Book Review – Sojourn by R.A. Salvatore
Okay, so this is the review of the third book in The Legend of Drizzt series. I do want to make a note here that if you read these books in chronological order, and I highly suggest you do, be prepared for a big difference in writing style and quality between this book and the next book in the series (which was actually the first book that Salvatore wrote in this series), The Crystal Shard. The Icewind Dale Trilogy was written before the prequel trilogy, and the writing is very different between them. Once you get to the third book in The Icewind Dale Trilogy (which is, chronologically, the sixth book in The Legend of Drizzt series), the writing begins to improve tremendously. So, be prepared for that.
Sojourn begins with Drizzt deciding that he cannot stay in the Underdark any longer. If he wants to really be free to thrive, he has to go to the surface. This book chronicles his first experiences as a drow elf living outside of not only Menzobarrenzon, but also living out of the Underdark. He’s been to the surface before, but he has never chosen to live on the surface, and he doesn’t know what he’s going to face. He does not speak the common tongue, although he is skilled at learning new languages. He does not know anyone on the surface, though he is desirous to make friends. And he has nowhere to live, nowhere to go, though he is willing to face whatever challenges he must.
He struggles greatly at first as people mark him as a drow and, therefore, believe him to be a threat to them. And because he does not speak the common tongue, he has no way of showing them that he isn’t dangerous. But he finds kindness and acceptance in a few places and, eventually, ends up meeting someone who does become one of the Companions of the Hall: Catty-Brie Battlehammer. She is a child, probably somewhere around twelve years old, and their friendship, their kindred connection, is immediate and strong. She befriends him, much to her father’s chagrin, and this is the first time the readers meet Brunor Battlehammer, the dwarf who adopted Catty-Brie after her parents are murdered when she was just a baby.
Yet, despite Brunor’s hatred of the drow, he has to acknowledge that Drizzt must be different considering he has never harmed Catty-Brie even once in his his many meetings with her as she teaches him the common tongue. Many things happen in this book that are central not only to Drizzt’s character development, but also Catty-Brie’s and Brunor’s. They are the first two Companions of the Hall that Drizzt befriends and we get to see the things Drizzt does to earn their trust and prove himself a worthy individual. There’s one specific scene after the you think that Drizzt has left (the locals do not want him there and he does not want them to feel threatened by him, and so he leaves) when Catty-Brie is in potential peril, and Drizzt shows up to save her. It’s a scene that made he genuinely shout out, “YES!” as I was reading because the tension is so strong by the time he arrives.
We also see what continues to happen in Menzobarrenzon with House Do’Urden and its continued attempts to win back Lloth’s favor. I won’t say much about this because some shit goes down that is just positively intense and I don’t want to ruin that, but I will say this: pieces are set in motion in the drow city that carry on well into several trilogies later, pieces that are integral to Drizzt’s continued struggle with the drow city that used to be his home, so be sure not to skip those sections. There is some wonderful intrigue and character development that takes place.
Knowing that Catty-Brie is the reason Drizzt even meets Brunor Battlehammer, a character who becomes his best friend, is truly a beautiful part of this book. And while this book didn’t really make me cry like the previous two, it is filled with so many amazing characters who show Drizzt a lot of love, acceptance, and compassion. It really does set the stage for the next trilogy which, while a bit of a struggle to get through, is still fun to read. But it isn’t until the seventh book in the series that things pick up and the overarching plots begin to form.
If you want a highly action-packed, high epic fantasy with loads of adventure and some of the best world building in fantasy, please pick up these books and read them. They are utterly fantastic.
