The Lone Drow (The Hunter's Blades Trilogy - Book 2)

So, continuing from The Thousand Orcs, Drizzt thinks his friends are dead and is behind enemy lines. Ostensibly, this book is about a lone "drow" so therefore, Drizzt is the main character. This isn't actually the case and the setup is totally misleading. Drizzt is in this book for a blink of an eye, and instead the majority of this book is instead about a bunch of dwarves with goofy names fighting generic battles with generic orc enemies. Yes, that's right. A book called "the lone drow" barely has a drow in it at all. Its almost as if he is a side character...yeah, that's exactly what it is. Drizzt, the epic protagonist, is now a supporting character guys.

And not only is the book not actually about a drow, but in the parts in which there is a drow (Drizzt), that drow isn't even "lone".
Drizzt will spend almost all of his time interacting with two other characters, elves from the moonwood that are arbitrarily in the story for no apparent reason.

The generic, run-of-the-mill cookie cutter stereotypical dwarf characters are tedious, bland, and boring. I don't know what Salvatore sees in them. They aren't interesting or unique in the slightest. And let me re-iterate: they have childish names. Dagnabbit, Tred McKnuckles, and Thibbledorf are just a few of this ridiculous names.

I'd tell you to skim through the parts without Drizzt, but those parts suck too.

Enjoyed the first-person self-reflection pages from the perspective of Drizzt a great deal. Drizzt actually grew as a character for the first time in like five or six books.

I took a strange reading direction for this novel: if Drizzt was not featured in the scene, I did not read it. A scene with Salvatore trying to ruin the book by telling us the big bad plans of some drow elves, or a frost giant, or the orc king? Did not read it. A scene with the bottom of the barrel seen-this-2000times-before jokes or fears of various random dwarves? No thanks. A scene with Wulfgar, Regis, or Cattie-Brie? I admit I did skim a little, but it became obvious these were adding nothing to the story of the "Lone Drow" I actually wanted to read, so I soon skipped them too. A scene from other random character perspective? Lol, no thanks, Salvatore. I just want to read the about Drizzt.

And that's all I did. I only read about Drizzt. As a novel, it was maybe 130 pages, which is short, but generally I enjoyed what I read. Still I can only give three stars because the book contained those junk scenes I did not care to read; I only wanted the story of the Lone Drow, not the uninspired periphery of events that made no difference to Drizzt or his personal journey.

The orcs of the mountains have come down in force. Led by the chieftain Obould Many-Arrows they have swept all before them. The dwarves have been pushed back to a defensive position. Obould is like no other orc chieftain before. His goal is not plunder, but instead he seeks to establish a kingdom. In Mithril Hall King Bruenor Battlehammer lies at death's door. Regis has been named regent. Catti-Brie and Wulfgar fight at the defensive lines hoping that something will bring them victory. Help comes from many places. The Bouldershoulder brothers Ivan and Pikel have joined the fight. Dwarves from all over begin to stream to the aid of Mithril Hall. The orcs seem to be a vast horde and the only hope lies in the natural tendency of orcs to turn on each other. Drizzt meanwhile is outside. Still believing his friends slain he seeks to kill as many orcs as possible. Two elves of Moonwood try to befriend him, but he keeps them at arms length. Slowly Drizzt is once again becoming the Hunter. The Hunter was the persona that he became during his years alone in the Underdark. As the Hunter he lives to slay the dark things, he feels nothing.

This book continues the Hunter's Blades trilogy started in The Thousand Orcs. While Salvatore's stories are usually fairly simple, his overall task of making an essentially immortal character more interesting is difficult. Drizzt has become too central a character and his legend too large for us to believe that he will be killed in any of these books. Yet Salvatore writes as if this possibility could happen and I suppose that is what keeps us coming back for more. Most often the possibility for drama in the books revolves around one or more of the supporting cast. This time it is Bruenor Battlehammer who lies at death's door for most of the book.

The book is a quick read except in the chapter interludes where Drizzt gets more introspective. I'm not sure that these illuminate Drizzt's character in any new ways. His thoughts often revolve around battle or his friends and his constant worry over living long past some of them (which is certainly going to come to pass at one time or another).

At the start of the novel Drizzt is convinced that his friends are dead (or mostly dead) having been killed by events he witnessed at the end of the last book (should you really be reading this review if you haven't read the first one?). Under this assumption he goes native and starts waging a guerrila war on the various orc tribes in the area. The progression of the Orc hordes is examined and most of the book follows their assault on the dwarven stronghold of Mithral Hall and the surrounding area.

Salvatore's older characters are central to his story, but overall the interest comes from his rendering of new characters around those old ones and the occasional shakeups in the old character's roster.

While there aren't any major events that happen to the established crew in this book there are certainly enough things happening to hold the reader's interest and to stimulate a Salvatore fan. I'd say that while new readers would be slightly lost, overall it is still a fun read and most of the gaps would be filled in by reading the first book before this one.

As an aside, I think the best book Salvatore has written in recent years is Servant of the Shard which examines the Artemis Entreri character more closely. In that book Entreri is revealed to be much more interesting overall than Drizzt as he becomes less of a one-dimensional bad guy. If Salvatore really wanted to take a new tack with Drizzt it would probably involve examining a timeline a few hundred years in the future when the less long lived supporting characters had died. As it stands the Lone Drow is fairly standard fair for Salvatore, but still worth picking up and certainly there is foreshadowing of possible shakeups and momentous events to come in the third book. While I'm not sure that such things would come to pass, as I say it's really the thought that it might that keeps us coming back for more.

It is not a bad book, but the last few titles in the Drizzt campaign have been lackluster, including this one for me. The main problem is the lack of growth in the series. While events happen that should change things everything eventually remains the same. Wulfgar and Bruenor should rightfully be dead at this point( or in Wulfgar's case he should be busy raising a kid instead of out gratuitously adventuring), and Drizzt should have had the courage to either love Catti brie as he should or give a definate no to it so she can move on. He may be long lived, she is not.
Instead we have a repetitive plot, where things happen but in the end nothing changes much. Everyone is still there, constantly dwelling on their problems that they seem to have had have since the very beginning, and Drizzt himself has developed a bad case of righteousness without doubt. This may be comforting, but I lost my ability to be surrpised by the characters. I also feel they won't die thus my excitement when they get to a fight is diminished. 10 orcs attack, 10 orcs die. Sure there is some flashy footwork, but we have seen it all before.
Also, Drizzt needs to be fighting more than just orcs, ogres, etc etc. He used to face off with dragons, demons, deadly swordsmen, and high end wizards. That has definately tapered off of late, and that has also dampened my interest as well.
I am hoping that the 3rd book actually changes some things and causes growth. It looks like Savatore is setting up a new love for Drizzt, but we will have to wait and see.

I have been with Salvatore from the beginning and the Dark Elf Trilogy was superb, imaginative and intriguing. The Icewind Dale Trilogy also stellar and then it becomes repeticious.

This novel is one of the same repetition, with even worse plot movement. From the first book of this series you could just skip to the last couple of chapters of this book and missed nothing. I will sum up what you missed: Drizzt lamenting over the "supposed" loss of his friends throughout the WHOLE book. Fantasy and fiction yes, but wouldn't you at least confirm this tragedy and save yourself the grief. Orcs fighting on a cliff with Wulfgar and Catte-Brie through the WHOLE book. Talk about the longest skirmish and super human/dwarven stamina I have ever read. Then the worst part of the novel Obould becomes blessed with extreme power. Which in turn has a reoccurring line repeated over and over "Their seems to be something truly different about him" or something very similar throughout the WHOLE book.

Bob we need something more. Some of your readers like me started to read these novels as a young adult, but we are grown up now and need a mature feel to the novels now. Challenge us and we will give you praise there is way too many authors that are writing on another level to you and targeting this adult fantasy genre. We love Drizzt and company just advance the plot already, get rid of the infamous dark elves that seem to be continually on the surface and give us new threats with a mature theme for the next trilogy. Use that imagination that so captured us with the early works on your future works because this novel is a flatline.

Believing his friends have been killed by an orc offensive, renegade drow (dark elf) Drizzt Do'Urden begins a singlehanded war against the orc bands that stream out to join the apparently victorious cause of Obould. Aided by trolls and ice giants, the orcs appear unstoppable. The dwarves, aided by the fallen dwarf-king's adoptive human children, take up defensive positions atop a high hill with flanking forces guarding their path to the dwarf mountain fastness, but even stuborn dwarves know that they have little hope against the vast forces that the orcs bring against them.
Normally, orc bands collapse before they can create lasting changes in order. Internal squabbles eventually break out. Obould's allies anticipate this here--the drow who have been aiding him anticipate only the great chaos that will occur as Obould attacks--and is eventually repulsed. But Obould has other plans. He has a vision of a time when orcs can trade with other nations, can claim a country of their own, can exist among civilized people rather than be treated as monsters to be slaughtered. A victory over the dwarves will carve out the territory he needs to stake this claim. And the odd gift of semi-divinity by the orc god appears to make this dream a possibility--much to the surprise, and dismay, of his allies.
THE LONE DROW is the second novel in author R. A. Salvatore's Hunter's Blade Trilogy. With characters established and the primary protagonists (Drizzt and his human love interest Catti-brie) separated throughout the book, Salvatore turns to action to keep the plot moving. Most of the novel details the tactical moves made by orc or dwarf armies, and the clash of weapons as Drizzt faces orc, drow, and giant enemies. Salvatore's strong narative voice keeps the reader engaged. Fans of Salvatore, especially readers who enjoyed THE THOUSAND ORCS are certain to enjoy this novel as well. This is not the right place to begin the series, however. If you aren't already involved with the characters, THE LOEN DROW is not written to bring you in.
Salvatore accepts the convention that dwarves are good and orcs are bad. But Obould is not simply bad--he's a hero for his people, attempting to lead them out of the bondage that they have been held in for centuries. It will be interesting to see whether the third novel in the series can continue the sophisticated balance between a simple moralistic battle of good and evil and the development of sympathetic characters on both sides of the conflict. Certainly the entire character of Drizzt implies that an individual of an 'evil' race can be redeemed. But can an entire race? Although Obould kills a lot of people, he certainly doesn't kill more than Drizzt or Catti-bie. I'm looking forward to see how Salvatore addresses this conundrum.

The problem that besetted Drizzt & Company was that the element of surprise, or the element of danger, had been missing for a very long time.
As a writer, Salvatore had painted himself into a corner in previous books by imbuing his characters with too much power. Their losses had been greatly disproportionate to their victories. While Salvatore tried his best to flesh out the characters as three-dimensional, with personal thoughts and fears, these efforts were kinda lost when they bashed through hundreds of orcs with relatively ease. Readers had come to accept that they would win any battle they fight. Throughout the history of Drizzt & Co, their significant losses had been
(1) when the barbarian Wulfgar was lost in the Underdark, and
(2) when Wulfgar returned alive with serious psychological problems.
Indeed, the only way to overcome this group appear to be overwhelming force - first it was war against the whole of Menzoberranzan, the drow city, and now, it is against the united horde of orcs in the north.
Now that introduction to Drizzt and Co is over, let's review what Salvatore had done in The Lone Drow, Hunter's Trilogy Book 2, continuing from A Thousand Orcs.
It has been a long time since I reviewed any of Drizzt books, simply because they did not incite in me a feeling that I was reading a *new* book.
In The Lone Drow however, the author Salvatore appeared to be opening a new chapter in the life of his famous characters. Once-lovers, Cattie-Brie and Wulfgar came to terms with their relationship with each other as bosom friends. Cattie had to consider seriously whether she would be Mrs Drizzt and mother to half-drow broods, and be gone long before Drizzt reached middle age. Wulfgar had to convince himself that even as he had a wife and adopted child, it was all right for him to go adventuring and risk being killed (however small the chance of that happening!).
After success of Drizzt in Icewind Trilogy, Salvatore treated readers to his background in the Dark Elf Trilogy, and introduced "musings of Drizzt" in the books to reflect the development of Drizzt's personal philosophy, his responses to twists of fates and eventually, his acceptance of who he is. Such musings were icings in the cakes in the earlier books. However, it became stale when continued in books like Silent Blade when the assassin Enteri Artemis tried to prove himself superior to Drizzt. It would have been more interesting if the musings came from Enteri as Drizzt should have been more confident of who he chose to be.
In The Lone Drow, the musings became relevant once again as Drizzt thought his friends - Bruenor, Regis, Wulfgar and Cattie-Brie, dead. The noble drow ranger became the Hunter, burying his humane side in order to kill as many orcs as possible. Here, Salvatore had a difficult task. He had to bring out the savage beast in Drizzt, and yet keep him from doing anything to stain his noble self permanently.
In this book, heroes aren't as invincible as they had been. Suffering serious injuries, they had to ask themselves whether they had committed the hubris of seeing themselves infallible in their decisions and in their fights.
In the meantime, a more interesting foe appeared, one more interesting than Enteri Artemis or Jaraxle, or even the drows of Menzoberranzan. It came in the form of Obould Many-Arrows. In the previous book, Obould was leader of great tribe of orcs, driven to seeking alliance with frost giants at the manipulation of four drows. Obould was more far-sighted than ordinary orcs, a great fighter as well, but still an orc. In this book, having received blessings from the orcish deity Gruumsh, he became frighteningly intelligent and wise - knowing the exact shortcomings of his orcs and able to keep situation from developing beyond his control. He actually envisioned a practical plan on orcish domination of the north! Traditional AD&D orcs had always been strong but stupid, and too chaotic to unite to form a serious threat. Obould changed all that. His strategy could have come out from some of the most obscenely paid consultancy firms today (those that worked, not those that cheated.)
I hope the author will not disappoint in the last book - he has some very promising developments that could lead to a very exciting climax and bring himself to new heights as an author.

Add me to the list of long time Salvatore readers, now disenfranchised and disinterested in continuing on. The ending in this book was so unbeleivable that it almost made me throw the book away right then and there. Even worse, I wasn't even completely surprised given that the same sort of thing happened to Wulfgar in another series. In this series, anytime the party is in trouble, there's always coincidentaly a friend who just happens to be in the area at the last minute who will help them. His earlier works were not like this. I simply cannot read his books anymore. To give you an idea of how poor it's become, I'm deployed with nothing better to do, and have the third book in hand...but will probably not read it. Yes, that's right, I'd rather do nothing than read on,

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.

The Thousand Orcs introduced me to R.A. Salvatore's work, and The Lone Drow continues the story with the same excellent storytelling that I have come to expect. The second book in the Hunter's Blade Trilogy, this story continues an excellent line of tales.

In The Lone Drow, an army of orcs led by King Obould Many-Arrows has marched against the north with startling success. Bruenor Battlehammer lies on death's door, and our hero Driz'zt is left behind enemy lines convinced that his friends are dead. Driz'zt, furious at what Obould has taken from him, becomes the Hunter and returns to being the bloodthirsty killer that he used to be before leaving the ways of the drow behind. Needless to say, much of the story is about what Driz'zt gives up and how much he sacrifices without knowing that his friends are actually alive and well.

My favorite part of Salvatore's writing is the way that he treats non-humans. In this novel we see a lot of interesting and differing viewpoints. We see the hardness and loyalty of the dwarves, the grace and longevity of the elves, and the love of comfort that the gnomes and halflings of the Realms possess. We also see how frightening Obould's orcs can be, especially after the orc king undergoes a transformation that gives him much more focus than the usual kill everybody plan that his kind possesses.

The one problem that I have with this novel is the fact that Salvatore seems completely unwilling to cause real harm to any of his characters. With the exception of the injured Bruenor, none of the major characters seem to be in any real danger. We're supposed to feel that the main characters are facing overwhelming odds and risking their lives in every battle, but they come through most of it with only a few scratches. As Salvatore has been writing these characters for years, it seems that he cares about them to much to really hurt them. However, despite the slight lack of complete suspense, the story makes a very good read and I am looking forward to the trilogy's conclusion.

This book is far better than the first installment of the series. That said, it does have a few weaknesses. The main weakness is that the main character, Drizzit's action scenes are just too distracting to make them enjoyable. They just are too action packed to allow one person to focus on a main sequence. That is unfortunate, but it is not an overwhelming problem. The second problem is that it does focus too much at spots on the defense of the dwarven city. These are only small pieces of the overall work, so it does not distract from the quality of the story. It is well written and fits nicely with the first book. The thing I liked about this book was how it placed all these events in the larger context of what was occurring in area surrounding the spine of the world. Get it and enjoy!!!!!

Somewhere beneath my review is someone who wrote a list naming six things that could have improved this novel. He is correct in every part of that list. That list could hold true to ANY book about Drizzt Do'Urden. But the author of that list fails to understand that everything he wrote isn't why the Drizzt books are weak, it's why they are strong.
If you've ever read A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, and A Storm of Swords, you know how absolutely awful it is to lose characters who you grow to love. George RR Martin, the author of those books, has no qualms about killing anyone, from two month old babies to the greatest heroes of the realm. It's depressing, though excellent. Salvatore, on the other hand, provides a comfort in his powerful hero, Drizzt Do'Urden. Stepehen King once described reoccuring characters as (this quote is paraphrased): "A recurring character is like a good friend we can always turn to." This is what Drizzt Do'Urden is to me. Most novels I read, and everything I've ever written, do not have recurring characters and have no qualms about butchering the supposed "hero" of the novel. With Drizzt Do'Urden, I have a friend that is always there, who, despite all perils he encounters, will always be there when I return.
The writer of the Six Part List also notes that most reviews in this section were written by 10-16 year olds. Well, this is the time in my life these books return me to, the most confusing and difficult part of life. The reason Drizzt et al are so appealing to this age group is b/c they have someone who overcomes extreme adversity time and again, a good friend they can always turn to when tims are tough. That's what Drizzt et al are, they are friends that we always want to find again. If Salvatore chooses to never write another Drizzt book again, no one would be upset, he could end the story any time, but his greatetst folly would be to end it short even a single character.

I have read every published work I know of by Salvatore. I read the Icewind Dale series (still the best by him) starting in '88. I really began to like Salvatore because, unlike most fantasy at that time, he wrote long, descriptive combat. But now, Salvatore has become a cash cow for various folks, and his early unheard of success (if not in fantasy in general, D&D type fantasy in specific) in the fanatasy market has been milked dry. So many of us read Salvatore out of loyalty, and too many of us give great ratings and buy the books brand new when they simply aren't that good. I still have the last book of that awful DemonWars Saga only partially read.
The Lone Drow is _OK_. But it isn't great by a long shot. And the poster who wrote a list of improvements for Salvatore was correct in many spots of the list. The Lone Drow is one of the better Salvatore books in more recent times. I really think Mr. Salvatore needs to finish his contract requirements and go offline for a while and JUST WRITE. See what he can do. Forget the marketing, the rules, the formulas. The publishers like the formulas because they get about $25x3 out of us. Most of these series can easily be combined into one book.
My rant is complete. I hope my long term favorite fantasy author can get something fresh going. No more Tarzan or Star Wars and no more milking. Just some good, epic, fantasy.

Well, I went with four stars, because three just did not feel right. I really like this book as an exhibition of the style that kept me buying and reading Salvatore's books since I first read The Crystal Shard: fast-paced (for the most part), good exposition, lots of action.
As mentioned by other reviewers, the title is misleading in that not only is Drizzt not the sole focus of the book, but he never really is alone! Salvatore apparently decided to inject a love triangle thanks to some latent cowardice in Dizzt and the racial [age] difference between elves and humans. While it is certainly valid, I can see that in the third installment there are two ways to go. Either love will conquer all or jealousy will tear apart. I felt that the lead-in, while necessary to attain this plot direction, was somewhat out-of-character. Recall from The Thousand Orcs that there were two surface elves who together aided those opposing the orcs and giants. Well, apparently the make decides to venture alone for the first time in the book and winds up causing some problems later. In all other cases, the two were inseparable, so I felt that this was simply a machination to set things up and it was not the disaster as made out.
I love the combat sequences, including the innovative battle techniques that Salvatore seems always to interject. There is savagery and cunning on the part of the orcs, who rely on weight of numbers to sway the course of battle, while the dwarves rely on tactics, strength and compassion to oppose the monsters. Deception plays a large roll in the many battles, as well as plain old butchery. It seems that there is a growing lack of suitable and/or believable enemies for the Companions to face, so Salvatore provides a deity-aided enemy in this one. It takes some time for the scope of this enemy's abilities truly to be revealed, but we learn that this opponent is quite able to stand against the Companions of the Hall. He is not Artemis Entreri, though, who was one of the best villains I have ever read and loved to hate.
There is little in the way of surprise, save for one late development, which I will not spoil. Self-sacrifice gets played up a little TOO much, but it is done faithfully in character. Drizzt gets in touch with his elven side a bit, but the notion of him coaching someone to be like the Hunter I found ludicrous (since it took him a decade in the Underdark to attain that level of detechment and survival instinct). Some glaring contradictions present themselves, but they are not totally out of character.
This book had very little in the way of typos, exceptional among first printings in my experience. There was some pronoun mixups early, but they were largely consistent and correct later. There were a few misspellings, but a lot of grammar errors (split infinitives, anyone?). However, I chose to ignore that in my rating, else it would have been three stars, since it detracted from the reading for me. But this was a good, fast read, despite being ~350 pages. Hopefully the third and final book in the series will deliver some more great enjoyment!

The Lone Drow is the second novel in the Hunter's Blades trilogy, following The Thousand Orcs. In the previous volume, the goblinkin topple Withegroo's tower and overrun Shallows town. King Bruenor was injured in the crashing tower and the orcs believed him to have been killed. However, some of the defenders, including the injured dwarf king, escaped within a wooden sculpture of Gruumsh, the orcish god.
In this novel, Drizzt has been killing orcs, goblins and giants outside the siege lines and believes his friends to have died when the town fell. In his pain, he retreats into the Hunter state and loses himself in the killing. He is not quite alone among the goblinkin, for two surface elves, Tarathiel and Innovindil, and their pegasi mounts are also ambushing and raiding the orc army. However, Drizzt is avoiding these elves since they were friends of the deluded and deceased Ellifain.
Bruenor is deep within a coma, being kept alive only by the healing magic of the dwarf clerics, but he is not yet dead. Regis has been appointed Steward to manage the affairs of Mithral Hall as Bruenor would have wanted it run. Catti-brie and Wulfgar are supporting Banak Brawnanvil in holding back the orc army on the cliffs overlooking Keeper's Dale to the west of Mithral Hall.
The dwarves from Mirabar under Torgar Hammerstriker are also fighting with Banak on the western cliffs. Marchon Elastul of Mirabar is incensed at this betrayal and sends Shoudra Stargleam and Nanfoodle the gnome alchemist to cause trouble in Mithral Hall. However, Shoudra and Nanfoodle soon have other plans.
King Obould Many-Arrows has attracted even more goblinkin after the fall of Shallows and the supposed death of King Bruenor. The orc shamans begin to follow Arganth Snarrl, who is proclaiming Obould as the avatar of Gruumsh. Obould's son, Urlgen Threefist, commands the orcs facing Banak on the cliffs, but his father is holding back replacements and thus stealing the victory from him. Gerti, the queen of the frost giants, is beginning to see Obould taking charge and leaving her in a subordinate role. The four renegade drow advising Obould also see their influence lessening and Kaer'lic, priestess of Lloth, is beginning to fear Drizzt intensely.
In this story, the orc army in the west and the trolls in the east are beginning to grind down the dwarves and their allies. Although Banak is devastating the goblinkin attacking him, the orcs are receiving reinforcements and the dwarves are not. Moreover, King Obould is starting to make sound decisions, unlike the usual orc style of warfare.
For those who prefer action, this story may exceed your every desire. Whenever Drizzt is feeling depressed, he goes out and kills more orcs and giants. Meanwhile, the orcs are throwing themselves at the dwarves defending Mithral Hall. Thank goodness for the occasional introspection piece by Drizzt to allow the pulse rate to return to normal.
This story shows the dwarves on the defense. Moreover, Drizzt is mostly alone (except for Guenhwyvar) and convinced that he is the sole survivor among the companions. Nesme has fallen to the trolls and the survivors fled. Other than Mirabar, the dwarf allies are on the wrong side of the Subrin defense built by the goblinkin. The situation looks dark. Can the author save all in the concluding volume, The Two Swords?
Highly recommended for Salvatore and Forgotten Realm fans and for anyone else who enjoys epic tales of beleaguered heroes facing powerful and wicked foes.
-Arthur W. Jordin

The Thousand Orcs, by RA Salvatore, started readers on a saga that ended suddenly incomplete, leaving the reader starving for more of our faithful hero, Drizzt Do'Urden. Finally, in the month of October of 2003, the continuation of the story made it to book shelves across the nation.
The Hunter's Blade Saga started with fulfilling action scenes, interesting plot points and powerful tails of hardcore battles. The Lone Drow lives up to this Saga perfectly. With beautiful sword swinging action, our hero was, once again, caught in a horrid fued against hundreds of burly orcs, believing his friends to be dead, leaving him alone.
This book is definately no exception for RA Salvatore's finest works. The writing and narration are even superior to its preceding story, quinching the thirst for more blood, gore, and dwarves. This book is a proud addition to the collection of RA Salvatore Fantasy Novels.
Now the only problem is waiting for the damn conclusion.

I've read some of the Reviews here and I wonder if they still have the space in thier hearts for "real" fantasy. The Lone Drow is a message for those who seek pleasure in war like Obould and for those who seek to escape real life problems with violence like Drizzt did here. Do you want to be like Obould who invades, kill and counquer, not for the benefit of his kin, but for his own glory and power? Do you want frustration to take over and go killing like Drizzt did?

The evolution of both characters in The Lone Drow is wonderful! Both of them start their actions seeking selfmotivated reasons but end doing things for higher goals: Drizzt start killing orcs for vengance, then manage to do some effective guerrilla warfare to help the dwarf. Obould start the war for vengance against the dwarven people, and then became an avatar of his evil god with a purpose.

It is important to read and diggest Drizzt thoughts at the beginning of each chapter. War and death vs. friendship, love and loyalty is painted everywhere. Isn't Drizzt struggle in everyone of us everyday?????

Marcos/Puerto Rico

The Lone Drow is the second book in the The Hunter Blades Trilogy, but I'm pondering the title of the book as Drizzt was never alone.

As a R.A. Salvatore fan, I was extremely disappointed in the story. There wasn't much of a plot to follow. Drizzt continues to wallow in self-pity about the thought about losing his friends in battle, even though he knows that due to the lifestyle he leads anyone could die an any moment and accepts that fact. However, Drizzt shouldn't worry, because the author would never let anything happen to his favorite characters. Even when Bruenor is at death's door, and that point is made all throughout the book, he is pulled back from death in the last few paged by a very unbelievable method. At the end, god-moding is even more boring in books.

The best part of the book was the cover, which is some of the best art of the drow series. Unfortunately, like the first book the scene wasn't even in the story. I judged this book by its cover and found it wanting.

At the end of all things, nothing was accomplished and didn't move the story forward. If you read the The Thousand Orc, you could skip this book entirely, save time and money, and proceed to the third of the series. While, I have the last book to finish and I hope he redeems the trilogy, I'm going to take a break and read some other authors. This is the third book of R.A. Salvatore I've read in a row where I've been disappointed. I'm not sure what is going on, but I hope R.A. Salvatore finds his grove again and soon.

The Lone Drow was one of the best Drizzt books out there. The writting style of Salvatore is amazin' and the character interaction and emotion put into the characters is beyond words.
The book starts right off where the first book in the trilogy, "The Thousand Orcs," leaves off. Drizzt left alone with the thoughts of his friends dead and his scimitars hungry for vengance! The Dwarves, along with Wulfgar and Catti-Brie, fighting for their lives and for their home aganist the unrelenting orcs. Every page was wonderful and never filled with a dull moment between the two main storylines. And the characters were spectacular. Some of the highlights were: (can't write them all because there were just to many) The obvious one is Drizzt and his tale. Salvatore was able to take Drizzt back to the days of the hunter and his life in the underdark. And The emotional baggage Drizzt was carrying and the amazin' detailed action scenes were spectacular.
The next hightlight was the other main storyline, Dwarves vs, Orcs, LET'S GET IT ON! All the character in this battle and around it were just some much fun to read. Salvatore is not only the master of the Drow society, but the master of the Dwarves society as well.
Many characters in the,"Thousand Orcs," (or in other Drizzt books) annoyed me, but in the, "Lone Drow," they shined. The characters sure as Tarathiel, Innovindil, Pikel, and Pwent. the two elves interaction with Driztt and what happen in this brought out the elf characters. The interaction between Drizzt and Innovindil was a great way for Salvatore to go, showing Drizzt a life he never had or never really thought about (can't wait to see what happens).
The last and final highlight came from the character Obloud Many-arrows. I liked this character in the thousands orcs, but I loved this character in this book. the image Salvatore painted in my head of Obloud was beyond words, well no, one word came to mind, Badass!
"Lone Drow," is one of the best Drizzt books I have read, fill with action, drama, and twists and turns all weaving around one other. the characters are some much fun to read about and it's not a hard read either. The writing style and the flow of the book is very smooth and there is not one dull moment. If you want a book about Dwarves, Drow, Orcs, and many other races, a book filled with action, drama, and unforgettable characters, a book with an awesome storyline, "The Lone Drow, " is for you. But you have to read all the other Drizzt books first....you must, for they are great! All Hail Drizzt Do'Urden and R.A. Salvatore!
One more thing, the ending was awesome!

It seems like I refused to read these books for so long on the simple principle that if more than two people I knew had read them, then they must be mainstream crap. I don't believe I have ever been so horribly wrong. I almost wish that I had chosen to ignore my ego and pick up any one of these fantasy masterpieces for the ten minutes it took me to fall in love with the world and characters that Salvatore portrays so eloquently. But, if that had happened, I would have had to wait far too long for the next in a seemingly endless series of wonderfully captivating novels. This is story telling at its best. If you're a parent, take your kid out of college for a year and make all of these books required reading. I assure you he will learn more from them than he will pushing buttons on a calculator or staring at a beaker for hours on end. There is little else in literature that can be so moving and so thoroughly entertaining.

I have read many of Salvatore's books over the years and I must say that this book is the worst that I have read. As many reviewers have mentioned, there is very little plot or character development. Many of the battle sequences seem overly ridiculous (Gutbuster brigade charges orc defensive post, easily overwhelming while taking few, if any, losses) or repetitive (reading about orcs assaulting dwarf lines loses its appeal after 15 times). Surprising, since the plot is virtually nonexistent, there seems to be so many plot holes that you, as Schwarzenegger would say, "could drive a hummer through it".

Anothering disappointing feature is Drizz't. Even though he's a drow master swordsman, he acts like an distraught emo-kid during this book. Reading his internal dialogue which consists of "I'm hurt. Get angry, turn on Hunter mode..." gets boring fast. The rest of his crew have subjugated their roles to being "invulnerable" soldiers killing dozens (perhaps hundreds) of orcs while merely taking the occasional glancing blow.

Also, almost all of the supporting characters are exceptionally annoying, especially Pikel and Nanfoodle. Even more annoying are some of the character names. If Nanfoodle doesn't sound ridiculous enough, Cordio Muffinhead is definitely testing the limits of naming convention.

I highly discourage anyone from reading this very poorly written series. Newcomers to Salvatore's work should start with the excellent Dark Elf trilogy to see Drizz't in all his glory without the baggage that is Cattibrie, Regis, and Bruenor (I never much liked his one-dimensional companions much, probably due to the fact that they are so one-dimensional; except for when Wulfgar was going through his psychological trauma but even then, he still wasn't very interesting).

I love the story of Drizzt and I'll read nearly every book he's in. This is the audio book version of the Lone Drow and the voice acting is very well done. Please note that this is an MP3 CD so it won't play in a regular CD player, you need a player that accepts MP CDs. You can use it in your computer, MP3 player or in most newer cars.

This isn't a simple hack and slash book, this is Drizzt, torn by guilt and separation from friends he thinks may not even be alive, coming to philosophical grips with the idea he may be alone. He returns to being the Hunter, as he was in the excellent dark elf trilogy (Exile, Sojourn, Homeland). Obould also emerges as a powerful nemesis of the remaining group of friends. Frankly I love the battle scenes and the resurgence of the Hunter. 1000 Orcs was great, because all the crew was together for the first time in many books, but this book was better. I can't wait for #3.

I must say that I am a late comer to the R.A. Salvatore fan club only finding his works last summer (2003). Since then I have read every series about our famous Drizzit and clan up to the current point, and now I wait.
It is rare to find a series that has so many books, 21 to this point including the Cleric Quintent, and rarer still to find one that keeps you captivated in such a manner. Reading one book after another hardly putting them down, intrigued by what would come next is probably the best a storyteller can hope for from fans.
In the Lone Drow we find a different aspects to all our friends who we have come to follow. The Dwarves get to shine again with their characteristic "Awe ther only o' bunch of smelly orcs" attitude yet we see a side of dispair in them as well. Cattie-brie and Wulfgar fight with their usual brilliance all the while overcoming personal termoil of a friend and father in need, but with nothing they can do about it. Drizzit battles with his enemies as much as with himself in his blood thirsty crusade for revenge.
True the main characters may or may not die today or tommorow, like some think should happen, but those around them do. But Salvatore introduces new characters and wrapps them into the lives of our heros so thoroughly and perfectly that they could have been a part of the band coming out of Icewind Dale all those years ago.
The Lone Drow is not about Death and dying but it IS about growth. The very nature of how the characters handle death and the pain associated with it so close to home, having to find the time to morn yet still live their lives and fulfill their duties. The ability to overcome the odds even when they are 100-1 against, to fight, to endure, to live, to grow.
The best I can say about the Lone Drow (and all for that matter) is that I have found myself on the edge of tears in one paragraph (yes, knowing that the main characters probably will not die), chuckling in the next, and flipping page after page with the suspense of the battle. Yes the names of Dwarves, such as "Muffinhead", while truely childish fit so fluidly with the description of the dwarves and their personalities it is hard, no impossible, to see it any other way.
Salvatore writes for all ages from 8-80 (longer assuming you can still see well enough at 80, hehe), truely a rare talent. My advice, read the books, immearse (sp?) yer'self in the world of the companions and wish that you could find some stinking orcs to pound.

Without stopping for breath, R.A. Salvatore plunges readers further into his world of war, friends, death, hope, infinitely deep philosophy, and unrivaled combat.
Drizzt's self-created depression and anger continues deep within himself. Thinking his friends dead, he seeks to drown himself in becoming what he had thrown away years ago since he escaped from his underdark homeland. He becomes the Hunter. Like he has always done, Salvatore begins Drizzt's story with the drow's thoughts. The very first time Drizzt's anarchic emotions are revealed, he is the Hunter, blades ready to slay those who brought him pain. He hunts and destroys and that is his sole purpose. However, with the help of the two Pegasus-riding elves Tarathiel and Innovindil, he begins a battle with his own despair and begins to come to a greater realization about himself.
As Drizzt is busy with his personal war and attacking his enemies from behind, the war between the dwarves, the last line of defense between the orc army and the rest of the unknowing world, and orcs rages on. R.A. Salvatore truly is the master of battles, for his tactics are well planned and highly strategic. He depicts the dwarves as we would imagine them: battle-ready folk who would rather fight and die by their brethren than escape and leave their kin behind. He leaves no doubt for his expertise of the races, something that makes the book all the more enjoyable.
Salvatore also demonstrates a wide variety of battle tactics from the orcs' suicidal charge and long-range artillery assault to the dwarves daring plan for a weapon of mass destruction. And to add on to his already amazing arsenal of strategies, R.A. Salvatore proves to be the expert of smaller, tighter battles as well. He shines when Drizzt fights his dark elven kinsmen. He delivers the attacks one by one with shocking clarity, amazing us with sudden, unexpected assaults that express Drizzt's true prowess. It is a show not to be missed, something definitely worth picking up the book for.
Twists, plummets, and excitement will keep you reading till the end. I myself did not notice that the second book of the trilogy came to the end until I flipped to the blank page. R.A. Salvatore is the masters of the Forgotten realms and his works scream of skillful crafting. It is a must to read the other Forgotten realms books Salvatore has written. It is not for the knowledge, although you will gain an incredible amount of insight on how Drizzt has developed since his departure from his Homeland. Instead, R.A. Salvatore will keep you breathless as his heroes quest to discover the plots against the world and to discover themselves. It is a journey worth taking and will leave you gasping for breath and for more.

As much as I agreed with the poster that listed the six points that would make a better story, I rank the book slightly higher then he does. Perhaps it's because I picked it up as a light read, not expecting a great work, just checking in to see what was new with old friends I had last read about ten years ago in high school.
The Superman syndrome has indeed taken over and to be blunt, the plot and story telling is extremely cartoony. Despite their being bloodied and wounded numerous times in the course of the story our heroes charge on without fail. Characters suffer arrows to the chest and shrug it off, are impailed and keep going, and so on.
There's never a sense of danger, and the one death you seem certain or is reversed in the final chapters.
However, it's a Forgotten Realms book, which is not to belittle it, but just to point out that it is a franchise and just like comic book franchises, not much tends to change the status quo (anyone ever think Spider-man will really die? Would Superman ever really stay dead? Or even Jimmy Olsen?).
It's a flawed book, and by this late in the series it seems a trifle phoned in, but if you just want to waste a day reading about the invincible heroes you read about in high school, give it a shot.
One fan said that the stories should mature as the audience matures, and I agree with it, but we shouldn't judge Salvatore too harshly because out tastes mature and change as we do.
Something really has to be done about the names though. "Muffinhead"? "Daggnabbitt"? Please, it makes it seem like the author laughing at the readers by showing us the absurdity of it all.

I took me only two days to read this book and I was only hungry for more. For those of you who enjoy the Forgotten Realms stories anyway, as well as lovers of the famous drow renegade, please, please read this book.
The one thing I did really enjoy was the fact that both Catti-brie and Drizzt did talk about their love for one another to other people. All I kept thinking was, well, it's about time!
Drizzt is not the kind hearted drow we fell in love with in the past; he is the Hunter, ready to kill anyone who stands in his way, especailly if they are an orc.
Very entertaining, very well written and just a pure delight to read. I can't wait for the final book to come out next year.

The Lone Drow is a perfect follow-up for The Thousand Orcs. The Thousand Orcs left Drizzt believing he lost all his companions and friends except for his magical panther.He channels all his personal grief, anger and guilt into revenge and the hunt for his enemies.

I read Book 2 of The Hunter's Trilogy in less time than the first book. I simply had a lot of trouble putting it down. Not to detract from the first book of the trilogy, because it set up Book 2 perfectly.

The Lone Drow worked well for me on 2 fronts. First, the story is non-stop. As I said, it was very difficult to set aside. I was always trying to squeeze in a few more pages. Second, Drizzt has returned to a state he hasn't been this fully in since he left the underground. This I believe is the first step of a personal understanding and transformation.

Another plus for me is the presence of other Drow Elves, evil of course, and they must be destroyed, or so we hope.

Always behind in my reading, I don't know when I will get to Book 3, The Two Swords, but you can bet it will be sooner rather than later, and I am already looking forward to it.

Ok. Now lets get this straight.... Yes we have all read Drizzt books before. Yes, Drizzt's introspectivity (is that a word) begins to get a bit tiresome.... but one thing I am wondering about this series is 'why?'

Perhaps this is a further exploration of the Drizzt character? An exploration of how a dark elf would behave if he was cornered perhaps?

Don't get me wrong. I am a huge fan of the Drizzt character, but as someone already said... invincible characters are no fun after a while. The Drizzt/Cattie-Brie relationship is beginning to feel like a loosely veiled comment on inter-racial stereotypes, and as for Wulfgar... shouldn't the daddy be with the mommy? He deserves a break.

I do love Salvatore's characterisations. The accents of the dwarfs keep them apart from the Humans.. and ye can almos' hear 'em speakin' in a gruff north english dialect. Would a barbarian be as softly spoken as Wulfgar though?

I am looking forward to book 3. Though I am wondering why Salvatore brought Ivan and Pikel into this book (apart from them being dwarves) I know Drizzt briefly met Cadderly and the gang in previous books but feel that, unless there is going to be a major departure, the two sets of characters should have been kept well separated. It is taking the easy way out to bring in known characters into a different setting...

If I can give Salvatore a little advice.. from one D and D gamer to another.. roll your dice and give us another character to chew on. Drizzt is still cool. But he's getting old.

Still a thumbs-up. It should be an explosive finale (if Nanfoodle has anything to do with it).

This book picks up where 'The Thousand Orcs' left off, with the dwarves falling back to Keeper's Dale outside Mithril Hall and Drizzt believing that all of his friends were killed. During his broken-hearted rampages against the orcs, Drizzt encounters Tarathiel and Innovindil, who help bring him back to sanity and then aid him in disrupting the greenskin army. Some characters from Mirabar, introduced in the first book, were further developed here, particularly Torgar Hammerstriker, Shoudra Stargleam, and Nanfoodle. The orc king, Obould Many-Arrows, through blessings from his god and increased support from his kin, becomes a worthy foe for the powerful Companions.

The most attractive thing about this book was the emotional turmoil experienced by all of the characters. Drizzt in particular has a rough time of it, reverting back to the Hunter and struggling with his belief that his friends are dead. Regis, Wulfgar, and Catie-Brie don't know where Drizzt is and are watching Bruenor slowly die. Regis is faced with the responsibility of being Steward of Mithril Hall, being expected to make the right decisions in its defense against the orcs. And everybody is in very desperate straights as the orc horde just continues to grow and there doesn't seem any way the people of the North can hold back the tide.

It is interesting to me that so many people seem to hate Salvatore's recent Drizzt books.. You should know what to expect when you read them, so if you haven't liked the last few, you probably won't like this one (even though I thought it was one of his best). I look forward to reading the last of the trilogy.

The Lone Drow

By R.A.Salvatore

I really enjoyed this book. This book is about a wondering elf. He is trying to look for a land of unknown kings. This elf's name is Drizzt. He learns that there is a war of races and kingship. After he travels to the land of the mountains, He meets the king battleaxe. Then they decide to have Drizzt to the land of demons. On the way to the land of the demons he meets up with his old friend. Then they start to talk and then they both realize they are heading the same way. Then on the way they both start to remember that when they new each other back then they like each other and still do. Traveling further on their quest they get attacked by unknown creatures. Then after that they start to travel again. Then they both split up and Drizzt starts to look for the item of the demons. Then he gets there and starts to battle for his life like any other time.

The problem i am seeing with alot of reviews is that people dont understand the relationship an author has with a publisher. You see, there is this thing called a contract, and you CANT violate it. I enjoy reading about D's exploits through the realms, and i enjoy his character development, as well as that of the Companions. Some plots lines do get stale, its a fact of life. But authors HAVE to fulfill their contracts. When told that Chewwy had to die (and in a rather lame fashion i might add), Salvatore stood up and said NO, and dropped a moon on him instead. That in and of itself makes me like the man. Does Drizzit or one of the companions need to die? Problably. It would lend more realism to the series, and make for more depth. Salvatore tried it with Wulfgar (who doesnt really add much to the series anyway) and was over ruled by WotC (AKA Satan's Publishing). So whos to say that they wouldnt do it again? you can only resurrect so many characters before people just throw the book down and never pick it/them up again. Which would be the death of a career for a writer. What you have to understand is that some stories are for the sake of the character, not the reader (Godfather III for instance). Some people cant read or watch something if there aren't explosions every five minutes, but thats there problem. Bottom line, if you can enjoy stories for the sake of the characters then you will like this book. Its not his best, but it is worth reading all the same. We cant all make Mona Lisas everytime we pick up the brush, or they wouldnt stand out in the first place.

Ever read a book that you thought was interesting enough to warrant reading the sequel? Then you read the sequel and it's one of the most pointless books you've ever read? That more or less is what The Lone Drow is like. Thousand Orcs was good enough to warrant me to read the sequel. But for some reason I just did not like this book at all. For some reason I just didn't find the writing style all that captivating, and the characters were just sort of dull to me. There are exceptions to this, I like the characters of Obould and Drizzt (when he wasn't whining that is). Overall the book isn't all that enjoyable, only read it if your intent on reading the whole trilogy. Otherwise if you want to read a Salvatore book I recommend Promise of the Witch King or the vastly superior book (in this trilogy anyway) The Two Swords.

Although new readers might not enjoy this novel very much, die hard fans who have read about this unusual Drow from the beginning will no doubt enjoy this story. Salvatore's work in this series seems to be losing a bit of steam, but it is a fine read and a good product of the genre.

The story is not too complicated, but there are highs and lows. Reading the other reviews will likely reveal too much about the story and take away from your enjoyment of the story. One of the reviews here on the store revealed a major event of the story that leaves the reader waiting for it to happen rather than being surprised.

I'm really surprised to see all the positive reviews for this book. I am a big fan of the Drizzt series but this one is disappointing. What little bit of story advancement was covered could have filled a comic book. Everything else was all filler. It was one confrontation description after another. Never getting to the story telling. Salvatore must have signed a three book contract and needed to fill some pages. The constant woe-is-me musings of Drizzt grew old quickly. I understand he is upset about the apparent death of his friends, but page after page every other chapter is cheap writing. The book is slow and a far cry from what is expected from a usually fine author.

I would like to state first that I am and avid Salvatore fan, having read most of his work including the majority of the DemonWar series. I have read the most of the reviews on the store about this book and wanted to clarify a few things:
1.The Immortality of the Characters - In reading the reviews of several people that stated that the characters NEVER DIE, even after sustaining what sounds like a major wound, I would like to explain some basic D&D ideologies. You need to understand that in game terms, Drizzt is a 16th level character. His game challenge rating is an 18, which is quite high. Having played D&D for many years, I am quite familiar with characters of this caliber, having a few of my own, and it is safe to say that you are almost immortal at that level. When you take into consideration that most of the orcs he is fighting have a challenge rating of .5, you can see why he would seemingly never die. Not to mention that at 16th level, he would have well over 120 hit points. With an arrow only dealing an average of 4 hit points of damage, a spear only dealing an average of 6 points of damage, it would take a LONG time for them to deal enough damage to have him worried, that is of course assuming they can hit him. In game terms, every one of the main characters is AT LEAST 12th level. This is a group of characters that have many strengths, few weaknesses, and lots of VERY GOOD equipment. In that situation, it would take a very powerful dragon or wizard to put the group in a position where they might be compromised.
2.The Issue of so-called "Cheesy Villains" - In all of the Drizzt books, I have yet to see a villain that did not stand out as a character that you wanted to read about. Artemis and Jarlaxel are two of my favorite Salvatore characters, and if he were to kill them off without exploring alternative story lines with them, I and many other readers would be angry at the loss. As for The Hunter's Blades series, Obloud is one of the most interesting orcs I have ever read about. Taking a brutish, un-intelligent creature like an orc and creating a villain that can challenge the might and intelligence of our heroes is a work indeed.
3.Plot - This series, like every other series from Salvatore, is a work of multiple plotlines and stories. While I agree that WotC should give him more freedom to write as inspired, I think that Salvatore does a masterful job working within WotC's guidelines. Moreover, to say that he should drop the other characters and write about Drizzt at a point far into the future, is to say that Brunor, Regis, Wulfgar, and Cattie Brie have no bearing or weight in the character that is Drizzt. To remove the rest of the party is to say that you WANT to make Drizzt stand out EVEN MORE as a "Super Hero." It is just asinine.
In all, Salvatore is by far the best fantasy writer I have read in many a year. His ability to detail a battle is what makes him stand out as an author. I have said my piece, take with a grain of salt, read the book for yourself and be your own judge.

I can not believe I almost took some of the negative comments on this book seriously. The main draw for me has always been Mr. Salvatore's ability to bring his characters and environments to life. This book continues to follow that tradition. I had no problem getting through this book and even berated myself for finishing it too quickly. I also believe the progression of the lives of the main characters is right where it should be. Some wish to see more progression but this will only hasten the inevitable ending of the Drizzt legacy. The Lone Drow centers around the defense of Mithral Hall, the invasion and even delves into some orc culture. I recommend the book to any loyal Drizzt fans out there.

I have read and absorbed a few of the previous reviews for R.A. Salvatore's latest Drizzt installments and not once has anyone touched on the glaring similarity to the recently released Lord of the Rings movies. I began reading about Drizzt over 10 years ago, falling in love with a character that I could totally relate to (the single most important factor in establishing character development). The Thousand Orcs.....The Two Towers. The release of the book, not to mention the eerily similar content, coincided very harmoniously with the movie. We have an assembly of many, many snarling and bloodthirsty orcs in both cases. Now if this doesn't reek of a cash-grab, I don't know what does. I whole-heartedly agree that Drizzt et troupe have become characatures of themselves. The names of the secondary characters, not to mention their dialogue ("oo, oi"???) have slid uncerimoniously from the sublime to the absolute ridiculous. Give us some credit Rob, we've grown up with Drizzt. Whay hasn't he grown up with us? The "poor me" syndrome he seems steeped in just doesn't cut it anymore for a warrior of his stature. Forget about D&D stats, here is a fully fleshed-out character that really does need to mature and develop his own path. Perhaps Drizzt's inability to mature and "move on" is symptomatic of R.A. Salvatore's inability to create what he loves without WotC breathing down his neck about revenues and deadlines. I don't care how long it takes Rob to write another Drizzt novel, but please, for the sake of this wonderful, enduring and lovable character you have blessed us with, let him loose. Take a journey back across the worlds you have created and look at the very reason you set out on the journey. We love you Drizzt.

The Lone Drow continues R.A. Salvatores newest epic the Hunters Blades Trilogy. Those who read the first novel in this series were chomping at the bit, for this continuation. I couldn't wait to see what had happened to Bruenor, Wulfgar, Cattie Brie and especially Drizzt.
Salvatore shines the spotlight on a few newer characters. Nanfoodle and Shoudra leap off the pages, as you see what an unlikely pair they make. Meanwhile Pikel and his brother dwarf step up in more of a leading role than in past books. Let's not forget about Obould Many Arrows the Orc King that has rallied thousands of Orcs and an assortment of Frost Giants and trolls to his banner. This character has developed into a real threat unlike any faced by the companions before.
Drizzt finds himself battling alongside two surface elves and pondering "What if" thoughts since he believes his friends are gone. This book highlights all the passion, pain and adventure that are integral elements of Salvatores stories, and takes it to a new level. Never before has this band of heroes and their friends faced such a threat. Can they rally and win the day....we will see in next chapter......I can't wait.

I'll be quite honest and say that I have been disappointed with Salavatore's last three forgotten realms book, and yes that does also include Servant of the Shard. This book however has dragged me out of a severe state of boredom that I have been imprisoned in for a long time, maybe I'm just bored of the War of the Spider Queen series, or perhaps I'm just not used to waiting this long for a book. Anyways on to my review, the villains are good, lots of funny dwarves including the two infamous ones from the cleric quintet, and very intricate if not brilliant fight scenes. The story has a sense of realism this time since the "good guys" are not invulnerable like they usually are, and though very serious and heart breaking the book also has a lot of comical humor but not to the point where you can't take the book seriously. Salvatore did not rush through anything in my opinion and this story definately did have more of a plot then The Thousand Orcs. The only reason I did not grant it five stars is because it had a little to much in the way of battle scenes even if they were brilliant, and because even though the plot was good, it was not great and definately not grand like in the cleric quintet series which I always recommend for Salavatore readers. On a side note I would like to state that the rumors are true, Obould is indeed a badass in this book. You might learn to even appreciate an orc villain, for me it was quite easy since orcs are one of my three favorite races but the sheer lack of cunning and the lovely intimidating factor that Obould holds makes him almost as imposing as Entreri or even as scary as the extremely well developed Ghost from CQ. I leave on the final note that Salavatore has indeed gained my appreciation and admiration again. I hope you all find this book as exciting as I found it. =)

Yes, another novel in the Series That Never Ends. But... it's a VERY good one.
In between, and sometimes during, the carnage (which is rendered with more flair than the last installment) the storyline really does veer right on the edge of a Platonic argument for wholeness. And it has flying horsies in it.
NOTE 1: Whenever a well-loved character in a long-running series behaves in ways outside our expectations, or our wishes, a feeling of betrayal may result. In some cases this is justified. In this case, uncharacteristic behavior is handled with such skill, such honesty, and such directness, that I must accept one simple fact: The Lone Drow twists and turns, but it never cheats.
N0TE 2: By Platonic, I didn't mean that there's no... oh, read the book.
NOTE 3: FLYING HORSIES!!!!

I thought this was a great book. And this, like all Drizzt books was not a disappointment. The battle scenarios were great, as are the villians. If anything bad is to be said about it, I'd say it seemed a little rushed at the end. The jumping around from plotline to plotline got a bit annoying, because I think we see to little of the main character throughout the first half of the book. The ending was very noteworthy and original. Usually I can predict one way or another, what may happen in the end, but not this time. In my opinion, Salvatore proves to be the Lord of the Forgotten realms (again).

badass. no other way to say it. badass. a nonstop thriller the whole way through. others say that salvatore is just writing more of the same, and while i would appreciate a change, such as drizzt in the future, with the son from his union w./ catti-bre or someone else, or even drizzt alone, this was still a great book. but what people need to realize, is that salvatore doesnt have complete control over his story. case in point, wulfgars return a while ago. salvatore was faced with an ultimatem, bring back wulfgar, or wizards of the coast would find someone else to. even with the restrictions put in place by wizards, salvatore is still one of, if not the best fantasy author, and drizzt still is the most badass character ever.

oh, and for the person who dint like the battlehammer brothers..... slag off

The Lone Drow is truly a breath of fresh air for Salvatore's favorite Drow. Drizzt was becoming a static character leading up to the Hunter's Blade Trilogy. In this installment, R.A. devotes some quality time to developing Drizzt. This dimension of his storytelling had been lacking for some time in Salvatore's dark elf books. For an avid fan, this was acceptable given the depth of the characters and the world setting for the Demon Wars Saga. Finally, I am once again excited to read about the curious Drow and the companions of the hall.
**NOTE** R.A. Salvatore writes books that can be enjoyed by fantasy fans that are no longer children. Salvatore's work smacks much more of Tolkien than that of Lewis. Trying to find fantasy authors that write for adults as well as the whippersnappers of the world is a tall order. Nevertheless, it is an order R.A. fills quite well.

All I could think of as I read this book was WOW! Never before have I had any book as interesting as this, and as I neared the finish I was hoping it would never end. The characters are the best of any book I have ever read, and I love the way R.A. Salvator makes you feel empathetic for his characters. I can hardly wait for the third book to come out, because of all the suspense from theis book. Even if it isn't half as good as this it would still get a rating of five stars from me.

R.A. Salvatore is definately running out of material for Drizzt. There wasn't enough plot, intriuge, doubledealing, emotional turmoil (besides I'll never see my friends again) than most of his previous books. (I include Sea of Swords in this I thought it was an excellent book). I enjoy the fight scenes, but the amount that were in this book was absurd. Make them long, complicated, and interesting, but dont make Drizzt fight a thousand orcs, litterally. What dissapoints me is 1000 Orcs was okay, Lone Drow bad, and if you havn't read the Two swords, dont. Gauntylgrim? He just reused Streams of Silver's storyline. How is a long lost Dwarven city going to help them defeat Obould. Let the dwarves lose, let Entreri and Jarlaxle kill Obould, let anything happen but a cliffhanger, and a bad one. In my opinion I would either jump ahead in time, when Drizzt is the last of the companions alive, or definately follow up on Entreri and Jarlaxle. In fact, make one about Entreri or Jarlaxles past. Drizzt and co. fighting and winning nonstop is sort of old. Make Bruenor die instead of Tarathiel (sorry if you havn't read two swords), it would make for a more interesting read. And please, no more characters named Cordio Muffinhead.

After waiting with much anticipation for this book, I was not disappointed. Salvatore creates an intriguing deviation and his unique blend of battle action and saga will have you turning page after page. Salvatore's writing style can, at times, be a cold slap in the face and maybe even frustrating for some readers. But over all this trilogy is definatly positioning itself as his best work yet. Highly entertaining and recommended. Bring on "The Two Swords" !!!
Justice Delivered

This novel is just pure Salvatore. Drizzt continues his considerable growth and development as a character, as do the other companions. Particularly interesting is the way in which Regis is coming into his own over the course of the last several books. And the action! It just never ends. This book is just battle after battle, with enough twists thrown in that it never gets old. The plot is basic and while it works well, it is not particularly deep. But, then again, Salvatore has never been an epic writer along the lines of Jordan or Martin. Mostly, Salvatore is just plain fun! Can't wait for the next book in this series!

Having read all the books under the drizzt name, i have to mention that this book does not pass muster. after the first two series, drizzt and his companions have become both boring and predictable, they are invincible and utterly mad, they attempt things which even in the world of fantasy fiction would have to be termed as ludicrous. The attraction of the first two series was the character building of the Drizzt 'DoUrden, the beautiful way his thoughts were projected, and i loved the philosophy of the books, but since then its been lost. What I would dearly love is a few books way in the future, when Drizzt has aged and wisened a little.

I am a huge fan of R.A. Salvatore's work, in fact I own copies of almost everything he has written with my favorite being anything with Drizt as well as the cleric quintet. I agree with one reviewer about the love triangle with the elf and Cattie-brie how it doesn't seem to contribute to the story as a whole thus far. That is about my only real disappointment with the whole book. Other than that, it is an excellent read.

The second installment in the Hunter's Blade Trilogy is strong and full of adventure and alot of close battles. In this book we get to see how Drizzt is handling himself as once again being alone and fighting off hordes of Orcs. I must say I can't wait until the third installment of this series.

Who can create a better character than R.A. Salvatore? According to the fantasy books I own.......no one! The longest, best, most-known character in fantasy books! If you're looking for a good fantasy book to read you can do no better than to pick up one of Salvatore's Drizzt books.

Book 2 picks up where book 1 left off (of course), and keeps you up past your set bedtime. If you want to lack sleep the next day, this book and all the others in the series will do it for you. Enjoy.

What some people seem to forget is that this is not a 'Drizzt' book, but a 'Forgotten Realms' Book. Drizzt Do'Urden is a character from the world of Dungeons and Dragons, and in writing a story an author is more undertaking a single-handed campaign with characters that he serves as both player and DM to. So what if the fight scenes seem long-winded? Being a swordsman myself, I proudly say that at least they are accurate. Besides, would you more enjoy, "Orcs ran at Drizzt. He slashed at them. They went ker-splat all over some other orcs that were now rushing at him... etc". If you think of this less as a book and more as a horribly detailed account of a well thought-out campaign with fully rendered characters, you might find yourself enjoying it more (which is only for those who are not enjoying it already, mind you. If how you see it works, stick with it ;-). ). While this may not be Salvatore's most compelling work, he still holds high and far above your run-of-the-mill fantasy author.

I find it funny that people are complaining about it being all hack and slash when in 1000 Orcs it ends with a huge horde of orcs chasing a group of dwarves, what are they supposed to do, talk it out? I mean this is called the "Hunters Blades Trilogy." The book doesn't get as deep into the characters as say Servant of the Shard, or his Demon Wars books however he is still developing his main characters and you continue to see the change in the Companions as they get older. Great book, great fight scenes, and although it is subtle, you can see characters growing and beginning to go in other directions.

I had never heard of Salvatore until the day I was to be deployed for the desert. I spotted a book that had a nice cover on it and read it. The Thousand Orcs needless to say peeked my interest. Since the month and a half from there, I have read all of the Drizzt novels as well as the Cleric Quintet Series, but even after reading all of those, I have never seen a book that can capture the imagination of a reader the way The Lone Drow does.
Salvatore takes real life emotions and puts them in his novels. He doesn't just write a story, he writes a play that puts you right smack in the middle of the story. The only downside to The Lone Drow is that we all have to wait till October 2004 to get the next one.
Bottom Line: Read this book!

This book is well written and complete. Hardcore fans (like myself) will hold this second book of the Hunters Blades Trilogy in the same category as R. A. Salvatores best works that got us hooked in the first place (i.e. the Dark Elf Trilogy). Never boring, full of surprises, with political intrigue and conspiracy between-and within-kingdoms, Salvatores amazing, detailed trademark battle scenes, and some serious character development and soul searching all mixed into one book. The only thing that will leave you disappointed -- the next book won't be out for a year.

Salvatore has some great works but this is definitely his worst book ever. The whole trilogy is pointless, it is just a series of repetitive boring battles in which Drizzt & friends will clearly not die. Every little piece of dialogue is cliché and all the characters speak for the author instead of themselves. They never disagree, they have no personality.
The book is BORING. The battles are BORING. It goes NOWHERE. It means NOTHING.

I could hardly wait for this book after reading the first one in the series "Thousand Orcs". This book has lived up to my expectations and more. I was recently disappointed in some of the works by RA Salvatore, but this series, with my favorite Drow has restored my faith in the Master. No one can use scimitars like Drizzit. I can hardly wait for the conclusion. I would advised you before you pick up this book that you have nothing on your schedule, because once you start you just can't stop. Some parts of this book had me literally in goosebumps. I am not going to spoil the story, so read and enjoy and find out for yourself.

I find it funny that people are complaining about it being all hack and slash when in 1000 Orcs it ends with a huge horde of orcs chasing a group of dwarves, what are they supposed to do, talk it out? I mean this is called the "Hunters Blades Trilogy." The book doesn't get as deep into the characters as say Servant of the Shard, or his Demon Wars books however he is still developing his main characters and you continue to see the change in the Companions as they get older. Great book, great fight scenes, and although it is subtle, you can see characters growing and beginning to go in other directions.

This series is one of the best I've ever read. I could hardly wait when I got finished with one book till I got started with the next. I was just sad when I got to the last of the series. Didn't want it to end. I hope to see more of the same later on. Fantastic author!

To summarize my review before I get into it: R.A. Salvatore's Drizzt-books have evolved into Saturday morning cartoons rather than staying as the Tolkein-esque stories they first started out to be.
I have been a Salvatore-Drizzt-book reader ever since 1990 when I read The Crystal Shard. I have read every Drizzt-book since then, but with this last book I have decided to give up the series until some drastic changes are made. Instead of an exhaustive review of this book, I'll just point to 6 ways as to how this entire series is on its death-bed. Salvatore can cure these maladies by listening to the following:
1.) DRIZZT AND HIS FRIENDS HAVE BECOME SATURDAY MORNING CARTOON CHARACTERS - In cartoons the main characters never die, they are invincible, they are unflawed. In The Drizzt books, no main character can ever die. They fight hundreds and hundreds of "bad guys," only to score perfect victories each time. If it seems that one of the main character has died, or will, it's only a red herring that sets you up for that character to inevitably "save the day."
2.) DRIZZT'S ENEMIES HAVE TURNED INTO THE "VILLAIN OF THE WEEK VARIETIES" - In cartoons, the heros are usually pitted by a different villian each week. The villians are rarely fleshed-out, and they're just around for the purpose of getting killed by Drizzt and Co. If a villian is fleshed-out, Salvatore becomes attached and cannot kill him, only send him away (Artemis Entreri, Jarlaxle, etc).
3.) SUPPORTING CHARACTERS ARE LIKE THE "YOMAN" CHARACTER FROM STAR TREK - Remember in Star Trek how Captain Kirk would beam down to a planet with some unnamed officer, and inevitably, the unnamed officer would die while Kirk would be unharmed? Okay, now substitute "Captain Kirk" with "Drizzt" and you have Salvatore's new books. A seasoned reader knows that when a character is introduced, he's not likely to be a permanent fixture.
4.) YOU CAN'T GO 2 PAGES WITHOUT BEING REMINDED THAT DRIZZT & CO. ARE THE TOUGHEST, BADDEST CHARACTERS IN THE WORLD - It's not that you see this through their actions, but Salvatore spells it out for you before every fight. Hypothetical example: "The orcs were heavily armed and outnumbered the weakened drow twenty five to one. But this was Drizzt Do-Urden, and he was no ordinary drow!" Please ...
5.) SALVATORE'S EDITORS NEED TO BACK OFF OF HIM AND LET HIM WRITE - if you've noticed in the past several books, Salvatore paces the story nicely, then has to suddenly end the story because the editors limit the number of pages he can have. When you get 4/5s the way through it, you think "wow, I'm almost finished, and there's so much left! Hell, (enter character's name) isn't even within a 10-day ride from the others?!" ANSWER: Robillard the mage shows up and magically teleports the character wherever they need to go.
6.) THE FIGHT SCENES ARE A BIT TOO DETAILED - Everyone knows Drizzt is a bad mutha-sucka, but when Salvatore gets carried away and writes, "Drizzt then shifted his balance to the right and pivoted low with a perfect center of gravity, slicing his left scimitar right, then feinting back, swinging his left scimitar in a downward arc, pulling back, then upward pivoting to his right, bringing his swords at a downward V-angle, parrying each blow, then rolling to his left, followed by an inverted cone flip to the front, slicing diagnally with his left right-ended scimitar...." I just find myself skimming paragraphs.
MY SUGGESTION FOR SALVATORE & DRIZZT:
-------------------------------------
Set the next series some 100 years into the future. Drizzt, as an elf, will continue to live for several more centuries. Cattie-Brie, Wulfgar, Regis and Bruenor will not. Go ahead and jump forward and write the novel that you wanted to with THE LONE DROW. It's time for Drizzt to move on.
I think Salvatore knows that. He toys with the ideas of Drizzt and Cattie-brie's grim future, but I don't think he has the nerve to actually kill anyone off. So just jump to the future and make it happen.
And get rid of those annoying dwarf brothers! They are the Jar Jar Binks of the Drizzt world. I would welcome any feedback from Salvatore fans. I still am one, but I feel like I'm watching a good thing go down the tubes.
Be critical, people. Don't just throw praise at a book because teh main character is cool and has potential. I can tell by the writing style of the majority of these reviewers that they are somewhere between 10-16 years old. That's how old I was when I read The Crystal Shard. I want to feel the same way about these new books as I did when I was that age reading the early adventures. I've matured, so now must the Drizzt storyline.

I could read all these books twice really. The whole series is by far the best adventure series ever! I read his first book 15 years ago the crystal shard. I looked that book up Last year to read it again 3/05 since then I have been addicted I have read every book he has wrote since all this year. the cleric Quintet That was also a must read if just for the dwarfs. Bob if you read this Thank you for all the great work!

Thanks again for the Very best adventure's

Magnanimous

I've been a fan of Salvatore for years now. The Ice, wind and Dale Trilogy and The Dark Elf Trilogy (Which is my all time favorite work by Salvatore) are great. His new Forgotten Realm trilogy should be forgotten it's self. Especially the Lone Drow. There's is no plot at all. Just one Battle scene after another. Its grow tiresome and absurd very quickly. No matter how many enemies Drizzt or his buddies fight they wont die or get hurt. There is no character development at all. The dialog between characters so childish sounding. I know Salvatore never has had deep plot-lines for his books but this book takes the cake for being poor.

One of the most addicting series I have ever read, and this book is no disappointment. After reading the first part of this three part series allows the reader understand some of the mystery events from the first book. Without spoiling what happens in this book I have to say once you finish it you will be picking up part three the Two Swords. My advice to people, who are known to this series, is to buy R.A Salvatore earlier stories. If you read this series first you will find yourself

out of the loop of some of the characters pasts.

R.A. Salvatore takes his characters and makes them grow. He draws you into the story and makes you see that these characters are people with real everyday problems. They laugh, cry, and hurt. Before you read this book though you need to read all the previous trilogies before this one so you can know what is going on in the story.

When this new trilogy first debuted I was quite excited and made sure to get a hot little copy of The Thousand Orcs into my hands the day it was released. I admit, it wasn't Salvatore's best but it was an entertaining read and interesting enough to motivate me to continue reading the series. The Lone Drow however is nothing more then a hack and slash book and a challenge to see how many readers can endure a 300-page description of a fight sequence. Rather then taking any time to truly do any justice to the characters he's created, Salvatore instead spends most of the time trying to mangle one long action sequence into an actual plot. This book is definently not worth the time.

I've only been a Salvatore fan for 3 years, but when I got this for me Dad for Christmas, I had to read it first. The trilogy has a dark side that lingers throughout, yet doesn't grow stale as I've seen several 'dark side's in novels do.

Hint of another series coming up some time, but a good ending keeping my love for the Icewind Dale troupe alive.

this goes to Adam Gonnerman Good for Long-time Fans, Review i am only 14 and i picked up the lone drow and i was blown away buy this book and then i found out that there was more and i just couldent stop reading this series with drizzt dourden,and know im waiting for more books with drizt i read The Dark Elf Trilogy in a two weeks and a half so i think the book is good for any one who pickes it up. Andrew Mccarthy canada

This book was amazing, filled with action adventure and twists and turns that I never thought I would have seen. I can't wait for the next one in the series out in October. With in this tale you actually feel for this creature, and it is written that if you close your eyes you could actually feel like your there. It's been a while since I found an author that can write fantasy as well as P. Anthony and RA Salvatore is it.

Well, what can I say?? I just finished the book and simply felt compelled to write a review about it. Frankly, I'm not what people might call a book-worm, but with this novel I found myself not being able to put it down! My role-playing days may be long over, but as long as Salvatore keeps on writing them, I'm definitely reading them!! Simply fantastic!

I am currently in the middle of reading The Lone Drow and I want to say that it is one of the best books I have read within the Genre of fantasy, Every page i read brings me further into Drizzt's world and makes me not want to return to the "real World". I am looking forward to finishing it so I can be ready for when The Two swords is released in October, so I can continue in the adventures of Drizzt Do'urden.

This trilogy has been very entertaining and very well constructed. This book continues and increases the intensity of the first one and it engages us in depth with the caracters and the complication of their intentions and feelings. A lot of twists and turns, very unexpected development and continuosly suspesfull.

RA Salvatore used to have the most intriguing novels out there. The adventures of Drizzt and co. were entertaining and unpredictable affairs. With this series that all changed.

What happened?

Splitting up the Companions of the Hall worked in "Streams of Silver" and "The Halfling's Gem" but it doesn't here. It's just not as much fun and Drizzt's romance with the utterly boring Cattie-Brie is as interesting as watching maggots mate. The orcs are lame enemies compared to Artemis Entreri and the drow. Re-read The Icewind Dale trilogy instead.

In his second book, Salvatore almost out done his first book. This picks up exactly where the first one left off. It is a good read and has an excellent plot. The cover on all three books are absolutely amazing.

Let's see... In every single book, Drizzt hasn't died, hasn't been injured, hasn't reaced a conclusion... I used to LIKE this author... And he USED to be good... but now he just uses almost the exact same storylines over and over again... don't buy this book, and you will save yourself a lot of money and boredome...

Some people just dont understand that Salvatore is THE best auther there is right now and he has never ever writen a bad book that has to do anything with Drizzt at all! All of his books deserve five stars. But I will admit the Legacy did get somewhat a little boring after some time. He is the man.
--Oz

This book picks up where 'The Thousand Orcs' left off, with the dwarves falling back to Keeper's Dale outside Mithril Hall and Drizzt believing that all of his friends were killed. During his broken-hearted rampages against the orcs, Drizzt encounters Tarathiel and Innovindil, who help bring him back to sanity and then aid him in disrupting the greenskin army. Some characters from Mirabar, introduced in the first book, were further developed here, particularly Torgar Hammerstriker, Shoudra Stargleam, and Nanfoodle. The orc king, Obould Many-Arrows, through blessings from his god and increased support from his kin, becomes a worthy foe for the powerful Companions.

The most attractive thing about this book was the emotional turmoil experienced by all of the characters. Drizzt in particular has a rough time of it, reverting back to the Hunter and struggling with his belief that his friends are dead. Regis, Wulfgar, and Catie-Brie don't know where Drizzt is and are watching Bruenor slowly die. Regis is faced with the responsibility of being Steward of Mithril Hall, being expected to make the right decisions in its defense against the orcs. And everybody is in very desperate straights as the orc horde just continues to grow and there doesn't seem any way the people of the North can hold back the tide.

It is interesting to me that so many people seem to hate Salvatore's recent Drizzt books.. You should know what to expect when you read them, so if you haven't liked the last few, you probably won't like this one (even though I thought it was one of his best). I look forward to reading the last of the trilogy.

The Lone Drow is an excellent book to sit down and read. R.A. Salvatore is a greater writer to the rogue drow Drizzt Do'Urden.
The Lone Drow has suspense action and a little bit of comedy, A great read all around.

I dont understand all the excitment over this series and this author. Most of the story is very contrived. So many stupid things happen ( A female scoops up a massive barbarian under her arm???)that it is hard to take anything written in a serioues way. There is a dwarf named DAGNABBIT? A sword named Twinkle? Another named Icingdeath? Does it drown you in icing?

The plot has holes you can drive a truck through and the writing is 4th grade level..

Salvatore’s epic Hunter’s Blades trilogy increases the tension, empowers the antagonists and widens the scope of his narrative. Perhaps the best of all the Drizzt novels, the hero is stripped of all his comforts and reduced to an animalistic instrument of revenge. Villains and allies of Drizzt receive lavish coverage and the Spine of the World is expanded. After this trilogy, Salvatore becomes less and less predictable and relishes in confounding the expectations of his loyal fan readers. Drizzt belongs on the same fantasy shelf as Conan, Sherlock Holmes and Elric.