Book mini-review: Exile
9.14.2009 at 09:52:05 AM
Exile is the second book of the Dark Elf trilogy by R. A. Salvatore. It is more recently also referred to as the second book in the Legend of Drizzt series, which spans many novels. Homeland was the first book which I enjoyed quite a bit.
While Homeland was really about covering drow elf culture and about how one man, Drizzt, tries his best to escape it, Exile is about Drizzt's life post-escape. Except, if he had truly escaped, this novel would be rather boring. He spends 10 years in the wilderness of the Underdark, seeking only to survive. His only companion is his magical panther, Guenhwyvar.
Shortly into the story, we learn that Drizzt's family seeks to find and destroy him. There is no option to leave drow society for them and the safety of their house depends on killing Drizzt, which would please their goddess Lolth.
After 10 years though, Drizzt is tired of being "the hunter" as the book calls him. He wants to be normal again. And that's largely what this book is about. There are multiple characters in the book that struggle between one ugly or unfavorable identity and another.
Drizzt must come to terms with who he is and choose who he wants to be. As the hunter, he can trust nobody and lives only to survive, which is not much of a life at all. Can he put all that away and still survive against the terrors that are sent at him by his vengeful family?
Drizzt also comes across others in his travels who have challenges as well. A deep gnome that lost his hands in the last book becomes an unlikely ally for Drizzt. His hands have been replaced with gnomish tools, enchanted with powerful magic. For their society, his handicap has arguably made him even more valuable than before, but he chooses to distance himself from them in self-pity. And a third friend joins them even later in the story who has been turned into a monster by an insane wizard. He struggles not only against himself, but against the magic that is quickly replacing his identity with that of a beast.
There is a fourth struggle that I unfortunately can't mention without spoiling a magic twist, but it's arguably the most difficult internal battle of the book.
These inner conflicts and the focus on friendship make this book a great read. At this point in the first Dragonlance trilogy, it still felt very much like I was reading through a D&D campaign. The only theme of those books was that they were D&D and had lots of cool sword fights and spells and things. This isn't a very bad thing since they are D&D books. But it's nice that Salvatore's books combine the setting of D&D with timeless storytelling themes in an interesting way. And though I can't remember if I mentioned it in my Homeland review, I think keeping the cast relatively small helps this series. It's a more compelling read when there aren't four people with swords, two people with wands, eight horses, four clerics, and a partridge in a pear tree to remember.
In my Homeland review, I said I thought it would be a good starting point for people who haven't read D&D and might want to start. If you read Homeland, there is simply no reason not to continue with the story and read Exile. It's just as good and continues the story. It's not over yet though. I'll have my review of the third Dark Elf trilogy book soon.
While Homeland was really about covering drow elf culture and about how one man, Drizzt, tries his best to escape it, Exile is about Drizzt's life post-escape. Except, if he had truly escaped, this novel would be rather boring. He spends 10 years in the wilderness of the Underdark, seeking only to survive. His only companion is his magical panther, Guenhwyvar.
Shortly into the story, we learn that Drizzt's family seeks to find and destroy him. There is no option to leave drow society for them and the safety of their house depends on killing Drizzt, which would please their goddess Lolth.
After 10 years though, Drizzt is tired of being "the hunter" as the book calls him. He wants to be normal again. And that's largely what this book is about. There are multiple characters in the book that struggle between one ugly or unfavorable identity and another.
Drizzt must come to terms with who he is and choose who he wants to be. As the hunter, he can trust nobody and lives only to survive, which is not much of a life at all. Can he put all that away and still survive against the terrors that are sent at him by his vengeful family?
Drizzt also comes across others in his travels who have challenges as well. A deep gnome that lost his hands in the last book becomes an unlikely ally for Drizzt. His hands have been replaced with gnomish tools, enchanted with powerful magic. For their society, his handicap has arguably made him even more valuable than before, but he chooses to distance himself from them in self-pity. And a third friend joins them even later in the story who has been turned into a monster by an insane wizard. He struggles not only against himself, but against the magic that is quickly replacing his identity with that of a beast.
There is a fourth struggle that I unfortunately can't mention without spoiling a magic twist, but it's arguably the most difficult internal battle of the book.
These inner conflicts and the focus on friendship make this book a great read. At this point in the first Dragonlance trilogy, it still felt very much like I was reading through a D&D campaign. The only theme of those books was that they were D&D and had lots of cool sword fights and spells and things. This isn't a very bad thing since they are D&D books. But it's nice that Salvatore's books combine the setting of D&D with timeless storytelling themes in an interesting way. And though I can't remember if I mentioned it in my Homeland review, I think keeping the cast relatively small helps this series. It's a more compelling read when there aren't four people with swords, two people with wands, eight horses, four clerics, and a partridge in a pear tree to remember.
In my Homeland review, I said I thought it would be a good starting point for people who haven't read D&D and might want to start. If you read Homeland, there is simply no reason not to continue with the story and read Exile. It's just as good and continues the story. It's not over yet though. I'll have my review of the third Dark Elf trilogy book soon.