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fish321
Acolyte
USA
34 Posts |
 Posted - 27 Jan 2015 : 23:11:10
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This is the type of novel that has made R.A. Salvatore one of the best writers of action fantasy for so long. Complex with a cast of characters that includes old favorites and new players that grab the readers attention straight away. The Companions are at their battling best while the cunning Jarlaxle works behind the scenes with a goal that no one is sure of. Add in Dwarven kings and grudging drow archmages and the situation seems ready to explode. Oh did I mention dragons? Drizzt and his friends are fighting a war that began a century before. The orcs have broken the treaty and flooded the silver marches with the drow backing there moves from the shadows and white dragons from the sky. The subtle manipulations have set the boulder rolling and it's taken on momentum that even the people who began it no longer have much control. Tiago seeks Drizzt with a fanatic passion, wulfgar and Regis are lost in the underdark and many can see no way to defeat the horde of orcs darkening the land or the magical darkness in the sky. Bruenor battle hammer is not so quick to give in. With typical stoicism the King begins to bring together the dwarves with an eye to help all who call the marches home. Drizzt puts his scimitar to work with typical brilliance and Salvatore describes the fights better than anyone. Cattie brie continues to develop her magical talent and salvatore shows he can make a mage every bit as well as he can make a warrior. Aegis Fang works in Wulfgar hands and Regis continues to grow into an incredible talent. Problem with White Dragons? Jarlaxle might have a couple of lady friends who can help. This is a large scale story, battles rage in every corner of the silver marches and the companions are involved in them all. Where does Jarlaxle stand? Does Bruenor will suffice to defeat a hundred thousand orcs? A story with huge implications and a wild ride that seems to lead to so many possibilities. Any fan of the forgotten realms, and fan of fiction should read this novel. This is perhaps the most exciting novel in the saga of Drizzt and that is truly saying something as these novels have been must reads since homeland came out over 20 years ago. When the reader is done their only thought can be what will happen next as they set up their tents in front of bookstores to await Salvatore's next novel following the exploits of a pleasantly misguided drow, maybe two of them, and his companions who grow with every novel released. Bravo Mr. Salvatore. Bravo.
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fish321
Acolyte
USA
34 Posts |
Posted - 27 Jan 2015 : 23:14:47
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| Mods if this isn't an acceptable place to post a review this early my apologies and please delete this topic. Otherwise gentleman this is a copy of a review I posted on a few sites hoping to drum up sales for R.A. Salvatore and the realms novels in general. There are a lot of things I'd like to say about it that dedicated realms fans such as yourselves would understand that I didn't feel would fit on amazon for example. When I have the time I'll type up something else, spoiler free for the moment of course, but better explaining the book. |
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BenN
Senior Scribe
Japan
382 Posts |
Posted - 08 Feb 2015 : 09:32:18
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I've just finished my copy (from Netgalley); here are some (non-spoiler) thoughts:
As billed, Vengeance of the Iron Dwarf is jam-packed with battles, both huge & one-on-one, in a wide variety of places - Silverymoon & Everlund, outside the gates of the dwarven fortresses, in the elven Glimmerwood, thousands of feet up in the air, and hundreds of feet underground in the Upper Underdark. RAS is particularly good at describing battles, both from an eagle's eye point of view of the movements & assaults of thousands of warriors, to the detail of precise feints, parries, slashes & thrusts of individual duels.
Things I liked:
- The tension in the relationship of the reborn Bruenor with the dwarves of Mithril Hall. In particular, Bruenor's meeting with his mother was full of pathos.
- The wheels-within-wheels scheming of the drow, particularly Gromph & Jarlaxle and their 'elven' friends. The other drow (Saribel etc) seem almost hapless.
- The fleshing-out of Doum'wielle's character, her mental battle with her cursed sword Khazid'hea, and her uncertainty of her position in the world, regarding the drow of her father on the one hand, and her mother's elven clan on the other.
Things I was 'meh' about:
- I thought most of the Companions were pretty flat & lifeless. OK, we have the regular soliloquy from Drizzt at the beginning of some chapters, but his character is not particularly developed further in this book IMHO. The same goes for the others. Maybe its because I've become too familiar with them in so many books; if this is so, I'm glad about the introduction of new characters such as Doum'wielle.
- I like the deadly competence of the reincarnated Regis (vs. his stereotype halfling bumbling incompetence of his earlier life), but I think he's verging on becoming a munchkin, IMHO.
- I thought the last part of the book was a bit rushed; was this due to editing demands?
For fans of the Forgotten Realms, and of Drizzt & friends in particular, this is a 'must-read' book; I'll buy the Kindle edition as soon as its available.. It brings satisfying closure to several dramatic threads from previous books, and sets up continuing adventure & heroics for future ones. I can't wait! |
Edited by - BenN on 08 Feb 2015 09:40:17 |
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Fellfire
Master of Realmslore
1965 Posts |
Posted - 08 Feb 2015 : 09:46:04
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| Is there a sample chapter out there anywhere? |
Misanthorpe
Love is a lie. Only hate endures. Light is blinding. Only in darkness do we see clearly.
"Oh, you think darkness is your ally? You merely adopted the dark. I was born in it, molded by it. I didn't see the light until I was already a man, by then it was nothing to me but.. blinding. The shadows betray you because they belong to me." - Bane The Dark Knight Rises
Green Dragonscale Dice Bag by Crystalsidyll - check it out
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Bandyman1
Acolyte
3 Posts |
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Vengeance of the Iron Dwarf non spoiler review
