kylepatino's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Child abuse
Minor: Child death
meecespieces's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Violence, and Child abuse
beautifulnarcissus's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Murder, Death, and War
Minor: Child death, Death of parent, Incest, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Slavery, and Emotional abuse
foxybooks's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, War, Violence, and Sexism
Minor: Sexual content, Child abuse, and Slavery
meathead's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
You should start with the Dark Elf Trilogy rather than Icewind Dale if you want to get into the Drizzt saga. The Crystal Shard was Bob's first book, and it's very... Well these were written after those books, and it was what kept me trudging through that one...
Drizzt is the main character yes, but this book is about his upbringing, he doesn't have a lot of control over the events around him. For this one, our titular character is, as I'd like to describe it, coincidence driven. Things just happen to him and he goes with it,
Drizzt is the main character yes, but this book is about his upbringing, he doesn't have a lot of control over the events around him. For this one, our titular character is, as I'd like to describe it, coincidence driven. Things just happen to him and he goes with it,
Spoiler
that is until the surface elf raid (•̤̀ᗜ•̤́๑)Spoiler
. Must be noted though, Salvatore writes for that 13-23 year old niche, and he is very good at it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Child death and Slavery
Minor: Sexual violence
Spoiler
I added sexual violence to my content warnings for two reasons, the forefront one being it gets very Stranger In a Strange Land during the graduation ceremony. It's very vague and about just a page or two in the text only book, but it is made very clear in the graphic novel that this is an orgy. Every drow wants to bring glory and praise to Lolth through this unholy ritual... so what happens when Drizzt doesn't? He gets threatened to be transformed into a drider. Thankfully this is interrupted by Malice, but she reinforces the threat before departing. The second being that, it's noted a couple of times that Matron Malice preferred Zaknafein as her 'lover'. Whether that was out of her physical desires or to simply to cause suffering to him doesn't matter (although it was probably the latter). For a drow male, even if they were deemed "the finest Weapons Master in all of Menzoberranzan", there is no ascension without approval from female drow. And even if he finds favorability with a female, it doesn't save him from being stricken down by another, as with Dinin, the elderboy. Even from the female drow, remember the drow's "Spider's Kiss"? I rly love this book and the politics of the feuding families of Menzoberranzan, and Lolth, etc. ; but I just had to get this off my chest.Spoiler
sarahhoward's review
adventurous
dark
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.75
Was this, objectively, a good book? Debatable.
Did I have the time of my life reading it? ABSOLUTELY.
I absolutely loved the worldbuilding and the inter-house politics and scheming. I loved exploring the underground world of Menzoberranzan and the descriptions of the vast caverns of the Underdark. There were definitely parts that made me squint (and more than once I came across something that made me think "oh yeah, this is definitely a fetish"), and the depiction of religious trauma fell a little short for me. I found myself wanting something a little more concrete for Drizzt's motivation, something external that would fuel his drive to be good. His character would have been stronger if he had an intense desire to survive, a jagged response to the trauma he experienced as a child.
Still, an entertaining read, one that I haven't been able to stop talking about to anyone around me who will listen. Looking forward to the next in the series.
Did I have the time of my life reading it? ABSOLUTELY.
I absolutely loved the worldbuilding and the inter-house politics and scheming. I loved exploring the underground world of Menzoberranzan and the descriptions of the vast caverns of the Underdark. There were definitely parts that made me squint (and more than once I came across something that made me think "oh yeah, this is definitely a fetish"), and the depiction of religious trauma fell a little short for me. I found myself wanting something a little more concrete for Drizzt's motivation, something external that would fuel his drive to be good. His character would have been stronger if he had an intense desire to survive, a jagged response to the trauma he experienced as a child.
Still, an entertaining read, one that I haven't been able to stop talking about to anyone around me who will listen. Looking forward to the next in the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Physical abuse
Moderate: Slavery
Minor: Child death
charlieleelee's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Child death
willardfillmore's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Sexism, Slavery, and Violence
Minor: Child death
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