Product Description
A collection of four New York Times bestselling novels by R. A. Salvatore.
The Legacy of the Drow Collector’s Edition brings together four bestselling novels: The Legacy, Starless Night, Siege of Darkness, and Passage to Dawn. The adventure begins in seeming serenity as we find Drizzt Do’Urden enjoying a rare state of peace. But he did not arrive at this station without leaving powerful enemies in his wake. Lolth, the dreaded Spider Queen deity of the evil Dark Elves, counts herself among these enemies and has vowed to end the drow’s idyllic days. Thus begins a severe and lasting chain of events that make these collected
Forgotten Realms novels unforgettable reads.
Amazon.com Review
Think of it as an opportunity to give all those tattered old paperbacks away to younger adventurers. Just as Wizards of the Coast did with the Icewind Dale and Dark Elf trilogy hardbacks, this 1,000-plus page collector’s edition pulls together some of Drizzt Do’Urden’s best stories–Legacy, Starless Night, Siege of Darkness, and Passage to Dawn–into one whopping volume.
Starting way back with 1988’s Crystal Shard, the Icewind Dale books kicked off the celebrated Drizzt saga, while the Dark Elf prequel trio that followed detailed the scimitar swinger’s shadowy beginnings in the drow city of Menzoberranzan. This third series essentially rolls up a bunch of random encounters from both worlds–all of Drizzt’s cherished friends and newfound foes on the surface world, along with his old adversaries from the Underdark–throwing them into combat after combat to see who shakes out.
Legacy begins amicably enough, with Bruenor back on the throne and Cattie-brie and Wulfgar getting ready to tie the knot. But along comes a spider (the demon queen Lloth, in this case), and pretty soon the tunnels below Mithril Hall become a bloodbath. Starless Night takes Drizzt deeper into the Underdark in search of his lost friends, to Blingdenstone and on towards Menzoberranzan. Then Siege of Darkness nearly closes the series with its giant drow-dwarf battle finale, but the sea-faring followup adventure Passage to Dawn reveals the fate of one of Drizzt’s fallen comrades, held in the Abyss by the demon Errtu. –Paul Hughes
Yu-jin Chia @ 8:20 pm
This four book series continues the adventures of R.A. Salvatore’s best known characters: Drizzt, Catti-Brie, Wulfgar, Bruenor, and Regis. It picks up where Icewind Dale left off, but it does help to have read the Dark Elf Trilogy, which predates Icewind despite its later publishing date. As the title of this collection suggests, the Drow are up to their usual nasty tricks, which does not bode well for our heroes.
Mr. Salvatore is well known for his light humor, thrilling pace, and detailed descriptions. These qualities shine in the Legacy series, which represents some of his best work. For those who can’t get enough of Drizzt, this leads directly into the Paths of Darkness novels, which in turn lead into the new Hunter’s Blades books. Out of all the Forgotten Realms novels published, it can’t be denied that these are the most popular and well known. If you haven’t read any of them, you’re seriously missing out.
For those that have read the Cleric Quintet and wondered what the heck happens after the ending, you’ll see some form of conclusion in this series as Drizzt & Co. make a brief stop-over in the Snowflake Mountains. Without revealing too much of the plot, it spans a vast portion of Faerun’s surface, but largely centers on Drizzt’s most favored places- Mithril Hall and Icewind Dale. It is a pleasure for the reader (if not the hero) to once again see such villainous villains as Artemis Entreri, Jarlaxle, and the remnants of Drizzt’s evil heritage coming back to haunt him. The pace doesn’t slacken throughout the series, and you’ll find it hard to set this collection down.
Zigra777 @ 8:25 pm
RA Salvatore, my favorite author of all time, is back to the basics. The basics = Drizzt Do’Urden. Along with his friends Catti-brie, Wulfgar, Bruenor, Regis, and Guenhwvwar. Enemies and friends from the past and present play key roles in the adventures of the warriors of Mithril Hall. From fighting drows, to being at sea for 6 years, to stopping a ta’nari from the Abyss who has control of one of the most powerful atricfacts in the world, Drizzt and his friends embark on an exciting adventure.
With the cameo of Cadderly, Danica, Ivan, and Pikel (characters from RA Salvatore’s “The Cleric Quintet”) and the Crystal Shard, The Legacy of the Drow is truly unstoppable.
The battles bring action. The villains bring suspense. The loss of a friend brings drama. The strange relationship between the friends brings some comedy. Together you get RA Salvatore’s best work.
Anonymous @ 9:12 pm
After finishing the Icewind Dale series I wanted to jump to the next series. I wanted to go with the flow of the story line so I didn’t read the Dark Elf Trilogy, and instead went to this one (Legacy of the Drow). I was very pleased after reading this series. Salvatore’s descriptions during fight/battle sequences are what I noticed first when reading his writing. You feel like you don’t miss a single move when reading one of these scenes. Another thing I liked about this series in particular is the characters really start to come alive. Drizzt and friends have very interesting backgrounds, most of the time their pasts coming back to haunt each character. You start to understand each characters traits and you see how it effects their actions throughout the story.
I’ve been a fan of the fantasy genre for a while now. Whether it’s movies, video games or books. Salvatore is a good author to look into if you want to start reading some fantasy fiction. I would start with the Dark Elf Trilogy or the Icewind Dale Trilogy if you are starting out. This is a definite recommendation to those that finished and enjoyed reading the Icewind Dale Trilogy.
David Hood @ 11:26 pm
3.5 stars.
As always, getting all 4 volumes in one book is a nice price savings. My individual reviews below.
The Legacy
4 Stars
The Drow Strike Back
Following up on the heels of the Dark Elf trilogy(published order) or The Crystal Shard Trilogy(chronological order) we have a return to what made the first two books of the Dark Elf Trilogy a success. The Underdark and the drow society. We also finally have a terminal change in the status of one of the formerly untouchable compadres.
What makes the book is the delightful convoluted intrigues of the drow society as Matron Baenre and a surviving daughter of Drizz’t’s house engage in an offensive against the dwarves of Mithril Hall. On top of that treachery add in the new character of Jarlaxle, a conniving drow mercenary owing no allegiance to any but himself and his band of merry men.
There are some weaknesses, character wise many of the drow suffer from inexplicable monomania which blinds them fatally to other goings on. The battle-rager Pwent, probably meant for comic relief proved to be only annoying, not funny.
The battle scenes as always are superb, and after the weak Sojourn it is a welcome return to the Underdark and some solid light entertainment. Unforunately, tragedy isn’t necessarily permanent in epic fantasy which reduces the emotional impact as the reader wonders “Really?”.
Starless Night
3 stars
The Unlikely Emancipation of Cattie-Brie
3.5 stars I round down.
To start the book our main viewpoint characters are all mopy and depressed over the death of Wulfgar. Bruenor is now in need of some therapy as he has allowed himself to become listless and unengaged to the point he is not leading his people. Cattie-Brie is depressed but no more so than you would expect and the noble Drizz’t is so depressed he decides to go on what is more or less a suicide walkabout to say goodbye to his underdark friends and sacrifice himself in the hope this will keep his friends safe. Or at least the text strongly points to that subconscious belief.
So Drizz’t sneaks off to the underdark which of course sets Cattie Brie in motion to follow him and causes much mayhem amongst the drow when he encounters them. We also have the return of Artemis Entreri and Jarlaxle to heighten the tension and the treachery of the plot as Cattie and Artemis work together to save Drizz’t. Jarlaxle as always waits and plays each side for his own gain.
At this point we have some wonderful fight scenes and it is a lot of fun, however we have the not unbelievable, but certainly hurried, metamorphosis of Cattie-Brie from strong but minor supporting character to major hero as she blasts legions of drow away with her heat-seeking bow of infinite ammunition. To be honest, her real courage was in facing Bruenor and following Drizz’t.
We also have the incredibly intelligent drow acting like stormtroopers from Star Wars. Despite their massive numbers they can’t stop the recently tortured to near death Drizz’t, Cattie-Brie, Artemis and that poor cat Guenhyvar, summoned to take damage while they escape.
However despite those glaring problems, the book really actually is a fun read. Lightweight, but fun, and the battle scenes are engaging while you read them. Our heroes are just way too overpowered with trinkets now. Still though, the underdark and its evil machinations always provide for an enjoyable visit.
Siege of Darkness
4 stars
Siege Mentality
There are really two sections to this book, one is the sub-par inclusion of the TSR mandated, and ill-conceived in my opinion, Time of Troubles where the avatars of the gods walk the earth and magic stops functioning. This really does nothing but include the effects of the Time of Troubles from the Avatar series in this series and set up the unfortunate happenings in the next book.
The other part of the story is the siege of Mithril Hall. Though uncomfortably similar to Helm’s Deep it is very well written. Salvatore does do battles well and here he writes a non-stop battle focusing on small squad tactics of several different groups on several parts of the battlefield.
He even manages to make the Harpell’s, and Pwent the battle-rager, previously annoying comic relief, become less annoying and almost useful characters that contribute to the plot, the readers emotions and the battle.
Though having the siege basically undone by the internecine drow politics causing several houses to retreat may be unsatisfying, it is at least logically consistent with their culture, and not without real historical precedent. I believe on of the Khans turned his army back on the eve of victory in order to take care of problems back at home.
No real development of anyone here, but the long battle scenes make for an exciting bit of mind-candy storytelling.
Passage to Dawn
3 stars
The Untouchables
Despite some nice touches, such as some more pirate chasing fun with Captain Duedermont it is really average, and the good parts negated by the ridiculous return from the dead plot.
Not only is it disturbing for death to be impermanent, as I feel this violates a compact with the readers, in this case it is poorly done. Drizz’t is quite intelligent and would have figured out quite quickly that there was no way the one being held captive was who he was led to believe.
It has become clear through this quartet that the companions are untouchable, over-powered and not to be threatened and any harm is only transient.
Due to this invulnerability the reader’s interest is considerably lessened if not removed. Also, those who have not read the cleric quintet, as I had not are going to be a little confused by Cadderly and his wife and the dim-witted dwarves.
This gets 3 stars because of the pirate battles, which I like, and because the last battle does get the pulse pounding. Without those inclusions the book would have been 2 stars at best. It does have the feel of a book that the author did not have his heart in. Having a character return from the dead, particularly such a boring character, was unnecessary and frankly stupid.
If indeed TSR mandated it, I feel bad for Salvatore.
Nicq MacDonald @ 11:41 pm
Authors seldom maintain the same quality of writing throughout their entire career. They either splash onto the scene with an outstanding work that proves to be their best, or they creep out, honing their skill as time goes on.
Salvatore isn’t a literary genius, but the more he writes, the better he gets. Unlike Robert Jordan, who can’t seem to sustain the energy or interest level in his plodding, soap-opera like epics, Salvatore keeps things simple, fast, and enjoyable. Yet, at the same time, his flagship character, Drizzt Do’Urden, only seems to become deeper and more interesting as he matures.
In “Legacy of the Drow”, Salvatore takes the characters and plot threads introduced in “Icewind Dale” and the “Dark Elf Trilogy” and runs them through a thousand-page wringer. Starting with “The Legacy”, we are re-introduced to Drizzt’s sinister family. In the books that follow, Salvatore seemingly puts the characters through every close call and near defeat he can, finally wrapping up the books in a touching rescue/showdown where Drizzt is forced to face defeat, only to see victory ripped from it’s jaws at the last moment. The author pulls off the necessary dramatic tension and pacing to keep the reader hanging on his every word and glued to the book through the whole wild ride. “Legacy of the Drow” is far darker than the merry romp of “Icewind Dale”, and the reintroduction of the Drow was every bit as scary as the foreshadowing in “The Dark Elf Trilogy” promised.
Of course, the books have some weaknesses. Drizzt’s family members are under-used and quickly disposed of, much like the villains in Salvatore’s plodding, overly-derivative “Cleric Quintet”. Characters from the Quintet were introduced to the series in a relatively heavy-handed fashion, and some characters felt under-utilized (Gromph Baenre, Gandalug Battlehammer, and Berkthgar the Bold, especially). Salvatore’s writing, while better than his previous works, still lacks the detail that characterizes the works of the best fantasy authors.
All in all, however, if you liked the first six books in Drizzt’s saga, you’ll love these four. Throw on a nice dark soundtrack, grab a drink, and enjoy the ride.