anytownbooks's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
I’ll be honest, I’ve put off reading the Drizzt novels for so long, even as a huge D&D fan, but when I read Slaying the Dragon: The Secret History of Dungeons & Dragons and learned more about Salvatore and the craziness he endured through TSF and then WOTC, I was beyond intrigued to jump in. So, I headed over to his website to see where to start, and Mr. Salvatore himself encourages first time readers to start here, with Homeland.
And boy did it not disappoint! I mean sure, I know how cool and special Drizzt is, but reading about what made him Drizzt and the physical and emotional trauma he endured to get to the Drizzt we know and love is … well, sure sounds like a great D&D PC to me! Homeland was a brilliant read, and ohhhh my gosh I’m so in love with Zaknafein, what a DAD! I’m definitely diving into the other books as soon as I can!
And boy did it not disappoint! I mean sure, I know how cool and special Drizzt is, but reading about what made him Drizzt and the physical and emotional trauma he endured to get to the Drizzt we know and love is … well, sure sounds like a great D&D PC to me! Homeland was a brilliant read, and ohhhh my gosh I’m so in love with Zaknafein, what a DAD! I’m definitely diving into the other books as soon as I can!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Genocide, Gore, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Physical abuse
It’s high fantasy and dungeons and dragons character backstory, so expect a lot of trauma—but everything turns out alright in the end.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
featherinthewind's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Blood, Grief, Mental illness, Torture, Violence, War, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Gore
Minor: Sexual content 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
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
More...