The Lone Drow

Last updated
The Lone Drow
The Lone Drow (D&D novel).jpg
Cover of the first edition
Author R. A. Salvatore
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genre Fantasy novel
Published2003
Media typePrint (Paperback)
Preceded by The Thousand Orcs  
Followed by The Two Swords  

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.

Contents

Plot summary

In The Lone Drow, Drizzt Do'Urden is mourning what he believes to be the death of his closest friends. Drizzt only regains his sense of purpose after two elves (Tarathiel and Innovindil) and their two pegasi (Sunrise and Sunset) decide to help. The dwarven druid Pikel Bouldershoulders loses his left arm at the elbow by a piece of slate thrown by a frost giant. Tarathiel, however, meets his demise at the hands of King Obould Many-Arrows. Later the orc shaman Arganth Snarrl proclaims Obould a god. Meanwhile, the remaining Companions of the Hall, who survived the attack that Drizzt earlier witnessed, are fighting an increasingly desperate battle against Obould's forces.

Reception

The Lone Drow debuted on The New York Times bestseller list at number 7. [1] Staff Reviewer Tom Gafkjen from d20zines.com awarded the book a "B" grade. He praised the well-written combat sequences (a point that was also acknowledged by Jackie Cassada when she commented on the first novel in the series) [2] but he did not enjoy the repetitious writing about the character Drizzt brooding over the death of a moon elf. He noted the exceptional writing although preferring the first book of the trilogy. [3] A similarly mixed review came from Publishers Weekly - while mostly negative, the reviewers acknowledged that the novel did (occasionally) rise above the cliché, and that "a few characters do achieve some complexity". [4] Cassada, on the other hand, seemed taken by the second novel in the trilogy, praising the "tense battles, vivid landscapes and memorable characters". [5] The Lone Drow debuted at #7 on the New York Times Best Seller list in October 2003. [6] Publishers Weekly felt that The Lone Drow was clichéd, but that some of the characters did achieve "some complexity". They singled out two characters for praise: Innovindel, an elf who talks "pensively" of her long life in contrast to the short lived humans, and Obould the orc king. [7]

Review

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drow</span> Dungeons & Dragons fictional creature

The drow or dark elves are a dark-skinned and white-haired subrace of elves connected to the subterranean Underdark in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game. The drow have traditionally been portrayed as generally evil and connected to the evil goddess Lolth. However, later editions of Dungeons & Dragons have moved away from this portrayal and preassigned alignment. More recent publications have explored drow societies unconnected to Lolth.

<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.

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.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catti-brie</span> Fictional character from Dungeons & Dragons

Catti-brie is a fictional character in the Forgotten Realms setting, based on the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. The creation of American author R.A. Salvatore, she is primarily known as the love interest of the drow ranger Drizzt Do'Urden and has appeared in multiple media alongside Drizzt.

<i>The Dark Elf Trilogy</i>

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.

<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.

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>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>The Crystal Shard</i>

The Crystal Shard is a 1988 fantasy novel by American writer R. A. Salvatore. The first book in The Icewind Dale Trilogy, it was his first published novel.

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.

<i>Homeland</i> (Forgotten Realms novel)

Homeland is a fantasy novel by American writer R. A. Salvatore, the first book in The Dark Elf Trilogy, a prequel to The Icewind Dale Trilogy. It follows the story of Drizzt Do'Urden from the time and circumstances of his birth and his upbringing amongst the drow.

<i>Sojourn</i> (novel)

Sojourn is a fantasy novel by American writer R. A. Salvatore, the third book in The Dark Elf Trilogy. It was published in 1991.

<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 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 Orc King</i>

The Orc King is a fantasy novel by American writer R. A. Salvatore, the first book in the Transitions series.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wulfgar (Forgotten Realms)</span> Fictional character

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.

References

  1. "BEST SELLERS: November 16, 2003". The New York Times . 2003-11-16. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
  2. Cassada, Jackie (2002). "The Thousand Orcs (Book)". Library Journal . 127 (19).
  3. Gafkjen, Tom (2004-11-22). "The Lone Drow Review". d20zine.com. Archived from the original on 2011-06-14. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
  4. Cannon, Peter; Zaleski, Jeff (2003). "The Lone Drow: The Hunter's Blades Trilogy, Book II (Book)". Publishers Weekly . 250 (35).
  5. Cassada, Jackie (2003). "The Lone Drow (Book)". Library Journal . 128 (15).
  6. "The 'Two Swords' Debuts at #1 on the Wall Street Journal's Bestseller List; R.A. Salvatore's..." Business Wire. All Business. November 8, 2004. Retrieved 2009-01-09.[ dead link ]
  7. "The Lone Drow: the Hunter's Blades Trilogy, Book II". Publishers Weekly. September 1, 2003. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  8. https://archive.org/details/sim_chronicle_2004-01_26_1/page/n29/mode/2up
  9. https://www.sfsite.com/11a/ld187.htm