Night of the Hunter by R. A. Salvatore

In The Companions R. A. Salvatore brought Drizzt’s old friends The Companions of the Hall back to life. He did this in an amazing original way. Our heroes were not simply resurrected, instead they were given the chance to come back as newborn children. When they were born they had all of their memories of their past life and were fully conscious of this from the moment of birth. The book followed the first twenty-one years of the new lives of Cattie-Brie, Bruennor, and Regis as they grow and develop in their new personas. Each of them faces challenges and each of them grows in understanding as they prepare to meet again in Icewind Dale to stand beside their friend Drizzt.

Night of the Hunter picks up where both The Companions and The Last Threshold end. Readers of Salvatore’s Drizzt books know that he likes keeping a lot of different plot strands going at once. In Night of the Hunter this tendency is taken to the limit. There are at least four main plot lines going throughout the book. There are several other minor ones as well and they all touch, move on, bump in to another, and ricochet off that I felt at times like I needed to keep a score card to keep up with every character and plot happening around me. We follow more intrigues of Menzoberranzan as the Baenre family seeks to increase it’s powerful hold on the city. These intrigues include the new Drow city of Q’Xorlarrin that is being constructed in the ancient dwarven city of Gauntlgrym. Add to that the continuing story of Drizzt and his new friends, and the more recent companions of Drizzt and you have quite the story.

The primary story line follows Drizzt and the Companions as they work their way back to Gauntlygrim. Their mission their is to find their old friend Thibbledorf Pwent who has been turned into a vampire. They want to find a way to put him to rest. It is great to watch the old companions adventure together once again. At the end of The Companions we see that Wulfgar chose to join them as well. For the first time we get a happy Wulfgar. The barbarian lived a life torn by conflicting duties in his first life. Now he is back for the adventure. He plans to live life to the fullest. Regis has also changed and is anxious this time around to be a full member of the companionship, not just a tag along. Cattie-Brie is now the wisest of the team. Her communion with the godess Mielikki has imparted a lot of knowledge and understanding. Bruennor is driven as never before to bring his people together. Drizzt seems a bit overwhelmed, first at the return of his companions from beyond the grave, then with the new dynamics that this team represents. Along the way he will have to face some uncomfortable truths.

If I have one complaint about this book it is that it is too short. I see that Salvatore has a lot that he wants to do with this new story. In many ways Night of the Hunter feels incomplete. It feels like there is a lot of setup for the next book or two. In that sense the book feels incomplete. That doesn’t diminish this volume at all. It is a great new chapter in the Drizzt saga. 

Over the years Salvatore has stood out in the fantasy genre with his abilities to grow and mature his characters. I’ve often been amazed at the emotional depth found in these stories that are on the surface simple sword and sorcery adventure novels. As he embarks on a strange and wonderful new adventure this skill is still there. Night of the Hunter is first and foremost a fun book. Salvatore manages the multiple plot lines with his usual skill. The fight scenes, one of Salvatore’s hallmarks are brilliant as always. His ability to include plot lines that contain everything from great political intrigues that may well change the world, to the emotional trauma of a single character caught up in that change keeps the story fresh and intriguing. Salvatore’s books are rarely ever slow and this volume keeps the pace moving. You find yourself flying through the book and at the end you are amazed that he is able to pack so much story into less than four hundred pages.

I received a free e-book copy of this volume for reviewing purposes. One way that I know I love a book is that immediately upon finishing the free e-book I pre-order the hardcover edition. I have limited space for books on my shelves so I only buy physical versions of books that I want to keep and read over and over again. This book lans in that category. Let me encourage every reader of the Drizzt saga to buy this book. If you have never read Salvatore’s Drizzt books then let me encourage you to start. This is some of the best fantasy writing out there.

The Reaver by Richard Lee Byers

Last year a major new even began in the Forgotten Realms. The Sundering is a world changing event that is ushering in new changes to the Dungeons and Dragons gaming system as well as the world of the Forgotten Realms novels. The first three novels dealt with established characters. Some are relatively new and some have been around since the beginning of the Realms. Now in the fourth book bestselling author Richard Lee Byers introduces us to a new character: Anton Marivaldi. Marivaldi is a reaver, a pirate known for his bloodthirsty ways.

The novel opens with Marivaldi and his crew searching after Stedd Whitehorn, a boy who appears to be a prophet of Lathandar, the god of the dawn who was believed to have been slain. After capturing the boy Marivaldi’s crew turns on him and takes him prisoner as well. The wily Marivaldi is able to escape with Stedd. During this time the entire Sea of Fallen Stars is experiencing a major environmental disaster. The rain has fallen almost without a stop for a year. Crops are almost non-existent and the people are hungry and scared. Into this void has come the worship of Umberlee, the dreadful goddess of the sea. Her chosen is a former pirate Evendur Highcastle who she raised in undeath. Now Umberlee wants the blood of Stedd Whitehorn to increase her power. Szass Tam, the lich-lord of the Thayans wants the blood of Stedd Whitehorn. Stedd wants to preach the return of Lathander and help bring an end to the rains. Before the book is finished strange companions will come together as allies in the battle between the Chosen of Umberlee and the Chosen of Lathander.

Anton Maribaldi is a great new character. He comes from an honorable past, but has fallen to a low station. No matter how hard he tries to stay bad the young Stedd keeps talking him into doing the right thing. Normally I am not fond of stories where characters go from murderous rouges to honorable characters. Most of the time the transformation doesn’t make sense. Somehow Byers is able to make this transition believable. So much so that we almost forget about the bloodthirsty actions in the beginning of the novel. 

As the Sundering moves towards the finish we see change coming to the world. Old gods thought dead seem to be returning. The Spellplague seems to be coming to an end. Hope is returning to the world. Where will the future of the Forgotten Realms take us? I don’t know, but I can’t wait to make the journey.

After reading The Reaver I certainly hope that the future of the Realms holds more Anton Marivaldi stories. The book is well written. The characters are well rounded and interesting. This is great, classic sword and sorcery fiction. If you enjoy a good fantasy adventure novel then stop here and enjoy The Reaver. Afterwards, do what I plan to do. Go buy more of Richard Lee Byers novels and read those as well.

Red Sonja Volume 1: Queen of Plagues by Gail Simone and Walter Geovani

Red Sonja Volume 1: Queen of Plagues

Writer: Gail Simone

Artist: Walter Geovani

Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment

Pages: 186

Publication Date: February 25, 2014

MSRP: $19.99

Rating: 5 Stars

Let me say right off that I am not a huge reader of comics. I love good storytelling in any genre and I love good comic books. Most of the time I don’t find a lot to keep me interested these days. I am a sucker for classic sword and sorcery books and comics. So when I saw this new series from Dynamite starring everyone’s favorite redhead with a sword I was excited. Gail Simone has written some great stuff over the years and this volume is no exception.

This is classic Red Sonja material. It is also something new and fresh. Sonja’s story has been updated for this new run. Of course the old themes and images are there. What would a Robert Howard character be without seeing her family butchered and then taking revenge. What’s nice in this arc is that Simone takes time to give us brief flashbacks of Sonja’s past. She makes these interesting. The flashbacks are long enough to give us a scene, but short enough that they don’t slow down the narrative. 

In the story a king who once saved Sonja from a horrible fate is in trouble. Sonja comes to the rescue. We meet a lot of new characters. The sisters Ayla and Nias are very interesting. The character of Dark Annisia is well written. It’s great that our She Devil has an opponent who is equally strong and a woman.

Most important is the character of Sonja herself. Simone brings a lot of humanity to the character. One of the flashback scenes is particularly moving. We see Sonja as a young woman. Her family and village is wiped out in front of her. After escaping from one of the raiders she then buries the dead in her village. We learn that among her people the dead are never left unburied. This is where Simone really hooked my interest in the depth of the character. Among ancient cultures such customs were sacred and binding. The part about a young Sonja digging graves until her hands bled made the story seem so real. I don't want to give away too much. There are some great plot twists in this arc and saying too much will spoil some of the surprises.

Sonja is a difficult character to write well. After all, this is a woman who is supposed to be this amazing warrior. She is an expert with every weapon and every form or fighting. She is a strategist and an unstoppable killer. She manages to do all of this while wearing a bikini suit of armor. The question is how does one take this character seriously, yet keeping the classic look. Simone manages this with great skill.

The artwork by Walter Geovani is wonderful. It’s not over the top, but it is not subdued. He captures the perfect look for Sonja and the other characters. He work captures the mood and feel of Simone’s writing. These two make a perfect duo for sword and sorcery comics. There is action and fun, but there is also an emotional depth that is not normally found in fantasy comics. I plan to come back for more and recommend that you do too.