The story of the Companions of Hall, returned and reunited, continues in Night of the Hunter. But why exactly did Mielikki send them back into new lives? Now that they've returned to Drizzt's side, is their mission complete? Is there something greater that they need to accomplish?

Moving out of The Sundering, Salvatore masterfully builds the new world of Drizzt Do'Urden. While setting out to tie up loose ends from The Companions - finding rest for Pwent, helping the dwarves figure out what to do about the orcs - a whole new range of people (and problems) begins to emerge, setting the stage for an epic battle that will bring Drizzt up against his past and his people, perhaps for the final time?

I really enjoy Salvatore's writing style. The world-building is easy to follow (except sometimes there are so many names when the drow are involved that it can be more difficult to follow in general) and you don't need to have an extensive knowledge of Forgotten Realms to understand where things are coming from and where they might be going. Certainly recommend this for anyone interested in fantasy.

(eGalley provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.) ( )

The first book in a trilogy that came out in early 2014, this features some old familiar characters. Fans of Drizzt will be happy with this set of characters. In a normal, non-gaming world book this would be ridiculous, or some strange time travel trip but that's not the case here. The gods are in upheaval again and have put all their pawns in play, so Drizzt and friends must once again face his evil Drow kin.
This features the usual Salvatore mix of very strong battle action, familiar and loveable characters and hate-able enemies. Its a little confusing because some enemies are now friends, but that's been coming for a while if you've followed all of the books. This is set in the D&D world of the Forgotten Realms, but a Realms in upheaval once again with the release of D&D 5th edition. ( )

Originally posted on Tales to Tide You Over

I started reading The Sundering Forgotten Realms novels, in part, because my son has loved this world forever, but the only one he gave me to read had been darker than I prefer for my adventure fantasy. The Sundering, though, introduced me to some of the characters he loved and gave me a different view of the world.

Night of the Hunter has a huge cast with easily as many (if not more) villains than heroes, which isn’t even touching on the group of anti-heroes who have their heroic moments along with many not so heroic ones. Its strengths are in the complexity of the characters and the world, elegantly drawn with a skilled hand. The same can be said about the intertwining plots as the Spider Queen and Mielikki’s webs come into form through the actions of the full cast, in constant conflict with battles won and lost with each encounter.

This book is dark, uncomfortably so, to the point of giving me nightmares. At times, I found it slow with so many actors to follow about different tasks and the interjection of monologues from Drizzt Do’Urden, but ultimately it comes together. Much to my surprise, rather than getting lost in the abundance of point-of-view characters as I was in the beginning, I started to track the various groups so I could recognize who and where I was at the beginning of each new scene.

Drizzt’s first monologue ran long, but at the same time, it tells the reader just where this book falls in the overall timeline, and considering it had been almost two years since I read the previous book, I appreciated the effective catch-up. Once the catch-up finished and the action began, the story smoothed out for me, or perhaps that’s when I was sunk back into the world. And I enjoyed Drizzt’s philosophical sidebars as he tries to come to terms with what he’d been instrumental in bringing about.

The same may be true for the overwhelming number of characters at the beginning. To someone completely seeped in the world, it most likely acted as a quick reminder of familiar characters. I appreciated how the heroes rewrote the meaning of the previous events to change the path of the world in ways that felt plausible. They know more now than they did then, and the change is driven by that knowledge rather than having someone outside the story make the world take a quick right turn that has no grounding in what came before.

Ultimately, Night of the Hunter, while it’s darker than I expect or prefer in adventure fantasy, has some moments of light. There are fun innovations, and analysis and conniving abound. The writing and characters are solid, and though the rare moments of omniscience point of view disconcerted me practically every time, most of the book is a mix of close and distant third. This book is part of a continuing narrative that went on before and still has more to unfold, but it provides not one but many complete stories within its pages as the gods help to move their chosen into the right place and state of mind for the coming battle, an effort that allows for–no requires–character growth and change.

P.S. I received this book from the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review. ( )

A nostalgia filled ride that highlights everything that has been great throughout the series. After the reboot in the last volume we are picking up from where we left off in the Hunters Blades Trilogy plus the resurgence of the Drow of Drizzt’s homeland to primary villain status is a welcome refocus. ( )

Let me get this out of the way, I did not read any of the Neverwinter Saga books. I could not stand what the series had become. The book previous to this where the Companions of the Hall were introduced boosted my hopes for a revival of interest. Sadly, this book sunk them again. Drizzt, once again, gets pushed aside for other characters, such as Artemis Entreri, Dhalia and their group - people I don't care for in the least. Even more so than them are the Drow. Oh good grief, there's so much Underdark intrigue. It gets old fast. On top of it all, so much effort is spent wanting to bring Drizzt low even by Lloth herself, that it seems downright petty.
The writing is nothing fantastic either. The fight scenes, as usual, are interesting and large, but between them it's lifeless. Salvatore has a tendency to repeat an idea chapter after chapter until you're screaming, "I get it! Enough!"
Slight spoilers from here on in: I know I complained about the Companions dying and all, but I did not want to go back to this constant death fake-out. You believe that a character is dead but then of course he's not. It wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't the characters were not the Entreri party that I so despise. If anyone should die off for good it's these guys.
Another things that really bothered me was the insistence that orcs and goblins are evil without question and that the peace treaty made earlier in the series was a mistake. If it truly was a mistake as evidenced by the books I didn't read, I apologize, but to me, this just seemed like a horrible downshift back to 3rd Edition D&D that the pre-Neverwinter Saga was based on. And worse still, this ideology comes from the good guys!
I am very disappointed how this book turned out. My Drizzt, the drow with the good heart and hero of the story, just isn't coming back. ( )