The Last Threshold

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The Last Threshold
The Last Threshold (D&D novel).jpg
Cover of the first edition
Author R. A. Salvatore
Cover artist Todd Lockwood
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Series Neverwinter Saga
Genre Fantasy novel
Set in Forgotten Realms
Publisher Wizards of the Coast
Publication date
2013
Media typePrint (Paperback)
Pages384
ISBN 978-0786963645 (first edition, hardcover)
OCLC 795758224
813.54
LC Class PS3569.A462345 L37
Preceded by Charon's Claw  

The Last Threshold is a novel by R. A. Salvatore set in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting, and is the fourth book in the Neverwinter Saga. [1] It was released on March 5, 2013.

Contents

Plot summary

Now that Charon's Claw is destroyed, Drizzt Do'Urden and his companions—not only Dahlia Sin'felle and Artemis Entreri, but also the former Shadovar Ambergris and Afafrenfere rest in Neverwinter while they decide their next course. Drizzt is resolved to find Guenhwyvar, who has somehow been trapped in the Shadowfell and can no longer be summoned, but when he attempts to summon her some time later, he is successful. He devises a plan to take his companions, particularly Entreri, to rebuild Port Llast in order to show them there is something worthwhile and honorable to do with their skills.

While seeking the help of Arunika, Drizzt and Dahlia find evidence of a vampire, which turns out to be Thibbledorf Pwent, Bruenor Battlehammer's loyal shield dwarf who had tragically been turned into a vampire by Dor'crae. Pwent resolves to remain in the sunlight and be destroyed; Drizzt and Dahlia leave him to go in peace and honor. The group heads north.

In the Shadowfell, Effron is desperate to get back at his mother, Dahlia. He plans to steal Guenhwyvar in order to blackmail Drizzt into leaving Dahlia's side, but the panther is already gone and Lord Draygo Quick discovers his plan.

Meanwhile, Jarlaxle and Athrogate are alive and well and working for Bregan D'aerthe. They find out that Tiago Baenre is seeking Drizzt Do'Urden, who now apparently travels with Artemis Entreri, whom Jarlaxle had both befriended and betrayed. Jarlaxle and Athrograte travel on Bregan D'aerthe business to the Shade Enclave.

Drizzt's group travel to Port Llast so that Entreri can retrieve his dagger and Drizzt can enact his plan. They help rebuild Port Llast. Drizzt notices that Guenhwyvar does not seem to be getting enough rest. That is because Draygo Quick has in fact bound her to the Shadowfell, so she is unable to return home to the Astral Plane when unsummoned. At some point, Effron appears in order to capture Dahlia, but his heart is softened and he ends up joining Drizzt's group instead. Effron tells them about Guenhwyvar.

Drizzt's group go to Draygo Quick's home to retrieve Guenhwyvar. In the process, Dahlia and Entreri are petrified, Drizzt and Effron are captured, and only Ambergris escapes. Drizzt remains a guest/prisoner of Quick for as long as a year before Jarlaxle, having learned of his whereabouts from Ambergris, mounts an assault by Bregan D'aerthe on Quick's residence. Drizzt and his companions are freed and unpetrified. They set forth for Icewind Dale, determined to wait out Tiago's search.

In Icewind Dale, the group inadvertently wander into a portion of Iruladoon, spending a night there that lasts eighteen years. When they awake, it is 1484 DR and it seems the world has forgotten them. Drizzt resolves to stay in Icewind Dale and Dahlia, upset with him, attacks him. Entreri pulls Dahlia away, but not before Drizzt appears to succumb to his wounds on top of Kelvin's Cairn, hearing the voices of his long-dead friends beside him.

Characters

Main characters

Supporting characters

Minor characters

Mentioned characters

Locations

Regions

Icewind Dale Netheril Northdark Sword Coast North

Settlements

Baldur's Gate Luskan Menzoberranzan Neverwinter Port Llast Shade Enclave

Other

Gauntlgrym Shadowfell

Artifacts

Icingdeath Kozah's Needle Orbbcress Vidrinath

Reception

The Last Threshold reached 20 on The New York Times Best Seller list on March 24, 2013. [2]

The book entered the USA Today Top 150 on March 14, 2013, and was on the USA Today Best-Selling Books list for 1 week, with #70 as its best week. [3]

Related Research Articles

Drizzt DoUrden fictional character

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.

Menzoberranzan, the "City of Spiders", is a fictional city-state in the world of the Forgotten Realms, a Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting. The city is located in the Upper Northdark, about two miles below the Surbrin Vale, between the Moonwood and the Frost Hills. It is famed as the birthplace of Drizzt Do'Urden, the protagonist of several series of best-selling novels by noted fantasy author R. A. Salvatore. Menzoberranzan has been developed into a video game and a tabletop RPG setting. Menzoberranzan has been described as "a perfect unjust state" and compared to Glaucon's vision of a state that is held together only by the fear of retribution.

The Dark Elf Trilogy

The Dark Elf Trilogy is a prequel to the Icewind Dale Trilogy by R. A. Salvatore. Drizzt Do'Urden, a drow, or dark elf, was originally written as a supporting character in the Icewind Dale Trilogy to Wulfgar the barbarian. However, the author soon realized how popular the character was, and Drizzt became the main character. The final book Sojourn made the New York Times Best Seller list.

Jarlaxle is a fictional character in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting based on the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. He first appeared in the 1990 novel, Exile, by R. A. Salvatore as the charismatic and opportunistic drow leader of the mercenary band, Bregan D'aerthe. The character has appeared again in subsequent novels including Promise of the Witch-King, Road of the Patriarch, and The Pirate King, as well as "The Sellswords" and "Paths of Darkness" trilogies. He also has a cameo in the CRPG Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn, in which he tricks the PC into stealing gems for him from an undead lich.

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, describing the events that created 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.

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Streams of Silver is a fantasy novel by American writer R. A. Salvatore. It is the second book in his The Icewind Dale Trilogy.

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Wulfgar, son of Beornegar, is the barbarian hero of Icewind Dale in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting, and one of the Companions of the Hall along with Drizzt Do'Urden, Catti-brie, Regis the halfling, and Bruenor Battlehammer. He is the creation of R.A. Salvatore.

<i>Gauntlgrym</i> book

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<i>Charons Claw</i> (novel) book by Robert Anthony Salvatore

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Neverwinter Saga is a saga written in the Forgotten Realms campaign world, a popular Dungeons & Dragons role-playing setting, by fantasy and science fiction author R.A. Salvatore. The tetralogy begins with Gauntlgrym which is set twenty-four years after the events of The Ghost King. Gauntlgrym is also the twentieth book concerning one of Salvatore's famous characters, Drizzt Do'Urden. The saga contains Gauntlgrym, Neverwinter, Charon's Claw, and The Last Threshold. This tetralogy is preceded by The Transitions Series.

References