Book Review: "Homeland" by R. A. Salvatore


(Legend of Drizzt #1)
My Rating: 

Plot Tease
Travel to strange and exotic Menzoberranzan, the vast city of the drow and homeland to Drizzt Do'Urden.

The young prince of a royal house, Drizzt grows to maturity in the vile world of his dark kin. Possessing honor beyond the scope of his unprincipled society, young Drizzt faces an inevitable dilemma. Can he live in a world that rejects integrity?

Book Review
Salvatore is a very famous fantasy author: for good reason. What he sometimes lacks in style, he makes up for in great content and characters.   Homeland is a great book with a lot of emotion and some amazing environments.

As you travel with Drizzt, you witness an exotic underground world where all societies are brutal and cut-throat. Drow are the antithesis of elves in every way. They revel in chaos, deception and violence. Make no mistake, drow are the bad guys. They are also the focus of this series. So why should you care?

Drizzt presents an interesting dilema. He has all the skills and features of a drow, but his heart is fundamentally different. Salvatore uses the classic hero narrative of one man standing alone against the rest. In such a unique setting, that cliche is rejuvenated. Born the third son of house Do'Urden, he is to be sacrificed to the goddess Lolth at birth. But that night his house attacks another prominent drow family and their second son is killed. Drizzt is reluctantly spared.

As a child he is not totally aware of the atrocities happening around him. For those first few years he tries to live up to the Do'Urden expectation, but he simply can't. It is painfully evident that Drizzt does not belong with the drow. His family is cruel, but he receives solace through the family weapon master Zaknafein.

It isn't until he goes to the academy that he realizes the true depravity of his race.  What he witnesses there matures him quickly. (Content WARNING for you readers: rampant back-stabbing and demonic orgy sex. It's not graphic though.) When Drizzt returns, he has developed as a character into a man that has faith in no one but himself. Besides that, he's a beast of a fighter. No really. Don't make him angry.

You'll grow to love him as you read this book.  It's really easy to empathize with Drizzt - to feel proud of him when he overcomes evil drow society and survives unchanged.

Now can I back up for a minute? Zaknafein is an excellent character for many reasons; by far my favorite in this book. He's not a saint like Drizzt, but he still qualifies as a 'good guy' in this dark world. Zak is proclaimed the best swordsman ever to cross blades in Menzoberranzan. When you think about the fact that this is a warrior race constantly turning on itself and subjugating others, that's a big deal. His two-weapon style is fun to imagine, and he teaches some good things.

But what I loved most was his personality. Zak is bitter. Very much so. Technically, he does bad things. He is what Drizzt will become if he doesn't get out of the Underdark. Because he sees no escape from his evil kin, he becomes an assassin for the Do'Urden's. Essentially he deals with his anger by killing his own race. Yep.

As a character, he walks the line between good and evil often, and it's that constant internal pull that really drew me in. He is hard on Drizzt, but his toughness serves to protect him from the constant scheming of the drow. Zak has an inner strength that is very compelling. I've yet to meet anyone who did not enjoy this character. (If you did, I really want to know why?)

I don't want to spoil the book for you, but something big happens near the end to launch us into the next book. It will make you a little angry at the characters, but it should and that's alright. Salvatore does a good job of creating a few no-win situations in this series.

Overall, this is a classic fantasy book/series that needs to be read. Much of fantasy pulls from this world (not as much as from Tolkien, but close). I'd definitely recommend this book to any serious fiction fan. It's a little graphic content-wise, but if you feel you can handle a few quick uncomfortable scenes, you should pick it up ASAP.
"Those most powerful in Menzoberranzan spend their days watching over their shoulders, defending against the daggers that would find their backs. Their deaths usually come from the front." - Drizzt Do'Urden
Totally random: but you should get some dark chocolate to eat while reading this book. Trust me, it's a good combination. Dark, bitter and satisfying. :D

What Do You Think?
Do you like books that focus on the 'bad guys'? Why or why not?
Can cliches still work in fiction?
Why do you think Zak has such a hard time believing in a way to escape the evil of the Underdark?
Have you read Forgotten Realms books before? Do you think another FR series is better than Drizzt's?

Cost: New $7.99/Used $0.01 (Available on Kindle and Nook.)

4 comments:

  1. Sounds like an interesting book! I've never read any Forgotten Realms books before, but I'll be sure to look into them now.

    I like the idea of focussing on the bad guys. There is a book called Conqueror's Shadow by Ari Marmell which does this, however it's kind of put off by the fact that the main character, Corvis Rebaine, is facing an even greater evil that's threatening the lands. So I'm kind of on his side by default anyway.

    As an aside, Corvis' name is very similar to the antihero's name in the videogame Dishonored. It was odd. (But I think Dishonored had a more enjoyable storyline anyway...)

    Francesca.

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    1. Hey Francesca! :)

      It is fun. Drizzt himself isn't necessarily a "bad guy", although his physical identity makes everyone else lump him in with them. The central race and surroundings in this book is entirely baddy-owned though, and Drizzt's acquaintances and family are evil.

      I haven't read Conqueror's Shadow, but now I'm interested! It's definitely going on my to-read list. :D Thanks for mentioning it! Is there anything else about that book that you like?

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  2. Oh okay! Hehe. Well... My first impressions of Conqueror's Shadow were that it was: slightly formulaic, graphic and sarcastic. Amazingly sarcastic. The sense of humour was what I liked the best. Also, while the main storyline was a bit predictable at times, Conqueror's Shadow did make up for it near the end with a few plot twists that I never saw coming.

    Hmm... I see that I haven't listed any nice things about it. Unless you like sarcasm. But besides all that, I think it's still quite a good book.

    Thinking about it now, Corvis Rebaine technically wasn't evil-hearted, he just did evil things for what he thought was the greater good. Very evil things. <_<

    I shall look for Homeland when it's the holidays, which are very soon (yay!). That and Shaman's Crossing, haha.

    Francesca.

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    1. I do enjoy a good bit of sarcasm here and there. It's one of the reasons I loved Robin Hobb's Fool so much. It sounds like a book I could certainly like. :) Corvis sounds a bit like an antihero - which is a character archetype I enjoy quite a bit.

      Ah, Shaman's Crossing! I've been meaning to read those as well. I have them on my shelf. >< Have you read Hobb's Dragon series?

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