Book 9, Siege of Darkness: The Legend of Drizzt

Drizzt is amazing!! Enough Said! I love this book, i feel like im right there with the characters through all thier strife and heartache, through the intense battles and desperate situations. not only that but i feel a deep closesness with all the characters.

This book was my least favorite of Salvatore's work so far. I had, pretty much forgotten what it actually consisted of back when I read it most of 20 years ago. In rereading, it struck me as a shoe-horned in story (since most of Salvatore's works are trilogies and there is one more to go in this one) of 'what happened to the Drow during the Time of Troubles.
Some good things: there were lots of intricate (though well paced) scenes of battle and heroic deaths. Greater delving into Drow society and the personalities at play there (including the undercurrent of resentment of the weaker gender). The ever amusing Harpells (how can you not enjoy Harkell?).
Some things that bothered me: The main characters are there... there is a bit of development of the characters and some resolution of some standing problems, but these seem almost beside the point in the novel. Catti-Brie trains for a few weeks (months?) and can hold her own against Drizzt and many dark elves. The BIG, BAD, DROW are coming and in greater numbers than can reasonably be faced... but the sheer plucky goodness of the outnumbered defenders of Mithril Hall tears them up... wait, I thought they were super tough (to be fair, several newly introduced characters died). Llolth makes a deal with a demon to somehow answer the prayers of her faithful, which he does almost not at all that I notice, and she is OK with that?
All told, not a horrible book if you are familiar with the wider Forgotten Realms, definitely not a book by which to judge the author.

Drizzt has escaped from capture in the drow city of Menzzoberanzan. Along with his friends he caused a great deal of chaos in the wake of their escape. The leaders of the drow have decided that it is time to wipe out the renegade once and for all. Matron Mother Banrae has consolidated her power and formed an army to attack the dwarven city of Mithril Hall. Standing against the forces of the Underdark are the armies of Mithril Hall, the knights of Silverymoon, the barbarian kindred of Wulfgar, and other allies. Will they be able to defeat the overpowering forces of the drow? Will darkness descend on the region or will the forces of good triumph. Old racial prejudices new bad blood has to be overcome if they are to defeat the drow.

This is a pure action adventure sword and sorcery novel. All the classics are here. Overwhelming evil armies, nobel warriors fighting the hopeless fight. The Drizzt novels always promise lots of great old fashioned fantasy storytelling and they never disappoint.

Siege Of Darkness picks up from where Starless Night left off. Drizzt Do'Urden, the renegade drow, and Catti-brie, the human adopted daughter of Bruenor Battlehammer the dwarven king of Mithril Hall, together with the unlikely aid of the ruthless assassin Artemis Entreri, dealt a heavy blow to the evil dark elves in Menzoberanzan, deep in the Underdark, as they escaped the clutches of first Matron Baenre.

Yet despite the damage caused, Baenre is still determined to conquer Mithril Hall, ostensibly for the purpose of sacrificing the renegade Drizzt to the evil drow deity Lloth. However, unknown to most, Baenre also possesses an amulet with the spirit of Gandalug Battlehammer, first king of Mithril Hall. While Baenre hopes the capture of Mithril Hall will garner her more power, and the odds appear overwhelmingly in her favour, the dwarves of Mithril Hall, and the allies they call to aid them, will not give up without a fight.

The book spans the Time Of Troubles, a period in the Forgotten Realms in which magic goes haywire and the avatars of the deitys walk among the mortals. For the most part, the period does little to further the plot, although it is fun to watch how the unpredictable magic affects such a heavily magic dependent race as dark elves, fuelling their paranoia and unravelling the fabric of their society.

The real story is, of course, the attack on Mithril Hall. One of Salvatore's main strengths as an author is describing vivid, exciting battle scenes, and this book certainly does not disappoint, keeping the reader hopping from one battle to the next, while layering intrigue aplenty as the drow naturally distrust each other.

On a higher level, the book deals with the very nature of society, and how a harmonious group working together for the collective good usually fares better than a society which is selfish and narcissistic. It is also fun to see Salvatore bring in a range of characters from past books - from dwarven battleragers to svirneblin!

I highly recommend this book.

Siege of Darkness, book 9 chronologically in the Drizzt series, finally gives what the last few books have been leading up to: the epic battle as the underground drow attack Mithril Hall, home of King Bruenor Battlehammer and his clan of dwarves. The battle turns epic when the forces of the barbarians, the Riders from Silverymoon and Nesme, and even the svirfnebli join forces with the dwarves against overwhelming odds.

The first part of the book cleans up the mess left in Menzoberranzan, home of the drow, after Drizzt and co.'s escape and destruction of House Baenre's temple. A side story includes the temporary halt of all magic through some battle of the gods, which lets us see more of Lolth the Spider Queen and the Monster Errtu (whom Drizzt and Wulfgar defeated in an earlier book), and this so-called "Time of Troubles" is a useful device in several plots...they have little to do with the epic battle, but they either continue previous story lines or assumingly lay ground for the next book.

Writing battle scenes is one of Bob Salvatore's greatest skills, and the battles in the caves and out in the valley are some of the best written in this series.

There is also a plot line involving Berkthgar, the barbarian who takes over as king for the fallen Wulfgar. He initially believe he needs Aegis-fang, the weapon King Bruenor crafted specifically for Wulfgar, and Catti-brie and Drizzt convince him otherwise, that he needs to build his own name in battle and not rely on Wulfgars. In the battle scenes, he certainly does that. He becomes an interesting character, hopefully there will be more from him.

Lots of groundwork laid for the next book, including the mysterious prisoner the Lolth gives to Errtu to help him get back to the Material Plan and go after Drizzt. I assume this will be the focus of the next book.

Another gem in Salvatore's collection. This time the stakes are higher as Bruenor and his friends face complete annihilation. Drizzt returns to the surface from his trek to Menzoberranzan successful only so far as slowing down the big bad drow war machine. However, the biggest stumbling block that must be overcome is fate. Fate, which rears its ugly head as the Time of Troubles, adds a twist to the story that makes this novel truly enjoyable. You will love the scheming that this stirs up in the drow with their magic heavy culture as well as the bizarre happenings on the surface.
The ensuing battle when the drow do arrive is just spectacular. Fighting on all fronts with the defenders on the edge of destruction right up until the end. However, I too share the opinion of many of the other reviewers...this is one battle the heroes should have lost. I think the power of the attacking army was under played. While goblins, orcs, and minotaurs maybe fodder for drow, these creatures alone have massed attacks against the dwarves and won. But, add in the extra firepower created by the drow and you have an unbeatable force. The heroes should not have stood a chance. And what's more, I think the book would have turned out better if the heroes had lost giving it that tragic edge. Drizzt, Cattie-brie, and Bruenor could have still knocked out Matron Baenre and stopped the drow from occupying the dwarven homeland. But to let the dwarves and their allies run off an army of drow completely victorious is a step beyond even "fantasy reality". Regardless of the outcome of the battle...the melee was still very compelling and exciting with tons of detail and not ridiculous like the climatic battle in "Descent into the Depths of the Earth". I am anxious to see what new troubles and intrigues will develop from the ashes of this latest conflict.

The only problem with this book is that Salvatore is starting to just make stuff up as he goes along. The most bizarre stuff happens, as a result of something that just hits us from a clear blue sky. He has kind of thrown out character development. Drizzt has become a jerk. His problem is he is so confident in his fighting ability that he fights for no better reason than to fight; not for honor or some other just cause as he usually does. He just goes out and kicks butt. Same thing in Starless Night. Any clear mind eventually comes to the conclusion that you do not go to Menzoberranzan in that situation. I guess I just liked Drizzt better when the odds were stacked against him. Of course, I can't blame Salvatore for this. Everything must happen within the framework of a normal D&D adventure, which foresakes the character development of really good literature. I'm sure Salvatore could be as successful as another good old writer whose last name begins with an S, ends with an E, and has a whole bunch of letters in between (yes I do know how to spell Shakespeare; I am not avoiding that) if he just took his time like J.R.R., Piers Anthony, and Douglas Adams and created his own world, his own rules, and set everything up in advance rather than making it up as he went along to help the heroes. Only hero in this series is Jarlaxle. He foresakes the drow and the Spider Queen just as Drizzt does, but with much more subtlety and cunning, much less arrogance. Notice how he bows to everybody? His body count is considerably less than Drizzt's, and he's spent his whole life in Menzoberranzan. His gang is just for protection; they hardly ever kill anybody either. He has perfect control over an evil and violent race of beings without taking anyone's life as Drizzt does. And, in his own strange sense, he's happy too.

Once again Salvatore shows us how he can masterfully write battle scenes both big and small.I am a big fan of battle scenes. Also it shows the emotions of the characters and expands on certain characters like the Harpells and Alustriel and also truly shows the honorable code of the Dwarves and their allies. It even expands on existing characters and it does display how the Dwarves and humans had a advantage over the invading Drow and Goblinoid army. I'll explain. First of all the Goblinoids are pushovers. And if they're slaves they have no chance of promotion so they are probably dispirited too. Not to mention they're not to bright. And the Dwarves are natural goblin bashers and probably veteran veteran fighters and have good reasons and inspiration to fight. While the Drow are just selfish, they won't help their friends and when sunlight arrived the surface battle was lost and the Drow are more afraid of dying too not to mention overconfident. The drow in other books were the elite noble Drow, the best that Menzoberranzan had to offer. Not all Drow can Fight like that. If you wish for debate E-Mail me.

As Drizzt and Co. excape Menzoberanzan in dramatic fashion, and the drow prepare for an invasion of the surface world, the Time of Troubles (when the avatars of the gods come to the material plane and magic falters) hits and the drow establishment is thrown into uncertainty. Baenre ends up reestablishing dominance with the return of magic (and the favor of Lloth) and continues the plans for invasion. Catie-Brie and Drizzt have some kind of strange love relationship going on and Catie-Brie battles within herself for mastery. The siege of Mithril Hall is an epic battle with lots of heroes and groups of allies coming together to fight off the dark elves and their slaves. It actually might be my favorite major battle scene thus far in the Drizzt series, ending with surprising finality.

The only thing about this book that didnt' really fit in very well was the inclusion of the Time of Troubles. I guess that this theme had been thought up before and needed to be meshed with the Forgotten Realms story as a whole. Salvatore obviously wasn't too interested in it, never really explaining why or how it happened, only conforming his story to include it. It seemed forced and took away from the usual clarity found in the Drizzt books. Still, this is really another great book in the series, you won't be dissapointed.

Definitely GREAT Fantasy epics and my personal favorites, The Dark Elf Trilogy-Homeland, Exile, and Sojourn, as well as The Icewind Dale Trilogy- The Crystal Shard, Streams of Silver, and The Halfling's Gem bring to life the story of the good hearted dark elf ranger Drizzt Do'Urden and his adventures in the magical World of Faerun. Legacy, Starless Night, Siege of Darkness and Passage to Dawn are the continuation of these adventures in a way that you keep coming back for more and more and more? The books are all so incredibly well written that the reader feels that they have been transported to another universe and are actually present among the characters, seeing what they see, feeling what they feel, sensing what they sense. RA Salvatore has truly outdone himself and has presented us with a masterpiece of literature the likes of which we have seen only in JRR Tolkien's work and in authors Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman's Dragonlance Chronicles and Legends trilogies. Duty, honor, bravery, magic, and swordfights are all about. A great trilogy indeed and a must read along with RA Salvatore's The Icewind Dale Trilogy! One should seriously start thinking about maybe turning them into movies!

NO SPOILERS!

In SEIGE OF DARKNESS, Salvatore takes a step back from the cover-to-cover relentless battle scenes to spend more time with the supporting characters, particularly those in the chaotic Menzoberanzan. The power struggle is on between the top five houses following the gruesome defeat to Drizzt, Cattie-brie and the contributions of Entreri in the previous novel, STARLESS NIGHT. Meanwhile, the confusing relationship between Drizzt and Cattie-brie continues to take point in the plot. With SEIGE, Salvatore demonstrates his remarkable versatility as a writer. Rather than churning out formulaic battle-driven novels time and time again, he develops the story into a Saga; one in which the characters emotions come alive as much as their swordplay. For those who feast on the action, fear not, you'll get your fix in SEIGE. Overall, an outstanding addition to the saga.

3.5 stars
There's nothing really spectacular about his book. The main problem is that it takes too long to rev up. When you write a book that's only 300 pages, you have to fill it with action from the start to finish to make it good. Salvatore spent a good deal of pages as exposition. I don't mind the amount of exposition, as long as there's enough action for the rest of the story. Obviously, in a book this short, that can't happen. (I have noticed that down the line the books are getting progressively longer, and this pleases me.) This book should be called Attack of Darkness, instead of Siege, because that's what is. It was very entertaining when it happened, but the rest of the book was a little bland. The first portion is filled up with this event called the Time of Troubles, something that really seemed to have no relation to the rest of the story. It came and it went, and everything was the same again. I later found out that this incident was BORROWED FROM ANOTHER AUTHOR. Also, there's still a little too much silliness in this book. When I first came across such things in the Icewind Dale Trilogy, I dismissed them as by-products of Slavatore's inexperience as a writer. I can no longer say such, since these book follow on the heels of the Dark Elf Trilogy. There was no silliness in those books. They were dead serious. But here I've noticed different occasions where characters act a little childish at times. Never Drizzt. Most of the characters in this book still don't stand up to Drizzt's characterization. The Harpells stand as prime examples. And their magic is too silly, also. I just can never seriously consider a man being able to switch his brains with his ass. I just can't do it.
So, despite the good story, this book was mediocre. As was the next.

There was something almost magical about the final battle in The Crystal Shard. The build up throughout the book had been well constructed, the characters were deep and the environment was simply unique. The climactic battles of Ten Towns concurrent with the personal battles of the main characters were blended together in a way where you genuinely cared about what happened to them.

How I wish R.A. Salvatore would return to those days. Instead, we have The Siege of Darkness. Book three in a sad series that seems to get worse as it goes on. To say it was a drudge to get through this one is an understatement.

This book has two plot lines: the "Time of Troubles" and the attack by the Drow army on Mithril Hall. I'm still trying to figure out Salvatore's justification for the "Time of Troubles". This brief moment that comes at just the right time seems completely forced as the only possible way he could tie up a loose story end.

The real event is the Drow army advance and eventual attack. All of the subplots, all of the characterization, all of the book is spent building up for this final climactic moment. When it eventually comes, the battle doesn't really live up to it's expectations and the character's individual ruminations just fall flat out.

Instead of hardy barbarians, we are treated to the likes of Pwent and his battleragers and more of the Harpells. This leads to another problem I have with this book: way too much comic relief. It seems that every single time Salvatore's plot seems to be dragging he puts in another silly moment like the battleragers running into stone walls for practice, or a recently cured Biderdoo Harpell wishing he had his former curse back so he could be a dog again. While some moments are genuinely funny, Salvatore seems to include these moments at inopportune times and as a result they seem more as a filler or as a way to shore up a loose plot line.

The final half of this book really is just about the drow vs. dwarf battle. It's long, it's drawn out, but it does have some shining moments. Salvatore's strength has always been his ability to write a clear action story.

The focus, of course, is always on the leaders and their impossible exploits which bring them fame and victory. Ss with all Salvatore books you always know Drizz and company are going to win, and if by some freak chance someone gets killed *cough* Wulfgar *cough* you know that character is coming back later. They always do. Just talk to Artemis.

Which leads me to my final point. I will read Passage of Dawn and I will hope that things make a change, but if I don't see improvement this will be the last Salvatore series I pick up. This entire series seems forced and perhaps as I read other reviews it makes sense. If Salvatore was forced to write this to appease TSR it only makes sense that all of his heart wouldn't go into it.

"Siege of Darkness" is one of the more unique books in the Drizzt series. R.A. Salavtore does a fairly credible job in balancing between the epic confrontation between dark elves and dwarves with the tale of Drizzt and his friends. Salvatore does a very good job in laying out the geography and the various units of both armies. How the impending crisis affects his heroes ranks as one of Salvatore's best efforts in character development (high praise indeed since it is one of Salvatore's strengths). And yet....there is something akin to disappointment in the final battle. Salvatore had spent the better part of two previous books building up to this moment. While it is a solid battle scene, one is struck by how anti-climatic it seems. Despite this letdown, this a fine addition to the Drizzt books.

God I loved this book. Excellent battle scenes, great characters, and good Forgotten Realms world tie-ins. For instance, the Time of Troubles. Lloth's avatar waas cool. The tanar'ri? Mean. And you just have to love Harkle Harpell. Anyway, it's good to see Bruenor take down a major enemy without nearly dying and being saved by Drizzt's scimitar. I mean, Drizzt killed or defeated Ertuu, Vierna, Dantrag, Akar Kessel, and everyone's favoeite villain - Artemis Entreri. Wulfgar pounded Biggrin and Icingdeath. And Catti-Brie took down Sydney. So how about it? Bruenor killing Matron Baenre. Real open-ended book, too. And i like all the characters, Stumpet Rakingclaw, Besnell, Berkthgar, Berg'inyon, etc. And of course, it's impossible to forget Jarlaxle. What a drow. I hear that Passage to Dawn and Silent Blade our great. We love you, Bob. Never stop writing.

As a former Dungeons & Dragons player and lover of Tolkien's books, I have never outgrown my fondness for fantasy stories. A couple years ago, I was browsing a bookstore for a promising-looking adventure novel and grabbed _Siege of Darkness_ based on the back cover synopsis and the first page or so of the novel. This was the first Drizzt novel and the first R. A. Salvatore novel I had ever read, and perhaps I can best recommend the book by saying that I have since read over 20 of Mr. Salvatore's novels and have enjoyed every one immensely.
If you have not read the previous books about Drizzt, you may want to start with _The Crystal Shard_ (the first book Salvatore wrote about Drizzt) or _Homeland_ (which entails Drizzt's origins). As I said, however, this was the first Drizzt novel I read, and my ignorance of the earlier books in the series did not detract from my enjoyment. [It did, however, spur me on to devour the previous books in the series in the following months!]
What makes Salvatore's books so great, in my opinion, is that he actually develops his characters. Drizzt is one of the most interesting protagonists I have ever come across. His inner turmoil and his status as a perpetual outsider make him much more interesting than just another kick-butt warrior. Drizzt's journal entries, which open the major sections of the novels, are especially interesting psychological portraits.
But don't worry, fans of a good battle: R.A. Salvatore is also fantastic at describing all kinds of combat, from tense duels to sprawling battles between large armies. I know it's a cliche, but his descriptions of combat really allow you to visualize the slashes and feints in your mind's eye. And, as the title implies, _Siege of Darkness_ contains some of his best battle descriptions.
If you're a fan of fantasy novels and are looking for a new writer and a new hero in whose worlds to immerse yourself, do yourself a favor and try R.A. Salvatore and Drizzt Do'Urden on for size.

I have grown tired of TSR's administering their desires on how he writes his books. Why bring back Wulfgar? Does there have to be immortality among heroes? Salvatore's first books on Drizz't and the companions were well done, his books on the story of the drow were fantastic, but the use of the drow is getting old. The stories he is recently producing seem too much re-hash of the other books he's produced. Don't get me wrong, the first parts of the series were fun and creative, but his latest works are suffering from the same storyline. Unfortunately, I feel the series has become rather stagnant.. That, and I've progressed to better, more realistic authors like Glenn Cook (The Black Company) and Steven Brust (Jhereg) that have shown me the light on realistic vs. typical fantasy.

3.5 stars
There's nothing really spectacular about his book. The main problem is that it takes too long to rev up. When you write a book that's only 300 pages, you have to fill it with action from the start to finish to make it good. Salvatore spent a good deal of pages as exposition. I don't mind the amount of exposition, as long as there's enough action for the rest of the story. Obviously, in a book this short, that can't happen. (I have noticed that down the line the books are getting progressively longer, and this pleases me.) This book should be called Attack of Darkness, instead of Siege, because that's what is. It was very entertaining when it happened, but the rest of the book was a little bland. The first portion is filled up with this event called the Time of Troubles, something that really seemed to have no relation to the rest of the story. It came and it went, and everything was the same again. I later found out that this incident was BORROWED FROM ANOTHER AUTHOR. Also, there's still a little too much silliness in this book. When I first came across such things in the Icewind Dale Trilogy, I dismissed them as by-products of Slavatore's inexperience as a writer. I can no longer say such, since these book follow on the heels of the Dark Elf Trilogy. There was no silliness in those books. They were dead serious. But here I've noticed different occasions where characters act a little childish at times. Never Drizzt. Most of the characters in this book still don't stand up to Drizzt's characterization. The Harpells stand as prime examples. And their magic is too silly, also. I just can never seriously consider a man being able to switch his brains with his ass. I just can't do it.
So, despite the good story, this book was mediocre. As was the next.

There was something almost magical about the final battle in The Crystal Shard. The build up throughout the book had been well constructed, the characters were deep and the environment was simply unique. The climactic battles of Ten Towns concurrent with the personal battles of the main characters were blended together in a way where you genuinely cared about what happened to them.

How I wish R.A. Salvatore would return to those days. Instead, we have The Siege of Darkness. Book three in a sad series that seems to get worse as it goes on. To say it was a drudge to get through this one is an understatement.

This book has two plot lines: the "Time of Troubles" and the attack by the Drow army on Mithril Hall. I'm still trying to figure out Salvatore's justification for the "Time of Troubles". This brief moment that comes at just the right time seems completely forced as the only possible way he could tie up a loose story end.

The real event is the Drow army advance and eventual attack. All of the subplots, all of the characterization, all of the book is spent building up for this final climactic moment. When it eventually comes, the battle doesn't really live up to it's expectations and the character's individual ruminations just fall flat out.

Instead of hardy barbarians, we are treated to the likes of Pwent and his battleragers and more of the Harpells. This leads to another problem I have with this book: way too much comic relief. It seems that every single time Salvatore's plot seems to be dragging he puts in another silly moment like the battleragers running into stone walls for practice, or a recently cured Biderdoo Harpell wishing he had his former curse back so he could be a dog again. While some moments are genuinely funny, Salvatore seems to include these moments at inopportune times and as a result they seem more as a filler or as a way to shore up a loose plot line.

The final half of this book really is just about the drow vs. dwarf battle. It's long, it's drawn out, but it does have some shining moments. Salvatore's strength has always been his ability to write a clear action story.

The focus, of course, is always on the leaders and their impossible exploits which bring them fame and victory. Ss with all Salvatore books you always know Drizz and company are going to win, and if by some freak chance someone gets killed *cough* Wulfgar *cough* you know that character is coming back later. They always do. Just talk to Artemis.

Which leads me to my final point. I will read Passage of Dawn and I will hope that things make a change, but if I don't see improvement this will be the last Salvatore series I pick up. This entire series seems forced and perhaps as I read other reviews it makes sense. If Salvatore was forced to write this to appease TSR it only makes sense that all of his heart wouldn't go into it.

"Siege of Darkness" is one of the more unique books in the Drizzt series. R.A. Salavtore does a fairly credible job in balancing between the epic confrontation between dark elves and dwarves with the tale of Drizzt and his friends. Salvatore does a very good job in laying out the geography and the various units of both armies. How the impending crisis affects his heroes ranks as one of Salvatore's best efforts in character development (high praise indeed since it is one of Salvatore's strengths). And yet....there is something akin to disappointment in the final battle. Salvatore had spent the better part of two previous books building up to this moment. While it is a solid battle scene, one is struck by how anti-climatic it seems. Despite this letdown, this a fine addition to the Drizzt books.

God I loved this book. Excellent battle scenes, great characters, and good Forgotten Realms world tie-ins. For instance, the Time of Troubles. Lloth's avatar waas cool. The tanar'ri? Mean. And you just have to love Harkle Harpell. Anyway, it's good to see Bruenor take down a major enemy without nearly dying and being saved by Drizzt's scimitar. I mean, Drizzt killed or defeated Ertuu, Vierna, Dantrag, Akar Kessel, and everyone's favoeite villain - Artemis Entreri. Wulfgar pounded Biggrin and Icingdeath. And Catti-Brie took down Sydney. So how about it? Bruenor killing Matron Baenre. Real open-ended book, too. And i like all the characters, Stumpet Rakingclaw, Besnell, Berkthgar, Berg'inyon, etc. And of course, it's impossible to forget Jarlaxle. What a drow. I hear that Passage to Dawn and Silent Blade our great. We love you, Bob. Never stop writing.

As a former Dungeons & Dragons player and lover of Tolkien's books, I have never outgrown my fondness for fantasy stories. A couple years ago, I was browsing a bookstore for a promising-looking adventure novel and grabbed _Siege of Darkness_ based on the back cover synopsis and the first page or so of the novel. This was the first Drizzt novel and the first R. A. Salvatore novel I had ever read, and perhaps I can best recommend the book by saying that I have since read over 20 of Mr. Salvatore's novels and have enjoyed every one immensely.
If you have not read the previous books about Drizzt, you may want to start with _The Crystal Shard_ (the first book Salvatore wrote about Drizzt) or _Homeland_ (which entails Drizzt's origins). As I said, however, this was the first Drizzt novel I read, and my ignorance of the earlier books in the series did not detract from my enjoyment. [It did, however, spur me on to devour the previous books in the series in the following months!]
What makes Salvatore's books so great, in my opinion, is that he actually develops his characters. Drizzt is one of the most interesting protagonists I have ever come across. His inner turmoil and his status as a perpetual outsider make him much more interesting than just another kick-butt warrior. Drizzt's journal entries, which open the major sections of the novels, are especially interesting psychological portraits.
But don't worry, fans of a good battle: R.A. Salvatore is also fantastic at describing all kinds of combat, from tense duels to sprawling battles between large armies. I know it's a cliche, but his descriptions of combat really allow you to visualize the slashes and feints in your mind's eye. And, as the title implies, _Siege of Darkness_ contains some of his best battle descriptions.
If you're a fan of fantasy novels and are looking for a new writer and a new hero in whose worlds to immerse yourself, do yourself a favor and try R.A. Salvatore and Drizzt Do'Urden on for size.

I have grown tired of TSR's administering their desires on how he writes his books. Why bring back Wulfgar? Does there have to be immortality among heroes? Salvatore's first books on Drizz't and the companions were well done, his books on the story of the drow were fantastic, but the use of the drow is getting old. The stories he is recently producing seem too much re-hash of the other books he's produced. Don't get me wrong, the first parts of the series were fun and creative, but his latest works are suffering from the same storyline. Unfortunately, I feel the series has become rather stagnant.. That, and I've progressed to better, more realistic authors like Glenn Cook (The Black Company) and Steven Brust (Jhereg) that have shown me the light on realistic vs. typical fantasy.

Siege of Darkness is an incredible book with author R.A. Salvatore at what I believe is the top of his game. The majority of this novel deals with House Baenre (and therefore Menzoberranzan) planning to wage war on Mithral Hall in a quest for greater domination. Salvatores way of handling character interaction in this novel is especially good, as is his superior ability to illustrate the evil of the drow city Menzoberranzan.

I am a big fan of Salvatore's handling of the underdark, and this book makes a triumphant return to it in great form. Siege jumps right back into the drow's penchant for power in their quest to conquer Mithral Hall and bring House Baenre toward a greater legacy. The plot is full of exciting twists and events that provide intrigue and suspense. I highly recommnend this book to Salvatore fans, fans of the underdark setting and fantasy/fiction fans as a whole. Although I would definitely recommend reading other Drizzt books leading up to this, for familiarity with the characters and setting etc.

To whom it may concern,i only recently started to read fantasy books and i have to say r. a. salvatore is the best author i have read.The iteractions betweenDrizzt and artemis Entreri are wonderful comparisons of two completely different personalities.Salvatores books leave,many questions unanswered.Who is Jarlaxle and what are his true motivations?I would like to see the author do a series of books detailing Jarlaxle's rise to power and detailing his past life before he became a houseless rogue.I love the character and think he deserves his own series.maybe it could detail more encounters with the duergar and svirfneblin.

Siege of Darkness is quite good. Salvatore has a talent for the portrayal of battles, both large and small, that is excellent and gives one the impression of actually being there through all the events. His close attention to detail and description lend themselves well to this novel, and his ability to describe individual events skillfully woven into the tapestry of the larger battle is very good. Salvatore does discuss his convictions a bit too much, however, and explains the morality and "good" of the defending forces a mite more than he should. He emphasizes their differences with the evil invaders a bit too strongly. His need to explain things does not damage this book much, however, (as it does "The Demon Awakens"... see my review on that...), and the story and epic heroism make Siege of Darkness a great read in spite of the few minor flaws. I recommend it to any Drizzt fans out there.

There are really two sections to this book, one is the sub-par inclusion of the TSR mandated, and ill-conceived in my opinion, Time of Troubles where the avatars of the gods walk the earth and magic stops functioning. This really does nothing but include the effects of the Time of Troubles from the Avatar series in this series and set up the unfortunate happenings in the next book.

The other part of the story is the siege of Mithril Hall. Though uncomfortably similar to Helm's Deep it is very well written. Salvatore does do battles well and here he writes a non-stop battle focusing on small squad tactics of several different groups on several parts of the battlefield.

He even manages to make the Harpell's, and Pwent the battle-rager, previously annoying comic relief, become less annoying and almost useful characters that contribute to the plot, the readers emotions and the battle.

Though having the siege basically undone by the internecine drow politics causing several houses to retreat may be unsatisfying, it is at least logically consistent with their culture, and not without real historical precedent. I believe one of the Khans turned his army back on the eve of victory in order to take care of problems back at home.

No real development of anyone here, but the long battle scenes make for an exciting bit of mind-candy storytelling.

Siege of Darkness is an excellent thriller with almost impeccable details of battles and wars. Drizzt's dreaded kin come back for a thrilling war, involving drow and their slaves against the dwarves and allies of Mithril Hall. Humor is also brought to the book from the capable, but incapable, Harpell family. I would reccomend this book to any Drizzt fan.

Siege of Darkness is the third book in the Legacy of the Drow, and my personal favorite out of the entire Drizzt Series. We finally get to see a full scale war and Mithril Hall's denfenses. All our favorite chracter's are back. Even the Harpells come to help Mithril Hall! This is a great book and, in my opinion, the best of all the Drizzt books. After reading the book you will definetly want to pick up the next one, Passage to Dawn.

After talking about it for the last 3 books Salvatore finally has the Drow invade Mithral Hall and try to take out Bruener and his clan. Salvatore once again shows his perfection of telling a battle without sticking to the gory parts to keep it interesting. This is a very quick read despite it's length but it doesn't dimish from it's depth. Truly Salvatore is to the 90's what McCafry was to the 70's and 80's.

I thought this book was...well...one of the best. I loved how it spent most of the book perparing for a giant battle, and in the end, the battle was everything it was meant to be and more. It was almost more climatic then Star Wars episode VI ending battle (almost). None the less, if you are a fan of R.A. Salvatore, or a fan of Forgotten realms, or a fan of Drizzt Do'Urden, I advice you get this book. If you are a fan of Drizzt, make sure you read the other books before this one (in chronological order). If you don't know if you are, read this book it might make the dicision for you.

This book is a very interesting mirror of our own history. The plot gripping to the very end. The over confidence and tunnel vision of Matron Baenre is masterfully written. The down fall of one of the greatest armies ever massed, emphasizing the chaos of the drow society. As for why such an army could loose? Why did the Egyptian empire fall? Napoleon? The Thrid Reich? Thumbs up to R.A. Salvatore for this addition to the Dark Elf series.

As we know, the gang raises against de Evil Drow, we see Drizzt facing his iner demons as well as Cathy Bree and Breunor, how they fight against their feelings towards the gone Wolfgar.

I recomend this book to people who have read the previous title cause it keeps you interested in the storyline and gives you an inner sight of the Drow culture.

This book is a very interesting mirror of our own history. The plot gripping to the very end. The over confidence and tunnel vision of Matron Baenre is masterfully written. The down fall of one of the greatest armies ever massed, emphasizing the chaos of the drow society. As for why such an army could loose? Why did the Egyptian empire fall? Napoleon? The Thrid Reich? Thumbs up to R.A. Salvatore for this addition to the Dark Elf series.

As with his other publications, Mr. Salvatore has worked his magic in his writing, making a book that is more than noteworthy. His way with words has dazzeled me again, the vivid discriptions creating a world of literal rapture. A rich, action-packed storyline keeps you reading for hours. This book was a great read and I would recomend this book to any hardcore fantasy reader.

Wow. That's about all I can say. Salvatore really was awesome... again. This book combines all that you have come to love in the other books about Drizzt, and best of all... is just about pure action. I mean, wow. This book is amazing and you'll probably end up laughing to yourself like I was, just thinking about how awesome it is.

As we know, the gang raises against de Evil Drow, we see Drizzt facing his iner demons as well as Cathy Bree and Breunor, how they fight against their feelings towards the gone Wolfgar.

I recomend this book to people who have read the previous title cause it keeps you interested in the storyline and gives you an inner sight of the Drow culture.