The Spine of the World (1999)

by R. A. Salvatore

Other authors: See the other authors section.

Series: Forgotten Realms: Paths of Darkness (2), Forgotten Realms: The Legend of Drizzt (12), Les Royaumes Oubliés (65), Forgotten Realms novels

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Fantasy. Fiction. HTML:New York Times�??bestselling series: Join barbarian hero Wulfgar on another action-packed adventure in the Legend of Drizzt saga Spending just one day in the torture chambers of the Abyss would be enough to break even the heartiest soul. Wulfgar of Icewind Dale was there for six miserable years. Though Wulfgar has since been freed, he is still haunted by the memories of the pain he endured at his captor Errtu's hands. Hoping to distance himself from his past, he flees to the faraway port city of Luskan�??but in so doing, isolates himself from his friends and develops an unhealthy penchant for booze. For Wulfgar, things get worse before they get better. Fired from his gig at a tavern, robbed of his warhammer, and accused of murder, he goes on the run with Morik the Rogue�??beginning a dangerous, combat-filled journey toward his redemption. *The Spine of the World* is the second book in the Paths of Darknes… (more)

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Salvatore lets his id run free as he explores the fucked up human culture of Faerun, which relishes half-assed judicial proceedings, public torture, and despises premarital sex. Plus, he does not have a boring goody-two-shoes character to explain to us how this is all Bad. His flawed barbarian character, still reeling from traumas he endured in the Forgotten Reams' version of hell, takes the reins. He is sympathetic but does not do a lot of good. It is pretty much what I want in genre fiction. (

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jklugman | Dec 18, 2023 |

Coming off of Silent Blade, this one is kind of a let down. Wulfgar is a cool guy and I sympathise but I'll be honest - when I pick up a Legend of Drizzt book, I kinda wanna? read about Drizzt? at least a bit? it's still a perfectly readable, entertaining story but definitely not one of my favourites. (

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ashelocke | Aug 1, 2021 |

While this is listed int he Drizzt series of books, it is really about Wulfgar. As he is one of the favorite characters in the books, that's a god thing, but this is not a happy story. Happy or not, Salvatore does a really good job handling a story about an adventurer unhappy about the path his life has taken. Great job writing something that isn't the usual FR fantasy. (

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Karlstar | Jul 17, 2020 |

By this point I have no idea why I'm even bothering with Salvatore (

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Beholderess | Dec 17, 2013 |

The Spine of the World is the sad tale of Wulfgars fall from grace after suffering years of torture at mighty Errtu's evil hands. Roaming the streets of Luskan with Morik the Rogue at his side and a case of boos in his belly Wulfgar becomes a sad version of his former self.

I found this book to be overall enjoying even though at times a bit slow compared to Salvatores other books in this series. In the end a fine addition to the series. (

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LouCypher | Apr 24, 2009 |

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Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
R. A. Salvatore	—	primary author	all editions	calculated
Lockwood, Todd	Cover artist	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

▾Series and work relationships

Belongs to Series

Forgotten Realms novels

Forgotten Realms: Paths of Darkness (2)

Forgotten Realms: The Legend of Drizzt (12)

Les Royaumes Oubliés (65)

Belongs to Publisher Series

Altaya: Reinos Olvidados (24)

Fleuve Noir

Fleuve Noir - Fantasy

Milady

Milady - Dungeons and Dragons

TSR (21418)

Is contained in

Paths of Darkness by R. A. Salvatore

The Legend of Drizzt Collector's Edition, Book IV by R. A. Salvatore

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Canonical title

The Spine of the World

Original title

The Spine of the World

Alternative titles

Original publication date

1999-09 (1st printing)

2000-06 (1st paperback edition)

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Epigraph

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First words

The smaller man, known by many names in Luskan but most commonly as Morik the Rogue, held the bottle up in the air and gave it a shake, for it was a dirty thing and he wanted to measure the dark line of liquid against the orange light of sunset.

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English

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List of Dungeons & Dragons fiction

The Legend of Drizzt

▾Book descriptions

Fantasy. Fiction. HTML:New York Times�??bestselling series: Join barbarian hero Wulfgar on another action-packed adventure in the Legend of Drizzt saga

Spending just one day in the torture chambers of the Abyss would be enough to break even the heartiest soul. Wulfgar of Icewind Dale was there for six miserable years. Though Wulfgar has since been freed, he is still haunted by the memories of the pain he endured at his captor Errtu's hands. Hoping to distance himself from his past, he flees to the faraway port city of Luskan�??but in so doing, isolates himself from his friends and develops an unhealthy penchant for booze.

For Wulfgar, things get worse before they get better. Fired from his gig at a tavern, robbed of his warhammer, and accused of murder, he goes on the run with Morik the Rogue�??beginning a dangerous, combat-filled journey toward his redemption.

The Spine of the World is the second book in the Paths of Darknes

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Join the world's most famous drow elf in the penultimate chapter of the Legend of Drizzt series!

Spending time in the unimaginable torture chambers of the Abyss for even a day would be enough to break even the heartiest soul, and the barbarian Wulfgar was there for years. When he returns, his friends find him a changed man, and not changed for the better. But Wulfgar's road to redemption is one he must travel on his own, even if it leads to the bottle.

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