R. A. Salvatore

I have come to the solid realization that I can not stand anything about the way this man writes. The story itself would be tolerable, even passably enjoyable at times, if it weren't for the fact that Salvatore is, in fact, one of the worst writers on the face of the planet.Aside from completely redefining the term "infrared", having random, previously unmentioned possessions materialize out of nowhere, and apparently allowing the main characters to "listen in" on the narration (several show more characters don't know anything about a species at the first encounter, yet call them by name at the second, with no introduction other than the narrator's description to the reader), half the story doesn't even make sense. Drizzt nearly falls off a cliff to his death when Drizzt is capable of magical levitation. A reanimated corpse, supposedly both without emotion AND retaining the warrior instincts of its previous life, hacks up a bunch of stuff (which didn't exist before being hacked up) belonging to its prey when it finds the camp unattended...The list of ridiculous inconsistencies present in Exile (even more than Homeland, first in the series) leads one to believe that Salvatore's copy editor was stoned out of his mind or dead.How this drivel got published is beyond me, and its popularity is a distinct testament to the deplorable tastes (not to mention comprehension skills) of the American populace. show less

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.

Damn you R.A. Salvatore, you did it again! Another gem of a read by the veteran author.
Stream of Silver is the Dwarf Bruenor's tale of his and his friends quest to find and possibly reclaim his long lost home of Mithral Hall. His friends, Drizzt, Wulfgar, and Regis tramp off to do the impossible, or what has been impossible up to this moment. Cattie-Brie isn't far behind on her own quest...to save her life from an assassin the likes of which that they have never seen before.
With twists and show more turns, fun and funny adventures one day and life threatening obstacles the next this keeps you the reader fully engaged through the whole adventure. And aside note, the library geek in me has maybe found my favorite Sci-Fi library, so unique and so intriguing I would love to spend decades of my life there.
A high 4 star review. So fun, I cant wait to get into book #6 The Halfling's Gem! Bravo Mr. Salvatore, here is to hoping you keep rocking and rolling and doing it some more! show less

drizzt: *literally notices that something is off about “regis”*
entreri (disguised as regis): hey drizzt remember ENTRERI, your arch nemesis ENTRERI, that really handsome & deadly & skilled & did i mention handsome ENTRERI? what do you think ENTRERI is up to?
drizzt:
entreri: by the nine, you are taking the fun out of this. I AM LITERALLY ENTRERI.
drizzt: you’re acting a little weird today, regis.

you know, i’m suddenly realizing that i don’t think the books i’ve read in this series show more so far have never actually gone out of their way to say that drizzt was smart? i just kind of always assumed he was supposed to be? is he a himbo twink? i’m starting to think he might be a himbo twink.

i continue to feel basically “whatever” about the drizzt/wulfgar/cattie-brie stuff. i did appreciate cattie-brie standing up for herself, and it wasn’t the most “cishet guy writing a female character standing up for herself” rote shit ever, but it also wasn’t… entirely not that? despite it seeming pretty obvious that some effort was being made? idk, just, mixed feelings here.

wulfgar’s “death” hit decently hard even though he super isn’t one of my favorite characters and i know it isn’t gonna last. the fakeout deaths are getting to be a bit much (a bit ominous considering how early this is in the series tbh), but they’re written evocatively enough that they’re still hitting. for now.

this book… sorta? kinda? slightly? actually takes a few tentative steps forward on the whole awkward racism thing that salvatore himself has publicly “my bad”ed about recentlyish? though, it’s not without its own shortcomings. idk. let’s talk about it.

okay actually, looping back to the cattie-brie stuff, it’s kinda weird that after all the hand-wringing about baby’s first human murder a few books ago (explicitly contrasted with the fact that she’s apparently unfeelingly slaughtered orcs & goblins with no issue), she’s the one who points out that maybe they should have a quick chat with the goblins before using them for target practice? and that that discrepancy isn’t… really… remarked upon? at all? idk, just feels worth mentioning.

also bringing back the sexism angle, drizzt (and the narrator, from what i can tell) seems to think that cattie-brie actually doesn’t give a shit about the poor little gobbies doing their gobby chores (they’re doing a good job!!!!!! be nice to them!!!!!!) and is just sublimating her anger at wulfgar into the whole “hey let’s maybe not do a mass murder without at least offering some non-murder menu options” argument. which, in fairness, cattie-brie does stick to her guns even after the battle that parlaying first was the right thing to do and she would argue for it again. but idk. there’s just so many holes in this thing. like, i’m not expecting it to be perfect or anything, and it did genuinely represent a slight step forward? maybe? but it’s still not great imo.

now, one actual improvement is drizzt actually coming to grips with the fact that his vow never to kill another drow while he kills orcs & goblins & others with impunity is actually pretty fucking racist. that was a genuinely pleasant surprise. i’m going to continue to be pretty guarded about this subject in these books considering, y’know, everything. but it’s nice to see even a little improvement.

but yeah, i think that does it for the stuff i need to take somewhat seriously. so here’s where i talk about why this one mostly ruled.

the fights between drizzt & entreri were obviously kind of headliners for me, and a very big part of why i liked this book so much. also i kind of totally expected entreri’s initial fakeout death to last until the next book he appears in, so having him pop immediately back in like a fucking slasher villain with his freaking bat-winged cloak??? that was so extra, i genuinely love it. no notes. you’re doing great sweetie.

drizzt spent a good amount of the middle of the book tied up and being taunted by other drow and/or entreri, which, y’know, yeah, tie that fucking twink up & show him who’s boss. i am not projecting. i am not.

(... i may be slightly projecting.)

yeah, ok, yeah. u caught me. mostly i’m just glad to have all the horny drow shit back for the first time since the dark elf trilogy. (which i get was actually the most recent series when this was written & originally released, but i read the dark elf trilogy first because it was the only one i was sure i was gonna read at first, shrug!) we start strong with vierna forcing dinin to kneel with a command spell (what no a powerful woman with a whip saying “KNEEL.” and being compelled to obey doesn’t sound good to me at all, why would *sweats*), and when he turns out to be too mouthy she turns him into a fucking drider and rides him around like some kind of fucked-up horse? which like, no the thing itself isn’t especially appealing, but as far as power moves go, nine hells.

ahem.

honestly the only way these books could pander to me more is if they had more orcs (and if those orcs were characters rather than faceless hordes), but i’m still really grooving on them atm. and my understanding is the next book has even more kinky drow bullshit in it, so can’t wait for that! show less