The Two Swords

Last updated
The Two Swords
The Two Swords (D&D novel).jpg
Cover of the first edition
Author R. A. Salvatore
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genre Fantasy
Published2004
Media typePrint (Paperback)
Preceded by The Lone Drow  

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 .

Contents

Plot summary

In The Two Swords, Obould's horde has pressed the Companions to the very gates of Mithral Hall, where Bruenor and his clan launch a desperate, last-ditch effort to push the orcs back. A desperate rescue attempt succeeds, with Drizzt and Innovindil rescuing the latter's pegasus, which Obould had captured and chained as a trophy, and Drizzt is unexpectedly reunited with the Companions that he long thought dead. The only major plot line to be tied up in this novel is the question of what Drizzt will do about his relationship with Catti-brie.

Other than that, The Two Swords resolves a few minor plot threads. Drizzt and the surface elf Innovindil bring their quest for the captured pegasus to a conclusion. A few more characters meet their demise in this novel. Ultimately, the novel keeps the major plot lines active for future novels, and introduces several more.

Reception

The Two Swords reached No. 5 on The Washington Post 's bestseller list for the week ending October 24, 2004. [1] It debuted on The New York Times bestseller list at No. 4 [2] and at No. 1 on The Wall Street Journal Bestseller List in early November. [3] Patrick Bergeron II from fantasybookspot.com found The Two Swords predictable and expected key sequences such as the character Drizzt "finding out that his friends had not fallen at Shallows". However he still enjoyed the story and characterization. [4]

The Two Swords peaked at #4 on the New York Times Best Seller list in 2004. [5] It reached the top of The Wall Street Journal's hardcover bestseller list after only two weeks, a record for its publisher Wizards of the Coast.[ citation needed ] It also debuted at #4 on The New York Times's bestseller list,[ citation needed ] and #2 on Publishers Weekly bestseller list.[ citation needed ]

Review

Related Research Articles

<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">Menzoberranzan</span> Fictional setting in Dungeons & Dragons

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.

<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> 1990–91 book trilogy by R. A. Salvatore

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.

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.

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>The Halflings Gem</i> 1990 novel by R. A. Salvatore

The Halfling's Gem is a 1990 fantasy novel by American writer by R. A. Salvatore, the third book in The Icewind Dale Trilogy.

<i>The Crystal Shard</i> 1988 novel by R. A. Salvatore

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) 1990 novel by R. A. Salvatore

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) 1991 novel by R. A. Salvatore

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 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 39 books as of August 15, 2023. They are based in the Forgotten Realms setting in the dimension of Abeir-Toril on the continent Faerûn in the Dungeons & Dragons universe currently published and 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> 2007 Novel by R. A. Salvatore

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.

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

  1. "Washington Area Bestsellers". The Washington Post . October 31, 2004. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
  2. "BEST SELLERS: November 7, 2004". The New York Times . 2004-11-07. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
  3. "The 'Two Swords' Debuts at #1 on the Wall Street Journal's Bestseller List; R.A. Salvatore's Classic Tale of Fantasy Triumphs on Bestseller Lists Nationwide". Business Wire. 2004-11-08. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
  4. Bergeron II, Patrick (2006-09-19). "The Two Swords". BookSpotCentral. Retrieved 2008-10-15.[ permanent dead link ]
  5. "R.A. Salvatore's The Orc King Makes Top 10 Rankings on Bestseller Lists: Publishers Weekly..." Business Wire. All Business. October 11, 2007. Archived from the original on January 16, 2013. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  6. "Chronicle : SF, Fantasy & Horror's Monthly Trade Journal. 2005-01: Vol 27 Iss 1". DNA Publications. January 2005.