven't actually seen them die, and I haven't found their bodies, and things are pointing to the fact that they might be alive, and I'm not going to go and actually check if they are dead or not, but I am sure that they are dead, so I'm going to live in a hole and cry." What was that all about? Reminded me of him just walking off to Menzoberranzan from all of the sudden in Starless Night. Other than that, these books are actually pretty good, and Salvatore's writing once again is showing signs of improvement.

The Orc King

While the book is actually pretty good, it's storyline is interesting (even though the outcome is quite expected), and Obould is getting more character development, once again it feels that Drizzt wasn't even supposed to be in the book in the first place. It reminds me of The Silent Blade, where Drizzt is more of a teritary character that was included just to sell the book. Also, was Jack the Gnome even necessary in the story?

And that's it for now. As far as I know, this is only half of the books in the series, and I'm planning to continue reading them. I want to be done with the "main" storyline before I switch to other Forgotten Realms books that have caught my attention. I've seen some books about various underwater civilizations, and that seems very intriguing to me.