Book I, Gauntlgrym: Neverwinter Saga

I finshed this book in 2 days. While it lack the depth of the other stories, it is still worth reading and it shows drizzt moving on with his life. I pefer the orc king instead.This series severly lacks the claiber of witing in the rest of the drizzt books. If he does not start writing better this wil the last series I waste my money and time on. The Orc King: Transitions, Book I

I've just started reading fantasy books in the last 2 yrs. The legend of drizzt was the 1st series I've read & after the first book i purchased the entire series the next day. Gauntlgrym is another stellar installment to the series

Like many of the other reviewers I too have been a fan of Mr. Salvatore's and Drizzt for many years. The stories have perhaps been a little thinly plotted at times but (and again as other reviews have noted) the overwhelming attractiveness of the characters and the diligence with regards to detail won me over; simple stories told with vigor and joy. This is most certainly not the case with this one.
If you read no further (please don't!) consider this: this book is awful. It is without all the things you liked about the author's earlier work. What follows does not really contain spoilers.
I'm worried to read that Mr. Salvatore was directed(?) to write this new work in a particular way, to emphasise the new era of uncertainty striking the Realms; since when did the novels serve as advertisements for the games before? I've been struck in the past by how the coherence of Faerun has been directed by the novelists, both in later renderings in both the electronic games and the paper/dice formats. Is this no more? If, as alleged elsewhere, Mr. Salvatore is writing to suit other masters than that of his own vision of Drizzt and his life I stop with 'Neverwinter'.
Whilst this review has nothing to do with a novel/phenomena of a few years ago (concerning the Catholic Church, the life of Jesus Christ and a bloodline supposedly contiguous from Christ's time to our own) some parallels are worth drawing: the unnamed author is a teacher of writing, his plotting is weak (at best?), his characters banally one-dimensional, his conclusions cheap.Here too, it pains me to write, is an interesting idea wrecked. Drizzt and his story is interesting, has been and may yet prove so again. The pressures of acting against type, not being a follower but a leader through adgherence to principle, and questions of racism have all been at points fascinating. Not here though. One of the things that leaped out at me on reading this was the ease with which some decent editing may have saved the book. The time leaps that drove others to pan the book hurt my enjoyment too; the orc priestess and gnome characters seemed interesting so they must die. Bruenor and his great love for his son-in-law is rendered in the most cursory of manners. Where before Mr. Salvatore had delighted in teasing out new understandings of the characters as they matured (presumably as his own writing matured), in 'Gauntlgrym' the plotting (or its absence) and characters portraits sought new depths in cheap platitudes and barely sketched out scenarios. Time because of his lengthy natural lifespan is something Drizzt has in spades but not it seems with his author. The great swathes of time not written of in 'Gauntlgrym' is thrown aside for a new set of... What has it been thrown aside for? New enemies? Broader issues requiring the legend of the North? New love?
Nothing. Not even the craft of writing. A simple story told well can still be excellent. An over complicated story trying to write out aspects of the past in order to usher in the future should evidence care. That 'Gauntlgrym' does not isn't its undoing. Its failure is trying to do lots and getting it wrong everywhere! Other authors have made stories of similar scope work. Here it merely comes across as unfocused, dry and ultimately dull. Where his earlier work could have been used as a stimulus for students of writing considering form, tone, narrative trajectory and the like, could that be said of this novel? No. Instead this has all the hallmarks of writing by type like a cheap romance novel, though my hurt is the worse for having felt so much more towards the characters in previous installments. Read at your peril; ask for it as a gift if you must!

Couldn't get into the new characters. I was looking for the elf and dwarf. Maybe they come later in the book but I was to bored to get to them. I think I own 99% of all Salvatore books. This was the first one, I couldn't read.

"Did I buy the wrong book? Is this book 2 of 3 instead of book 1?" Nope. Got the right book. Hmmm. Spellplauge? Death of a goddess? By who? 70 years difference since the end of the last book and the middle of this one. And 1-2 sentence snipits of info regarding major world changing events that make me feel like I've jumped into the middle of a series instead of starting at the beginning. Huge disappointment. So long R.A. It had to end sometime.

This is definitely not Salvatore's best work. I understand that given his main character Drizzt's extended lifespan the subject of leaving his old life decades behind must be addressed, but he does it in this novel in such a disjointed fashion that you feel like this book was just a bunch of notes that should have been put into a prologue instead of being made into a whole novel. Every character and plot line in the story is given only cursory attention, and that left me feeling very unsatisfied and in some cases disappointed. Drizzt throws away the morals that are central to his character through most of the novel, and his closest friends take nearly a century to confront him about this? His morals developed while living in Menzoberranzan and in the Underdark, and then he tosses them aside even with Bruenor at his side as a moral compass? It makes no sense. Dahlia is an incomplete and inconsistent character that is supposed to be some kind of fill-in for Cattabrie. Barrabus is probably the most interesting character in the story, and that only because he is a shadow of Drizzt's earlier enemy. My biggest disappointment of the novel though is the world setting. After Salvatore's earlier novels where every Forgotten Realms setting he depicted with vivid detail and imagination, the world now is just a smeared out dark and dusty ruin. Gauntlgrim is such a sad copy of the Mines of Moria that it is painful to read through the descriptions, and Salvatore even throws in a whole balrog scene if you were doubting the plagarism.
R.A. Salvatore is one of my favorite authors, but this is the first Salvatore novel that I can say I wouldn't recommend reading.

I agree with the review above. I also did not like the cover. I have gotten used to Todd Lockwood superb covers. This was a deciding factor when purchasing hardback copies of The Legends of Drizzt. I already had the books, but was amazed by the detail from one moment in each book that was done on the reissue covers. The scene on the cover of this book does not happen in the story. In fact (**Spoiler Alert**) the two characters are attracted to each other (or at least intrigued).

I give the book 4 stars for the heroic death of Bruenor, but 2 for a cover that is misleading.

My wife has just started this book, so i don't know how good the writing is, but the binding is garbage. We have many paperbacks that we have read 4-5 times that are still together - this one has fallen apart on the FIRST reading!

AVOID the paperback - buy a good used copy of the hardcover!

I just read this because, I started playing the 'free' MMORPG based off this game. (It costs nothing to install. However, if you want something spectacular, you better be willing to pay up. Speaking of the game, I found it alright. It could've used more polish in the graphics division because, for a game that came out in 2013, it looks like a game from the 90's. Also, I've started to think that they could've worked on the Control Wizard class because, my dad told that it was garbage. Keep in mind that he didn't elaborate and he was just up to level 4 when he passed that judgment). I wouldn't have checked this out otherwise because, I didn't like The Companions. That said, I attempted to give this a fair chance.

I didn't see much reason to get attached to the characters. It didn't help that a few of the characters sniped each other while doing something important, which happened a few times. I still felt bad for Dahlia and Drizzt (despite him attempting to sound wise before the part began). Dahlia saw her mother get murdered then violated by the same assailant. I felt bad for Drizzt because, more of his old friends died.

This novel was pretty boring, even with all of the fighting. The eruption and resulting turmoil didn't change my mind. On the plus side, the fighting had great detail.

Some of the dialogue was unrealistic towards the end. Drizzt and Dahlia were fighting in Gauntlgrym yet somehow found time to make quips. (Who in the right mind would do that?)

I didn't mind the constant POV switches at first because, they weren't during a battle. However, that changed during the final night. That was annoying and that ignores the fact that keeping track of everyone during a battle is impossible.

I questioned a couple of things. First off, how was Gwenhwyvar being troublesome when she was under Drizzt's control the whole time. Also, how could Bruenor not think that rebuilding Neverwinter soon after the event couldn't be a waste? It seemed too dangerous to be a worthwhile endeavor because of the resulting turmoil and undead.

In addition, I had a couple of minor criticisms. The first was the brief copulation at the beginning of the novel. It was between Dahlia and Dorcrea. I felt it was immature. At least, it was short.

I think that the author could've used chosen better names for Drizzt's weapons. They were either childish or unpleasing names. That said, Icingdeath turned out to be fitting, even if it was dumb.

This wasn't one of the worst novels I've read. I just didn't want to give it a fair rating due to the length because, it was longer than it needed to be.

Pros: Lots of action, a quick pace, and an abundance of warriors, wizards, and monsters as one would expect in story taking place within an RPG setting. As always, Salvatore does a great job describing fight scenes that incorporate exotic weapons, numerous fighting styles, and magical abilities. New characters are introduced and major changes take place so it will be of interest to anyone who enjoys stories set in the Forgotten Realms.

Cons: The plot is moved along by numerous significant time jumps (as in decades) which gloss over or completely abandon various characters. This includes characters that have made numerous appearances in previous Drizzt Do'Urden novels so I was kind of surprised at the way their final fates were never revealed. Other characters are given ample "screen time" for a portion of the book then disappear and are never seen again though I assume they'll show up in future installments of this series. This might be nitpicking as we're talking about an RPG novel, but at one point one of the main characters has an abrupt and seemingly random change of heart which opens up new possibilities but isn't entirely convincing.

Verdict: Overall, it was the quick, fun little read I expected and I'm satisfied.

While I had read a few R.A. Salvatore books about the Dark Elf champion Drizzt Do'Urden a few years ago, I didn't really start reading them as they came out until the "Transitions" series, where Salvatore started making huge changes to the mythos. I had thought the major changes were done with at the end of "Transitions," but I was very wrong. Salvatore's new book, Gauntlgrym, continues the frenetic pace of change even as Salvatore starts to take it slower in the story department. While the pacing in the book is a bit off and some of the plot twists are presented like a pig on a platter before they're actually revealed, Gauntlgrym gets the "Neverwinter" series off to a rip-roaring start.

Decades have passed since two of Drizzt's longtime companions (one of whom was also his wife) crossed into Death's realm, and both he and the Dwarf King Bruenor Battlehammer are growing restless. Bruenor has decided to give up the throne and go on a quest to find the fabled Dwarven kingdom of Gauntlgrym with his old friend Drizzt by his side. Elves and Dwarves being very long-lived, they no longer feel the lust for life that marked their younger years, the passage of old friends taking a great toll on them. But other forces are at work, also looking for Gauntlgrym and the natural force that inhabits it. Will Bruenor and Drizzt find it before the evil is unleashed? And will Drizzt continue to lose himself in battle lust, no longer caring what happens to him after the long, lonely years he's spent?

Gauntlgrym is a typical R.A. Salvatore Forgotten Realms novel: full of action and fighting, with some decent character work, though some other characters are too broad for my taste - namely the villains. Dahlia gets the most development, for reasons that become evident as the novel progresses, but even she is a bit too perfect a character at times. As for the vampire? The lich? And Sylora, the evil sorceress who is Dahlia's rival, the broadest of them all? I didn't find any of them interesting, though Dahlia becomes moreso as the novel goes on. I prefer my villains with a few more facets.

The other problem with the book is the pacing: long stretches don't seem to go anywhere. I'm as big a fan of character-building as the next guy, so I guess these slow passages are the character-building of characters that I don't really care about, making them seem awfully slow. Then Salvatore explodes into frenetic action, making years or even a decade go by, and setting the situation up for more violence and fighting. It's an odd mix that is occasionally satisfying but too often jarring.

I do love the exploration of Drizzt's character, in regards to how he really lives for nothing but the fight now. Considering how long-lived Elves are - and the fact that decades pass for him just in this novel alone - his living this way since the death of his wife is almost heartbreaking at times. This actually makes the budding romance heartening to see, even if Salvatore lays it on the reader with the subtlety of a brick through a window.

The prose is typical Salvatore: you'll either love or hate how intricately he describes all the battle scenes. There is no middle ground. I actually do love it, though I do wish the quieter moments were better written. Nobody, other than Michael Stackpole perhaps, can write action like Salvatore. You can almost see it happening in your head, and if movies are ever made of a Drizzt series, the director will have his stage direction right there.

Gauntlgrym is a very good book, especially for fan of Drizzt or the Forgotten Realms. Non-fans probably won't get much out of it, even though Salvatore does do a good job of writing it so that newcomers will not be lost. It's not that they will have trouble following the story. It's that they won't really care to follow it.

But if you like good fantasy hack and slash with some pathos to help it go down, you'll probably enjoy this one.

Originally published on Curled Up With A Good Book © Dave Roy, 2011

Reading the first half of this book was like pulling teeth. Reading the second half was less painful, but somewhat dull.

In the first half of the book, we meet our cast of characters, all of whom are separated by space and, sometimes, time. We learn about King Bruenor and Drizzt, and the quest they're on. We learn about two women, Dahlia and Sylora, who hate each other and have annoying back-stories I won't get into, but they're pretty much quintessential fantasy tropes. And what bothered me is that it took HALF of this book for things to start to come together.

In the second half, at least we know what's going on. A few characters became compelling. It ended on a mostly-predictable note, but there were a few surprises that I did enjoy (hence a second star). There's one glaring loose end, but I guess if there are more books those might get tied up later? I don't care enough to find out.

All in all it's an okay story that was executed poorly.

Ever have a book or series that just draws you in from the get-go? Thats Gauntlgrym. The 20th(?) book in the Forgotten Realms series by R.A.Salvatore delivers fast paced action, emotional turmoil and just the right amount of humor.

Drizzt, Pwent and Bruenor are off on their journey to find the legendary dwarf city of Gauntlgrym. While it seems the story moves a bit fast in the begginingthe journey is no less exciting. However, an evil cult is plotting to awaken the primordial that dwells withing the legendary city. Enter: Dahlia. She is a part of this cult, an elf warrior, she accompanies Jarlaxle and Athrogate (yes! two of my fav charactors are back in action!) to find Gauntlgrym.

On the other hand and playing a sort of minor role, Alegani of the Netherise has taken over Neverwinter and is fighting with Dahlias cult. Confusing? it can be at times, but its quickly sorted out. Eventualy as events unfold it is Drizzt, Breunor, Athrogate, Jarlaxle and Dahlia who must go to Gauntlgrym to undo a wrong that has been commited and confine the primordial that threatens to destroy Neverwinter, Luksan and anything else in its way.

The fighting is intense as all the action is in Salvatores books, and the imagry is no less beautiful. We do not see into Drizzt mind as much as in previous books, and truefully, he is a bit standoffish this time around. I found myself liking Athrogate the most this time and i even get to briefly see my other favorite character, Valas Hune.

All in all I enjoyed the story, the battles, the adventure however, the end had me in tears! why Salvatore, WHY?! Needless to say, if you are a fan, your eyes will be brimming with tears by the end. I eagerly await the next in the series, though i do not suspect it will have the same charm because of the ending of Gauntlgrym.

I thought this was a very solid effort. To a reviewer who thought that the WOTC had a hand in this, I agree. Some of the characters and the story seemed forced to support the new 4th edition rules. (4th??! I was playing 2nd when I was in college...) But the underlying bones of the book are good. The drift in character of Drizzt is understandable, given the losses he faced, and makes him a more sympathetic figure. Less perfect, more real. Jarlaxle is surprising and insightful. He sees true and well, better than Drizzt, in declaring Drizzt as the "one who got away." It's a defining epithet and a praise at that, albeit a jealous and damning one to most of the dark elves. It says that Drizzt is a singular phenomenon, an exception that proves the rule to most Drow, and the brightest beacon of hope for a few who question the Drow ways. It also says that no matter how he tries, Jarlaxle knows that he is still a part of the system, the Drow zeitgeist. No matter how flippantly he acts, how he tweaks the Matron Mothers, how long he leaves the Underdark, how he detests this fact, he is one of them. Maybe it's because Jarlaxle's actions, however disrespectful to the Drow hierarchy, are not guided by his principles like Drizzt's but by his overwhelmingly selfish wants and needs -- the quintessential Drow characteristic. And the same for the rest in his band. Maybe that's why Jarlaxle is shaken so badly when he sees Drizzt's change.

Anyway, to the spoiler portion of this review. Stop reading if you care. Bruenor's final moments were great. That's how you say goodbye to an old friend. Salvatore made up for how Cattie-Brie and Regis went with this one. Bashing heads and fighting toe to toe with a pit fiend that just recently -- almost casually even -- decapitated a red dragon? What a bad ass goodbye. Awesome.

Neverwinter Saga Book 1 - Gauntlgrym
Before I get into the book, I'll start with a small overall complaint that it feels like he wrote the series, or at least the starting framework of it, to coincide with the announcement of the MMORPG of the same name. I can totally understand the synergy of having an immensely popular Forgotten Realms author describe an amazing frontier town in a book dedicated to one of the most famous names in the realms, but it feels like a sell-out. Did it work? Probably, but it doesn't mean I have to like it.

I like that the first book in the new series starts years after the events in Transitions series (Orc King, Pirate King, and Ghost King). It gives some distance from the fan-favorite characters that aren't involved and it changed the landscape away from the well-known tunnels of Mithral Hall and Menzoberanzan. I also like that two of my hands-down favorite characters make a strong appearance: Athrogate and Jarlaxle. This was a solid book and I read it a second time before book 2 came out because I wanted it to be fresh in my mind. The story was gripping, the characters were great, and the ending was moving and emotional. They got into the kind of epic-level adventures you'd expect from Drizzt and Bruenor: primordials, ancient dwarf magic, massive landscape-changing destruction, and a huge conflict between Thay and Netheril. The final battles in Gauntlgrym are incredible and keep dragging you along with amazing action, personal sacrifice, and powerful enemies. I'm wasn't overly familiar with Thay or Netheril so I had to do some research on the side to get a better grasp of that was going on, but it made for an interesting backdrop to the rest of the story. Overall the book was great and the death of Bruenor was every bit as touching as the death of Albus Dumbledore. There were some confusing parts (how did Herzgo Alegni get Charon's Claw, what happened to Artemis Entreri, etc) but the rest of the story was strong enough that those were just branches on the tree-trunk that was Gauntlgrym.

I read the first six Drizzt books long ago and loved them. When I went back to the series a few years ago, I was astounded at how poorly written they were, especially the cheesy accents, and I wondered what I saw in them. It must have been the milieu and the drow's character. I read the graphic novel of the first book recently, and the love came back.

So, having just started the game Neverwinter (which is a great deal of fun and a nice change from LOTRO), I decided to check out Gauntlgrym, seeing as that's where the game eventually leads, in order to get a better sense of the world. In this regard I was very disappointed. The city is barely fleshed out and neither it nor Gauntlgrym is on stage for very long.

I should also point out, it's never stated why Bruenor or others are even searching for it, which is weird. Unless you consider that no one's motivations are particularly well spelled out.

I think I'm putting this one down and heading to Mistborn.

Like many long-running series, this one is running out of steam and adding popular characters from the various Realms' series (Jaraxle and Szass Tam, for example) makes the problems worse, not better. As the title implies, the plot revolves around the search for Gauntlgrym, a legendary dwarf city of old and one one side Drizzt and Bruenor search for it not knowing various agents of evil are also interested. The novel attempts to conjure up some of the earlier Drizzt stories by burdening him with his emotions again and setting him on the road seeking a great treasure with his magical cat and his dwarf friend. No longer young, but still reckless in pursuit of their prize.

But reading this book is like reading the transcript of a monty hall D&D game where everyone is epic level and geared with all manner of powerful items. Even a vampire, a powerful and dangerous foe in the D&D mythology worthy of the attention of a whole party of adventurers, finds himself hopelessly outclassed by everyone around him. These nigh invincible characters have plenty of firepower, but are little more than one-dimensional stereotypes.

The pacing is erratic with long stretches of just not much going on. Battles are short and, since the characters are ridiculously powerful there's no real tension or excitement to them. Moreso when the foes are merely powerful and dangerous and hence no real threat to these artifact-wielding death machines. Worse, far too much time is spent with the various bad guys. For a Drizzt novel, he's really not in very much of it.

There are moments of genuine excitement and fun. Salvatore can still spin a yarn (the underlying plot is good), but he (and many of the other Realms' authors) have written themselves into literary box canyons where their pet characters (Drizzt, Szass, Jarlaxle, etc.) are absurdly powerful and mediocre novels like this are all they CAN write because they must maintain continuity with their prior works.

Maybe it's time to think about closing out some of these characters' stories and moving on to fresh pastures. Just sayin'...

This is my first Salvatore book, and I must admit, I'm impressed. I had always thought of the Dungeons and Dragons books as throwaways, even though I do play in the Forgotten Realms. I read a few of Ed Greenwood's books and was not impressed by them.

But this book may have changed my mind. I have already ordered the first of the Drizzt books to see if he was good back then. I hope so.

The plot is interesting and engaging, and the writing is fun and easy to follow, even the battle sequences. Heck, the battle sequences are some of the best I have read. Overall, Salvatore is a competent writer writing about a fun universe.

'Gauntlgrym' is a welcome departre from all three transitions books. The transitions books became more and more mired in what was to me, an awfully scripted spellplague.

Here both Drizzt and Bruenor are driven, by blades and life-ending quest, to chase away the memories of what happened in 'The Ghost King.' Throw in the ever complex Jarlaxle (seriously, can we get a back story about him and his connection to Drizzt's dad?) and the peculiar Athrogate and this story weaves its way to an ending that left this reader sad, but happy the end was for more dignified than that of 'The Ghost King.'

His new character Dahlia's transformation was equally fun to read particularly given her and Drizzt's mission in Neverwinter Wood for book II of the trilogy.

And Barrabus the Grey, an assasin touched by a shade, formerly of Calimport, huh, I wonder how exciting his reunion with Drizzt will be in books to come.

One sour note, as noted by others, the cover is simply wrong. It never occurs in the book. Trying to foreshadow is one thing, but getting it wrong in doing so lessens the fine story contained within.

Gauntlgrym is unlike any other Drizzt book, and fans must understand that going into it. But I also think it's one of his best all-around adventures, certainly worthy of 5 stars. Characters old and new are as compelling as ever, much to be expected from Salvatore, and Drizzt's continuing journey, with some startling new developments, is as intriguing as ever.

Much like some other folks I was bit peeved at some of the news things Salvatore is altering with his writing and the things he's doing with this inception into the Neverwinter story arc.
But I've come to appreciate these aspects as they advance the plot and set up some of the series' absolute best action set-pieces. Drizzt's introspective sections are as good as ever and Jarlaxle continues to emerge as one of Salvatore's best characters. The interplay between himself and Drizzt is perhaps the books' best aspect.

The journey into the legendary Dwarven city of Gauntlgrym is rich with adventure, excitement, and desperation. Drizzt and company take part in one of Salvatore's grandest adventures.
Salvatore's latest offering has everything you would want from a fantasy tale and is an exciting new addition to the Drizzt saga. Of course I expected nothing less.

Highly recommended and this will certainly leave you excited for the things to come for Drizzt

It's been at least ten years since I picked up a "Drizzt" book, maybe more. I adored the first six books or so and found the next four or five readable, but gradually grew tired of the characters and the adventures. A lot of the middle books seemed aimed at a younger audience with goofy sidekick characters.

I happened upon Gauntlgrym in the new releases section at the library and picked it up on a whim. I'm not sure exactly how many books I've missed in the series but a lot of time has passed and some of the characters have died (apparently for good this time). I liked the somber tone the book opened with (seemed more mature than some of those middle books I remembered), and I just treated it as a new adventure. With all the new characters introduced, it definitely feels like the start of a new series.

I was pleasantly surprised and breezed along, reading the book within a couple days. Drizzt has definitely changed from the character I remember, but it'll be interesting to follow this new arc. I'm curious to find out what happens next and plan to continue on with the trilogy.

I'll try not to get too specific, but this review might contain a few (mostly minor) spoilers. Please consider yourselves warned.

I adore RA Salvatore's work, and I've been a huge fan for about 10 years now. After the events of The Ghost King and the release of 4.0 it took me a long time to work up to reading Gauntlgrym, but I had hoped it would resolve some of my bad feelings about the changes brought on by the Spellplague.

Unfortunately, that didn't happen, and I now wish I hadn't wasted my time reading this. The whole time I was reading, it felt like it wasn't even Salvatore's work, or maybe it was a very early draft he hadn't revised yet. It even appears (in the first paragraph on the first page of the prologue, no less) that he forgot he killed a character several books prior and referenced that character being involved in events he wouldn't have actually been alive to see. It was either an oversight or a misspelling of a similar name, but it's baffling to me that someone didn't catch that before it was published.

The story seems disjointed right from the start, sometimes seeming very rushed and vague and other times dragging on and on with useless, often repeated details. The characters don't seem at all like themselves and seem to stay out of character throughout the entire book. What little character growth any of them go through is ultimately so slight and facilitated so poorly that it hardly counts as character growth. The reasons for many of the major conflicts are never fully explained -- by the end of the book, I still wasn't sure why I should care about the two factions trying to destroy each other, or what they were specifically trying to accomplish.

The story is set after a huge time jump from the previous book, and contains at least 2 more time jumps that I can remember in the story itself, plus flashbacks. With how scattered the plot was, this just added to the confusion. Add to that the misleading cover art, which depicts a battle between Drizzt and Dahlia (the new 'heroine') that never actually takes place, and you end up rereading things a lot just to make sure you didn't miss something vital.

Which brings me to my biggest complaint about Gauntlgrym: Dahlia. I hate this character. I found myself glancing back at the cover often, waiting for that battle to come around and hoping Drizzt would just kill her already.

Unfortunately, this book actually seems to be more about Dahlia than Drizzt or any of his other companions. Outside of this book I would have guessed Dahlia was the product of a young, inexperienced fanfiction writer. There are a number of scenes where her breasts appear to be almost as deadly as her weapon, given how they seem to stupefy even the most skilled opponents in the middle of combat. She's REALLY special (and sexy!), you see, and so is her weapon, and we get to read about how special (and seriously sexy!) she is and how awesome her weapon is in nearly every chapter.

Think of all the times Salvatore has mentioned Drizzt's "marvelous lavender orbs" throughout the series. It's the same with Dahlia, except it's nearly every aspect of her character, and it's all the time. And I think she has a pun name -- because tragic past and all that -- which bugs me, since it seems to reinforce my suspicion that we're supposed to like and sympathize with her due solely to her violent childhood, instead of how she's been written and developed. Dahlia Sin'felle? Really?

The tragic thing is that despite how prominently she features and how fascinating she's apparently supposed to be, she doesn't have any substance. She's set up from the very beginning as if she's supposed to be a sympathetic, interesting character, but when you get past her origin story the most you get from her is how amaaaaazing the other characters (Drizzt, in particular) think she is, and how she can totally outsmart and outfight anyone even when it doesn't make any sense.

She has skills and knowledge rare enough that they warranted some explanation, but were glossed over completely for some reason. She lacks any clear motivation, personality, allegiance, or history beyond brief, almost emotionless flashbacks now and then -- and given the overwhelming emphasis that is put on her appearance, her weaponry and how she uses it, and what the other characters think of her, I suspect Salvatore knew that. And that really bums me out, because I know how awesome this guy can really be and I don't know what got in his way this time.

While there are (many) other issues I have with this book, Dahlia is what really ruined it for me. I may read the remaining books for the sake of seeing the series through, but Gauntlgrym has set my expectations pretty low. I strongly advise anyone interested in this book to borrow it from someone or check it out at the library before buying it.

A book written with joy and love for the characters protrayed: old friends, indeed, spanning 20-plus years of the author's life; a philosophical musing on Life, Purpose, and Fulfillment clothed in rich and fine garments of Good vs Evil, High Adventure, Heritage and Tradition, Friendship and Love. Gauntlgrym: Neverwinter, Book I will move you, I unabashedly assert, and will bring tears to your eye - tears of joy, of just reward - by the time you finish the epilogue.

I will only add, then say no more - for you should experience this read as a well-earned, joyous discovery much like a certain Dwarf King does when arriving, after a lifetime's faith and questing, at a particular throne room - that you will find humor, comfort, satisfaction, and pleasure in Mr. Salvatore's latest be you a long-time fantasy afficionado or newly come to the genre.

May we all be so blessed, after a long life well-lived, to have the opportunity to say,"I found it, Elf."

Were as other Drizzt books the characters grow and develop over the coarse of the book, this book is too focused on getting to the new Forgotten Realms setting. It seem like good story telling was pushed aside to compress enough time. All within this book you'll come to jumps of 10+ years, at one point a character is introduced then not 2 chapters later she is gone after a time jump. That said once the book got to chapter 8 that was all but done and Salvatore managed to make a halfway decent if not up to his normal caliber story.

Salvatore has finally returned to form with Gauntylgrym, a phenomenal new Drizzt story. Drawing on the best of his supporting characters-- Jarlaxle, Athrogate, Bruenor, and Pwent-- while introducing intriguing new ones, I am pleased to say the "stay up all night to see what happens next" excitement is back (and hopefully here to stay!) Highly recommended!!

When you have Jarlaxle and Athrogate alongside Drizzt and Bruenor, you know you're in for some fun reading.

The way Jarlaxle shows Drizzt's more aggressive nature to him is pretty shocking. I never saw Jarlaxle pissed, not even under the hold of Crenshinibon. Fascinating dynamics these two have always had with each other.

Gauntlgrym is even more than it was rumored; and even more than King Bruenor dared to believe.

This book of the Neverwinter Saga has a great deal of energy[primordial, even ;)] and my eyes were wet a bit with tears of joy much like someone else's when I closed the book on the final page.

¨The Ghost King¨ represented the closure of the adventures of the Companions of the Hall, but a lot of questions remained to be answered. From a glimpse of the future we already knew that Drizzt was alive after the Spellplague but what had happened to Bruenor? This book starts a new chapter of Drizzt's adventures and answers all those questions. It covers quite a long period (1409 DR-1462 DR), but Bob Salvatore uses skillfully the passage of time to give sense to the plot. While Bruenor continues searching for Gauntlgrym with Drizz tagging along, Thayans and Netherese clash around Neverwinter. New and intriguing characters show up, like Dahlia, a deadly elf warrior with a haunting past and a signature weapon, Kozah's needle, who fights for the Thayans while the Netherese have a stealthy assasin called Barrabus the Gray who reminds us powerfully of a certain southern killer... Jarlaxle and Athrogate enter the action and help the Thayan expedition to find fabled Gauntlgrym but it turns out to be a trap that results in the liberation of a fire primordial that provokes a volcano eruption and the destruction of Neverwinter, all part of a plot by Szass Tam to create a dread ring, a nexus of negative energy that raises undead creatures. 11 years later, Jarlaxle and Athrogate enlist the help of Bruenor and Drizzt to set right the mess they helped cause. Dahlia, now a renegade of the Thayans, is also helping them. The book arrives to staggering climax where the salvation of Gauntlgrym and the destiny of Bruenor are at stake.

I must confess that initially I wasn't very caught up, not caring a lot for the new characters, but Salvatore's mastery shows and all the disperse threads converged towards a really exciting climax: I think this book is an excellent and definitive closure to the adventures of the Companions of the Hall and at the same time a really exciting introduction to a new and darker age of adventure. I'm really looking forward to the next book of the Neverwinter Trilogy.

Long live King Bruenor Battlehammer!!!

I have read many RA Salvatore books over the years...and have much enjoyed the "non-Drizzt" books more...but this new release, Gauntlgrym...holy cow is it awesome! I am half way through it, and seriously thinking that I am going to take a day off tomorrow from work to keep reading...I cannot put this thing down! I am now going to go back an read all the Drizzt books (yeah I know, lot's to catch up on).
I honestly do not know how Mr. Salvatore can keep characters that he has written about all these many years so fresh...but this story is great. I found it equally refreshing that his focus in this first novel (at least the half I have read) is more focused on the antagonists...and that just hypes the story far more, you can easily see that he is slow brewing this story, you just know that this tension is going to grow with each book! And you just know the big fights, as always will be nothing short of amazing!
I just want to take my hat off to RA Salvatore, you knowcked this one out of the park...AGAIN! I hope the second book comes out soon...this one is too good to put down!

Dave Jordan

SPOILERS!! Lets start with Barrabus. It is obvious from the beginning of the book that this is our friend Entreri, one if not the best human warrior/assassin in the whole Forgotten Realms. Then we have Drizzt one of the best warriors in the whole Forgotten Realms. Suddenly comes this newcomer Dahlia and very young at that and boom, she can clash with the best of them. This newcomer can match/challenge cast doubt of who would the winner be of such a fight with any of these 2 amazing characters. I mean, Artemis grew to what he was after years of seeking perfection, training and challenges, same Drizzt. It makes no sense that Dahlia could match them, she would have to be a special/blessed/deity or something more than what is explained to be even believable. Talking about inconsistencies, Drizzt has some magical item that makes him faster when running, and again, this Dahlia can run as fast as him. I am not saying that a character could raise to be as good or better than our beloved Entreri or Drizzt, after all, they had to start somewhere. The main issue is that you see how these characters got to where they are through time, it makes it believable. Are we to take for granted that she learned all these super skills on her own? That a young elf with some unknown past learned in a very short time what took others a long time? Inconsistencies really do it for me; when a writer like RA Salvatore start to mess around the abilities of known characters just so he can introduce new ones, it makes for very poor writing.
The good:
- Barrabus/Entreri story is good and interesting
- Jarlaxle: easily my favourite Drow, and now deeper character development
- Drizzt new developing personality: Are we going to see more of Drizzt dark side? It would rule if this was the Spider Queen original plan from the beginning, to see a drow rise above the others, be accepted and then turn into the dark again, creating chaos above and below.
- Bruenor last fight: good, but again could have been better, he felt shallow
- Dahlia: has potential, but there is more bad than good with this new character, RA Salvatore needs to polish it and make it believable and drop a few notches against seasoned fighters like Drizzt
- Athrogate: good character, but we miss most of the guilt build up after what he did, wasted character development.

The bad:
- Horrible time jumps: they can be done if done properly; RA Salvatore did not deliver.
- Moria's ripoff: is not even funny
- Inconsistencies about characters
- Shallowness and generic feel of the places in the story
- Ridiculous sub-plots: Bringing one of the best assassins to coarse someone to change the name of a bridge is not clever, is stupid, I was baffled RA Salvatore did this...

The 3 stars are because after the last books on transition and the orc wars, this is a step in the right direction, but just barely.

Epic to the level of Lord of the rings. Original characters and styles. I've never gotten into dungeons and dragons, but you don't need that to enjoy an epic fantasy. Well written fight scenes, plot that is well executed. You know there is more to the story, but this isn't just a cliff hanger at the end. Great character development through the book. I highly recommend. I borrowed this book from my library.

As a long time Salvatore fan it pains me to say that this novel was just okay. Another search for a lost dwarven kingdom? This story has been played out before and this time was not nearly as exciting as the re-discovery of Mithril Hall even though Gauntlgrym is supposed to be much older and more richly appointed.
The halfhearted attempt to include Pwent, Nanfoodle, and Jessa in the story was ridiculous. For being such a loyal companion to Bruenor and Drizzt, Wulfgar is forgotten in Icewind Dale and his "friends" hardly mourn his loss. The flashy and barely dressed Dahlia is completely out of place in this novel and can't seem to decide on who she is. A vampire, a tiefling, a demon, and a lich are thrown into the mix for kicks and the dread rings, so talked about in the book, are barely explained.
The story seems too stitched together and patch-work without enough of the continuity I am used to. It seems to me that Mr. Salvatore is either resting on his laurels or the marketing team at Wizards of the Coast is putting their hands in the soup. I hope that it is the latter. The only things that could have made this book more unreadable would be revealing that Catti-brie and Regis were now returned to the living and that Wulfgar and Artemis Entreri are still alive- oh, wait, I almost forgot about 'Barrabus the Gray'...
Hopefully this is just a temporary slump. I look forward to reading a much improved book II in the trilogy. If not I might never read the finale.

I've been a fan of R.A. Salvatore for years now so my first observation is that if you're familiar with his Forgotten Realms or Corona work and enjoyed it, then you should enjoy this as well. Building upon his earlier books featuring his signature characters including Drizzt, Bruenor, et al, this book takes over years after the end of The Ghost King.

Engrossing plots, vivid battle scenes, powerful heroes and villains, this book contains enough to keep even the casual reader entertained. Join Bruenor and Drizzt in their search for the ancient dwarven kingdom of Gauntlgrym and see what events transpire. A definite read for Salvatore enthusiasts and perhaps strong enough to draw new readers into the stories of the Companions of the Hall.

I believe this is one of Salvatore's best work, only 2nd to Servant of the Shard. I must admit, I was hesitant at first to buy this book because I found The Ghost King to be an extremely bad book, however, soon after diving into the first chapter, I found this book to be much better then the previous. It was a wonderful story with great, interesting (yes I'm looking at you children of Cadderly) characters.

I am only 1/3rd of the way through and I am loving every minute. I am enjoying the aspect that you are bringing a phenom character into a new age of D&D. Put away what you remember of the past 20 years and come into a new era. Anyone can really pick up this book now and begin without having to know too much of the past. Yes there are some tidbits but you can jump right in if you want. Keep up the great work!! Drizzt could live well beyond my years in stories not to mention even with the leap now in time you could still put some filler books in if you wanted. MORE MORE MORE!!

I have read and re-read all of RA Salvatore's book and by far this is the most rushed i've felt. If The pirate king was god awful this is just shy of that. The time leaps...yea gods man did it have to go so far so fast with nothing and i mean nothing in between. The new characters have less than half of the depth than half the people bruenor has put his mailed fist into (Kemp of Targos had more Depth). The Splintering of so many different tales to come together in one book and be mostly tied in a little bow wow way to stretch things out and put in some detail...yea not. The world is no longer flushed out in any sort of detail except for the fight scenes which mention drizzt's personality more than his continued pursuit for the perfection of his blade work... really i think Dhalia should be more a minor player than this uber cool fighter with a stick ( A break apart stick really couldn't be more creative than the rip off of the rod of lordly might from 2nd edition could you) Jarlaxle and Athrogate are a good pair in the book and often entertaining to me at least. Jarlaxle shows that he can be as moody and Murderous as the rest of his kin in certain spots but in such thoughtful ways as to not endanger his organization. Such as in his motivation for stopping the Primordials to stick it to the people who used him. Bruenor... sigh what a great ending to such a well loved dwarf.... no dwarf could ask for more.... except more detail about the end...Gods Christ who took ownership of the ancient homeland? We dont get to know... The other characters and villains like Barrabus, Sylora, and TAM???.... are ehhhh don't like em don't hate em' which needs to be the staple for a Salvatore book again you used tio actually care for characters he created and now the writing he gives us leaves us feeling like ehhhh... Perhaps Salvatore could do with using some more pre-generated charaters in his stories like the scout Valas. Perhaps Viconia DeVir? or Perhaps A son or Daughter of Evermeet's Queen out for Adventure or perhaps he can have a conversation with a different god that might be looking in on him besides dwarf gods since Bruenor died most fabulously (Honestly that was a tear jerker).

Ok, I have always enjoyed the Drizzt novels, most of them are a lot of fun (except maybe the Wolfgar detour). Always the characters are enjoyable and you get to know them and understand them over a number of books. So this leads me to my question. Why the hell is Jarlaxle being written like a thick dolt with less understanding then an Orc? I don't want to spoil things for people that have not read the book but things that take him forever to figure out and the lack of his contact with other characters for 10 years is just absolutely idiotic.

A teenaged boy's fantasy, with two-dimensional female characters described so that their three- dimensional body parts are their prime attributes. The only thing missing is a parent's basement and a twenty-sided die.

I've read everything from R. A. Salvatore. Gauntlgrym is the best one yet. The journey you go on is an amazing one. Beware, for you'll cry like a baby. I sure did. I've always waited patiently for a new Drizzt book, but this time, I was chomping at the bit. I was not let down, not at all. This truly is a tale for the ages. Action, sorrow, friendship, and adventure. You're right in the thick of things as you turn every page. The beginning, middle, and ending... all epic. Especially the ending! I love this one and you will to.

Off I go, to read it again.

My goodness.
I don't even know what to say.

I haven't read a Drizzt book in a while, but I picked this one up because I loooove Neverwinter.
It has a great storyline, and the ending will freaking tear you up inside. So many feels.

I was thinking of why I so enjoy Drizzit , Bruenor stories with all the violence and monsters. The violence and monsters are back ground. The dazzling foreground and my attraction is the love, honor and dedication the various friends in R.A.'s stories bask within, share, together ad infinitum.

If there is one thing I can count on with R A Salvatore, its the deliverance of an excellent tale. As with his other works, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Having Jarlaxle, Drizzt, Bruenor and Athrogate in the same book again was a welcomed treat. The introduction of the new character (trying to avoid spoilers) was also quite well done and enjoyable. I also thought it was great that a certain character has begun to change after some 80+ years of life, and then discovers that Drizzt is indeed alive. The story was full of great character interaction and some emotional moments as well. Drizzt fans will not be disappointed.

I was a great fan of the earlier contributions of the series, but my interest in Drizzt waned by the time we got to the Hunter's Blade Trilogy. Having some time over the holidays, thought I'd pick up Gauntgrym to get back into it. I was pretty disappointed. First of all the plot is a bit forced. An ancient monstrosity that has the power to destroy cities and turn the world upside down, and the only thing that prevents it from being unleashed is something a small child could work? The guards of the Gauntgrym, which supposedly could tear half-demons apart, just idly watched as the very thing they were guarding was being undone? Sorry, a little more complexity in the plot would have sat better with me.

Then we move onto the characters. Drizzt, I found, is no longer compelling. Some other reviewers speak to his newfound moodiness, but for me, it's the fact that he's just too powerful to be interesting anymore. Magical mounts, summoned panther, magical bow with limitless arrows, twin magical scimitars, bracers of speed, etc. etc. There is never once in the battles where you don't think "ho hum, another well choreographed battle, but we know the result". The new character, Dhalia, probably would have been more interesting had Salvatore spent more time building up her initial characterization, because the mid-novel switch made her yet-another stereotypical character. The only character of that I liked was Jaraxle, he provided some insights that to me make him much more likable than the new Drizzt. Of course there's Bruenor, but his role in the book was pretty obvious from about page 2.

Overall, the book helped kill a day of my holidays, but I have no plans of reading this again ever.

Gauntlgrym by R. A. Salvatore- This is the first book in the Neverwinter trilogy as well as the twentieth novel in The Legend of Drizzt series. The next two books in the trilogy are yet to be named at the time of this review. The Legend of Drizzt series contains a number of trilogies and series and it all takes place in the Forgotten Realm universe of Dungeons and Dragons. The Dark Elf Trilogy (Homeland, Exile, and Sojourn), The Icewind Dale Trilogy (The Crystal Shard, Streams of Silver, and The Halfling's Gem), Legacy of the Drow (The Legacy, Starless Night, Siege of Darkness, and Passage to Dawn), Paths of Darkness (The Silent Blade, Spine of the World, Sea of Swords), The Hunter's Blades Trilogy (The Thousand Orcs, The Lone Drow, and The Two Swords), and Transitions (The Orc King, The Pirate King, and The Ghost King) are all apart of The Legend of Drizzt series. Some other characters in the saga are found in The Sellswords trilogy (Servant of the Shard, Promise of the Witch King, and Road of the Patriarch) and The Cleric Quintet (Canticle, In Sylvan Shadows, Night Masks, The Fallen Fortress, and The Chaos Curse). R. A. Salvatore has also written a few other books set in shared universes. He has written two Star Wars based books, Vector Prime and Star Wars Episode Two: Attack of the Clones, and he has also written a book based on Tarzan called Tarzan: The Epic Adventures. R. A. Salvatore has also written a few books in his on created worlds, Ynis Aielle (Echoes of the Fourth Magic, The Witches Daughter, and Bastian of Darkness), Spearwielders Tales (The Woods Outback, The Dragon's Dagger, and Dragonslayer's Return), The Crimson Shadow (The Sword of Bedwyr, Luthien's Gamble, and The Dragon King), Demon Wars (The Demon Awakens, The Demon Spirit, The Demon Apostle, and Mortalis), Demon Wars: Second Saga (Ascendance, Transcendence, and Immortalis) and the Saga of the First King (The Highwayman, The Ancient, The Dame, and The Bear). He also co-wrote The Stone of Tymora (The Stowaway, The Shadowmask, and The Sentinels) with his son Geno Salvatore. Along with all that, he has written a few short stories. Gauntlgrym was released in October 2010 and is published by Wizards of the Coast.

Years have passed since Drizzt Do'Urden's life changed. His love, Catti-brie, is dead, along with his friend Regis. The dwarven kingdom of Mithral Hall's peace treaty with the orcish Kingdom of Many Arrows has held over the years and a peace is found in the land. His other friend, the king of Mithral Hall, Bruenor Battlehammer, is nearing the end of his life. However, Bruenor still has the fire in him to find the lost dwarven kingdom named Gauntlgrym, so he brings Drizzt, the battlerager Pwent, an orc named Jessa, and a gnome alchemist named Nanfoodle along with him. Years upon years pass by with no luck finding the place. Even after Jessa and Nanfoodle pass away, Drizzt and Bruenor continue the search. However, another group stumbles upon the forgotten city. A Thayan named Dahlia is searching for what powered the Hosttower, a treelike tower that housed wizards in Luskan before the cities fall. Her search for answers leads her to Jarlaxle and his dwarven friend Athrogate. Little do they know that it was Gauntlgrym that produced the Hosttower. Unknown to the group, unleash a primordial and with it, devastation. After years pass after the devastation, Drizzt and Bruenor are still on the search for the ancient dwarven stronghold. However, they may need the help of Jarlaxle and Athrogate to find it.

Criticisms:
1) Time Jumps. This is my major issue with Gauntlgrym, as well as any other book I read. I loathe time jumps. I am not a fan when a story jumps forty some odd years. I would have liked to see some of the adventures that Drizzt, Bruenor, Jessa, and Nanfoodle under took, I do hope that somewhere down the line there will be a short story involving one such adventure. I would have liked to see more of Drizzt and Bruenor failing at finding Gauntlgrym or their brief search for finding Catti-brie and Regis. I would have liked to see this, or even a chapter about some of these things. Now, I wouldn't have an issue if it was two or three years pass. I wouldn't even have that big of an issue with just one time jump. However, Gauntlgrym has two jumps. Two jumps that forcefully progress the story. While the first jump was about fifty years, the second is a more reasonable ten or so. However, this still bothered me. We never really see Dahlia's consequences for her actions she took in Gauntlgrym. We never see how Athrogate is effected, nor Jarlaxle. We do have little snippets, but there is so much more to be said. These jumps just make the story seem as through it was rushed. We have a lot of things happening, but nothing to really show for it aside from a line or two.

Praises:
1) Drizzt. Let me be honest here for a second. It's my opinion that after twenty-sum books, Drizzt Do'Urden has grown a little stale. Don't get me wrong, he still is great, but he never really seemed to undergo a major change that seems to last for an extended amount of time. Sure there were times were he let his savage side take over (The Hunter's Blades Trilogy) and the life changing event that he underwent in The Ghost King. But for the past twenty-two years, he has hardly changed. That being said, Drizzt does undergo a shift in personality, albeit subtle. In fact, I barely noticed any major change until Jarlaxle pointed it out. Before, Drizzt only killed when it was necessary. Now he seems to enjoy it. It's almost like the 'Hunter' in The Hunter's Blades Trilogy, but with more control. It's almost like he's becoming more 'Drow'. It is nice to see that everything that Drizzt went through in his life thus far is finally affecting him. He may seem like the Drizzt we all know and love, but now there seems to be something more, and darker, growing in everyone's favorite drow.
2) Jarlaxle. Jarlaxle really surprised me. I knew that Jarlaxle does have a somewhat noble streak to him, but I am utterly at a loss for words about what he does. Sure, he's still the pragmatic drow that we've known from before, but now there seems to be more to him than what meets the eye. He seems to be more disparate and uncontrolled. The best example is his one on one interactions with Drizzt. To put it simply, Jarlaxle yells at Drizzt for being what he's become. I never would have thought that Jarlaxle would do such a thing. But that's just not all he does. There were other things in the story that I would have never have thought Jarlaxle would do. It was just a nice surprise to see more character depth to Jarlaxle.
3) Forward. I do like where the series seems to be heading. Now it seems like there will be little reminiscing of the past, and the legend of Drizzt is going in a new, exciting direction. I'm just excited to see what happens next.

Side Notes:
1) Valas Hune. It was nice to see one of the my favorite characters from The War of the Spider Queen series make a brief cameo.
2) Barrabus the Grey. I hope this isn't who I think it is. If it is, all I can say is that I'm disappointed.
3) Cover Art. The first thing I noticed about the cover art is that it's bright. It really catches your eye and draws it in. After so many recent Dungeons and Dragons based books having darker coloring, it's nice to see something bright. The action scene between Drizzt and Dahlia is pretty epic looking, although it doesn't happen in the novel. That kind of bothers me. It would have been wonderful to see Drizzt and Dahlia fighting one another. The only major issue I have is that Dahlia looks horrible. She doesn't look the least bit attractive. In fact, her face just doesn't look quite right, almost as though everything is just squished together. However, the cover art is definitely a nice, bright change and I do like it.

Overall: 4/5
Final Thoughts:
Gauntlgrym is good. I wouldn't really expect any less from a Drizzt novel. However, there is one problem that I still can't get over. I hate the time jumps. I absolutely hate it when things are skipped over that could have made an interesting couple of chapters. In fact, I would have rather have had this book as the second in the trilogy. The first book could have been some of the events leading up to Athrogate pulling the lever. Dahlia seemed to need a little more development, and we could have had some time getting to know Jessa and Nanfoodle. That said, the rest of the story was great. It's nice to finally see everything impacting Drizzt and a new, unexpected look at Jarlaxle. I'm really liking where this story is taking Drizzt. So should you pick it up? Yes. Definitely. Even if you're not a fan of Drizzt, it's well worth a read. However, you should have a little prior knowledge before jumping in.

This book continues to diminish my interest in Salvatore's world of Drizzt, which started to diminish with maybe his fifth most recent book (whatever book that was the start of the whole Orcs and Obould saga books). I'm sure other readers feel as I do that these most recent Salvatore book's content are very thin compared to the Seige of Darkness-type books era, so I won't begin comparing.

My main gripes about this book are these:
1) You'll be reading along, and suddenly, beginning with the next chapter, you've completed 10-100 years of Drizzt's life. It's obviously inevitable, with his long life span, to phase out human characters, but as another review said, due to the lack of depth at any point in this book, and the severe time gaps, this book seems like it could have been a prologue to a more concrete book.
2) Salvatore's new characters are barely explained, which leads to my disinterest in them
3) Salvatore's new characters, to be blunt, are like lame kid's cartoon He-Man characters... fire breathing red lizard-men, an elf lady who uses a fancy pole as if she were a pole vaulter, a dwarf that rhymes (I know he's not new, but come on...)
4) Speaking of the elf's pole weapon... WAY OVER DONE! I was so sick of hearing how magnificent a weapon, which sounds like a cross between a break apart tent pole and Raiden's staff, was. Salvatore must have thought this weapon was such a great, clever, original idea, that he should devout entire page fight scenes that describe how it can break apart and come back together. Oooouuu, aaaahhhhh!
5) The little humor in the story was even more tacky then previous books. I feel like even more of a dork to think that people that read fantasy books like these also like humor like this.
6) Last, but not least, Gauntlgrym (which in the end, after it's been spoke of in many books and searched for by Bruenor for 100s of years, only is the location of the story for 10% of the book) is a complete Mines of Moria rip off.

I have been a fan of R.A. Salvatore for 15 years and have read every book he's written. I must say, I have been disappointed with the "Drizzt" series since Thousand Orcs (although I have enjoyed the demon wars and other Corona series). But I have kept reading anyway. And now I have been rewarded! This book was so hard to put down. It was refreshing, exciting, and at times very moving. I am glad to have my favorite author back!

Fans of the long-running Forgotten Realms series focusing on the adventures of Drizzt Do'urden and his companions will not be disappointed by the latest installment. Gauntlgrym is a fascinating tale that continues the journey of the dark elf ranger in a time when the world of Abeir-Toril has been vastly altered by the events of the Spellplague. Taking place approximately 100 years after the events of the preceding book in the series, Gauntlgrym reconnects readers to some familiar characters and introduces a variety of new villains. Join Drizzt as he battles these new foes and faces both demons released on the world and those bottled within himself. Unfamiliar readers and long time fans alike may be surprised at the emotional battleground pitched against the epic physical struggles artfully displayed in this masterpiece.

A lot of people will say this: "The time jumps are awful!", and I have to agree. But at the same time it could be considered needed. We are talking about Drizzt, a drow. Long lived elf. Very long lived! We have been with him since he was born, literally, and is just logical that we can't be with him for every day of his life. Not even R.A. Salvatore will live that long! So, the time jumps are still awful, they take a lot of magic from the story, but at the same time they open a road for more to come, with new things and with changes.
In conclusion: Grab your copy, read it, cry over it, and enjoy it!

Been a die hard Salvatore fan from the time I was introduced to the series. The disappointment in this were the changes to Drizzt's nature due to the losses around him, as well as the giant time jumps. I realize that Wizards of the Coast said jump the timeline forward 100 years, and Mr. Salvatore had no control over it but it led to much confusion as to certain new "types" of characters in the book such as tie flings, and the netherese would not be recognized if you had not read the short story appendices. Lastly Barrabbus the Gray is obvious, no matter that his name was changed. The references to perfection gave it away.

I have read many of Salvatore's books, and loved them all...except this one. I got half way through the book and put it down for about two weeks and never picked it back up. Disappointed that I have bought the bothers and will probably not buy another.
The story started to seem rather shaky to begin with, the characters lacked the personality that they once had, and at least in my opinion, there were inconsistent character or plot occurrences.

If this is anything like the next two...this will be fun! I like where we are going. I was skeptical to the change w/ the spellplague and other changes in the Forgotten Realms. But when you stand back and look at where Drizzt and Co. have been compared to where things might be headed...it's a fun ride! Without spoilers...I will say we are heading down some adventurous roads. Back to him out on the road w/ no home base...trying to learn from all that Drizzt sees and encounters. Fans will not be disappointed!

Another great book in the Drizzt series. Although the book takes place in the far future of where Salvatore left off last, he does a good job of describing events in between, and introduces some great new characters. Cant wait for the next one.

The writing has improved and the Characters themselves are interesting. And the book is worth a read for that alone. This is some of the better character development Salvatore has done.

But the story itself reads like you are playing a video game. You could use this book as the intro to a forgotten Realms MMO and it would fit right in. This seems to be how many Forgotten Realms novels are being written nowadays. That is NOT a good thing.

The combat porn is a little over the top...*way* too much time is spent trying to explain to the reader just how cool and unique Dahlia's special staff is and how well she can use it.

It's been awhile since I've read one of Salvatore's Drizzt novels. It's a different Faerun now and much has happened that I missed but his writing skill is ever as sharp as his hero's fighting skill and I am now compelled to finish this saga.

I have just finished book 1 of this great trilogy and I would have to say that I completely enjoyed this book from start to finish. I highly reccommend it to anyone who is a fan of r.a. salvatore. Bring on book 2

I have read many of Salvatore's books, and loved them all...except this one. I got half way through the book and put it down for about two weeks and never picked it back up. Disappointed that I have bought the bothers and will probably not buy another.
The story started to seem rather shaky to begin with, the characters lacked the personality that they once had, and at least in my opinion, there were inconsistent character or plot occurrences.

If this is anything like the next two...this will be fun! I like where we are going. I was skeptical to the change w/ the spellplague and other changes in the Forgotten Realms. But when you stand back and look at where Drizzt and Co. have been compared to where things might be headed...it's a fun ride! Without spoilers...I will say we are heading down some adventurous roads. Back to him out on the road w/ no home base...trying to learn from all that Drizzt sees and encounters. Fans will not be disappointed!

Another great book in the Drizzt series. Although the book takes place in the far future of where Salvatore left off last, he does a good job of describing events in between, and introduces some great new characters. Cant wait for the next one.

The writing has improved and the Characters themselves are interesting. And the book is worth a read for that alone. This is some of the better character development Salvatore has done.

But the story itself reads like you are playing a video game. You could use this book as the intro to a forgotten Realms MMO and it would fit right in. This seems to be how many Forgotten Realms novels are being written nowadays. That is NOT a good thing.

The combat porn is a little over the top...*way* too much time is spent trying to explain to the reader just how cool and unique Dahlia's special staff is and how well she can use it.

It's been awhile since I've read one of Salvatore's Drizzt novels. It's a different Faerun now and much has happened that I missed but his writing skill is ever as sharp as his hero's fighting skill and I am now compelled to finish this saga.

I have just finished book 1 of this great trilogy and I would have to say that I completely enjoyed this book from start to finish. I highly reccommend it to anyone who is a fan of r.a. salvatore. Bring on book 2

I have followed Salvatore's work from the beginning. I love Drizzt, Cadderly, Jarlaxle, Artemis and all the rest. I loved this book. But you can definitely tell how Mr. Salvatore is having to sacrifice/dumb down his writing to co-exist with Wizard's TERRIBLE 4th Edition Faerun. Hey Wizards of the Coast, thanks for nothing! Mr. Salvatore, Thank you for EVERYTHING!!!!

First let me get this of my chest. How is Dahlia on Drizzt level? I think Mr. Salvatore belittles experience. Drizzt is not just good because he had training, but because of his numerous battles against tough odds and tougher foes. This young elf all of a sudden is as good as the Master Swordsman himself? Come on. If she was so good, why has no one ever heard of her or her adventures? There wasn't one time when any of the characters talked about her reputation before they first encountered her. After the first encounter, she is one of the best fighters the Realm has ever seen? Again, come on! Everyone in the land has heard of Drizzt because of his accomplishments. One other point, shouldn't Drizzt be a better fighter now than when he first came from Menzo? In essence, this Dahlia chick is better than Drizzt was a few decades ago when he fought Entreri, or Obould, or the Dragon? One more time, Come on!!

Now let's talk about Drizzt. It's been some years now that his companions have passed away, and now his whole personality changes? Drizzt must have realized that at any time his friends might die and must have thought of a future without them. His friends dying must not have come as a complete shock.

At one point Jarlaxle berates Drizzt on not caring anymore, and just a few pages later, Drizzt tells Bruenor to go pull the lever so thousands don't die. Which is it, does Drizzt care anymore or is he uncaring?

I hope Mr. Salvatore changes Drizzt back to the mindful elf with a conscience I have been reading about for the past few years. I understand Mr. Salvatore wanted a change, but I felt he over did it.

Although I've read almost 500 fantasy/science fiction novels, the R.A. Salvatore novels most particularly have always had a dear place in my heart after I originally picked up The Crystal Shard at a garage sale one afternoon in 1988 as a teen. Since then I've stopped whatever I was doing at the time to pick up each one over the last 22 years on the day it was released, and Gauntlgrym was no different.

I'm no professional critic, so I'll simply say that I thought this book was fantastic. Even despite the classic characters we are well familiar with, he still wastes no time introducing a plethora of new and interesting characters as well. *or reintroducing others, such as Barrabus the Gray, :-)*

The pace was perfect, the environments exciting, the action superb, and the emotions deep, I would rate this in the top 5 of the series so far. *Beaten on my list only by Homeland, Silver Streams, and Servant of the Shard* I am very excited that this is the first in what is shaping up to be a great new trilogy... Salvatore has still got it!

I finshed this book in 2 days. While it lack the depth of the other stories, it is still worth reading and it shows drizzt moving on with his life. I pefer the orc king instead.This series severly lacks the claiber of witing in the rest of the drizzt books. If he does not start writing better this wil the last series I waste my money and time on. The Orc King: Transitions, Book I

I've just started reading fantasy books in the last 2 yrs. The legend of drizzt was the 1st series I've read & after the first book i purchased the entire series the next day. Gauntlgrym is another stellar installment to the series

Like many of the other reviewers I too have been a fan of Mr. Salvatore's and Drizzt for many years. The stories have perhaps been a little thinly plotted at times but (and again as other reviews have noted) the overwhelming attractiveness of the characters and the diligence with regards to detail won me over; simple stories told with vigor and joy. This is most certainly not the case with this one.
If you read no further (please don't!) consider this: this book is awful. It is without all the things you liked about the author's earlier work. What follows does not really contain spoilers.
I'm worried to read that Mr. Salvatore was directed(?) to write this new work in a particular way, to emphasise the new era of uncertainty striking the Realms; since when did the novels serve as advertisements for the games before? I've been struck in the past by how the coherence of Faerun has been directed by the novelists, both in later renderings in both the electronic games and the paper/dice formats. Is this no more? If, as alleged elsewhere, Mr. Salvatore is writing to suit other masters than that of his own vision of Drizzt and his life I stop with 'Neverwinter'.
Whilst this review has nothing to do with a novel/phenomena of a few years ago (concerning the Catholic Church, the life of Jesus Christ and a bloodline supposedly contiguous from Christ's time to our own) some parallels are worth drawing: the unnamed author is a teacher of writing, his plotting is weak (at best?), his characters banally one-dimensional, his conclusions cheap.Here too, it pains me to write, is an interesting idea wrecked. Drizzt and his story is interesting, has been and may yet prove so again. The pressures of acting against type, not being a follower but a leader through adgherence to principle, and questions of racism have all been at points fascinating. Not here though. One of the things that leaped out at me on reading this was the ease with which some decent editing may have saved the book. The time leaps that drove others to pan the book hurt my enjoyment too; the orc priestess and gnome characters seemed interesting so they must die. Bruenor and his great love for his son-in-law is rendered in the most cursory of manners. Where before Mr. Salvatore had delighted in teasing out new understandings of the characters as they matured (presumably as his own writing matured), in 'Gauntlgrym' the plotting (or its absence) and characters portraits sought new depths in cheap platitudes and barely sketched out scenarios. Time because of his lengthy natural lifespan is something Drizzt has in spades but not it seems with his author. The great swathes of time not written of in 'Gauntlgrym' is thrown aside for a new set of... What has it been thrown aside for? New enemies? Broader issues requiring the legend of the North? New love?
Nothing. Not even the craft of writing. A simple story told well can still be excellent. An over complicated story trying to write out aspects of the past in order to usher in the future should evidence care. That 'Gauntlgrym' does not isn't its undoing. Its failure is trying to do lots and getting it wrong everywhere! Other authors have made stories of similar scope work. Here it merely comes across as unfocused, dry and ultimately dull. Where his earlier work could have been used as a stimulus for students of writing considering form, tone, narrative trajectory and the like, could that be said of this novel? No. Instead this has all the hallmarks of writing by type like a cheap romance novel, though my hurt is the worse for having felt so much more towards the characters in previous installments. Read at your peril; ask for it as a gift if you must!

Couldn't get into the new characters. I was looking for the elf and dwarf. Maybe they come later in the book but I was to bored to get to them. I think I own 99% of all Salvatore books. This was the first one, I couldn't read.

I am a Fan of Drizzt, but after this travesty.... I don't know if I can read another.
Too much times passes and too many losses and additions to character line-up.
Not to mention the hell that is the new Forgotten Realms.... well, I have been a FR fan for many years.
But any new FR boots will indeed be skipped and forgotten... atleast until the Realms many love returns.

First and foremost "Gauntlgrym" has to be one of my favourite Drizzt books. Salvatore has done it again and I haven't had this feeling with Drizzt since I finished "Sojourn". I laughed, and cried with Drizzt in this book and for any fans of the Drizzt series you will NOT be disappointed. As a wise wizard once said, you stage of the journey is over, another begins!

Salvatore makes us reconnect with Drizzit in the very beginning of the novel, reaching into the dark elf's mind to reveal a troubled dark elf. That is exactly what I would have expected from anyone, human or elf, after losing the love of their life, even if 20 years have passed since the Ghost King. But then as another fifty years pass, Drizzit is the same brooding soul!! For someone as mentally strong as Drizzit--isn't this the elf who survived the many trials of the underdark alone for decades?--I expect more resiliency of character. Isn't it a little obsessive to dwell upon the loss of love 70 years ago and then 100 years ago?

I think this story had the potential of becoming something great. If Salvatore had concentrated on the passing of the first 20 years after the Ghost King, adding only a few characters--he dropped too many characters into his novel and didn't development them enough for the reader to feel any sense of attachment to them--he would have done much better. Better still would his novel have been if he concentrated on Drizzit's indifference towards the world after the short passing of only 10 or 20 years. After all, Drizzit himself says that he tries to live his life in segments. 100 years is a heck of a long segment to still dwell on the dead wife you had for only maybe 20 short yrs!

Also, Drizzit's new love interest after the short passing of a 100 yrs is very unbelievable. She starts off in her 20's, a baby amongst elven or even some human standards, and yet she's this hardened, ninja-like killer! She even has the power to kill vampires? They hardly introduced the vampire in this novel, which I would have liked to have seen more of, and made him a weakling. A zombie with a strong club could have killed him!

Overall this book had all the trappings of a fine novel, but Salvatore tried to do too much, forgetting that limiting a novel's in terms of characters, melding unbelievable characters into a single, much stronger one, enhances the story greatly. And in a parting note, I had wanted to see much more of Drizzit as well, who was and still will be the most interesting character of Salvatore's novel. But instead Salvatore fills his pages with the unconvincing villains, the ninja-elf in her 20's and her human rival, neither of whom stirred any emotion in me.

This book tells the story of a quest for a dwarven kingdom which legend says is rich with treasure and magic. It's a classic style fantasy joining Drizzt and Bruenor on various adventures that happen along the way.

I absolutely loved this story from Salvatore. I was hooked in from Chapter 1 and couldn't wait to get through the entire story. This is probably one of my top 5 favorite books that Salvatore has written. I can't wait for the next two to come out!

that hasn't been said before. Such disappointment... I know fans are begging for more Drizzt.. but... sometimes it is better to tell the fans NO and let Drizzt die in peace... or in a very extraordinary battle at least.

I will read the next book, hoping that maybe there will be more depth to the char and the story.. and some redemption in my eyes for Drizzt and R.A. Salvatore.

Ever have a book or series that just draws you in from the get-go? Thats Gauntlgrym. The 20th(?) book in the Forgotten Realms series by R.A.Salvatore delivers fast paced action, emotional turmoil and just the right amount of humor.

Drizzt, Pwent and Bruenor are off on their journey to find the legendary dwarf city of Gauntlgrym. While it seems the story moves a bit fast in the begginingthe journey is no less exciting. However, an evil cult is plotting to awaken the primordial that dwells withing the legendary city. Enter: Dahlia. She is a part of this cult, an elf warrior, she accompanies Jarlaxle and Athrogate (yes! two of my fav charactors are back in action!) to find Gauntlgrym.

On the other hand and playing a sort of minor role, Alegani of the Netherise has taken over Neverwinter and is fighting with Dahlias cult. Confusing? it can be at times, but its quickly sorted out. Eventualy as events unfold it is Drizzt, Breunor, Athrogate, Jarlaxle and Dahlia who must go to Gauntlgrym to undo a wrong that has been commited and confine the primordial that threatens to destroy Neverwinter, Luksan and anything else in its way.

The fighting is intense as all the action is in Salvatores books, and the imagry is no less beautiful. We do not see into Drizzt mind as much as in previous books, and truefully, he is a bit standoffish this time around. I found myself liking Athrogate the most this time and i even get to briefly see my other favorite character, Valas Hune.

All in all I enjoyed the story, the battles, the adventure however, the end had me in tears! why Salvatore, WHY?! Needless to say, if you are a fan, your eyes will be brimming with tears by the end. I eagerly await the next in the series, though i do not suspect it will have the same charm because of the ending of Gauntlgrym.

I thought this was a very solid effort. To a reviewer who thought that the WOTC had a hand in this, I agree. Some of the characters and the story seemed forced to support the new 4th edition rules. (4th??! I was playing 2nd when I was in college...) But the underlying bones of the book are good. The drift in character of Drizzt is understandable, given the losses he faced, and makes him a more sympathetic figure. Less perfect, more real. Jarlaxle is surprising and insightful. He sees true and well, better than Drizzt, in declaring Drizzt as the "one who got away." It's a defining epithet and a praise at that, albeit a jealous and damning one to most of the dark elves. It says that Drizzt is a singular phenomenon, an exception that proves the rule to most Drow, and the brightest beacon of hope for a few who question the Drow ways. It also says that no matter how he tries, Jarlaxle knows that he is still a part of the system, the Drow zeitgeist. No matter how flippantly he acts, how he tweaks the Matron Mothers, how long he leaves the Underdark, how he detests this fact, he is one of them. Maybe it's because Jarlaxle's actions, however disrespectful to the Drow hierarchy, are not guided by his principles like Drizzt's but by his overwhelmingly selfish wants and needs -- the quintessential Drow characteristic. And the same for the rest in his band. Maybe that's why Jarlaxle is shaken so badly when he sees Drizzt's change.

Anyway, to the spoiler portion of this review. Stop reading if you care. Bruenor's final moments were great. That's how you say goodbye to an old friend. Salvatore made up for how Cattie-Brie and Regis went with this one. Bashing heads and fighting toe to toe with a pit fiend that just recently -- almost casually even -- decapitated a red dragon? What a bad ass goodbye. Awesome.

Neverwinter Saga Book 1 - Gauntlgrym
Before I get into the book, I'll start with a small overall complaint that it feels like he wrote the series, or at least the starting framework of it, to coincide with the announcement of the MMORPG of the same name. I can totally understand the synergy of having an immensely popular Forgotten Realms author describe an amazing frontier town in a book dedicated to one of the most famous names in the realms, but it feels like a sell-out. Did it work? Probably, but it doesn't mean I have to like it.

I like that the first book in the new series starts years after the events in Transitions series (Orc King, Pirate King, and Ghost King). It gives some distance from the fan-favorite characters that aren't involved and it changed the landscape away from the well-known tunnels of Mithral Hall and Menzoberanzan. I also like that two of my hands-down favorite characters make a strong appearance: Athrogate and Jarlaxle. This was a solid book and I read it a second time before book 2 came out because I wanted it to be fresh in my mind. The story was gripping, the characters were great, and the ending was moving and emotional. They got into the kind of epic-level adventures you'd expect from Drizzt and Bruenor: primordials, ancient dwarf magic, massive landscape-changing destruction, and a huge conflict between Thay and Netheril. The final battles in Gauntlgrym are incredible and keep dragging you along with amazing action, personal sacrifice, and powerful enemies. I'm wasn't overly familiar with Thay or Netheril so I had to do some research on the side to get a better grasp of that was going on, but it made for an interesting backdrop to the rest of the story. Overall the book was great and the death of Bruenor was every bit as touching as the death of Albus Dumbledore. There were some confusing parts (how did Herzgo Alegni get Charon's Claw, what happened to Artemis Entreri, etc) but the rest of the story was strong enough that those were just branches on the tree-trunk that was Gauntlgrym.

I read the first six Drizzt books long ago and loved them. When I went back to the series a few years ago, I was astounded at how poorly written they were, especially the cheesy accents, and I wondered what I saw in them. It must have been the milieu and the drow's character. I read the graphic novel of the first book recently, and the love came back.

So, having just started the game Neverwinter (which is a great deal of fun and a nice change from LOTRO), I decided to check out Gauntlgrym, seeing as that's where the game eventually leads, in order to get a better sense of the world. In this regard I was very disappointed. The city is barely fleshed out and neither it nor Gauntlgrym is on stage for very long.

I should also point out, it's never stated why Bruenor or others are even searching for it, which is weird. Unless you consider that no one's motivations are particularly well spelled out.

I think I'm putting this one down and heading to Mistborn.

Like many long-running series, this one is running out of steam and adding popular characters from the various Realms' series (Jaraxle and Szass Tam, for example) makes the problems worse, not better. As the title implies, the plot revolves around the search for Gauntlgrym, a legendary dwarf city of old and one one side Drizzt and Bruenor search for it not knowing various agents of evil are also interested. The novel attempts to conjure up some of the earlier Drizzt stories by burdening him with his emotions again and setting him on the road seeking a great treasure with his magical cat and his dwarf friend. No longer young, but still reckless in pursuit of their prize.

But reading this book is like reading the transcript of a monty hall D&D game where everyone is epic level and geared with all manner of powerful items. Even a vampire, a powerful and dangerous foe in the D&D mythology worthy of the attention of a whole party of adventurers, finds himself hopelessly outclassed by everyone around him. These nigh invincible characters have plenty of firepower, but are little more than one-dimensional stereotypes.

The pacing is erratic with long stretches of just not much going on. Battles are short and, since the characters are ridiculously powerful there's no real tension or excitement to them. Moreso when the foes are merely powerful and dangerous and hence no real threat to these artifact-wielding death machines. Worse, far too much time is spent with the various bad guys. For a Drizzt novel, he's really not in very much of it.

There are moments of genuine excitement and fun. Salvatore can still spin a yarn (the underlying plot is good), but he (and many of the other Realms' authors) have written themselves into literary box canyons where their pet characters (Drizzt, Szass, Jarlaxle, etc.) are absurdly powerful and mediocre novels like this are all they CAN write because they must maintain continuity with their prior works.

Maybe it's time to think about closing out some of these characters' stories and moving on to fresh pastures. Just sayin'...

This is my first Salvatore book, and I must admit, I'm impressed. I had always thought of the Dungeons and Dragons books as throwaways, even though I do play in the Forgotten Realms. I read a few of Ed Greenwood's books and was not impressed by them.

But this book may have changed my mind. I have already ordered the first of the Drizzt books to see if he was good back then. I hope so.

The plot is interesting and engaging, and the writing is fun and easy to follow, even the battle sequences. Heck, the battle sequences are some of the best I have read. Overall, Salvatore is a competent writer writing about a fun universe.

'Gauntlgrym' is a welcome departre from all three transitions books. The transitions books became more and more mired in what was to me, an awfully scripted spellplague.

Here both Drizzt and Bruenor are driven, by blades and life-ending quest, to chase away the memories of what happened in 'The Ghost King.' Throw in the ever complex Jarlaxle (seriously, can we get a back story about him and his connection to Drizzt's dad?) and the peculiar Athrogate and this story weaves its way to an ending that left this reader sad, but happy the end was for more dignified than that of 'The Ghost King.'

His new character Dahlia's transformation was equally fun to read particularly given her and Drizzt's mission in Neverwinter Wood for book II of the trilogy.

And Barrabus the Grey, an assasin touched by a shade, formerly of Calimport, huh, I wonder how exciting his reunion with Drizzt will be in books to come.

One sour note, as noted by others, the cover is simply wrong. It never occurs in the book. Trying to foreshadow is one thing, but getting it wrong in doing so lessens the fine story contained within.

Gauntlgrym is unlike any other Drizzt book, and fans must understand that going into it. But I also think it's one of his best all-around adventures, certainly worthy of 5 stars. Characters old and new are as compelling as ever, much to be expected from Salvatore, and Drizzt's continuing journey, with some startling new developments, is as intriguing as ever.

Much like some other folks I was bit peeved at some of the news things Salvatore is altering with his writing and the things he's doing with this inception into the Neverwinter story arc.
But I've come to appreciate these aspects as they advance the plot and set up some of the series' absolute best action set-pieces. Drizzt's introspective sections are as good as ever and Jarlaxle continues to emerge as one of Salvatore's best characters. The interplay between himself and Drizzt is perhaps the books' best aspect.

The journey into the legendary Dwarven city of Gauntlgrym is rich with adventure, excitement, and desperation. Drizzt and company take part in one of Salvatore's grandest adventures.
Salvatore's latest offering has everything you would want from a fantasy tale and is an exciting new addition to the Drizzt saga. Of course I expected nothing less.

Highly recommended and this will certainly leave you excited for the things to come for Drizzt

It's been at least ten years since I picked up a "Drizzt" book, maybe more. I adored the first six books or so and found the next four or five readable, but gradually grew tired of the characters and the adventures. A lot of the middle books seemed aimed at a younger audience with goofy sidekick characters.

I happened upon Gauntlgrym in the new releases section at the library and picked it up on a whim. I'm not sure exactly how many books I've missed in the series but a lot of time has passed and some of the characters have died (apparently for good this time). I liked the somber tone the book opened with (seemed more mature than some of those middle books I remembered), and I just treated it as a new adventure. With all the new characters introduced, it definitely feels like the start of a new series.

I was pleasantly surprised and breezed along, reading the book within a couple days. Drizzt has definitely changed from the character I remember, but it'll be interesting to follow this new arc. I'm curious to find out what happens next and plan to continue on with the trilogy.

I'll try not to get too specific, but this review might contain a few (mostly minor) spoilers. Please consider yourselves warned.

I adore RA Salvatore's work, and I've been a huge fan for about 10 years now. After the events of The Ghost King and the release of 4.0 it took me a long time to work up to reading Gauntlgrym, but I had hoped it would resolve some of my bad feelings about the changes brought on by the Spellplague.

Unfortunately, that didn't happen, and I now wish I hadn't wasted my time reading this. The whole time I was reading, it felt like it wasn't even Salvatore's work, or maybe it was a very early draft he hadn't revised yet. It even appears (in the first paragraph on the first page of the prologue, no less) that he forgot he killed a character several books prior and referenced that character being involved in events he wouldn't have actually been alive to see. It was either an oversight or a misspelling of a similar name, but it's baffling to me that someone didn't catch that before it was published.

The story seems disjointed right from the start, sometimes seeming very rushed and vague and other times dragging on and on with useless, often repeated details. The characters don't seem at all like themselves and seem to stay out of character throughout the entire book. What little character growth any of them go through is ultimately so slight and facilitated so poorly that it hardly counts as character growth. The reasons for many of the major conflicts are never fully explained -- by the end of the book, I still wasn't sure why I should care about the two factions trying to destroy each other, or what they were specifically trying to accomplish.

The story is set after a huge time jump from the previous book, and contains at least 2 more time jumps that I can remember in the story itself, plus flashbacks. With how scattered the plot was, this just added to the confusion. Add to that the misleading cover art, which depicts a battle between Drizzt and Dahlia (the new 'heroine') that never actually takes place, and you end up rereading things a lot just to make sure you didn't miss something vital.

Which brings me to my biggest complaint about Gauntlgrym: Dahlia. I hate this character. I found myself glancing back at the cover often, waiting for that battle to come around and hoping Drizzt would just kill her already.

Unfortunately, this book actually seems to be more about Dahlia than Drizzt or any of his other companions. Outside of this book I would have guessed Dahlia was the product of a young, inexperienced fanfiction writer. There are a number of scenes where her breasts appear to be almost as deadly as her weapon, given how they seem to stupefy even the most skilled opponents in the middle of combat. She's REALLY special (and sexy!), you see, and so is her weapon, and we get to read about how special (and seriously sexy!) she is and how awesome her weapon is in nearly every chapter.

Think of all the times Salvatore has mentioned Drizzt's "marvelous lavender orbs" throughout the series. It's the same with Dahlia, except it's nearly every aspect of her character, and it's all the time. And I think she has a pun name -- because tragic past and all that -- which bugs me, since it seems to reinforce my suspicion that we're supposed to like and sympathize with her due solely to her violent childhood, instead of how she's been written and developed. Dahlia Sin'felle? Really?

The tragic thing is that despite how prominently she features and how fascinating she's apparently supposed to be, she doesn't have any substance. She's set up from the very beginning as if she's supposed to be a sympathetic, interesting character, but when you get past her origin story the most you get from her is how amaaaaazing the other characters (Drizzt, in particular) think she is, and how she can totally outsmart and outfight anyone even when it doesn't make any sense.

She has skills and knowledge rare enough that they warranted some explanation, but were glossed over completely for some reason. She lacks any clear motivation, personality, allegiance, or history beyond brief, almost emotionless flashbacks now and then -- and given the overwhelming emphasis that is put on her appearance, her weaponry and how she uses it, and what the other characters think of her, I suspect Salvatore knew that. And that really bums me out, because I know how awesome this guy can really be and I don't know what got in his way this time.

While there are (many) other issues I have with this book, Dahlia is what really ruined it for me. I may read the remaining books for the sake of seeing the series through, but Gauntlgrym has set my expectations pretty low. I strongly advise anyone interested in this book to borrow it from someone or check it out at the library before buying it.

I liked the book fairly well, as I have read all of the other Drizzt books. There are leaps in time, which some have criticized. I personally like thes very much. For a while, before the Transitions Trilogy, it seemed that a course of 3 books passed about a month for the characters involved. Now years can pass, which is interesting because years are less significant for the lives of elves and dwarves, the primary characters.

Overall, the book is well-written, just as all of Salvatore's works are. I found some of it too predictable. And I agree with some comments that I have already read that we all hope Barrabus the Gray is not who is surely seems to be. I really like some of the character development for Jarlaxle. For once he doesn't seem perfectly in control of his emotions. I also am not sure where this is going: Drizzt and Bruenor talking to some old people in Icewind Dale about a human witch and her halfling friend (Cattie-Brie and Regis).

Anyway, I look forward to the next book!

Since at the core, I am a glutton for punishment, I decided to read Gauntlgrym. I was aware that any enthusiasm I might have regarding the book would be severely dampened by the mere presence of Drizzt. Since I am also frequently an optimist, I hoped that Bruenor, Jarlaxle and Athrogate would manage to make something salvageable out of it. As it was, I had mixed luck.

The story follows Drizzt and Bruenor as they hunt for the ruins of Gauntlgrym, Jarlaxle and Athrogate as they find it and a Thayan contingent (Sylora, Dhalia and Dor'crae) who actually have plans on what to do when they get there. Despite all of that being in the same sentence, Drizzt and Bruenor are sidelined for much of the book and only start to play a major part in the last section of the book. Sylora, leading the Thayan contingent, wants to make a dread ring (big nasty whatsit), gain more favor with her boss and kick the Shadovar in Neverwinter around. However, I don't like it when what are minor characters to the plotline are given more attention than the characters who are moving the book along and I can't imagine why anyone would do so except as fan service.

Much of Drizzt's face time is spent being morose and slightly unstable (not in a good way). Granted, this shouldn't be a surprise to anyone remotely familiar with the series but I, for one, can only take such things in small doses and my preferred delivery is in rhyme (yay Edgar Allen Poe!). I found it depressingly predictable that he never seemed to bother finding new friends (although I suspect his current state would make him unpleasant company to most people). I also found it equally irritating that he managed to ignore everyone pointing out that loss happens but the living matters more. Cue the Clue by Plus Four and smack that character with it until the problem goes away.

Except one of the Thayan minions (and she was indeed a minion and nothing more) also got more face time than was needed or desired by this reader. Dhalia Sin'Felle (let the bad jokes commence) switched sides around four times during the course of the book and both sense and logic seem to get lost around her. From her introduction she would have made a decent minor villainness, but for some reason this course was avoided in favor of yet another "redemption" story arc (or the beginnings of one). Ironically, a redemption arc would have had some credence had her introduction been more in keeping with her morose attitude through the middle of the book. Since this was not the case, I was pestered with the nagging suspicion that I was supposed to identify with this ill conceived creature in some way, even though the disconnect between introduction and later actions undermined this considerably. Of course, my ability to suspend disbelief in this caricature was also sabotaged by the flirting between her and Drizzt, but I suspect aforementioned preferences may be having an effect on that.

Also as a side note, the ending is rushed. Again. Let's all say it together: Climax does not equal conclusion. End on an exhale, else be as irritating as woolen underpants.

Fortunately, Drizzt and his evil-ish twin are actually supporting cast with too much face time this time since very few of their actions actually have a major impact on the main narrative. Jarlaxle and Athrogate accidentally unbind a really big elemental, with goading from the Thayan contingent and the pair of them go about setting it right with Bruenor's help. This part of the story was rather nice. Characters were consistent and caring, they made sense (which more than I can say for other members of the cast) and I was actually pretty satisfied with most of the way their sides of things played out and ended. This aspect of the book was cleanly executed and enjoyable, even though it wasn't the most complicated story in the world. Now if only the chaff could get separated out...

There were a few other details I liked a great deal. I desperately wish that Jarlaxle and Bruenor talked together more often. It was one of the things that kept me reading. In addition, Jarlaxle attempts to do the impossible: shake sense into Drizzt. I doubt it'll have any impact on anything other than Jarlaxle's storyarcs but I did appreciate the attempt a great deal. Also, there are fewer of the navel gazing essays this time around, thank goodness. I don't need to read what amounts to the same thing over and over again and it's about time that they were cut.

In the end, I have to say that for me this book oscillated between liked and loathed with next to nothing in between. It's okay in parts, but I would recommend skipping chapters.

I enjoy fantasy fiction and started reading the Drizzt books years ago. Of the newer books some are obviously better than others.but few are as entertaining as the first dozen. It almost seems that they are not written by the original author but follow a similar story line. Several of the words used in the books I am unfamiliar with are not defined by any dictionary supported by Kindle or in any of my college edition dictionaries. I could nitpick and find faults with multiple issues but overall the story line is entertaining and I expect I will follow the series to its conclusion.

I have just finished this book (finally!) and a few things jump to mind. First off, Salvatore has done a phenomenal job moving the storyline forward a hundred years. I've read some reviews that did not enjoy this transition or the writing in this one and I must disagree. Secondly, I very much enjoy the new characters introduced in this story and hope to see more of them, especially Dahlia.

Drizz't is much darker and justifiably so. He has endured many deaths in his life, none more so important than Cattie-brie. He is beginning to give himself over to the hunter. His exterior is more callous and his heart torn asunder at the loss of so many of his companions. And with each passing year or event, the drow faces life alone. Many twists and turns take this one to a memorable ending and though it is worth talking about, I will not do that here.

All in all, I enjoyed the story, the way it was told and the introduction of many new characters, who valiantly come to the forefront of Drizz'ts world. They will never replace the companions of the hall, but Salvatore has done them justice and given them all a fairly rich background and depth.

I give the book 5 out of five stars as the story moved quickly, kept me on the edge of my seat and handled the passing of time very well! Kudos! Oh, I almost forgot...who is Barrabus the Gray?! *wink*

I have been following Salvatore's Drizzt since the late 80's and have to admit to being somewhat hooked. The early stories reminded me so much of my D&D days - they were fresh, easy to read and full of great characters. However, as the years passed, Salvatore kept coming back to the same heroes and with one or two exceptions, the stories from the last decade have been disappointing.

The author split up our heroes, and took them places where in my opinion they should not have gone. But these poor quality story lines weren't the worst of it... all to frequently entire pages were filled with Drizzt's battles described in way too much detail - this was fine back in the 80's and 90's but after the first dozen or so books I've had enough of reading about double sweep this and single thrust that.

But still I buy his books (as soon as they are published in hardback) always craving a return to the early days, the fresh stories and surprises - This isn't the best Drizzt novel that Salvatore has written - but it is definitely a major step in the right direction. Yes, it's a little disjointed - but it must be remembered that Salvatore doesn't own the Forgotten Realms world which he shares with numerous other writers. Other stories have had a profound effect on the world in which Drizzt exists and I am sure that Salvatore struggled mightily to adapt the story he wanted to write into a world constantly being pushed and pulled in all manor of directions by any number of other writers.

There was a time when I believed that the Author needed to leave Drizzt behind and start work on something new (ideally within the same world). I am very happy that he persevered! This is a great story in its own right, and an excellent portal to future adventures.

Once again, I find myself looking forward to the next installment.

Gauntlgrym is first of the latest set novels in the ongoing exploits of Drizzt Do'Urden the dark elf, set in the Forgotten Realms world of Dungeons and Dragons (D&D). R.A. Salvatore's tales of high adventure that have spanned the last twenty four years, with Drizzts is usually at the fore front of these stories. From his humble beginnings in the Ice Wind Dale trilogy to his current incarnation in the Never Winter story line. From the start Drizzts has been a character that has blossomed to almost mythical proportion. He has been on leading edge of most of the major changes that have happened in the mortal world of Faerun (the major continent of the Forgotten Realms).
To understand the world in which Salvatore's a person does not need to be an avid role playing game expert. It does not hurt to have some basic knowledge of the gaming world. In its simplest terms the worlds of D&D are limited only the player imagination. A person can be almost anything they can imagine, within the limits of the game world. The worlds of D&D are worlds of swords and sorcery, of heroes and villains, Gods and mortals. All of these aspects of the games have brought into writings of the many authors that help shape these worlds. Wizards of the Coast has assembled some of the best story tellers in their styles of writing to keep the worlds that Gary Gygax helped created 1974.
Gauntlgrym marks a new beginning for our hero, Drizzts. His story began in 1988 with the Ice Wind Dale Trilogy, where he was originally created as a side kick for another character that was meant to take the lead in these stories. Drizzt himself took on a life of his own as the books were being written. He took more of a lead role in the stories. The legend of Drizzt was born in these first three books. The public hungered for Drizzt's back story. Salvatore told it stunning detail in the Dark Elf trilogy, this is how Drizzts came to be, how he rebelled against his Drow Elf heritage. In the Legacy of the Drow series everything comes full circle. In the Paths of Darkness series the characters where developed more on a human level. With the Hunters blade trilogy new powers in the world where cemented and the political pantheon on Faerun changes in ways that most long time readers would not have seen coming. The Transitions series was one of the most gripping set of books that Salvatore has written. He incorporated, extensive political intrigue, the shifts of power in a major city, and the rise and fall of a near demy-god. All of this in wake of a death of the god of magic. The death of a goddess caused the magic in the realm to go out of control; because of this chaos with magic it caused suffering and death. One of these deaths was the wife of Drizzt Do'urden, changing him forever.
Drizzt has suffered great loss with the loss of his wife Catt brie, his close companion Regis and Wulfgar. All of these have weighed heavy on Drizzt since the events of the Spell Plague (see Transition Trilogy) and have taken their toll. Salvatore touches on the darker side of Drizzt in Gauntlgrym. This is a side of him that readers caught a glimpse of in the Lone Drow. Yet unlike that time Catt brie really is dead. This side of Drizzts has rarely been explored in the recent years. This is a welcome change, showing how a character that has touched so many can go through the trials and tribulations of life, just like everyone else. This is what makes Salvatore's work so relevant, his characters move forward with their lives, even in darker ways that is unexpected. Drizzts went from being in loving and fulfilling relationships with his long time wife and friends, to being thrown in to a chaotic and unpredictable relationship with an elf assassin named Dahlia. Along with many old adversaries/allies such as Jarlaxle , Athrogate and King Bruenor Battlehammer. The companions are forced to search for the fabled dwarven kingdom of Gauntlgrym in order to prevent a cataclysm set in motion by an evil Litch Herzgo Alegni, Dahlia's former lord and master.
In Gauntlgrym, the world that Salvatore portrays a much darker Ferun then has been previously shown. It is an intriguing world where evil freely travels the country side trying to conquer the land. A world where hero's who would usually stand up to stop this impending doom, are now so mired in their own despair to even care about what is going on around them. The world that so many have fallen in love with has changed. This is what makes the book so moving, what we know or think we know about this world has changed and will continue to change. Can the quest of a former king and his down trodden friend bring the world back from the brink? The answer to this question and more can be found in the pages of Gauntlgrym by RA Salvatore.

This new "universe" is just too dark for my taste. I liked Drizzt and his companions growing up but now all the stories are dead serious and gray. Seems like bad characters are always gray and Drizzt has lost his passion for anything besides a fight.
In this neverwinter book 1 the main quest is good but I feel Drizzt needs a new set of companions that are straight good. I would love to see companions of the hall 2.0 and stop this writing style were the good guys always lose.

I've read all the Drizzt's books through thick and thin, and I am truly disappointed in Gauntlygrym. The same gems of detailed combat and delightful characters (Drizzts and Jarlaxle are my favorite) but the plot is piss poor and the new additions to the crew are painful.

By far the worst part of the book for me was the new female character, Dahlia. A murderer meant to be painted as some tragic anti-hero, only 20 but as skilled and geared as our 20 book 200 year old veteran and an assassin who is 99% likely to be just as prepared as our protagonist, who also knows basic magics and has risen greatly in the Thayan ranks in a very short time. She is one-dimensional, screams of cheap Mary Sue set up and delivery, and is completely unlikable. If she was a side character it would be an annoyance. She is not however, working as the second to most important person, so it kills the book right there.

Sadly the rest of the book is not all that great. As mentioned in other reviews, the time skips can be a little jarring, and the main bad guy isnt all too scary or impressive. There are still specks of the things that made me love the Drizzts book in there, but it isn't enough to make up for the terrible character set ups and jarring story plot.

So...I'm not a professional reviewer by any stretch of the imagination. This is actually the first review I've written about anything to be honest. But I thought maybe my opinion would help someone make a decision about making a purchase here.

Drizzt and his stories have been going on for over 20 years now. I started reading his tales during my Middle School years and have not stopped since. With that being said, for newcommers to the series - picking a place to start can be a little daunting when looking at all of the choices. In my opinion - this book could make for a good entry point for someone who has never read any of the earlier works. There are certainly references to earlier battles and previous books within this novel, but I dont believe your required to of read them to enjoy the story. In all honesty, if you enjoy the read it would probably encourage you to go back and start some of the earlier books. ( Other great entry points into the series - Homeland, The Crystal Shard, The Thousand Orcs)

For those of you that are huge fans of Mr. Salvatore's work and have read many of his earlier novels, I believe this book is a good book that finishes out as a fantastic book. The first three quarters of the book do a good job of introducing you to new characters, reintroducing a few long time characters (Jarlaxle and co.), and even a cameo or two for those individuals who gobble up FR Fantasy. But the last quarter of this book is where Mr. Salvatore really shines. The underground battles are reminiscent of some of the earlier Drizzt novels and actually had me physically smiling as the events played out. Going on the journey to re-energize both the characters and the series that I've grown to love was a joy. I don't want to spoil anything - but the way this book closes is fantastic.... the perfect ending.

I have read a few criticisims of the 'time push' that occurs within this novel, and while to some degree warrented - I thought this was the only real way that The Wizards of the Coast and their authors could handle large 'world' changing events. Remember, this world that Mr. Salvatore writes in is shared by many other authors. So in order to have certain events occur, give enough time for the consequences of those events to play out.... pushing the timeline up during the book is really the only practical way to accomplish it. It's also nice that this particular series will be 'current' with many other of the authors of Forgotten Realms fantasy and the gaming materials.

I concur with some of the other readers that have mentioned the series getting a little stale. Although always enjoyable, I had started to wonder if the original 'crew' were going to be the central targets of every book. Well, that mold has now been broken. This book appears to highlight and narrate some slight personality shifts within everyone's favorite character (Drizzt)as well as give the entire series a brand new point to leap from. I am very excited with where the next book will lead me as the reader.

In closing,

If your a fan of Tolken type fantasy - this is a great book to read.

If you've never read a Drizzt book and are looking for somewhere to jump in - this book is a good entry point.

If your someone who has grown up with these characters - well, you've probably already read it.

If your one of those folks that have walked away from Drizzt because you thought things had gotten a bit stale - this is the perfect place to jump back in.

I liked the book fairly well, as I have read all of the other Drizzt books. There are leaps in time, which some have criticized. I personally like thes very much. For a while, before the Transitions Trilogy, it seemed that a course of 3 books passed about a month for the characters involved. Now years can pass, which is interesting because years are less significant for the lives of elves and dwarves, the primary characters.

Overall, the book is well-written, just as all of Salvatore's works are. I found some of it too predictable. And I agree with some comments that I have already read that we all hope Barrabus the Gray is not who is surely seems to be. I really like some of the character development for Jarlaxle. For once he doesn't seem perfectly in control of his emotions. I also am not sure where this is going: Drizzt and Bruenor talking to some old people in Icewind Dale about a human witch and her halfling friend (Cattie-Brie and Regis).

Anyway, I look forward to the next book!

Since at the core, I am a glutton for punishment, I decided to read Gauntlgrym. I was aware that any enthusiasm I might have regarding the book would be severely dampened by the mere presence of Drizzt. Since I am also frequently an optimist, I hoped that Bruenor, Jarlaxle and Athrogate would manage to make something salvageable out of it. As it was, I had mixed luck.

The story follows Drizzt and Bruenor as they hunt for the ruins of Gauntlgrym, Jarlaxle and Athrogate as they find it and a Thayan contingent (Sylora, Dhalia and Dor'crae) who actually have plans on what to do when they get there. Despite all of that being in the same sentence, Drizzt and Bruenor are sidelined for much of the book and only start to play a major part in the last section of the book. Sylora, leading the Thayan contingent, wants to make a dread ring (big nasty whatsit), gain more favor with her boss and kick the Shadovar in Neverwinter around. However, I don't like it when what are minor characters to the plotline are given more attention than the characters who are moving the book along and I can't imagine why anyone would do so except as fan service.

Much of Drizzt's face time is spent being morose and slightly unstable (not in a good way). Granted, this shouldn't be a surprise to anyone remotely familiar with the series but I, for one, can only take such things in small doses and my preferred delivery is in rhyme (yay Edgar Allen Poe!). I found it depressingly predictable that he never seemed to bother finding new friends (although I suspect his current state would make him unpleasant company to most people). I also found it equally irritating that he managed to ignore everyone pointing out that loss happens but the living matters more. Cue the Clue by Plus Four and smack that character with it until the problem goes away.

Except one of the Thayan minions (and she was indeed a minion and nothing more) also got more face time than was needed or desired by this reader. Dhalia Sin'Felle (let the bad jokes commence) switched sides around four times during the course of the book and both sense and logic seem to get lost around her. From her introduction she would have made a decent minor villainness, but for some reason this course was avoided in favor of yet another "redemption" story arc (or the beginnings of one). Ironically, a redemption arc would have had some credence had her introduction been more in keeping with her morose attitude through the middle of the book. Since this was not the case, I was pestered with the nagging suspicion that I was supposed to identify with this ill conceived creature in some way, even though the disconnect between introduction and later actions undermined this considerably. Of course, my ability to suspend disbelief in this caricature was also sabotaged by the flirting between her and Drizzt, but I suspect aforementioned preferences may be having an effect on that.

Also as a side note, the ending is rushed. Again. Let's all say it together: Climax does not equal conclusion. End on an exhale, else be as irritating as woolen underpants.

Fortunately, Drizzt and his evil-ish twin are actually supporting cast with too much face time this time since very few of their actions actually have a major impact on the main narrative. Jarlaxle and Athrogate accidentally unbind a really big elemental, with goading from the Thayan contingent and the pair of them go about setting it right with Bruenor's help. This part of the story was rather nice. Characters were consistent and caring, they made sense (which more than I can say for other members of the cast) and I was actually pretty satisfied with most of the way their sides of things played out and ended. This aspect of the book was cleanly executed and enjoyable, even though it wasn't the most complicated story in the world. Now if only the chaff could get separated out...

There were a few other details I liked a great deal. I desperately wish that Jarlaxle and Bruenor talked together more often. It was one of the things that kept me reading. In addition, Jarlaxle attempts to do the impossible: shake sense into Drizzt. I doubt it'll have any impact on anything other than Jarlaxle's storyarcs but I did appreciate the attempt a great deal. Also, there are fewer of the navel gazing essays this time around, thank goodness. I don't need to read what amounts to the same thing over and over again and it's about time that they were cut.

In the end, I have to say that for me this book oscillated between liked and loathed with next to nothing in between. It's okay in parts, but I would recommend skipping chapters.

I enjoy fantasy fiction and started reading the Drizzt books years ago. Of the newer books some are obviously better than others.but few are as entertaining as the first dozen. It almost seems that they are not written by the original author but follow a similar story line. Several of the words used in the books I am unfamiliar with are not defined by any dictionary supported by Kindle or in any of my college edition dictionaries. I could nitpick and find faults with multiple issues but overall the story line is entertaining and I expect I will follow the series to its conclusion.

I have just finished this book (finally!) and a few things jump to mind. First off, Salvatore has done a phenomenal job moving the storyline forward a hundred years. I've read some reviews that did not enjoy this transition or the writing in this one and I must disagree. Secondly, I very much enjoy the new characters introduced in this story and hope to see more of them, especially Dahlia.

Drizz't is much darker and justifiably so. He has endured many deaths in his life, none more so important than Cattie-brie. He is beginning to give himself over to the hunter. His exterior is more callous and his heart torn asunder at the loss of so many of his companions. And with each passing year or event, the drow faces life alone. Many twists and turns take this one to a memorable ending and though it is worth talking about, I will not do that here.

All in all, I enjoyed the story, the way it was told and the introduction of many new characters, who valiantly come to the forefront of Drizz'ts world. They will never replace the companions of the hall, but Salvatore has done them justice and given them all a fairly rich background and depth.

I give the book 5 out of five stars as the story moved quickly, kept me on the edge of my seat and handled the passing of time very well! Kudos! Oh, I almost forgot...who is Barrabus the Gray?! *wink*

I have been following Salvatore's Drizzt since the late 80's and have to admit to being somewhat hooked. The early stories reminded me so much of my D&D days - they were fresh, easy to read and full of great characters. However, as the years passed, Salvatore kept coming back to the same heroes and with one or two exceptions, the stories from the last decade have been disappointing.

The author split up our heroes, and took them places where in my opinion they should not have gone. But these poor quality story lines weren't the worst of it... all to frequently entire pages were filled with Drizzt's battles described in way too much detail - this was fine back in the 80's and 90's but after the first dozen or so books I've had enough of reading about double sweep this and single thrust that.

But still I buy his books (as soon as they are published in hardback) always craving a return to the early days, the fresh stories and surprises - This isn't the best Drizzt novel that Salvatore has written - but it is definitely a major step in the right direction. Yes, it's a little disjointed - but it must be remembered that Salvatore doesn't own the Forgotten Realms world which he shares with numerous other writers. Other stories have had a profound effect on the world in which Drizzt exists and I am sure that Salvatore struggled mightily to adapt the story he wanted to write into a world constantly being pushed and pulled in all manor of directions by any number of other writers.

There was a time when I believed that the Author needed to leave Drizzt behind and start work on something new (ideally within the same world). I am very happy that he persevered! This is a great story in its own right, and an excellent portal to future adventures.

Once again, I find myself looking forward to the next installment.

Gauntlgrym is first of the latest set novels in the ongoing exploits of Drizzt Do'Urden the dark elf, set in the Forgotten Realms world of Dungeons and Dragons (D&D). R.A. Salvatore's tales of high adventure that have spanned the last twenty four years, with Drizzts is usually at the fore front of these stories. From his humble beginnings in the Ice Wind Dale trilogy to his current incarnation in the Never Winter story line. From the start Drizzts has been a character that has blossomed to almost mythical proportion. He has been on leading edge of most of the major changes that have happened in the mortal world of Faerun (the major continent of the Forgotten Realms).
To understand the world in which Salvatore's a person does not need to be an avid role playing game expert. It does not hurt to have some basic knowledge of the gaming world. In its simplest terms the worlds of D&D are limited only the player imagination. A person can be almost anything they can imagine, within the limits of the game world. The worlds of D&D are worlds of swords and sorcery, of heroes and villains, Gods and mortals. All of these aspects of the games have brought into writings of the many authors that help shape these worlds. Wizards of the Coast has assembled some of the best story tellers in their styles of writing to keep the worlds that Gary Gygax helped created 1974.
Gauntlgrym marks a new beginning for our hero, Drizzts. His story began in 1988 with the Ice Wind Dale Trilogy, where he was originally created as a side kick for another character that was meant to take the lead in these stories. Drizzt himself took on a life of his own as the books were being written. He took more of a lead role in the stories. The legend of Drizzt was born in these first three books. The public hungered for Drizzt's back story. Salvatore told it stunning detail in the Dark Elf trilogy, this is how Drizzts came to be, how he rebelled against his Drow Elf heritage. In the Legacy of the Drow series everything comes full circle. In the Paths of Darkness series the characters where developed more on a human level. With the Hunters blade trilogy new powers in the world where cemented and the political pantheon on Faerun changes in ways that most long time readers would not have seen coming. The Transitions series was one of the most gripping set of books that Salvatore has written. He incorporated, extensive political intrigue, the shifts of power in a major city, and the rise and fall of a near demy-god. All of this in wake of a death of the god of magic. The death of a goddess caused the magic in the realm to go out of control; because of this chaos with magic it caused suffering and death. One of these deaths was the wife of Drizzt Do'urden, changing him forever.
Drizzt has suffered great loss with the loss of his wife Catt brie, his close companion Regis and Wulfgar. All of these have weighed heavy on Drizzt since the events of the Spell Plague (see Transition Trilogy) and have taken their toll. Salvatore touches on the darker side of Drizzt in Gauntlgrym. This is a side of him that readers caught a glimpse of in the Lone Drow. Yet unlike that time Catt brie really is dead. This side of Drizzts has rarely been explored in the recent years. This is a welcome change, showing how a character that has touched so many can go through the trials and tribulations of life, just like everyone else. This is what makes Salvatore's work so relevant, his characters move forward with their lives, even in darker ways that is unexpected. Drizzts went from being in loving and fulfilling relationships with his long time wife and friends, to being thrown in to a chaotic and unpredictable relationship with an elf assassin named Dahlia. Along with many old adversaries/allies such as Jarlaxle , Athrogate and King Bruenor Battlehammer. The companions are forced to search for the fabled dwarven kingdom of Gauntlgrym in order to prevent a cataclysm set in motion by an evil Litch Herzgo Alegni, Dahlia's former lord and master.
In Gauntlgrym, the world that Salvatore portrays a much darker Ferun then has been previously shown. It is an intriguing world where evil freely travels the country side trying to conquer the land. A world where hero's who would usually stand up to stop this impending doom, are now so mired in their own despair to even care about what is going on around them. The world that so many have fallen in love with has changed. This is what makes the book so moving, what we know or think we know about this world has changed and will continue to change. Can the quest of a former king and his down trodden friend bring the world back from the brink? The answer to this question and more can be found in the pages of Gauntlgrym by RA Salvatore.

I do not think I am a typical Salvatore fan, being a 50+ year old female. I look for different things in a book than most fans of the Drizzt novels might.

For me, this was a wonderful read. I think Bob did a great job moving Drizzt from one part of his life to the next. Bruenor was given a sendoff befitting his heroic life, and Drizzt helped his oldest and dearest friend to the bittersweet end. The novel was not lacking in well choreographed battle scenes, intrigue, sub-plots and epic enemies for the heroes to defeat.

But, through it all, this was a story of one drow elf and how he continued to deal with the changes in his life and his world...an individual who was no longer sure that anything he had done in his lifetime, or would do in the years ahead, had ever or would ever, make a difference. Drizzt is feeling an emptiness he needs to fill, to feel alive once more, to feel the excitement and the purpose that he once had in his life.

I'm sure Drizzt will continue to grow and change as Bob moves this series along; and that we readers will be treated to some unexpected twists and turns along the way.

I would recommend this book to any fan of Drizzt, or any newcomer to the wonderful imagination and writing style of R.A.Salvatore.

This new "universe" is just too dark for my taste. I liked Drizzt and his companions growing up but now all the stories are dead serious and gray. Seems like bad characters are always gray and Drizzt has lost his passion for anything besides a fight.
In this neverwinter book 1 the main quest is good but I feel Drizzt needs a new set of companions that are straight good. I would love to see companions of the hall 2.0 and stop this writing style were the good guys always lose.

I've read all the Drizzt's books through thick and thin, and I am truly disappointed in Gauntlygrym. The same gems of detailed combat and delightful characters (Drizzts and Jarlaxle are my favorite) but the plot is piss poor and the new additions to the crew are painful.

By far the worst part of the book for me was the new female character, Dahlia. A murderer meant to be painted as some tragic anti-hero, only 20 but as skilled and geared as our 20 book 200 year old veteran and an assassin who is 99% likely to be just as prepared as our protagonist, who also knows basic magics and has risen greatly in the Thayan ranks in a very short time. She is one-dimensional, screams of cheap Mary Sue set up and delivery, and is completely unlikable. If she was a side character it would be an annoyance. She is not however, working as the second to most important person, so it kills the book right there.

Sadly the rest of the book is not all that great. As mentioned in other reviews, the time skips can be a little jarring, and the main bad guy isnt all too scary or impressive. There are still specks of the things that made me love the Drizzts book in there, but it isn't enough to make up for the terrible character set ups and jarring story plot.

So...I'm not a professional reviewer by any stretch of the imagination. This is actually the first review I've written about anything to be honest. But I thought maybe my opinion would help someone make a decision about making a purchase here.

Drizzt and his stories have been going on for over 20 years now. I started reading his tales during my Middle School years and have not stopped since. With that being said, for newcommers to the series - picking a place to start can be a little daunting when looking at all of the choices. In my opinion - this book could make for a good entry point for someone who has never read any of the earlier works. There are certainly references to earlier battles and previous books within this novel, but I dont believe your required to of read them to enjoy the story. In all honesty, if you enjoy the read it would probably encourage you to go back and start some of the earlier books. ( Other great entry points into the series - Homeland, The Crystal Shard, The Thousand Orcs)

For those of you that are huge fans of Mr. Salvatore's work and have read many of his earlier novels, I believe this book is a good book that finishes out as a fantastic book. The first three quarters of the book do a good job of introducing you to new characters, reintroducing a few long time characters (Jarlaxle and co.), and even a cameo or two for those individuals who gobble up FR Fantasy. But the last quarter of this book is where Mr. Salvatore really shines. The underground battles are reminiscent of some of the earlier Drizzt novels and actually had me physically smiling as the events played out. Going on the journey to re-energize both the characters and the series that I've grown to love was a joy. I don't want to spoil anything - but the way this book closes is fantastic.... the perfect ending.

I have read a few criticisims of the 'time push' that occurs within this novel, and while to some degree warrented - I thought this was the only real way that The Wizards of the Coast and their authors could handle large 'world' changing events. Remember, this world that Mr. Salvatore writes in is shared by many other authors. So in order to have certain events occur, give enough time for the consequences of those events to play out.... pushing the timeline up during the book is really the only practical way to accomplish it. It's also nice that this particular series will be 'current' with many other of the authors of Forgotten Realms fantasy and the gaming materials.

I concur with some of the other readers that have mentioned the series getting a little stale. Although always enjoyable, I had started to wonder if the original 'crew' were going to be the central targets of every book. Well, that mold has now been broken. This book appears to highlight and narrate some slight personality shifts within everyone's favorite character (Drizzt)as well as give the entire series a brand new point to leap from. I am very excited with where the next book will lead me as the reader.

In closing,

If your a fan of Tolken type fantasy - this is a great book to read.

If you've never read a Drizzt book and are looking for somewhere to jump in - this book is a good entry point.

If your someone who has grown up with these characters - well, you've probably already read it.

If your one of those folks that have walked away from Drizzt because you thought things had gotten a bit stale - this is the perfect place to jump back in.

A book written with joy and love for the characters protrayed: old friends, indeed, spanning 20-plus years of the author's life; a philosophical musing on Life, Purpose, and Fulfillment clothed in rich and fine garments of Good vs Evil, High Adventure, Heritage and Tradition, Friendship and Love. Gauntlgrym: Neverwinter, Book I will move you, I unabashedly assert, and will bring tears to your eye - tears of joy, of just reward - by the time you finish the epilogue.

I will only add, then say no more - for you should experience this read as a well-earned, joyous discovery much like a certain Dwarf King does when arriving, after a lifetime's faith and questing, at a particular throne room - that you will find humor, comfort, satisfaction, and pleasure in Mr. Salvatore's latest be you a long-time fantasy afficionado or newly come to the genre.

May we all be so blessed, after a long life well-lived, to have the opportunity to say,"I found it, Elf."

Were as other Drizzt books the characters grow and develop over the coarse of the book, this book is too focused on getting to the new Forgotten Realms setting. It seem like good story telling was pushed aside to compress enough time. All within this book you'll come to jumps of 10+ years, at one point a character is introduced then not 2 chapters later she is gone after a time jump. That said once the book got to chapter 8 that was all but done and Salvatore managed to make a halfway decent if not up to his normal caliber story.

Salvatore has finally returned to form with Gauntylgrym, a phenomenal new Drizzt story. Drawing on the best of his supporting characters-- Jarlaxle, Athrogate, Bruenor, and Pwent-- while introducing intriguing new ones, I am pleased to say the "stay up all night to see what happens next" excitement is back (and hopefully here to stay!) Highly recommended!!

When you have Jarlaxle and Athrogate alongside Drizzt and Bruenor, you know you're in for some fun reading.

The way Jarlaxle shows Drizzt's more aggressive nature to him is pretty shocking. I never saw Jarlaxle pissed, not even under the hold of Crenshinibon. Fascinating dynamics these two have always had with each other.

Gauntlgrym is even more than it was rumored; and even more than King Bruenor dared to believe.

This book of the Neverwinter Saga has a great deal of energy[primordial, even ;)] and my eyes were wet a bit with tears of joy much like someone else's when I closed the book on the final page.

¨The Ghost King¨ represented the closure of the adventures of the Companions of the Hall, but a lot of questions remained to be answered. From a glimpse of the future we already knew that Drizzt was alive after the Spellplague but what had happened to Bruenor? This book starts a new chapter of Drizzt's adventures and answers all those questions. It covers quite a long period (1409 DR-1462 DR), but Bob Salvatore uses skillfully the passage of time to give sense to the plot. While Bruenor continues searching for Gauntlgrym with Drizz tagging along, Thayans and Netherese clash around Neverwinter. New and intriguing characters show up, like Dahlia, a deadly elf warrior with a haunting past and a signature weapon, Kozah's needle, who fights for the Thayans while the Netherese have a stealthy assasin called Barrabus the Gray who reminds us powerfully of a certain southern killer... Jarlaxle and Athrogate enter the action and help the Thayan expedition to find fabled Gauntlgrym but it turns out to be a trap that results in the liberation of a fire primordial that provokes a volcano eruption and the destruction of Neverwinter, all part of a plot by Szass Tam to create a dread ring, a nexus of negative energy that raises undead creatures. 11 years later, Jarlaxle and Athrogate enlist the help of Bruenor and Drizzt to set right the mess they helped cause. Dahlia, now a renegade of the Thayans, is also helping them. The book arrives to staggering climax where the salvation of Gauntlgrym and the destiny of Bruenor are at stake.

I must confess that initially I wasn't very caught up, not caring a lot for the new characters, but Salvatore's mastery shows and all the disperse threads converged towards a really exciting climax: I think this book is an excellent and definitive closure to the adventures of the Companions of the Hall and at the same time a really exciting introduction to a new and darker age of adventure. I'm really looking forward to the next book of the Neverwinter Trilogy.

Long live King Bruenor Battlehammer!!!

I have read many RA Salvatore books over the years...and have much enjoyed the "non-Drizzt" books more...but this new release, Gauntlgrym...holy cow is it awesome! I am half way through it, and seriously thinking that I am going to take a day off tomorrow from work to keep reading...I cannot put this thing down! I am now going to go back an read all the Drizzt books (yeah I know, lot's to catch up on).
I honestly do not know how Mr. Salvatore can keep characters that he has written about all these many years so fresh...but this story is great. I found it equally refreshing that his focus in this first novel (at least the half I have read) is more focused on the antagonists...and that just hypes the story far more, you can easily see that he is slow brewing this story, you just know that this tension is going to grow with each book! And you just know the big fights, as always will be nothing short of amazing!
I just want to take my hat off to RA Salvatore, you knowcked this one out of the park...AGAIN! I hope the second book comes out soon...this one is too good to put down!

Dave Jordan

SPOILERS!! Lets start with Barrabus. It is obvious from the beginning of the book that this is our friend Entreri, one if not the best human warrior/assassin in the whole Forgotten Realms. Then we have Drizzt one of the best warriors in the whole Forgotten Realms. Suddenly comes this newcomer Dahlia and very young at that and boom, she can clash with the best of them. This newcomer can match/challenge cast doubt of who would the winner be of such a fight with any of these 2 amazing characters. I mean, Artemis grew to what he was after years of seeking perfection, training and challenges, same Drizzt. It makes no sense that Dahlia could match them, she would have to be a special/blessed/deity or something more than what is explained to be even believable. Talking about inconsistencies, Drizzt has some magical item that makes him faster when running, and again, this Dahlia can run as fast as him. I am not saying that a character could raise to be as good or better than our beloved Entreri or Drizzt, after all, they had to start somewhere. The main issue is that you see how these characters got to where they are through time, it makes it believable. Are we to take for granted that she learned all these super skills on her own? That a young elf with some unknown past learned in a very short time what took others a long time? Inconsistencies really do it for me; when a writer like RA Salvatore start to mess around the abilities of known characters just so he can introduce new ones, it makes for very poor writing.
The good:
- Barrabus/Entreri story is good and interesting
- Jarlaxle: easily my favourite Drow, and now deeper character development
- Drizzt new developing personality: Are we going to see more of Drizzt dark side? It would rule if this was the Spider Queen original plan from the beginning, to see a drow rise above the others, be accepted and then turn into the dark again, creating chaos above and below.
- Bruenor last fight: good, but again could have been better, he felt shallow
- Dahlia: has potential, but there is more bad than good with this new character, RA Salvatore needs to polish it and make it believable and drop a few notches against seasoned fighters like Drizzt
- Athrogate: good character, but we miss most of the guilt build up after what he did, wasted character development.

The bad:
- Horrible time jumps: they can be done if done properly; RA Salvatore did not deliver.
- Moria's ripoff: is not even funny
- Inconsistencies about characters
- Shallowness and generic feel of the places in the story
- Ridiculous sub-plots: Bringing one of the best assassins to coarse someone to change the name of a bridge is not clever, is stupid, I was baffled RA Salvatore did this...

The 3 stars are because after the last books on transition and the orc wars, this is a step in the right direction, but just barely.

Epic to the level of Lord of the rings. Original characters and styles. I've never gotten into dungeons and dragons, but you don't need that to enjoy an epic fantasy. Well written fight scenes, plot that is well executed. You know there is more to the story, but this isn't just a cliff hanger at the end. Great character development through the book. I highly recommend. I borrowed this book from my library.

As a long time Salvatore fan it pains me to say that this novel was just okay. Another search for a lost dwarven kingdom? This story has been played out before and this time was not nearly as exciting as the re-discovery of Mithril Hall even though Gauntlgrym is supposed to be much older and more richly appointed.
The halfhearted attempt to include Pwent, Nanfoodle, and Jessa in the story was ridiculous. For being such a loyal companion to Bruenor and Drizzt, Wulfgar is forgotten in Icewind Dale and his "friends" hardly mourn his loss. The flashy and barely dressed Dahlia is completely out of place in this novel and can't seem to decide on who she is. A vampire, a tiefling, a demon, and a lich are thrown into the mix for kicks and the dread rings, so talked about in the book, are barely explained.
The story seems too stitched together and patch-work without enough of the continuity I am used to. It seems to me that Mr. Salvatore is either resting on his laurels or the marketing team at Wizards of the Coast is putting their hands in the soup. I hope that it is the latter. The only things that could have made this book more unreadable would be revealing that Catti-brie and Regis were now returned to the living and that Wulfgar and Artemis Entreri are still alive- oh, wait, I almost forgot about 'Barrabus the Gray'...
Hopefully this is just a temporary slump. I look forward to reading a much improved book II in the trilogy. If not I might never read the finale.

I've been a fan of R.A. Salvatore for years now so my first observation is that if you're familiar with his Forgotten Realms or Corona work and enjoyed it, then you should enjoy this as well. Building upon his earlier books featuring his signature characters including Drizzt, Bruenor, et al, this book takes over years after the end of The Ghost King.

Engrossing plots, vivid battle scenes, powerful heroes and villains, this book contains enough to keep even the casual reader entertained. Join Bruenor and Drizzt in their search for the ancient dwarven kingdom of Gauntlgrym and see what events transpire. A definite read for Salvatore enthusiasts and perhaps strong enough to draw new readers into the stories of the Companions of the Hall.

I believe this is one of Salvatore's best work, only 2nd to Servant of the Shard. I must admit, I was hesitant at first to buy this book because I found The Ghost King to be an extremely bad book, however, soon after diving into the first chapter, I found this book to be much better then the previous. It was a wonderful story with great, interesting (yes I'm looking at you children of Cadderly) characters.

I am only 1/3rd of the way through and I am loving every minute. I am enjoying the aspect that you are bringing a phenom character into a new age of D&D. Put away what you remember of the past 20 years and come into a new era. Anyone can really pick up this book now and begin without having to know too much of the past. Yes there are some tidbits but you can jump right in if you want. Keep up the great work!! Drizzt could live well beyond my years in stories not to mention even with the leap now in time you could still put some filler books in if you wanted. MORE MORE MORE!!

I have read and re-read all of RA Salvatore's book and by far this is the most rushed i've felt. If The pirate king was god awful this is just shy of that. The time leaps...yea gods man did it have to go so far so fast with nothing and i mean nothing in between. The new characters have less than half of the depth than half the people bruenor has put his mailed fist into (Kemp of Targos had more Depth). The Splintering of so many different tales to come together in one book and be mostly tied in a little bow wow way to stretch things out and put in some detail...yea not. The world is no longer flushed out in any sort of detail except for the fight scenes which mention drizzt's personality more than his continued pursuit for the perfection of his blade work... really i think Dhalia should be more a minor player than this uber cool fighter with a stick ( A break apart stick really couldn't be more creative than the rip off of the rod of lordly might from 2nd edition could you) Jarlaxle and Athrogate are a good pair in the book and often entertaining to me at least. Jarlaxle shows that he can be as moody and Murderous as the rest of his kin in certain spots but in such thoughtful ways as to not endanger his organization. Such as in his motivation for stopping the Primordials to stick it to the people who used him. Bruenor... sigh what a great ending to such a well loved dwarf.... no dwarf could ask for more.... except more detail about the end...Gods Christ who took ownership of the ancient homeland? We dont get to know... The other characters and villains like Barrabus, Sylora, and TAM???.... are ehhhh don't like em don't hate em' which needs to be the staple for a Salvatore book again you used tio actually care for characters he created and now the writing he gives us leaves us feeling like ehhhh... Perhaps Salvatore could do with using some more pre-generated charaters in his stories like the scout Valas. Perhaps Viconia DeVir? or Perhaps A son or Daughter of Evermeet's Queen out for Adventure or perhaps he can have a conversation with a different god that might be looking in on him besides dwarf gods since Bruenor died most fabulously (Honestly that was a tear jerker).

Ok, I have always enjoyed the Drizzt novels, most of them are a lot of fun (except maybe the Wolfgar detour). Always the characters are enjoyable and you get to know them and understand them over a number of books. So this leads me to my question. Why the hell is Jarlaxle being written like a thick dolt with less understanding then an Orc? I don't want to spoil things for people that have not read the book but things that take him forever to figure out and the lack of his contact with other characters for 10 years is just absolutely idiotic.

A teenaged boy's fantasy, with two-dimensional female characters described so that their three- dimensional body parts are their prime attributes. The only thing missing is a parent's basement and a twenty-sided die.

I've read everything from R. A. Salvatore. Gauntlgrym is the best one yet. The journey you go on is an amazing one. Beware, for you'll cry like a baby. I sure did. I've always waited patiently for a new Drizzt book, but this time, I was chomping at the bit. I was not let down, not at all. This truly is a tale for the ages. Action, sorrow, friendship, and adventure. You're right in the thick of things as you turn every page. The beginning, middle, and ending... all epic. Especially the ending! I love this one and you will to.

Off I go, to read it again.

My goodness.
I don't even know what to say.

I haven't read a Drizzt book in a while, but I picked this one up because I loooove Neverwinter.
It has a great storyline, and the ending will freaking tear you up inside. So many feels.

I was thinking of why I so enjoy Drizzit , Bruenor stories with all the violence and monsters. The violence and monsters are back ground. The dazzling foreground and my attraction is the love, honor and dedication the various friends in R.A.'s stories bask within, share, together ad infinitum.

If there is one thing I can count on with R A Salvatore, its the deliverance of an excellent tale. As with his other works, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Having Jarlaxle, Drizzt, Bruenor and Athrogate in the same book again was a welcomed treat. The introduction of the new character (trying to avoid spoilers) was also quite well done and enjoyable. I also thought it was great that a certain character has begun to change after some 80+ years of life, and then discovers that Drizzt is indeed alive. The story was full of great character interaction and some emotional moments as well. Drizzt fans will not be disappointed.

I was a great fan of the earlier contributions of the series, but my interest in Drizzt waned by the time we got to the Hunter's Blade Trilogy. Having some time over the holidays, thought I'd pick up Gauntgrym to get back into it. I was pretty disappointed. First of all the plot is a bit forced. An ancient monstrosity that has the power to destroy cities and turn the world upside down, and the only thing that prevents it from being unleashed is something a small child could work? The guards of the Gauntgrym, which supposedly could tear half-demons apart, just idly watched as the very thing they were guarding was being undone? Sorry, a little more complexity in the plot would have sat better with me.

Then we move onto the characters. Drizzt, I found, is no longer compelling. Some other reviewers speak to his newfound moodiness, but for me, it's the fact that he's just too powerful to be interesting anymore. Magical mounts, summoned panther, magical bow with limitless arrows, twin magical scimitars, bracers of speed, etc. etc. There is never once in the battles where you don't think "ho hum, another well choreographed battle, but we know the result". The new character, Dhalia, probably would have been more interesting had Salvatore spent more time building up her initial characterization, because the mid-novel switch made her yet-another stereotypical character. The only character of that I liked was Jaraxle, he provided some insights that to me make him much more likable than the new Drizzt. Of course there's Bruenor, but his role in the book was pretty obvious from about page 2.

Overall, the book helped kill a day of my holidays, but I have no plans of reading this again ever.

Gauntlgrym by R. A. Salvatore- This is the first book in the Neverwinter trilogy as well as the twentieth novel in The Legend of Drizzt series. The next two books in the trilogy are yet to be named at the time of this review. The Legend of Drizzt series contains a number of trilogies and series and it all takes place in the Forgotten Realm universe of Dungeons and Dragons. The Dark Elf Trilogy (Homeland, Exile, and Sojourn), The Icewind Dale Trilogy (The Crystal Shard, Streams of Silver, and The Halfling's Gem), Legacy of the Drow (The Legacy, Starless Night, Siege of Darkness, and Passage to Dawn), Paths of Darkness (The Silent Blade, Spine of the World, Sea of Swords), The Hunter's Blades Trilogy (The Thousand Orcs, The Lone Drow, and The Two Swords), and Transitions (The Orc King, The Pirate King, and The Ghost King) are all apart of The Legend of Drizzt series. Some other characters in the saga are found in The Sellswords trilogy (Servant of the Shard, Promise of the Witch King, and Road of the Patriarch) and The Cleric Quintet (Canticle, In Sylvan Shadows, Night Masks, The Fallen Fortress, and The Chaos Curse). R. A. Salvatore has also written a few other books set in shared universes. He has written two Star Wars based books, Vector Prime and Star Wars Episode Two: Attack of the Clones, and he has also written a book based on Tarzan called Tarzan: The Epic Adventures. R. A. Salvatore has also written a few books in his on created worlds, Ynis Aielle (Echoes of the Fourth Magic, The Witches Daughter, and Bastian of Darkness), Spearwielders Tales (The Woods Outback, The Dragon's Dagger, and Dragonslayer's Return), The Crimson Shadow (The Sword of Bedwyr, Luthien's Gamble, and The Dragon King), Demon Wars (The Demon Awakens, The Demon Spirit, The Demon Apostle, and Mortalis), Demon Wars: Second Saga (Ascendance, Transcendence, and Immortalis) and the Saga of the First King (The Highwayman, The Ancient, The Dame, and The Bear). He also co-wrote The Stone of Tymora (The Stowaway, The Shadowmask, and The Sentinels) with his son Geno Salvatore. Along with all that, he has written a few short stories. Gauntlgrym was released in October 2010 and is published by Wizards of the Coast.

Years have passed since Drizzt Do'Urden's life changed. His love, Catti-brie, is dead, along with his friend Regis. The dwarven kingdom of Mithral Hall's peace treaty with the orcish Kingdom of Many Arrows has held over the years and a peace is found in the land. His other friend, the king of Mithral Hall, Bruenor Battlehammer, is nearing the end of his life. However, Bruenor still has the fire in him to find the lost dwarven kingdom named Gauntlgrym, so he brings Drizzt, the battlerager Pwent, an orc named Jessa, and a gnome alchemist named Nanfoodle along with him. Years upon years pass by with no luck finding the place. Even after Jessa and Nanfoodle pass away, Drizzt and Bruenor continue the search. However, another group stumbles upon the forgotten city. A Thayan named Dahlia is searching for what powered the Hosttower, a treelike tower that housed wizards in Luskan before the cities fall. Her search for answers leads her to Jarlaxle and his dwarven friend Athrogate. Little do they know that it was Gauntlgrym that produced the Hosttower. Unknown to the group, unleash a primordial and with it, devastation. After years pass after the devastation, Drizzt and Bruenor are still on the search for the ancient dwarven stronghold. However, they may need the help of Jarlaxle and Athrogate to find it.

Criticisms:
1) Time Jumps. This is my major issue with Gauntlgrym, as well as any other book I read. I loathe time jumps. I am not a fan when a story jumps forty some odd years. I would have liked to see some of the adventures that Drizzt, Bruenor, Jessa, and Nanfoodle under took, I do hope that somewhere down the line there will be a short story involving one such adventure. I would have liked to see more of Drizzt and Bruenor failing at finding Gauntlgrym or their brief search for finding Catti-brie and Regis. I would have liked to see this, or even a chapter about some of these things. Now, I wouldn't have an issue if it was two or three years pass. I wouldn't even have that big of an issue with just one time jump. However, Gauntlgrym has two jumps. Two jumps that forcefully progress the story. While the first jump was about fifty years, the second is a more reasonable ten or so. However, this still bothered me. We never really see Dahlia's consequences for her actions she took in Gauntlgrym. We never see how Athrogate is effected, nor Jarlaxle. We do have little snippets, but there is so much more to be said. These jumps just make the story seem as through it was rushed. We have a lot of things happening, but nothing to really show for it aside from a line or two.

Praises:
1) Drizzt. Let me be honest here for a second. It's my opinion that after twenty-sum books, Drizzt Do'Urden has grown a little stale. Don't get me wrong, he still is great, but he never really seemed to undergo a major change that seems to last for an extended amount of time. Sure there were times were he let his savage side take over (The Hunter's Blades Trilogy) and the life changing event that he underwent in The Ghost King. But for the past twenty-two years, he has hardly changed. That being said, Drizzt does undergo a shift in personality, albeit subtle. In fact, I barely noticed any major change until Jarlaxle pointed it out. Before, Drizzt only killed when it was necessary. Now he seems to enjoy it. It's almost like the 'Hunter' in The Hunter's Blades Trilogy, but with more control. It's almost like he's becoming more 'Drow'. It is nice to see that everything that Drizzt went through in his life thus far is finally affecting him. He may seem like the Drizzt we all know and love, but now there seems to be something more, and darker, growing in everyone's favorite drow.
2) Jarlaxle. Jarlaxle really surprised me. I knew that Jarlaxle does have a somewhat noble streak to him, but I am utterly at a loss for words about what he does. Sure, he's still the pragmatic drow that we've known from before, but now there seems to be more to him than what meets the eye. He seems to be more disparate and uncontrolled. The best example is his one on one interactions with Drizzt. To put it simply, Jarlaxle yells at Drizzt for being what he's become. I never would have thought that Jarlaxle would do such a thing. But that's just not all he does. There were other things in the story that I would have never have thought Jarlaxle would do. It was just a nice surprise to see more character depth to Jarlaxle.
3) Forward. I do like where the series seems to be heading. Now it seems like there will be little reminiscing of the past, and the legend of Drizzt is going in a new, exciting direction. I'm just excited to see what happens next.

Side Notes:
1) Valas Hune. It was nice to see one of the my favorite characters from The War of the Spider Queen series make a brief cameo.
2) Barrabus the Grey. I hope this isn't who I think it is. If it is, all I can say is that I'm disappointed.
3) Cover Art. The first thing I noticed about the cover art is that it's bright. It really catches your eye and draws it in. After so many recent Dungeons and Dragons based books having darker coloring, it's nice to see something bright. The action scene between Drizzt and Dahlia is pretty epic looking, although it doesn't happen in the novel. That kind of bothers me. It would have been wonderful to see Drizzt and Dahlia fighting one another. The only major issue I have is that Dahlia looks horrible. She doesn't look the least bit attractive. In fact, her face just doesn't look quite right, almost as though everything is just squished together. However, the cover art is definitely a nice, bright change and I do like it.

Overall: 4/5
Final Thoughts:
Gauntlgrym is good. I wouldn't really expect any less from a Drizzt novel. However, there is one problem that I still can't get over. I hate the time jumps. I absolutely hate it when things are skipped over that could have made an interesting couple of chapters. In fact, I would have rather have had this book as the second in the trilogy. The first book could have been some of the events leading up to Athrogate pulling the lever. Dahlia seemed to need a little more development, and we could have had some time getting to know Jessa and Nanfoodle. That said, the rest of the story was great. It's nice to finally see everything impacting Drizzt and a new, unexpected look at Jarlaxle. I'm really liking where this story is taking Drizzt. So should you pick it up? Yes. Definitely. Even if you're not a fan of Drizzt, it's well worth a read. However, you should have a little prior knowledge before jumping in.

This book continues to diminish my interest in Salvatore's world of Drizzt, which started to diminish with maybe his fifth most recent book (whatever book that was the start of the whole Orcs and Obould saga books). I'm sure other readers feel as I do that these most recent Salvatore book's content are very thin compared to the Seige of Darkness-type books era, so I won't begin comparing.

My main gripes about this book are these:
1) You'll be reading along, and suddenly, beginning with the next chapter, you've completed 10-100 years of Drizzt's life. It's obviously inevitable, with his long life span, to phase out human characters, but as another review said, due to the lack of depth at any point in this book, and the severe time gaps, this book seems like it could have been a prologue to a more concrete book.
2) Salvatore's new characters are barely explained, which leads to my disinterest in them
3) Salvatore's new characters, to be blunt, are like lame kid's cartoon He-Man characters... fire breathing red lizard-men, an elf lady who uses a fancy pole as if she were a pole vaulter, a dwarf that rhymes (I know he's not new, but come on...)
4) Speaking of the elf's pole weapon... WAY OVER DONE! I was so sick of hearing how magnificent a weapon, which sounds like a cross between a break apart tent pole and Raiden's staff, was. Salvatore must have thought this weapon was such a great, clever, original idea, that he should devout entire page fight scenes that describe how it can break apart and come back together. Oooouuu, aaaahhhhh!
5) The little humor in the story was even more tacky then previous books. I feel like even more of a dork to think that people that read fantasy books like these also like humor like this.
6) Last, but not least, Gauntlgrym (which in the end, after it's been spoke of in many books and searched for by Bruenor for 100s of years, only is the location of the story for 10% of the book) is a complete Mines of Moria rip off.

I have been a fan of R.A. Salvatore for 15 years and have read every book he's written. I must say, I have been disappointed with the "Drizzt" series since Thousand Orcs (although I have enjoyed the demon wars and other Corona series). But I have kept reading anyway. And now I have been rewarded! This book was so hard to put down. It was refreshing, exciting, and at times very moving. I am glad to have my favorite author back!

Fans of the long-running Forgotten Realms series focusing on the adventures of Drizzt Do'urden and his companions will not be disappointed by the latest installment. Gauntlgrym is a fascinating tale that continues the journey of the dark elf ranger in a time when the world of Abeir-Toril has been vastly altered by the events of the Spellplague. Taking place approximately 100 years after the events of the preceding book in the series, Gauntlgrym reconnects readers to some familiar characters and introduces a variety of new villains. Join Drizzt as he battles these new foes and faces both demons released on the world and those bottled within himself. Unfamiliar readers and long time fans alike may be surprised at the emotional battleground pitched against the epic physical struggles artfully displayed in this masterpiece.

A lot of people will say this: "The time jumps are awful!", and I have to agree. But at the same time it could be considered needed. We are talking about Drizzt, a drow. Long lived elf. Very long lived! We have been with him since he was born, literally, and is just logical that we can't be with him for every day of his life. Not even R.A. Salvatore will live that long! So, the time jumps are still awful, they take a lot of magic from the story, but at the same time they open a road for more to come, with new things and with changes.
In conclusion: Grab your copy, read it, cry over it, and enjoy it!

Been a die hard Salvatore fan from the time I was introduced to the series. The disappointment in this were the changes to Drizzt's nature due to the losses around him, as well as the giant time jumps. I realize that Wizards of the Coast said jump the timeline forward 100 years, and Mr. Salvatore had no control over it but it led to much confusion as to certain new "types" of characters in the book such as tie flings, and the netherese would not be recognized if you had not read the short story appendices. Lastly Barrabbus the Gray is obvious, no matter that his name was changed. The references to perfection gave it away.

I have followed Salvatore's work from the beginning. I love Drizzt, Cadderly, Jarlaxle, Artemis and all the rest. I loved this book. But you can definitely tell how Mr. Salvatore is having to sacrifice/dumb down his writing to co-exist with Wizard's TERRIBLE 4th Edition Faerun. Hey Wizards of the Coast, thanks for nothing! Mr. Salvatore, Thank you for EVERYTHING!!!!

First let me get this of my chest. How is Dahlia on Drizzt level? I think Mr. Salvatore belittles experience. Drizzt is not just good because he had training, but because of his numerous battles against tough odds and tougher foes. This young elf all of a sudden is as good as the Master Swordsman himself? Come on. If she was so good, why has no one ever heard of her or her adventures? There wasn't one time when any of the characters talked about her reputation before they first encountered her. After the first encounter, she is one of the best fighters the Realm has ever seen? Again, come on! Everyone in the land has heard of Drizzt because of his accomplishments. One other point, shouldn't Drizzt be a better fighter now than when he first came from Menzo? In essence, this Dahlia chick is better than Drizzt was a few decades ago when he fought Entreri, or Obould, or the Dragon? One more time, Come on!!

Now let's talk about Drizzt. It's been some years now that his companions have passed away, and now his whole personality changes? Drizzt must have realized that at any time his friends might die and must have thought of a future without them. His friends dying must not have come as a complete shock.

At one point Jarlaxle berates Drizzt on not caring anymore, and just a few pages later, Drizzt tells Bruenor to go pull the lever so thousands don't die. Which is it, does Drizzt care anymore or is he uncaring?

I hope Mr. Salvatore changes Drizzt back to the mindful elf with a conscience I have been reading about for the past few years. I understand Mr. Salvatore wanted a change, but I felt he over did it.

Although I've read almost 500 fantasy/science fiction novels, the R.A. Salvatore novels most particularly have always had a dear place in my heart after I originally picked up The Crystal Shard at a garage sale one afternoon in 1988 as a teen. Since then I've stopped whatever I was doing at the time to pick up each one over the last 22 years on the day it was released, and Gauntlgrym was no different.

I'm no professional critic, so I'll simply say that I thought this book was fantastic. Even despite the classic characters we are well familiar with, he still wastes no time introducing a plethora of new and interesting characters as well. *or reintroducing others, such as Barrabus the Gray, :-)*

The pace was perfect, the environments exciting, the action superb, and the emotions deep, I would rate this in the top 5 of the series so far. *Beaten on my list only by Homeland, Silver Streams, and Servant of the Shard* I am very excited that this is the first in what is shaping up to be a great new trilogy... Salvatore has still got it!

I am a Fan of Drizzt, but after this travesty.... I don't know if I can read another.
Too much times passes and too many losses and additions to character line-up.
Not to mention the hell that is the new Forgotten Realms.... well, I have been a FR fan for many years.
But any new FR boots will indeed be skipped and forgotten... atleast until the Realms many love returns.

First and foremost "Gauntlgrym" has to be one of my favourite Drizzt books. Salvatore has done it again and I haven't had this feeling with Drizzt since I finished "Sojourn". I laughed, and cried with Drizzt in this book and for any fans of the Drizzt series you will NOT be disappointed. As a wise wizard once said, you stage of the journey is over, another begins!

I haven't kept up on my Salvatore reading, so I was a few books behind. I don't know what kind of book I was expecting to read, but this book was better than I could have hoped for.

I can't go into much detail without giving away spoilers, but I was very excited to meet one of the new characters: Barrabus the Gray! I suspect returning readers will be excited about him, as well.

Drizzt and his old friend, Bruenor, leave Mithral Hall in search of the fabled home of Bruenor's kin, Gauntlgrym. Unbeknownst to the duo, they aren't the only ones searching for the ancestral home of the Delzoun dwarves.

After many years of searching and a cataclysm, the friends run into a familiar duo who have information on the location of the ancient dwarven city and the destruction that rocked the area (and threatens to do so once again).

So, stop reading this, and start reading Gauntlgrym. You'll love it, or I'm a bearded gnome!

Salvatore makes us reconnect with Drizzit in the very beginning of the novel, reaching into the dark elf's mind to reveal a troubled dark elf. That is exactly what I would have expected from anyone, human or elf, after losing the love of their life, even if 20 years have passed since the Ghost King. But then as another fifty years pass, Drizzit is the same brooding soul!! For someone as mentally strong as Drizzit--isn't this the elf who survived the many trials of the underdark alone for decades?--I expect more resiliency of character. Isn't it a little obsessive to dwell upon the loss of love 70 years ago and then 100 years ago?

I think this story had the potential of becoming something great. If Salvatore had concentrated on the passing of the first 20 years after the Ghost King, adding only a few characters--he dropped too many characters into his novel and didn't development them enough for the reader to feel any sense of attachment to them--he would have done much better. Better still would his novel have been if he concentrated on Drizzit's indifference towards the world after the short passing of only 10 or 20 years. After all, Drizzit himself says that he tries to live his life in segments. 100 years is a heck of a long segment to still dwell on the dead wife you had for only maybe 20 short yrs!

Also, Drizzit's new love interest after the short passing of a 100 yrs is very unbelievable. She starts off in her 20's, a baby amongst elven or even some human standards, and yet she's this hardened, ninja-like killer! She even has the power to kill vampires? They hardly introduced the vampire in this novel, which I would have liked to have seen more of, and made him a weakling. A zombie with a strong club could have killed him!

Overall this book had all the trappings of a fine novel, but Salvatore tried to do too much, forgetting that limiting a novel's in terms of characters, melding unbelievable characters into a single, much stronger one, enhances the story greatly. And in a parting note, I had wanted to see much more of Drizzit as well, who was and still will be the most interesting character of Salvatore's novel. But instead Salvatore fills his pages with the unconvincing villains, the ninja-elf in her 20's and her human rival, neither of whom stirred any emotion in me.

This book tells the story of a quest for a dwarven kingdom which legend says is rich with treasure and magic. It's a classic style fantasy joining Drizzt and Bruenor on various adventures that happen along the way.

I absolutely loved this story from Salvatore. I was hooked in from Chapter 1 and couldn't wait to get through the entire story. This is probably one of my top 5 favorite books that Salvatore has written. I can't wait for the next two to come out!

I am a Fan of Drizzt, but after this travesty.... I don't know if I can read another.
Too much times passes and too many losses and additions to character line-up.
Not to mention the hell that is the new Forgotten Realms.... well, I have been a FR fan for many years.
But any new FR boots will indeed be skipped and forgotten... atleast until the Realms many love returns.

First and foremost "Gauntlgrym" has to be one of my favourite Drizzt books. Salvatore has done it again and I haven't had this feeling with Drizzt since I finished "Sojourn". I laughed, and cried with Drizzt in this book and for any fans of the Drizzt series you will NOT be disappointed. As a wise wizard once said, you stage of the journey is over, another begins!

Salvatore makes us reconnect with Drizzit in the very beginning of the novel, reaching into the dark elf's mind to reveal a troubled dark elf. That is exactly what I would have expected from anyone, human or elf, after losing the love of their life, even if 20 years have passed since the Ghost King. But then as another fifty years pass, Drizzit is the same brooding soul!! For someone as mentally strong as Drizzit--isn't this the elf who survived the many trials of the underdark alone for decades?--I expect more resiliency of character. Isn't it a little obsessive to dwell upon the loss of love 70 years ago and then 100 years ago?

I think this story had the potential of becoming something great. If Salvatore had concentrated on the passing of the first 20 years after the Ghost King, adding only a few characters--he dropped too many characters into his novel and didn't development them enough for the reader to feel any sense of attachment to them--he would have done much better. Better still would his novel have been if he concentrated on Drizzit's indifference towards the world after the short passing of only 10 or 20 years. After all, Drizzit himself says that he tries to live his life in segments. 100 years is a heck of a long segment to still dwell on the dead wife you had for only maybe 20 short yrs!

Also, Drizzit's new love interest after the short passing of a 100 yrs is very unbelievable. She starts off in her 20's, a baby amongst elven or even some human standards, and yet she's this hardened, ninja-like killer! She even has the power to kill vampires? They hardly introduced the vampire in this novel, which I would have liked to have seen more of, and made him a weakling. A zombie with a strong club could have killed him!

Overall this book had all the trappings of a fine novel, but Salvatore tried to do too much, forgetting that limiting a novel's in terms of characters, melding unbelievable characters into a single, much stronger one, enhances the story greatly. And in a parting note, I had wanted to see much more of Drizzit as well, who was and still will be the most interesting character of Salvatore's novel. But instead Salvatore fills his pages with the unconvincing villains, the ninja-elf in her 20's and her human rival, neither of whom stirred any emotion in me.

This book tells the story of a quest for a dwarven kingdom which legend says is rich with treasure and magic. It's a classic style fantasy joining Drizzt and Bruenor on various adventures that happen along the way.

I absolutely loved this story from Salvatore. I was hooked in from Chapter 1 and couldn't wait to get through the entire story. This is probably one of my top 5 favorite books that Salvatore has written. I can't wait for the next two to come out!

that hasn't been said before. Such disappointment... I know fans are begging for more Drizzt.. but... sometimes it is better to tell the fans NO and let Drizzt die in peace... or in a very extraordinary battle at least.

I will read the next book, hoping that maybe there will be more depth to the char and the story.. and some redemption in my eyes for Drizzt and R.A. Salvatore.

I can't even receive the ebook in Australia due to the copyright publisher nazi's. Brought the kindle in the US and so wanted to read this book but no chance either in paperback or my preferred ebook. As soon as I can down load it in my country I will write a review.

R.A. Salvatore should spit in Wizards collective face and say "I dont write anything, until I can write the story about how "Elimnister woke up, and found Qilue in the shower"

Im not buying another thing made by them till then.

but seriously... theirs no point trying to keep Drizzt alive in the era of 4th edition with the absurd setting changes that have happened, and that you have to take into account.