LogFAQs > #979952932

I finally got around to reading some Drizzt books after Baldurs Gate 3! For the very first trilogy published, the Icewind Dale trilogy, I read the first book the Crystal Shard and it was extremely basic fantasy pulp. I didn't think it was very good.

The second trilogy though, the Dark Elf Trilogy... I really enjoyed that. The first book, Homeland, is his childhood and early adult life growing up in Menzoberranzan, a major city of the Drow where the spider goddess Lolth is worshipped, males are second class citizens to the matriarchs, and there was intense politicking between the major Houses. Destroying another house is a crime - but only if there's someone left around to accuse you of doing it, so just be thorough in your backstab! It was fascinating seeing the life of someone growing up in a society where everyone literally is Evil aligned by default. Drizzt himself is set with a good alignment so we don't really have to be challenged with thoughts about if he's bad or not, he chafes against the evil society the entire time but it was still fantastic. The second book, Exile, is his time after departing Menzoberranzan and living in the Underdark, and the third book, Sojourn, is after choosing to depart the Underdark and try live on the surface - where Drow are a kill on sight race.

I loved Homeland and thought Exile and Sojourn, while not quite as good as the tightly paced structure of Homeland, were also great. It was fascinating to see Drizzt go through those different stages of figuring out what to do with his life. The Crystal Shard, on the other hand, he was just an action hero mowing through situations. I might finish the Icewind Trilogy at some point but I'm not holding my breath on them being very good.

In general, the Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance can provide some good pulpy fun. I read a lot of Dragonlance as a teenager, I haven't gone back but I think I wouldn't quite love it as much, but it'll probably still be fun. If you just want to see someone go on an adventure with some magic and some fantasy races, they are an easy bet to just jump into.