Dungeons & Dragons: The Legend of Drizzt Volume 1 - Homeland

The Legend of Drizzt: The Graphic Novel #1

by R.A. Salvatore, Andrew Dabb, Tim Seeley (Illustrator)

Adapting the famous series by R.A. Salvatore, beginning with Book 1 of the Dark Elf Trilogy, Homeland. Travel back to strange and exotic Menzoberranzan, the vast city of the Drow and homeland to Icewind Dale hero Drizzt Do’Urden. The young prince of a royal house, Drizzt grows to maturity in the vile world of his dark kin. Possessing honor beyond the scope of his unprincipled society, young Drizzt faces an inevitable dilemma. Can he live in a world that rejects integrity?

Genres: Fantasy, Comics, Graphic Novels, Forgotten Realms, Dungeons and Dragons, Fiction, Magic

140 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2005

About the author

As one of the fantasy genre’s most successful authors, R.A. Salvatore enjoys an ever-expanding and tremendously loyal following. His books regularly appear on The New York Times best-seller lists and have sold more than 10,000,000 copies. Salvatore’s original hardcover, The Two Swords, Book III of The Hunter’s Blade Trilogy (October 2004) debuted at # 1 on The Wall Street Journal best-seller list and at # 4 on The New York Times best-seller list. His books have been translated into numerous foreign languages including German, Italian, Finnish, Greek, Hungarian, Turkish, Croatian, Bulgarian, Yiddish, Spanish, Russian, Polish, Portuguese, Czech, and French.

Salvatore’s first published novel, The Crystal Shard from TSR in 1988, became the first volume of the acclaimed Icewind Dale Trilogy and introduced an enormously popular character, the dark elf Drizzt Do’Urden. Since that time, Salvatore has published numerous novels for each of his signature multi-volume series including The Dark Elf Trilogy, Paths of Darkness, The Hunter’s Blades Trilogy, and The Cleric Quintet.

His love affair with fantasy, and with literature in general, began during his sophomore year of college when he was given a copy of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings as a Christmas gift. He promptly changed his major from computerscience to journalism. He received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Communications from Fitchburg State College in 1981, then returned for the degree he always cherished, the Bachelor of Arts in English. He began writing seriously in 1982, penning the manuscript that would become Echoes of the Fourth Magic. Salvatore held many jobs during those first years as a writer, finally settling in (much to our delight) to write full time in 1990.

The R.A. Salvatore Collection has been established at his alma mater, Fitchburg State College in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, containing the writer’s letters, manuscripts, and other professional papers. He is in good company, as The Salvatore Collection is situated alongside The Robert Cormier Library, which celebrates the writing career of the co-alum and esteemed author of young adult books.

Salvatore is an active member of his community and is on the board of trustees at the local library in Leominster, Massachusetts. He has participated in several American Library Association regional conferences, giving talks on themes including “Adventure fantasy” and “Why young adults read fantasy.” Salvatore himself enjoys a broad range of literary writers including James Joyce, Mark Twain, Geoffrey Chaucer, Shakespeare, Dante, and Sartre. He counts among his favorite genre literary influences Ian Fleming, Arthur Conan Doyle, Fritz Leiber, and of course, J.R.R. Tolkien.

Born in 1959, Salvatore is a native of Massachusetts and resides there with his wife Diane, and their three children, Bryan, Geno, and Caitlin. The family pets include three Japanese Chins, Oliver, Artemis and Ivan, and four cats including Guenhwyvar.

When he isn't writing, Salvatore chases after his three Japanese Chins, takes long walks, hits the gym, and coaches/plays on a fun-league softball team that includes most of his family. His gaming group still meets on Sundays to play.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/rasalv...

Reviews

[Jessica ❁ ➳ Silverbow ➳ ❁ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/21/18 - ON SALE for $3.99:



http://amzn.to/2u6WOuT

Reviewed by: Rabid Reads

3.5 stars

***NON-TRADITIONAL REVIEW ALERT***

I posted this on RR as a review/bookfessional, so if you like to-the-point, no frills reviews, do us both a favor a move along. ;)

I didn’t grow up playing D&D. I’d love to be able to say I did, but I’m not that geekfabulous.

BUT.

I did grow up watching my only-ten-years-older-than-me uncle play D&D. And he was cool before geek was cool. For real. I’d even credit him with helping pave the way for the rest of us. All my friends always had huge crushes on him. They were super jealous that he came to pick me up from elementary school in his Jeep Wrangler, blasting not-country on his way home from high school, while they were getting picked up by their mom in a minivan.

Not gonna lie. It was awesome.

As was everything he did, as far as I was concerned. My grandmother—the one who raised me on fairy tales, so Uncle came by it honestly—would flip through the monster manual (NOT Manuela, autocorrect, geez) with me, and we’d read the descriptions together (also awesome).

I loved it.

So yesterday, when I saw that the first four volumes of THE LEGEND OF DRIZZT, THE GRAPHIC NOVEL were on sale for $3.99, I was all over it.

And when I read it, I was #confusedaf.

ALL DROW LOOK THE SAME. AND HAVE WEIRD-ASS NAMES. And some of their identities are DELIBERATELY obscured for later Big Reveals.

I mean, ultimately I enjoyed it, but only after flipping back and forth MULTIPLE times, trying to figure out who was who and their relationship to Drizzt.

I’m like, k, that guy has short hair, that one has a braid, and that one is in red embossed armor, and, and . . . O.o

But when I finally got everyone straight, it was a compelling idea: inexplicably moral dark elf surrounded by uniformly Bad dark elves. What to do? ALSO, there's a really cool cat demon thing.

I was entertained enough that I looked up the actual books. There are twenty-three in the main series.

TWENTY-THREE. *edvard munch face*

And wouldn’t you know that all but one of them is available for instant gratification download b/c ebook.*

Wanna guess which one doesn’t have a kindle version?

If you said, “the first one,” you are not wrong. *bangs head against wall*

*That’s my second favorite thing about ebooks, btw. When I want to read something, I want to read it NOW. Not in 2 - 5 days.

BUT.

I discovered last year, during my must-know-ALL-the-STAR WARS-things phase, that I can (under the right circumstances) absorb an audio book (I have auditory ADD, and yes, that is a real thing), so I found an alternate way to one-click. Bwahaha.

Unfortunately, the narration sucks (NOT the right circumstances). Dude speaks at that weird speed that is too slow, but just fast enough that even increasing the narration to 1.25 speed sounds ridiculous.

Also, I’m boycotting paperbacks, b/c if I don’t want it enough to pay for the hardcover, I can’t spare the shelf space. #firstworldproblems

SO. All you D&D people: is this series good enough to further investigate, or am I better off sticking with the graphic novels and calling it a day. Not asking Uncle, b/c I’m pretty sure I already know what he’d say, so help a noob out, plz.

[Allie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the novel a few years ago; this helped me remember it. Drizzt is pretty badass. And I wish I had a Guenhwyvar (the panther on the cover).

Although I wasn't overly impressed with the art, it didn't suck.

[11811 (Eleven) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grew up on this stuff and didn't realize there was a graphic novel version until recently. Good stuff. Love the art. Looking forward to the other volumes.

[David Sarkies · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Graphic Rendition of an Awesome Novel
29 December 2015

Okay, here I am reading another graphic novel despite the fact that I constantly proclaim that I don't like graphic novels. So, the question is, am I a hypocrite? Well, not entirely namely because I have broadened my areas of writing to include businesses, which means that I write on Yelp, True Local, and Trip Advisor (though Trip Advisor doesn't have a list of comic/gaming shops in its database, despite the fact that I used to travel just to check out the gaming shops), and since most of the people on these sites don't review comic books shops I decided to step up to the plate and do just that. However, if I'm going to review a comic book shop it means that I actually have to buy something from it – a comic book – which is why I land up with all these graphic novels.

Anyway, this one actually turned out to be pretty good, but that is probably because it is based on a pretty good book. When I was perusing the offerings at one particular comic bookshop in Adelaide (owned by some guy named Wally, who by the way has absolutely no customer service skills, but has been in the business for thirty years and seeing off most of his competition) my eyes fell upon this particular book, and having quite enjoyed the original book (and not wanting to grab another Marvel comic – let's wait until Captain America: Civil War hits the cinemas before I go for a Captain America book), I decided to grab it.

I guess the idea of not having any expectations on its content worked in this case because I was instantly hooked – in fact I couldn't put it down, to the point that I had to resist the temptation to put my feet up on the table at work and just finish reading it (I'm sure the boss wouldn't have been all that impressed if I had done that). As I said, it is based on the original novel, and does add a new dimension to it – you get to see that Matron Malice isn't actually this old hag but a pretty attractive woman (but then again she is an elf, and they don't age all that fast).

Anyway, if you haven't read the books, but are looking for a story full off intrigue, backstabbing, and nasty monsters, as well as some good old fashioned Dungeons and Dragons adventure, then this is definitely something to check out. In fact I enjoyed it so much that I am half tempted to see if the other volumes are available, and if they aren't, then to keep an eye out for when they are released and snap them up immediately.

[Paul Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Salvatore series featuring the dark elf Drizzt Do'Urden barring Lord of the Rings was the first fantasy series I read and continued with 20+ books and as a result is by far my favourite genre. The natural step as I have delved into graphic novels was to go back to the series that started it all and with Homeland I was far from disappointed.The story and the artwork really capture the essence of the Drow or Dark Elf culture, mainly deceit, deception and ruthlessness.

The story takes place in the great Drow city of Menzoberranzan, in a place known as the Underdark and deep under ground. Drow society consists of a hierarchy of powerful families each looking to get a step higher up the ladder whilst winning and maintaining the favour of their spider God Lolth. Each family is ruled by the more powerful females and head of the family is the Matron, we meet Matron Malice, head of House Do'Urden as she plots the destruction of House Devir which will allow Do'Urden to move up to the ninth most powerful house. The evil morals of the dark elfs are revealed early as the Devir house is culled, the children slaughtered and at the same time the second eldest Do'Urden son slays his brother to become the elderboy of the house. This is turn saves the life of the third son, newly born on the night of the slaughter from being sacrificed to Lolth as custom dictates and the baby's name Drizzt Do'Urden.

Here we see Drizzt grow from his early trials, his schooling in the arts of both combat and magic to his eventual disappointment and resentment of his Kin's life and actions.
Read the RA Salvatore books some years ago so I can't verify how closely the graphic novel follows the book but it does read very well and seeing Drizzt develop into the twin scimitar wielding warrior of the heroic fantasy I remember was as good as it could have been. The artwork of both Menzoberranzan and all the characters was flawless and I shall certainly continue with the series

[Keith Irwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This the comic book adaptation of R.A. Salvatore's novel about Drizzt, an unusual Drow. I have not read the novel this was based on. I enjoyed reading this adaptation. It's an interesting story, steeped in the details of an exotic, imaginary culture. Part of the fun of it was understanding what Drow cultural norms were. Fundamentally, Drizzt is an exercise in putting a character whose morality and cultural expectations are more like our own into a very different culture and seeing the result. So, on the whole, I found it enjoyable.

I did, however, have a great deal of difficulty telling the characters apart. They were all draw with identical idealized bodies and faces. All the male drow were shaped exactly the same in both the body and the face. All the female drow were shaped exactly alike in both the body and the face. They almost all wore the same colors and had very similar hair. It really was a serious chore telling one from another. I understand that there should be some uniformity, but I felt like the artist could have done a better job in making characters distinguishable from one another. I eventually worked it all out, but it was very hard to read in the beginning because I had no idea who anyone was.

[Andrew Rockwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.0 stars—-

[Cheesecake · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the story and the characters were great, but the translation into a graphic novel kinda ruined it.

Story; Drizzt is an anomaly among the dark elves that live in the 'UnderDark'. They worship the spider goddess and admire treachery. Drizzt grows up to become an awesome warrior, but believes in honour.
It's an epic; following Drizzt's life from the circumstances surrounding his birth to his final realization that he does not fit into this world and he doesn't want to.
Cliffhanger but kind of an HFN.

The story flows nicely. But the script was often too small, too near the margins and generally difficult to read. I also found the characters looked a lot alike, especially the women. It often made it difficult to know who was who.
My final complaint was that all the women looked like a casting call for 'Heavy Metal'.

So while I would recommend the story, I would suggest the original book and not the graphic novel!

[Kyla · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was beautiful. Perfectly played out, gorgeous photos, and the emotions were tied up and stuck in one place until the book ended.

[Malau J · Rating 4 out of 5]

En tant que roliste et grande fan de Baldur's Gate et des univers Donjons et Dragons plus largement, il était grand temps que je m'attaque à la saga Drizzt. Le premier tome m'a plongé dans un univers aussi fascinant que brutal. Le moins que l'on puisse dire est que Menzoberranzan n'est pas un lieu de tout repos. La société Drow est gouvernée par la violence, la tromperie, la trahison. R. A Salvatore nous dépeint une dark fantasy avec une plume très sûre, qui allie brutalité, introspection et même une certaine poésie par moment.

L'action est très présente, avec des scènes de combats excellemment chorégraphiées reprenant parfaitement les tactiques des univers D&D. Mais le lore et l'approfondissement des personnages n'est pas pour autant relégué au second plan.

Un très bon tome qui me donne bien envie de poursuivre cette grande saga. J'ai hâte de découvrir comment Drizzt va continuer à se démarquer de sa société et à tracer sa propre voie dans cet univers impitoyable.

[Annemarie Donahue · Rating 5 out of 5]

HOLY COW! I'm crazy late to the table on this book, but let me say it again "HOLY COW!" was this a terrific graphic novel. For anyone out there who misses just good old D&D writing R.A. Salvatore (an alumnus of my uni!) This is the prequel to the adventures of Drizzt, a dark elf, with the ability to walk in daylight. Being born for the soul purpose of being sacrificed to the spider goddess, Drizzt is saved from death when his older brother kills the first boy of their house, house Do'Urden (okay, no one's going to huffy about my misspelling of EVERYTHING). Guided by the master of arms, Drizzt's friend, chief ally and unknown father, Drizzt grows into a fine honorable man... which is a problem in Drow society. Think Klingons on crazy pills. This is a society that has embraced treachery, war and malice (BTW - that's his mum's name). They fight, plot and destroy, all for their own glory and at the cost of the society surrounding them. Drizzt is born into a rising house, and as such is sent to a training center to become a warrior for his house. His sisters, all high priestesses will inherit a house whose goal is to stand alone at the top; to that purpose they will gladly use their brother, abuse their brother and kill their brother... as would any self-respecting decent Drow priestess.
Drizzt soon sees that he cannot bend his heart from empathy of the creatures that his kind destroy for no reason and attempts to run from the house. His father Zak (short for Zakcrazybunchofletters) sacrifices his life to save his son and Drizzt with his panther escapes into the wilds of the Underdark, leaving his house behind as it is attacked and threatened with doom.
Fortunately I already have the next book (since it was published back in 2008), Exile!
Please check out my youtube channel and blogger site for more information on this fantastic series!
http://englishclassroomdonahue.blogsp...
https://www.youtube.com/user/englishc...

[Rick Silva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adapting the first novel in R.A. Salvatore's Dark Elf Trilogy. Set in the Forgotten Realms (D&D campaign setting) underdark city of Menzoberranzan, the story is essentially the origin of Drizzt Do'Urden. In the original prose novels, the drow elf Drizzt was introduced in the Icewind Dale Trilogy, and was then given his own story, starting with Homeland. In this graphic novel series, the stories will appear in chronological order, with the Icewind Dale adaptations to follow the Dark Elf trilogy.

This volume gives the story of Drizzt's birth and childhood through his days at the infamous Melee-Magthere combat academy where he trained to become one of Menzoberranzan's greatest warriors, even as he began to have his doubts about the brutal nature of drow society.

The original Homeland is a richly-detailed novel, and a lot had to be cut in order for this to flow smoothly in the graphic novel medium. Script writer Andrew Dabb did a remarkable job, especially with the complex web (see what I did there?) of political intrigue that binds the drow noble houses. While not all of the descriptive worldbuilding could be included, the art team led by Tim Seeley manage to capture much of the mood of Menzoberranzan in the visuals.

The drow society as presented in these stories has always felt like it could have used more nuance, but the conflicting motivations of the characters are handled well. The story felt complex, but not to the point where it was hard to follow. Drizzt himself comes off as a bit less broody than the prose version due to the limitations of space, and the emphasis on actions over words helps move the story along.

The Dark Elf Trilogy were not really favorites of mine as I look back on them, but this edition got me sufficiently nostalgic and never overstayed its welcome.

[Merewyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this better than the novel it's based on... By reading this one needn't slog through Drizzt waxing on and on with his emo-prattle. I find that I like the villains of Salvatore's Drizzt novels more than his titular hero. This is rather unusual for me. The only other work that I can think of in which I root for the BBEG instead of the hero(s) would be Bram Stoker's 'Dracula' (the prudishness and seemingly innate hypocrisy of the Victorian characters just begs for a beating and I am delighted every time the old vampire dishes it out to them). Yet, for everything else I've read, I tend to like and/or love the designated Good Guy/Gal.
And I don't think my dislike for Drizzt comes from a dislike for the Forgotten Realms (I rather like Elminster and Priam Agrivar, as well as several other heros). But... Drizzt... his monologues remind me of far too many hypocrites I've met in real life. They'll talk in much the same way as he monologues and then turn around and: steal from their own family members; be physically abusive of their family members; cheat on their wife with teen girls in the youth ministry... Bleh.
So - maybe it's not Drizzt, but the mannerism of his speech that reminds me far too much of creeps I've met in real life & who I would far rather NOT be reminded of as I'm reading a novel.
At least with the comic books I can enjoy the story and the character without having to be reminded of the jerks from the real world.

[Gautam Surath · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have maintained that Graphic novels are a good way to relive the books that you loved in a totally new format while at the same time recalling the key elements that may still be pertinent in the books to come. It turns out that if the graphic novel is done well it takes on a life of its own and that's truly the case with Homeland. Tim does great justice with the creation on Menzoberranzan in colour and we get lost in the the cruel lives of the Drow. Is it great to be back or what. HIghly recommended even if you have not read the novels!

[Kit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall I enjoyed the story because Drizzt is such a likable character but I wish I had known about some trigger warnings in it. So just in case this might help even one reader - Content Warnings: Violence against children and an animal.

[Nynke · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow! Every thing is drawn almost exactly as I immagined it when reading the book. How is this even posibile? Can a writer be so descriptive that everyone pictures the same thing in their head?

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 1st glimpse into D&D. Excellent. I can't wait read more!

[Danie Ware · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this. Utterly self-indulgent and I don’t care!

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been many years since I last read any of the Forgotten Realms stories. I'm pretty sure my last encounters in this world took place before 2005, and possibly even before 2000. So when I learned about this graphic novel (I'll try to find where), I jumped at the chance to get reacquainted with the Forgotten Realms stories.

I liked that this story introduced us to Drizzt. From his birth through his early years in the Underdark, it was a nice reintroduction to [a part of] the world of the Forgotten Realms. :-)

And since this story was told in graphic novel form, it was fun getting to see Drizzt and some of the other players in his life.

I enjoyed the art style, but I have to say that I hope the artist stays the same for as long as this graphic novel series goes on. There were a lot of characters in this story, and it wasn't always easy to identify who was speaking, but the artwork gradually made sense to me and I was able to figure out who was who. But if the artist changes in a later volume? ¯\_(ツ)_/ ¯

So this was a fun graphic novel. I enjoyed it enough that I am interested in continuing in this series. So I'm off to request that my library find Volume Two! :-)

A few words on how this first volume ends: Drizzt defeated Masoj Hun'ett and Alton Devir. His father, Zaknafein was sacrificed for Lolth, the Spider Goddess, by the females in his family. Drizzt learned of his death and successfully escaped his family to leave for parts unknown. Our last view was of Drizzt walking away from Menzoherranzan (city of the Drow) with Guenhwyvar (the cat) by his side.

And the text says . . .

THE END
The Legend of Drizzt continues in Forgotten Realms: Exile

I'm actually pretty eager to read Volume Two, since I really want to know what Drizzt is going to do next. Where will he end up? I must find out! :-)

[Colona Public Library · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story takes place in the under dark and focuses on the drow city of menzoberranzan, where Drizzt was born and was about to be sacrificed. He was sparred thanks to luck. luck being one of his other family members was killed. Their spider goddess has very specific terms about sacrifice, like 3rd sons shall be sacrificed...or something along those lines. He is has an exotic eye color and as he grow older they find out also has a strange personality. Drittz is merciful and shows kindness to servant magical creatures. The art is fine, I wish they did something different with all the drow outfits. I think they did a nice job making it into a graphic novel and will probably continue reading the graphic novel series. If you are a fan of d&d or fantasy I would recommend this book, if you liked this I would also recommend checking out the full book.

Currently doing an Out of the Abyss (5e) D&D campaign, so I'm very excited to see if he makes it to some of the cities and possibly meet any characters we've encountered. ~Ashley

[Cale · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been years since I read the novel version, but this Graphic Novel seems to tell the story in the same way - all the main plot points match my memory, and the artwork does a good service to Menzoberranzan and the Drow world. The story moves well, with lots of action, intrigue, and even a bit of emotion as Drizzt begins his hero's journey, forming the groundwork for the hero he will become. The story is still effective, providing lots of detail about the Drow world as well as fleshing Drizzt out as a character, and giving at least more than a passing introduction to the antagonists Masoj and the Faceless One. The art is well done, catching the D&D vibe, and making more liberal use of purple than I think any other title I've seen has ever done. This serves as a good introduction for anyone not familiar with Drizzt, while also serving as a worthy return for those who have read the story in other formats.

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed the novel and was excited to read the graphic novel. However, I was very disappointed within the first few pages. The art is ugly, the character designs all have the same face, the female drow are dressed like professional dominatrixes (or otherwise half naked) for no real reason, and the artist insists on applying human sexual dimorphism to a race that it doesn't apply to.

The story itself is also hurt by this adaptation. In the novel, a lot of the melodrama was tempered by a sense of sincerity, and that is almost entirely lost in the graphic novel, making all the serious moments cringeworthy at best, and comedic at worst. In addition, many story elements (such as creatures and magical effects encountered) are not explained in any way, leading to some baffling moments.

It's a bad adaptation of a good book, and I'm just very glad I didn't read the graphic novel first.

[Benjamin]

I was not expecting to enjoy this as much as I did.

Reasons why I wasn't expecting to enjoy it:
-Drizzt is a fun character when surrounded by others, but all by himself he can be overblown and melodramatic;
-origin stories lend themselves to that sort of "I'm all alone" melodrama*;
-the art is in a modern cartoony vein that isn't that fun to look at.

*Really, if Goethe wrote fantasy, he'd have written the Sorrows of Young Drizzt.

Reasons why I ended up enjoying this book more than I expected:
-There's some nice structure here, particularly around Drizzt and his trainer, both of whom are good, both of whom suspect the other is evil.

I wouldn't recommend this to anyone too hard because life is short, but it was better than I expected.

[Camem1996 · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story starts in A big underground City Called menborozan, this is a city where the dark elves live. there are several big houses of familys in this where they are constinly trying to secrelty kill eachother so they can become one of the higher ranking houses. During one of these raids our Main Charactor is born Drizzt Do urden. He grows up like any other Dark elf but he has different thoughts about his race then all of the other dark elves but he tries to become like them till he just cant stand it anymore.
I loved this book because there is constant action and i would recomend it to any body that loves fantasy novils from the forgotten relms or Draganlace books.

[Matej · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection (3 double sized issues) feels more like a visual companion to the books, and not as a standalone installment. They have tried to cram as much as they could, but you do get the feeling that a lot had to be cut out from the books, and therefore there are a bit too much time jumps, and story told through narration.
The art and coloring fits the fantasy comic genre rather well, even though sometimes the only way to to tell characters apart is by their hair styles (not to be racist, but drow tend to look alike).
All in all, this is a solid fantasy graphic novel that will appeal to most fans of the genre.

[Timothy McNeil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weak 3 stars.

The art was mostly good (with one poorly executed combat scene rendered unfathomable near the end), but not of sufficient quality to make the individual Drow identifiable with any regularity. The story...well, it solved the problem of wondering whether I wanted to read the novel version of the story. The answer is "no". It may because of the format, but it was formulaic even for D&D story. Not terrible, and not without something approaching nuance (which may be there in novel form) at times, but not what I am looking for in my fantasy fiction.

[Gabrielle - Le Mot Juste · Rating 3 out of 5]

Classic origin story. I really enjoyed this! Though it didn't give any ground breaking plot twists, it's a beginning arch and it had every aspect of fantasy that I love. The setting, the drow society, and the conflict between society and self were amazing to read about. It's almost like chapter 1 of a D&D history textbook. The pacing was also very good as it wasn't rushed and we got to see Drizzt from birth to man and all his internal struggles in between. I will definitely continue with this series when I get the chance!

[C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. My only complaint is: Drizzt has quite a chin. What kind of complaint is that? None. So therefore: it's great.

Recommended for folks who want to get the sidestory on Drizzt before jumping into other Salvatore books, or get an idea of the Drizzt fascination in nerd-land without committing to reading the bulk of the series.

[Bentley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have given most of Salvatores' books 5 stars because of my love of his storytelling, while the story has not changed, i do not feel the artist did the justice of Salvatores' words. I would rather read the books and visualize over the graphic novel.

Still a great book to own, i have no regrets spending the money for this book!

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this introduction. It was lovely seeing the tone and details in addition to comprehending the story. I will definitely read the full novel, because there was a feeling here of vast canyons of story between each plot point, but it was a great read and I'm glad of the basic introduction.