Customer Reviews

Siege of Darkness: The Legend of Drizzt, Book IX

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Despite this book's unrealistic siege by the drow (COMEON!! eight thousand to 3-4 thousand!!) it was still the second best in the disappointing series. You can tell that Salvatore didn't put his soul into this book.

Siege of Darkness, book 9 chronologically in the Drizzt series, finally gives what the last few books have been leading up to: the epic battle as the underground drow attack Mithril Hall, home of King Bruenor Battlehammer and his clan of dwarves. The battle turns epic when the forces of the barbarians, the Riders from Silverymoon and Nesme, and even the svirfnebli join forces with the dwarves against overwhelming odds.

The first part of the book cleans up the mess left in Menzoberranzan, home of the drow, after Drizzt and co.'s escape and destruction of House Baenre's temple. A side story includes the temporary halt of all magic through some battle of the gods, which lets us see more of Lolth the Spider Queen and the Monster Errtu (whom Drizzt and Wulfgar defeated in an earlier book), and this so-called "Time of Troubles" is a useful device in several plots...they have little to do with the epic battle, but they either continue previous story lines or assumingly lay ground for the next book.

Writing battle scenes is one of Bob Salvatore's greatest skills, and the battles in the caves and out in the valley are some of the best written in this series.

There is also a plot line involving Berkthgar, the barbarian who takes over as king for the fallen Wulfgar. He initially believe he needs Aegis-fang, the weapon King Bruenor crafted specifically for Wulfgar, and Catti-brie and Drizzt convince him otherwise, that he needs to build his own name in battle and not rely on Wulfgars. In the battle scenes, he certainly does that. He becomes an interesting character, hopefully there will be more from him.

Lots of groundwork laid for the next book, including the mysterious prisoner the Lolth gives to Errtu to help him get back to the Material Plan and go after Drizzt. I assume this will be the focus of the next book.

Definitely GREAT Fantasy epics and my personal favorites, The Dark Elf Trilogy-Homeland, Exile, and Sojourn, as well as The Icewind Dale Trilogy- The Crystal Shard, Streams of Silver, and The Halfling's Gem bring to life the story of the good hearted dark elf ranger Drizzt Do'Urden and his adventures in the magical World of Faerun. Legacy, Starless Night, Siege of Darkness and Passage to Dawn are the continuation of these adventures in a way that you keep coming back for more and more and more... The books are all so incredibly well written that the reader feels that they have been transported to another universe and are actually present among the characters, seeing what they see, feeling what they feel, sensing what they sense. RA Salvatore has truly outdone himself and has presented us with a masterpiece of literature the likes of which we have seen only in JRR Tolkien's work and in authors Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman's Dragonlance Chronicles and Legends trilogies. Duty, honor, bravery, magic, and swordfights are all about. A great trilogy indeed and a "must read" along with RA Salvatore's The Icewind Dale Trilogy! One should seriously start thinking about maybe turning them into movies...

3.5 stars

There's nothing really spectacular about his book. The main problem is that it takes too long to rev up. When you write a book that's only 300 pages, you have to fill it with action from the start to finish to make it good. Salvatore spent a good deal of pages as exposition. I don't mind the amount of exposition, as long as there's enough action for the rest of the story. Obviously, in a book this short, that can't happen. (I have noticed that down the line the books are getting progressively longer, and this pleases me.) This book should be called Attack of Darkness, instead of Siege, because that's what is. It was very entertaining when it happened, but the rest of the book was a little bland. The first portion is filled up with this event called the Time of Troubles, something that really seemed to have no relation to the rest of the story. It came and it went, and everything was the same again. I later found out that this incident was BORROWED FROM ANOTHER AUTHOR. Also, there's still a little too much silliness in this book. When I first came across such things in the Icewind Dale Trilogy, I dismissed them as by-products of Slavatore's inexperience as a writer. I can no longer say such, since these book follow on the heels of the Dark Elf Trilogy. There was no silliness in those books. They were dead serious. But here I've noticed different occasions where characters act a little childish at times. Never Drizzt. Most of the characters in this book still don't stand up to Drizzt's characterization. The Harpells stand as prime examples. And their magic is too silly, also. I just can never seriously consider a man being able to switch his brains with his ass. I just can't do it.

So, despite the good story, this book was mediocre. As was the next.

Another good tale told by a master.

This is the 3rd book in "The Legacy of the Drow" series. In this book the evil drow city finally plans a good attack against the Drizzt and his friends. The war that was started in "The Legacy" continues, but now the biggest battle begins. The Drow make it to the surface and all hell has broken loose. The evil spider queen is now living only to see the traitor Drizzt dead. The Drow now flow to the surface and attack where the companions of the hall least expect it. From under them. Now the drow flow to the surface and make an attack that few will get out of. This is a must have for the series and for any fan of Drizzt or the Drow. Dont miss this great part of the series.

I thought this book was...well...one of the best. I loved how it spent most of the book perparing for a giant battle, and in the end, the battle was everything it was meant to be and more. It was almost more climatic then Star Wars episode VI ending battle (almost). None the less, if you are a fan of R.A. Salvatore, or a fan of Forgotten realms, or a fan of Drizzt Do'Urden, I advice you get this book. If you are a fan of Drizzt, make sure you read the other books before this one (in chronological order). If you don't know if you are, read this book it might make the dicision for you.

Another gem in Salvatore's collection. This time the stakes are higher as Bruenor and his friends face complete annihilation. Drizzt returns to the surface from his trek to Menzoberranzan successful only so far as slowing down the big bad drow war machine. However, the biggest stumbling block that must be overcome is fate. Fate, which rears its ugly head as the Time of Troubles, adds a twist to the story that makes this novel truly enjoyable. You will love the scheming that this stirs up in the drow with their magic heavy culture as well as the bizarre happenings on the surface.

The ensuing battle when the drow do arrive is just spectacular. Fighting on all fronts with the defenders on the edge of destruction right up until the end. However, I too share the opinion of many of the other reviewers...this is one battle the heroes should have lost. I think the power of the attacking army was under played. While goblins, orcs, and minotaurs maybe fodder for drow, these creatures alone have massed attacks against the dwarves and won. But, add in the extra firepower created by the drow and you have an unbeatable force. The heroes should not have stood a chance. And what's more, I think the book would have turned out better if the heroes had lost giving it that tragic edge. Drizzt, Cattie-brie, and Bruenor could have still knocked out Matron Baenre and stopped the drow from occupying the dwarven homeland. But to let the dwarves and their allies run off an army of drow completely victorious is a step beyond even "fantasy reality". Regardless of the outcome of the battle...the melee was still very compelling and exciting with tons of detail and not ridiculous like the climatic battle in "Descent into the Depths of the Earth". I am anxious to see what new troubles and intrigues will develop from the ashes of this latest conflict.

As a former Dungeons & Dragons player and lover of Tolkien's books, I have never outgrown my fondness for fantasy stories. A couple years ago, I was browsing a bookstore for a promising-looking adventure novel and grabbed _Siege of Darkness_ based on the back cover synopsis and the first page or so of the novel. This was the first Drizzt novel and the first R. A. Salvatore novel I had ever read, and perhaps I can best recommend the book by saying that I have since read over 20 of Mr. Salvatore's novels and have enjoyed every one immensely.

If you have not read the previous books about Drizzt, you may want to start with _The Crystal Shard_ (the first book Salvatore wrote about Drizzt) or _Homeland_ (which entails Drizzt's origins). As I said, however, this was the first Drizzt novel I read, and my ignorance of the earlier books in the series did not detract from my enjoyment. [It did, however, spur me on to devour the previous books in the series in the following months!]

What makes Salvatore's books so great, in my opinion, is that he actually develops his characters. Drizzt is one of the most interesting protagonists I have ever come across. His inner turmoil and his status as a perpetual outsider make him much more interesting than just another kick-butt warrior. Drizzt's journal entries, which open the major sections of the novels, are especially interesting psychological portraits.

But don't worry, fans of a good battle: R.A. Salvatore is also fantastic at describing all kinds of combat, from tense duels to sprawling battles between large armies. I know it's a cliche, but his descriptions of combat really allow you to visualize the slashes and feints in your mind's eye. And, as the title implies, _Siege of Darkness_ contains some of his best battle descriptions.

If you're a fan of fantasy novels and are looking for a new writer and a new hero in whose worlds to immerse yourself, do yourself a favor and try R.A. Salvatore and Drizzt Do'Urden on for size.

Yet another outstanding book. The fights are untouchable in this one , big fights and little skirmishs. 3 books in a row that have been outstanding fight scences. another book that almost rivals homeland...almost.

dont know why none of the books match up to homeland, maybe thats the first book i read in the series, even though the icewind dale triology was published first?

at any rate...ok....Favorite character for this book...Guenhwyvar, finallly Guen gets it. Gotta love her.

another fine salvatore book, a must read to all.

Hat once again goes off.