Derek Collins > Recent Status Updates

Into the castle we go. A group of nine, almost none of them trustworthy.

Calihye. Overall not terribly important but not inconsequential either. Didn't really care for her. Seen enough like her in real life to know where it was going.

The parallels between drizzts initial journey of of the underground and jarlaxle and entereris journey here are wonderful to find

On the road ava the intrigue began in full. I swear this trilogy is the absolute best.

I had skipped over the short stories on this run, witch I do not recommend for a real series read through, and I had forgotten about the flute. Remembered the encounter with the shade but forgot about the flute.

The Bloodstone Lands. And Athrogate, yet another character i didn't expect to continue on to the main cast as he has. Bwahaha

The dragon sisters, ihlnezara and tazmikella. Characters that i, of course, love. But in still thoroughly surprised just how permanent they become as the story progresses.

I love cadderly and the spirit soaring family

Cadderly!!!! I remember the first time I read this, it was the first forgotten realms book I read, unaware how much came before, spirit soaring was absolutely gorgeous in my mind and still is to this day

Entereri once again proves good l he is drow in all but skin color

The way that drizzt speaks about entereri and jarlaxle here versus the latest entry is a wonderful example of character growth. Though the hints are dropped within this very book it still seems impossible that they would grow the way they do in any believable way

Charon's Claw, a legendary weapon of faerun in no small part due to entereri finally shows up. It also surprises me how different kimmuriel was in the beginning. Far less Spock and now generic bad guy drow. Makes me much more appreciative for his character growth later on.

The intrigue of menzobarranzan reflected in calimport. I do love jarlaxle.

I do so love this trilogy in particular, aside from it being my first foray infi the forgotten realms, it also features two of my favorite characters almost exclusively.

The battle of Kree's bunker is on in full. The Companions reunited completely and the awkwardness shaken off.

Another look at auckney and back at it

The hunt

It took a second to shake off spine of the wield by we're back in full swing with intrigue and twisting paths. And finally they kissed!!!

All of the pieces are on the move and aimed all at the same exact spot

This is so so much better. Wulfgar in a genuine path of redemption and the Companions doing what they do best.

Thankfully back on track

Wulfgar, in prison, again

We're in the thick of wulfgars fall

The attempt on the captain bringing to bare scars that never fully healed

I get that there wasn't enough to wulfgars stifle to fill out the whole book but the Shakespearean love plot of auckney is such an out of place detour. It pays off in the mid term but not at all on the long term. Jaka's character is so incredibly cringey, purposely so of course and the entire handedly family is incredibly depressing and somewhat unlikeable, they're only about being just how awful the lordship is.

Auckney, salvatore spends good real estate letting us know just how little it matters overall and that becomes part of the problem as to why this is the weakest entry. The ruling people of Auckney come off as the most unlikable characters that aren't blatantly evil.

Started what is, in my opinion, the worst of the series. It's weakest of all entries. It's wulfgar focused, deals with ptsd and introduces characters that are either never mentioned again or become largely inconsequential much player in the series. That said, the worst of salvatore is still better than 90% of the best of most others.

Druzil makes his second appearance in the legend of drizzt proper. And i also find it funny how jarlaxle is so cautious of cadderly considering where things go in the future.

Kimmuriel, his growth is amazing throughout the series. He becomes, over time, one of my favorite characters.

Wulfgar has seperated from the group and now we can get into the meat of this story.