This is another volume that I’ve owned for more than a decade, but never cracked open until now. I bought it back when I was hip-deep in the fantasy genre, after hearing more than once that Drizzt Do’Urden is super badass sweet and I needed to read about him right away. I probably would have been a convert if I read it back then, too, and joined the swollen ranks of greasy teenagers who played EverQuest with dual-wielding dark elves that were, like, really tormented, but still totally radical. Reading this collection as a slightly more cynical adult left an impression that wasn’t quite as glowing. However, the combination of stock fantasy melodrama, powerful world-building, and that comforting musty smell of an aging book created a pleasantly nostalgic and fun read all the same.
This book actually encompasses a trilogy of novels, which tell the origin story of the drow ranger Drizzt Do’Urden. The first book, Homeland, chronicles Drizzt’s birth and upbringing in the chaotic drow city Menzoberranzan, a citadel of intrigue and violence within the vast caverns of the Underdark. Born a noble of a drow house that is quickly rising in power and influence, Drizzt is groomed for a life as a proper drow warrior, with hatred and base cunning being drilled into him at every opportunity. However, Drizzt’s odd lavender eyes (don't ask why- they're just purple. Roll with it.) betray the fact that he was born different than most drow; Drizzt is compassionate and just, and cannot reconcile his internal principles with the evil ways of his people. He has only the shared philosophies of his tutor, famed swordmaster Zaknafein Do’Urden, to help him navigate the twisted wishes of his family and the sinister demands of his society.
The second book, Exile, follows Drizzt as he leaves Menzoberranzan, hunted by his kin and desperate to find a purpose beyond the manipulative and violent wishes of the spider goddess Lolth. His principles have led him away from the drow city, but the savage wilderness of the Underdark threatens to do what Menzoberranzan could not: obliterate any semblance of compassion within Drizzt. Fighting for survival and dogged by a horrific servant of his deranged mother, Drizzt must seek the mercy of those his people have wronged in order to escape the vast Underdark.
The trilogy is capped off by Sojourn, which sees Drizzt taking his first hesitant steps as a resident of the surface world. Underneath the open sky, he faces an entirely different danger: the fearsome reputation that the drow carry among the other races of the Forgotten Realms. Despite his shy demeanor and noble intentions, a series of unfortunate coincidences and violent misunderstandings ensures he is just as reviled and hunted above the ground as he was below. Despairing of ever finding a place to rest and call home, Drizzt suddenly finds kindred spirits in the most unlikely of places.
The Dark Elf trilogy is billed as an origin story, and that’s exactly what it is: lore for a popular character. The story is rich and interesting, but not particular deep, and not connected across the three books by any significant plot arc other than Drizzt’s ongoing quest for inner peace and acceptance. Accordingly, the trilogy reads less like a trilogy, and more like an extended series of encounters. Kind of like an extended D&D campaign, fittingly enough. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that the books actually read like someone’s writeup of a tabletop campaign. This shows itself in a number of ways. The frequent mention of characters' innate racial (and, yes, class) powers add little to the narrative, but offer a way for all of those imaginative magical attacks that a player would use in a game to be mentioned. Each book is marked by at least two major battles, each of which has all the hallmarks of turn-based strategy. With the clanking of this familiar machinery in the background, some of the narrative follows a well-trodden and somewhat tired course. For instance, the first book is rife with the trope of people monologuing to empty rooms. Zaknafein in particular is bad about this; at one point, he delivers an entire philosophical soliloquy in an empty garden, and then I think he goes home and continues his musings to his bedroom chair. That business flies all right when I'm reading Shakespeare, but come on. Even elves don't talk that way, I'm sure. The latter two books are a little better about this, but there is plenty of ham-handed exposition delivery there, too. Between that and the occasional poor handling of shifts between different characters' viewpoints, the writing can seem a little inept from time to time.
In short, the books have everything you’d expect from a pulp fantasy with a cool-guy elf protagonist. If I were to read these books separately, I might have been irked by this, but reading them all as a unified story helped a lot. In particular, it showcased Salvatore’s biggest strength: world-building. The Forgotten Realms is a rich enough mine for setting lore, but Salvatore really goes the extra mile; the familiar-yet-alien Menzoberranzan itself is by far the best part of the first book, and everywhere Drizzt wanders afterward is seething with detail and sensory input. I think this is what saves the trilogy, for me, because I can forgive fantasy stereotypes if I can still get lost in the world they inhabit.
If taken strictly as a lore piece, the Dark Elf Trilogy delivers nicely. I suppose I’d be more excited about all this had I read the Icewind Dale trilogy, but I like Drizzt a lot even with a cold introduction. Some discerning readers might not care for the cheetos-and-soda D&D feel that the whole endeavor leaves you with, but the Dark Elf Trilogy is a decent character study if you can forgive the melodrama of it all, and a superb example of an epic, fleshed-out fantasy world. I wasn't completely blown away, but I liked it enough that I think I'll be seeking out other Drizzt books.
Verdict: 3 / 5
This book actually encompasses a trilogy of novels, which tell the origin story of the drow ranger Drizzt Do’Urden. The first book, Homeland, chronicles Drizzt’s birth and upbringing in the chaotic drow city Menzoberranzan, a citadel of intrigue and violence within the vast caverns of the Underdark. Born a noble of a drow house that is quickly rising in power and influence, Drizzt is groomed for a life as a proper drow warrior, with hatred and base cunning being drilled into him at every opportunity. However, Drizzt’s odd lavender eyes (don't ask why- they're just purple. Roll with it.) betray the fact that he was born different than most drow; Drizzt is compassionate and just, and cannot reconcile his internal principles with the evil ways of his people. He has only the shared philosophies of his tutor, famed swordmaster Zaknafein Do’Urden, to help him navigate the twisted wishes of his family and the sinister demands of his society.
The second book, Exile, follows Drizzt as he leaves Menzoberranzan, hunted by his kin and desperate to find a purpose beyond the manipulative and violent wishes of the spider goddess Lolth. His principles have led him away from the drow city, but the savage wilderness of the Underdark threatens to do what Menzoberranzan could not: obliterate any semblance of compassion within Drizzt. Fighting for survival and dogged by a horrific servant of his deranged mother, Drizzt must seek the mercy of those his people have wronged in order to escape the vast Underdark.
The trilogy is capped off by Sojourn, which sees Drizzt taking his first hesitant steps as a resident of the surface world. Underneath the open sky, he faces an entirely different danger: the fearsome reputation that the drow carry among the other races of the Forgotten Realms. Despite his shy demeanor and noble intentions, a series of unfortunate coincidences and violent misunderstandings ensures he is just as reviled and hunted above the ground as he was below. Despairing of ever finding a place to rest and call home, Drizzt suddenly finds kindred spirits in the most unlikely of places.
The Dark Elf trilogy is billed as an origin story, and that’s exactly what it is: lore for a popular character. The story is rich and interesting, but not particular deep, and not connected across the three books by any significant plot arc other than Drizzt’s ongoing quest for inner peace and acceptance. Accordingly, the trilogy reads less like a trilogy, and more like an extended series of encounters. Kind of like an extended D&D campaign, fittingly enough. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that the books actually read like someone’s writeup of a tabletop campaign. This shows itself in a number of ways. The frequent mention of characters' innate racial (and, yes, class) powers add little to the narrative, but offer a way for all of those imaginative magical attacks that a player would use in a game to be mentioned. Each book is marked by at least two major battles, each of which has all the hallmarks of turn-based strategy. With the clanking of this familiar machinery in the background, some of the narrative follows a well-trodden and somewhat tired course. For instance, the first book is rife with the trope of people monologuing to empty rooms. Zaknafein in particular is bad about this; at one point, he delivers an entire philosophical soliloquy in an empty garden, and then I think he goes home and continues his musings to his bedroom chair. That business flies all right when I'm reading Shakespeare, but come on. Even elves don't talk that way, I'm sure. The latter two books are a little better about this, but there is plenty of ham-handed exposition delivery there, too. Between that and the occasional poor handling of shifts between different characters' viewpoints, the writing can seem a little inept from time to time.
In short, the books have everything you’d expect from a pulp fantasy with a cool-guy elf protagonist. If I were to read these books separately, I might have been irked by this, but reading them all as a unified story helped a lot. In particular, it showcased Salvatore’s biggest strength: world-building. The Forgotten Realms is a rich enough mine for setting lore, but Salvatore really goes the extra mile; the familiar-yet-alien Menzoberranzan itself is by far the best part of the first book, and everywhere Drizzt wanders afterward is seething with detail and sensory input. I think this is what saves the trilogy, for me, because I can forgive fantasy stereotypes if I can still get lost in the world they inhabit.
If taken strictly as a lore piece, the Dark Elf Trilogy delivers nicely. I suppose I’d be more excited about all this had I read the Icewind Dale trilogy, but I like Drizzt a lot even with a cold introduction. Some discerning readers might not care for the cheetos-and-soda D&D feel that the whole endeavor leaves you with, but the Dark Elf Trilogy is a decent character study if you can forgive the melodrama of it all, and a superb example of an epic, fleshed-out fantasy world. I wasn't completely blown away, but I liked it enough that I think I'll be seeking out other Drizzt books.
Verdict: 3 / 5
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