Paths of Darkness

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Paths of Darkness

Author R. A. Salvatore
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genre Epic fantasy
Publisher
Published1998 - 2001
Media typePrint
No. of books4
Preceded by Legacy of the Drow
Followed by The Hunter's Blades Trilogy, The Sellswords

Paths of Darkness is an epic fantasy series of novels chronicling adventures of the renegade drow elf character Drizzt Do'Urden written by R. A. Salvatore. It is the follow-up series to Legacy of the Drow and is followed up by The Hunter's Blades Trilogy , and also followed on from the Servant of the Shard in The Sellswords trilogy.

Contents

Todd Lockwood painted the covers for The Silent Blade and The Spine of the World. [1]

Works included

  1. The Silent Blade (1998)
  2. The Spine of the World (1999)
  3. Servant of the Shard (2000)*
  4. Sea of Swords (2001)

*Servant of the Shard (2000) is also the first book of The Sellswords series, which follows Jarlaxle and Artemis Entreri.

Literary significance and reception

The Silent Blade debuted on the New York Times bestseller list at No. 32. [2]

The Spine of the World debuted on the New York Times bestseller list at No. 25. [3]

Servant of the Shard debuted on the New York Times bestseller list at No. 25. [4]

Sea of Swords debuted on the New York Times bestseller list at No. 14. [5] It was positively reviewed in Publishers Weekly , where it debuted at No. 10 on the hardcover bestsellers list. [6] The reviewers described the novel as a "fast–moving fantasy adventure", although they acknowledged that the book, as the last in a sequence of four, was not for the uninitiated. [7]

Matt Drake of RPGnet gave the series a 4 (out of 5) for style, stating that "Salvatore's chrome is starting to tarnish in a few spots, but he is still a great fantasy novelist." He gave it a 3 (out of 5) for substance, stating "With the exception of Spine of the World, these stories are a little predictable and trite." [8]

Related Research Articles

Forgotten Realms is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a setting for his childhood stories. Several years later, Greenwood brought the setting to publication for the D&D game as a series of magazine articles, and the first Realms game products were released in 1987. Role-playing game products have been produced for the setting ever since, as have various licensed products including novels, role-playing video game adaptations, comic books, and an upcoming film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drizzt Do'Urden</span> Fictional character from Dungeons & Dragons

Drizzt Do'Urden is a fictional character appearing in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Drizzt was created by author R. A. Salvatore as a supporting character in the Icewind Dale Trilogy. Salvatore created him on a whim when his publisher needed him to replace one of the characters in an early version of the first book, The Crystal Shard. Drizzt has since become a popular heroic character of the Forgotten Realms setting, and has been featured as the main character of a long series of books, starting chronologically with The Dark Elf Trilogy. As an atypical drow, Drizzt has forsaken both the evil ways of his people and their home in the Underdark, in the drow city of Menzoberranzan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R. A. Salvatore</span> American writer

Robert Anthony Salvatore is an American author best known for The Legend of Drizzt, a series of fantasy novels set in the Forgotten Realms and starring the popular character Drizzt Do'Urden. He has also written The DemonWars Saga, a series of high fantasy novels; several other Forgotten Realms novels; and Vector Prime, the first novel in the Star Wars: The New Jedi Order series. He has sold more than 15 million copies of his books in the United States alone and twenty-two of his titles have been New York Times best-sellers.

The Legacy of the Drow is a New York Times best-selling fantasy series by R. A. Salvatore. It is the third series following the adventures of the Forgotten Realms character Drizzt Do'Urden.

<i>The Thousand Orcs</i> Book by R. A. Salvatore

The Thousand Orcs is a fantasy novel by American writer R. A. Salvatore, the first book in his series The Hunter's Blades Trilogy. In it, Drizzt Do'Urden is separated from his friends while orcs, giants, and a few drow are determined to destroy everything in their path.

<i>The Lone Drow</i>

The Lone Drow is a 2003 Forgotten Realms novel and the second book in R. A. Salvatore's book series, The Hunter's Blades Trilogy. In this novel, Drizzt Do'Urden is mourning what he believes is the death of his closest friends. He is helped to regain his sense of purpose after two elves and their pegasus decide to help. He goes around killing orcs and preventing new clans from joining the army that has been gathering. While this happens, Drizzt's friends are fighting desperately against the horde.

<i>Promise of the Witch-King</i>

Promise of the Witch-King is book 2 of the Forgotten Realms trilogy The Sellswords. Book 1 was originally part of the Drizzt line of novels and has now been re-released with some short stories making up for the gap in time.

The Icewind Dale Trilogy is a trilogy of epic fantasy novels by the American writer R.A. Salvatore. The books are The Crystal Shard, Streams of Silver and The Halfling's Gem. They tell the tale of ranger Drizzt Do'Urden the drow, Wulfgar the barbarian warrior, Regis the halfling, dwarf king Bruenor, and Bruenor's adopted human daughter Catti-brie. It is the first of Salvatore's Forgotten Realms novels which introduces some of the best-known characters in that world. The final book of this series, The Halfling's Gem, appeared in The New York Times Best Seller list.

<i>Sea of Swords</i>

Sea of Swords is the third and final novel in R.A. Salvatore's book series Paths of Darkness.

<i>The Hunters Blades Trilogy</i>

The Hunter's Blades Trilogy is a fantasy trilogy by American writer R.A. Salvatore. It follows the Paths of Darkness series and is composed of three books: The Thousand Orcs, The Lone Drow, and The Two Swords. The Two Swords was Salvatore's 17th work concerning one of his most famous characters, Drizzt Do'Urden. In this series, Drizzt tries to stop an orc king from spreading chaos and war. The series reached the New York Times bestseller list and is followed by the installments of the Transitions series.

<i>Starless Night</i>

Starless Night is a 1993 fantasy novel by American writer R. A. Salvatore. It is the second book in his Legacy of the Drow series.

<i>Siege of Darkness</i>

Siege of Darkness is a 1994 fantasy novel by American writer R. A. Salvatore. It is the third book in his Legacy of the Drow series.

<i>The Two Swords</i>

The Two Swords is a fantasy novel by American writer R. A. Salvatore, the third and final book in his series The Hunter's Blades Trilogy. The Two Swords was his 17th work concerning one of the most famous characters Salvatore has created, the drow, or dark elf, Drizzt Do'Urden. It follows The Thousand Orcs and The Lone Drow.

<i>The Spine of the World</i>

The Spine of the World is the second book in R. A. Salvatore's book series, Paths of Darkness.

<i>Servant of the Shard</i>

Servant of the Shard was originally the third book in R.A. Salvatore's Paths of Darkness book series. It was also made the first book of the trilogy The Sellswords. In this novel, Artemis Entreri acquires Charon's Claw.

<i>The Legacy</i> (Forgotten Realms novel)

The Legacy is a 1992 fantasy novel by American writer R. A. Salvatore. It is the first book in his series Legacy of the Drow.

The Legend of Drizzt is a series of fantasy novels by R. A. Salvatore that began in 1988, and consists of 38 books as of August 9, 2022. They are based in the Forgotten Realms setting in the dimension of Abeir-Toril on the continent Faerûn in the popular D&D universe currently published/owned by Wizards of the Coast. It combines the series The Dark Elf Trilogy, The Icewind Dale Trilogy, Legacy of the Drow, Paths of Darkness, The Hunter's Blades Trilogy, and other sets into an abridged compilation. Drizzt Do'Urden is the main character of most of the books.

<i>The Silent Blade</i>

The Silent Blade is the first book of the Legend of Drizzt grouping Paths of Darkness. It is the eleventh book in the ever expanding Legend of Drizzt series and is followed by The Spine of the World which came out the next year. It was released in June 1998 from TSR and then later from Wizards of the Coast.

Transitions is a series of fantasy novels by R. A. Salvatore, the famous science fiction and fantasy author, consisting of three novels: The Orc King, The Pirate King, and The Ghost King. It continues the tale of the famous renegade drow Drizzt Do'Urden and his friends. This series is a follow-up to The Hunter's Blades Trilogy. Like the rest of the saga, it is set in the Forgotten Realms, a popular Dungeons & Dragons role-playing setting.

The Sellswords is a trilogy of fantasy novels written by R. A. Salvatore, whose related works include The Legend of Drizzt series and The Hunter's Blades Trilogy. It contains three books, Servant of the Shard, Promise of the Witch-King, and Road of the Patriarch.

References

  1. Kenson, Stephen (April 1999). "Profiles: Todd Lockwood". Dragon . Renton, Washington: Wizards of the Coast (#258): 96.
  2. "BEST SELLERS: November 15, 1998". NYTimes.com. Retrieved 2008-05-16.
  3. "BEST SELLERS: October 10, 1999". NYTimes.com. Retrieved 2008-05-16.
  4. "BEST SELLERS: December 3, 2000". NYTimes.com. Retrieved 2008-05-16.
  5. "BEST SELLERS: November 18, 2001". NYTimes.com. November 18, 2001. Retrieved 2008-05-16.
  6. "Inside the Best Sellers", Chicago Sun-Times , November 18, 2001, archived from the original on June 29, 2014, retrieved June 18, 2013  via  HighBeam Research (subscription required)
  7. Zaleski, Jeff; Cannon, Peter (2001). "Sea of Swords (Book)". Publishers Weekly . 248 (42): 52.
  8. "REVIEW OF PATHS OF DARKNESS: May 3, 2006". rpg.net. Retrieved 2008-05-16.