About 7 years ago, I picked up R.A
Salvatore's Dark Elf trilogy and Icewindale trilogy.
These books follow the adventure of a courageous and noble dark elf
called Drizzt Do'Urden, who left his homeland and the evil culture of
his fellow dark elvenkind, to seek a new life and a place where he
can belong to. The character of Drizzt Do'Urden touched me, he was
interesting, noble, and durable. The story of Drizzt, and his 4
friends (together known as Companions of the Hall) is one of my
favorite fantasy stories of all time. However, I gradually lost
interest in Drizzt books as the series continued beyond the 8th
book. I finally stopped reading the Drizzt Saga altogether, after the
16th Drizt book.
When R.A Salvatore announced The
Companions, the first book in The Sundering series. It was
marketed almost as a “reboot” (so to speak) to the Drizzt series.
I read The Companions, while it was good, but it just wasn't
the same as the first 6 Drizzt books, something was missing. With the
announcement of The Companion Codex I: The Night of the Hunter,
I decided to give Drizzt books another try. Today, I will like to
review Night of the Hunter.
Synopsis:
Following
the story from The Companions. Drizzt, Bruenor, Cattie Brie,
Wulfgar and Regis are finally re-united. Companions of the Hall is
once again, assembled and ready for another adventure. Their first quest,
is to rescue Bruenor's loyal shield dwarf, Pwent, who is damned by
vampiricism. Seeking to put Pwent to rest by purging his vampiricism,
Companions of the Hall set out on a journey to Gauntlgrym,
where Pwent was last seen.
In
this quest, Companions of the Hall would have to travel through the
Underdark, a place full of Drows, who would love to see Drizzt
dead..
What
I think about this book:
Night
of the Hunter
is a fun, and quick read. This book manages to re-capture some of the
best things about the first 6 Drizzt books; the heart warming
friendship and bonds between Drizzt and his 4 friends. In this book,
the members of Companion of the Hall return with more maturity, yet
with a renewed vigor for life and adventure which makes the story
vibrant.
This
book also has lots of chapters about politics and intrigues in the
Drow society. While I found these chapters did provide insight into
the lives and motivations of the Drow people, but they also disturbed
the flow of the story. Personally, I would have preferred less
chapters on political intrigues, and more chapters on adventures of
Drizzt and his friends.
The
action scenes are very well written, Salvatore proves once again, why
he is one of the best fantasy authors out there when it comes to
writing action scenes. He has a way of using words to paint images,
filled with heart pounding actions, into a reader's mind.
I
like Night
of the Hunter,
while the pace in this book has some minor problems, but by large,
this book re-captures some of the feelings from the early Drizzt
books. The return of Companions of the Hall is exciting and
refreshing. I can hardly wait to find out what will happen in the
next installment.
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