How long lived our memory of you when you are gone?
Because in the end, that is the only measure. In the end, when life’s last flickers fade, all that remains is memory. Richness, in the final measure, is not weighed in gold coins, but in the number of people you have touched, the tears of those who mourn your passing, and the fond remembrances of those who continue to celebrate your life.”
- R.A. Salvatore, The Companions
How far will you go to help a friend in need? This is the premise in R.A. Salvatore's new book, The Companions. This book is both a reboot and a continuation, for the story of Salvatore's beloved fictional character, the Drow ranger Drizzt Do'Urden.
I am a fan of Drizzt, the first 6 Drizzt books are among my favorite fantasy novels. The story of Drizzt and his friends have a very special place in my heart. I love these stories because they remind me of the kind of things I used to believe, but gradually disbelieve, because of my ever growing attitude of cynicism towards life and people as time goes by.
Although I am a fan of these Drizzt books, but I was not particularly impressed with some of the later books in this series. In fact, out of 21 Drizzt books, I stopped reading them at book 14. Because somehow, these Drizzt books lost their original meanings as Salvatore wrote more and more.
Yet, when I heard, that Salvatore was going to write a new Drizzt book to reboot the Drizzt stories, I thought I would give it a try. So I purchased this book, The Companions.
I read this book in 2 days. Is this a good book? Is this my new favorite Drizzt book? Let's find out
Synopsis:
Drizzt Do'Urden, is a renegade Drow ranger who refused to live the evil ways of his people. After escaping from his ancestoral homeland in the underground, he was shunned and rejected by most people in the surface world. Eventually, he found true love, acceptance and friendship from four people: The dwarf Bruenor Battlehammer, Brueno's adopted human daughter Cattie Brie, his adopted son Wulgar, and a halfing called Regis. The 5 friends underwent many perlious adeventures, and won great reputations for themselves, they became widely known as "Companions of the Hall". However, as years pass by and after many adventures (from previous Drizzt books), most members of the companions have passed away, leaving Drizzt alone in the world.
Goddess Melikki, reward Drizzt by taking his friends into a temporal realm. There, the goddess gave Drizzt's friends a choice, to be reborn into the world, so on the fateful day when Drizzt will suffer the greatest peril in his life, they can stand by his side once again to help him.
It is a hard choice, because Drizzt's friends realized, to be reborn into the world means to forsake whatever reward await them in the after live. Is the bond of love and friendship strong enough to make these friends abandon the gift of afterlife, to be reborn into the world to help Drizzt? The bond of the companions is about to be put to the test...
What I think about this book:
The Companions manages to capture the feel of old Drizzt novels. It seems Salvatore is once more, placing a lot of emphasis on character development, and this is a good thing. However, the ending of this book is somewhat anti climatic and feels rushed. Nonetheless, while this book is not the best Drizzt novel, but it is far better than most Drizzt novels in recent years. As a reader, I am reminded of the reason I became a fan of Drizzt all those years ago. The pace of the story is good, there were barely any moment in the book when I was bored.
The book is divided into 4 parts. Yet, the most interesting aspect, is Drizzt's memoirs at the beginning of each part. Drizzt's memoirs is something that appears in every Drizzt novel. I remember Salvatore once said during an interview, these memoirs are meant to be Drizzt's reflections on events in the story, showing readers that Drizzt is trying to figure out and learn about life through his experiences. I deeply enjoy reading these memoirs, not only because they add depth to Drizzt's character but they also bring out the theme of each book. In this book, the main theme is love and friendship.
I often ponder, if the reason why Drizzt story is warmly received by the general public, is because at the core, these books tell great stories about love, fidelity and friendship, and this is something everyone longed for regardless of gender, ethnicity or age. The friendship between Drizzt and his companions is not a task based friendship often exist in our cultural norm where everything is institutionalized. Neither is their friendship some mutual beneficiary relationship, built to satisfy some personal need.
No, it seems to me, in these great stories, the friendship existing between Drizzt and his friends, is something very real, raw and honest. It is not born out of some sense of duty, nor some misplaced sense of self righteousness, but their friendship is based on love. In these great stories, time and again, Drizzt and his friends are put under tough trials, but they never give up on each other, because they love each other as they love their own (something Jesus taught 2000 years ago).
I speculate, this is why stories of Drizzt and his friends are so beloved by readers, that Salvatore wrote 21 books (and almost all of them are New York Times bestsellers). I guess at this point, we can say, true love never goes out of fashion, because love endures everything. Just as love endures, so will stories about true love stand against the test of time.
The Companions is a good reboot to the story of Drizzt and the companions of the Hall. While the ending feels rushed, but it is still worthwhile reading, even if you are a new comer to Drizzt books.
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