Book II (The Legend of Drizzt 15) - The Hunter's Blades Trilogy

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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!!!!

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

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.

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.

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 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.

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

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.

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.

The series got even better. A flawless connection to the first book. Intense fighting, amazing no-way out situations-kept me on the edge of my seat. Can't wait to see what the third book has in store.