Homeland

Loved these books, but they're definitely of a time and place. I always recommend them cautiously. These books are great at what they do I.e. cheesy, brooding, pulp fantasy. There fun twists, cool characters, epic world ending stakes... if you can develop a taste for the flavour there's a lot to enjoy but the genre has come a long way since these were first released.

One of my favorite books and series' of all time. Reread this recently and was just as captivated and charmed by the character and the world as I had been on my first readthrough as a teenager. Don't know why Lord of the Rings is the schema for fantasy when we have this.

I was very surprised by how much I enjoyed this. Though it is the first in a trilogy, it works very well by itself as the journey of someone who is born into a world that they don’t understand and that doesn’t understand them, and finally learns the courage to escape.

I've been playing as a dark elf in Baldur's Gate 3, so I decided to check this out to delve more into D&D Forgotten Realms lore. A fairly imaginative setting held back by generic characters and story beats, but I wasn't expecting too much more than what I got. Weirdly horny in a way that I've come to expect from “nerdy” media from the 90s. Felt like some of Salvatore's.... proclivities were on display in this one.

Really enjoyed this! If only there were about 35 more in the series... my wallet is nervous

There's probably a perfect age to read this book and find it fun and novel. My guess is around 16. Otherwise... it just gets a bit dull. The Drow are a neat idea, but Menzoberranzan comes across more as a module setting with the constant exposition. Drizzt's treatment as a Saturday morning cartoon hero doesn't really help much either.

Hopefully it gets better. The Underdark is such a well-loved setting that it would be nice to discover what makes it so popular.

A good, unusual and thought provoking take on Fantasy.Friends have been suggesting that I read this since the early 90s. I never really fancied what looked like a rather bland version of Tolkien but....from the land of the bad guys! (shock!). It just seemed a bit contrived.All these years later this series is still going and has a firm fan-base, so I thought I'd give it a try by reading book 1. What I found was far more interesting than I was expecting. While the central character is sympathetic and three dimensional, and there is a broad plot arc - it's the setting that is the real star and page-turner for me.The thing is that the book is set in a city that is intentionally chaotic and evil - but how can such a place function? The idea seems preposterous - such a place would tear itself apart. Yet this is exactly the question that the author addresses with the fine balance of fear, indoctrination, focused hate, tradition and channeled conflict that we are told the Drow call “Readiness”.It's actually a terrifyingly believable version of society charted out in a way that is more usual in Science Fiction, such as Huxley or Orwell. The result is a well thought out and fascinating tale that reminds me of a much more fleshed out version of the [b:Helliconia Spring 672244 Helliconia Spring (Helliconia, #1) Brian W. Aldiss https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1387750658s/672244.jpg 1559837] Prologue.Knowing that this is just the opening makes watching the slow development of the main character very enjoyable.Oh, and there are some excellent action scenes too, it's not all sociology – it's got panthers and monsters and stuff as well – and that's great - but what it turns out it's really not is just bland version of Tolkien.

Drizzt is my hero! Seriously, I'm a sucker for “special snowflake” protagonists as well as a good wizard and sword clash. Homeland excelled on both fronts! However, I felt that the elven culture and religion could have used more explanation from Salvatore. But hey- newsflash! Apparently this book fits into the Dungeons and Dragons universe! I didn't know that until after I finished the book, but I think that's for the best.

Definitely would recommend - especially to anyone who enjoys D&D.

It was a pretty decent book but kind of slow for me. It went through an insane amount of years from beginning to end and I think the author could have benefited from splitting them up. The plot is decent though predictable (I had the ending pegged before the end of Part 1). Kind of wish they involved more of the land topside but I assume from the length of the series that this and several other questions will be answered in upcoming books. I think I will continue reading the series though maybe I will pick it up again after several other books I am interested in are read.

4 fat stars

Premetto che di D&D non so nulla, ma non serve sapere il background di questo gioco per comprendere il libro.
Ciò che serve sapere è che Homeland è il primo libro di una trilogia (the dark elf trilogy) scritta dopo la Icewind Dale trilogy con la funzione di essere un prequel che spiegasse brevemente la vita di Drizzt e la sua fuga da Menzoberranzan (città degli elfi scuri). Non so cosa accada dopo, ma suppongo che chi abbia letto la trilogia seguente conoscesse Drizzt già da D&D, quindi consiglio di partire da questo libro per cominciare a conoscere il protagonista e tutto ciò che lo circonda.

Detto questo ho adorato questo libro per due aspetti: il worldbuilding e Drizzt. I love Drizzt

http://cdn2.designbyhumans.com/product/design/u277949/pr70216-2-1192566-600x600-b-p-061526.jpg

sì, Drizzt ha una pantera e se sei una persona per bene non puoi non amare Drizzt <3

Ok, cerco di contenere il mio fangirling e di descrivere il tutto il più oggettivamente possibile.

Drizzt è un drow. I drow sono dei dark elves con la pelle scura e i capelli bianchi, di corporatura esile e “costretti” (quando leggerete il libro, arriverete a pensare che è meglio cosi) a vivere nel sottosuolo. I loro occhi si sono adattati all'oscurità e non riescono a sopportare la vista della luce. Scandiscono il tempo tramite un orologio marcatempo.
Mi ha fatto sorridere la loro descrizione del sole e della luna. considerano il sole una palla di fuoco, giusto per dare un'idea :D
Sono corrotti e avidi di potere e come dice il prologo tutto ciò che conta per loro è il rango. Sì, più sei in una posizione sociale elevate più hai privilegi e poteri conferiti dalla dea ragno Lolth. E ogni mezzo è giustificato per effettuare la scalata sociale. Capite bene come sia impossibile fidarsi del prossimo in questa società, nemmeno della tua famiglia.
Sono anche convinti che ogni razza al di fuori di loro stessi sia il loro peggior nemico e che gli elfi della superficie li abbiano obbligati a vivere nel sottosuolo. Inoltre, godono nell'uccidere le altre razze (quando le incontrano) perché convinti di venerare Lolth e perchè, cosi facendo, le altre razze si ricorderanno sempre della supremazia dei drow.
Interessante anche la società matriarcale di questo popolo, dove le femmine frustano gli uomini per “farli stare al loro posto”.

E in tutto questo bel pupù di roba, nasce Drizzt che culo! che si distingue subito per gli occhi viola, per la bravura con le armi e l'onore. Caratteristica, quest'ultima, che non farebbe “campare” a lungo nessuno all'interno della società drow.

sostanzialmente Questo libro ripercorre i punti salienti della vita di Drizzt, soffermandosi su quegli episodi più caratteristici e riassumendone altri (come gli anni passati all'Accademia). Il worldbuilding, con elementi semplici, riesce ad essere ben strutturato e i personaggi principali sono ben caratterizzati.
Se devo trovare un difetto a questo libro sta nella trama: semplice, lineare (e va bene) ma senza grossi colpi di scena. Ho notato che spesso invece di usare la tecnica del “show, don't tell” venisse usata quella del “tell earlier” quindi sappiamo già prima dell'azione le motivazioni dei personaggi e il risultato.
Provo a giustificare questo col fatto che è un romanzo introduttivo e molto probabilmente l'autore si aspetta che la maggior parte dei lettori che leggano questa serie conosca già Drizzt e sappia già come va a finire l'intera vicenda. Quindi forse qui si vuole soffermare sulla caratterizzazione dei personaggi e dell'ambientazione più che sulla trama, sulla sorpresa eccetera...
Spero comunque che i libri seguenti migliorino da questo punto di vista.

Concludendo, lo consiglio a tutti, soprattutto se si è in vena di fantasy ma per una volta non si ha voglia di un tomo da 800 pagine :D

This is a fun book to read but overall it could use a fair amount of work. The action sequences are fun and the character development is decent. The area's that need the most improvement are the motivations of the characters and the movement of the plot.

My 2nd RPG novel. I had very low expectations. Way better than Dragonlance. The idea of a purely evil society intrigues me. Although that would be impossible in real life, the author did a very good job describing it.

Overall I thought this was a really good book. I did have some problems with it that make it impossible for me to rate it any higher, but these problems are personal and probably wouldn't affect others as it does me. For example, one of my pet peeves is names with apostrophes in it. And I really couldn't reconcile the fact that I hated all the characters. However, this served the plot directly so I didn't let it colour my rating too much. Now on to the things I enjoyed: I loved the dynamic between Zak and Drizzt. I enjoyed the moral dilemmas that Drizzt works to overcome. I REALLY loved Guen! That cat was damn cool. I felt the writing well crafted, and I enjoyed the flow and style that R.A Salvatore uses. Overall a really good book with interesting conflicts and compelling uniqueness.

In the past few years I have started to delve more and more into the world of fantasy. I have picked up many books and just found them wanting in story. Too many hard to read made up names and place. When I first picked up this book I thought oh great another book with impossible to read word. How do you pronounce Drizzt or Menzoberranzan anyways. I have heard of this author before and I have heard this character of Drizzt was supposed to be a good one so I soldiered on. This book is a bit more than I expected the main character is flawed in his society and has a hard time relating to his peers and family. This is the first of a long sereis of Drizzt books and part of an even longer Forgotten Realms series. This is the beginning story of Drizzt from his birth, training, and becoming a supreme fighter. It gives perspective into the Drow society and the dark city if which they live. For fantasy this is quite good reading and I would recommend to anyone who enjoys fantasy. This is a Dungeons and Dragons book so if you play the game you most likely already know some of the background. If you are not into the game that is fine too as this explains some of the world.
Overall a good read not great. Will I read the next in the series? Absolutely I enjoyed it but would I recommend to a friend who does not read fantasy I don't think so.

In the past few years I have started to delve more and more into the world of fantasy. I have picked up many books and just found them wanting in story. Too many hard to read made up names and place. When I first picked up this book I thought oh great another book with impossible to read word. How do you pronounce Drizzt or Menzoberranzan anyways. I have heard of this author before and I have heard this character of Drizzt was supposed to be a good one so I soldiered on. This book is a bit more than I expected the main character is flawed in his society and has a hard time relating to his peers and family. This is the first of a long sereis of Drizzt books and part of an even longer Forgotten Realms series. This is the beginning story of Drizzt from his birth, training, and becoming a supreme fighter. It gives perspective into the Drow society and the dark city if which they live. For fantasy this is quite good reading and I would recommend to anyone who enjoys fantasy. This is a Dungeons and Dragons book so if you play the game you most likely already know some of the background. If you are not into the game that is fine too as this explains some of the world.
Overall a good read not great. Will I read the next in the series? Absolutely I enjoyed it but would I recommend to a friend who does not read fantasy I don't think so.

This novel is easily one of the most creative and best work Salvatore has produced. Set in the Forgotten Realms, Salvatore masterfully fleshes out in very fine detail, a glimpse into the civilization of one of the most enigmatic evil races on Faerun. By doing so, he also gives us new insights into the enigma that is Drizzt Do'Urden, the dark elf ranger and Salvatore's signature character. The first book shows us Drizzt's struggles from birth against the expected norms of drow society.