Review of a Classic - "The Dark Elf Trilogy" by RA Salvatore

The Dark Elf Trilogy is a compilation of three books: Homeland, Exile, and Sojourn. They were originally released in the 90's and were re-released in this compilation, then re-released again as The Legend of Drizzt Volumes I - III. So you may be asking yourself why someone would review a book trilogy over a decade after it was released. Well, to be honest, that is the reason: because it was released over a decade ago. This trilogy is awesome and deserves to have some more attention brought to it for the benefit of younger readers who might not have been of an age for these books when they were first released as well as those who are older who might have missed out.R.A. Salvatore's writing style is awesome, plain and simple. He knows how to keep the action and suspense going but keeps a good balance of character development with it. This makes you want to keep reading (and I did, even when I had other things that I should have been doing) but it also allows the characters to r
eally come to life. I found myself looking forward to the next moment that I had to open the book and read more and I stayed up late a couple of nights reading.So what is this book about? I will give you a bit of a background first on the setting. It takes place in the Forgotten Realms, which is a world that exists in the Dungeons and Dragons Role-playing Game. You don't have to play D&D to enjoy this book (although you will be far more familiar with some of what is presented in it if you are or were a gamer). The main character, Drizzt, is a Drow, which is a dark elf. The Drow live deep underground in a realm called the Underdark, which is occupied by all sorts of dangerous creatures. They worship the goddess Lolth, who is also known as the Spider Queen. This deity is evil and directs her creations to use subterfuge and backstabbing to get ahead.The book starts out in the city of Menzoberranzan, an impressive Drow city. It is the night of Drizzt's birth (yes, they liter
ally start from the beginning). In Drow society, women are the dominant gender and Drizzt was born into a noble family. Needless to say, his mother and sisters weren't too thrilled about the birth of a boy. Over time, as Drizzt gets older and undergoes his training by one of his older sisters, they realize that he is unusually gifted. There is also something else unusual: his spirit. His spirit is not that of a dark elf but that of someone who is good. Over time, he begins to reject the ways of his kin until eventually, he wants nothing more to do with them.You get to journey with Drizzt through triumph and tragedy as he comes into his own and embarks on adventure after adventure: first leaving his home city and finally, leaving the Underdark altogether for a surface world that is more alien to him than another planet is to us. This is a great book. If you're into fantasy, I would highly recommend it.

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