3 out of 5 stars
Wherein Drizzt learns that it's okay to break the man-code and actually feel emotions beyond anger. He learns that he is allowed to feel grief for fallen friends, to regret past actions, and to love the important people in his life. Painful things happen and that pain can't be avoided forever—it has to be dealt with. Grief means that you have loved someone, that they were important.
Drizzt has made assumptions, namely that all of his friends died in the battle in the last book and that he is once again friendless and on his own. He also assumes that surface elves will despise him and should be avoided. Silly, silly Drizzt. But orcs are flooding out of the roots of the mountains and fighting them is an excellent distraction. The battle scenes, both with Drizzt and following the dwarves of Mithril Hall, are stirring and kept me reading intently to see what would happen. If you like battle stories, this book will be your jam.
Back when I was reading The Silent Blade and The Spine of the World, I had hopes that this series was moving towards four star territory. The writing in those particular books was a cut above Salvatore's usual fare. It was like someone else was writing them and I liked this new person. Unfortunately, the author seems to have abandoned this new, grittier style and reverted to type. Count me as disappointed.
These adventures are still fast and kind of fun. I would never have picked up a Drizzt book if I wasn't working on this reading project, trying to get caught up on science fiction and fantasy after a ten year reading hiatus. I'm glad to know who Drizzt, the Drow elf, is and have some appreciation for this Forgotten Realms subgenre. What amazes me most, I think, is that Salvatore is still cranking these out! I am very unsure if I'll read to the end of the series, but I will at least read until the one book that I have waiting for me on my own bookshelves.
Book Number 442 of my Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading Project
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