A (partial) review: Homeland by R.A. Salvatore. (originally published by me on Goodreads.com)

Homeland by R.A. Salvatore





(Just a quick disclaimer before I get started: At the time this review was written, I was working my way through the audio book version of Homeland via youtube and I had yet to sit down and read the physical book. So consider this a partial review).

 As I said in my last real post, on a recommendation of a friend, I decided to give R.A. Salvatore's work a try. I originally wanted to try a book that wasn't connected to Forgotten Realms (a campaign setting for Dungeons and Dragons role-playing games) or any of his other media tie-ins novels. But since Forgotten Realms is what Salvatore is more or less famous for, I decided to bite the bullet and picked up The Dark Elf Trilogy, which consists of the books 'Homeland', 'Exile, and 'Sojourn'.

As most already know, Homeland is the story of Drizzt Do'Urden--one of Salvatore's most beloved creations--and his childhood and coming of age in the underground dark elf city of Menzoberranzan.
While I have yet to finish Homeland in any form, Here is what I think of it so far:

As its own book, it's ok. Salvatore has a very vivid imagination and unlike some other media tie-in authors that I've read, he also seems to have the literary skill to back it up. This is a good thing because, he knows how to tell the story in a way that those unfamiliar with the source material (like me) can pick up the book and enjoy it. I love his description of how brutal and chaotic Dark Elf (or 'Drow) society is. Each Drow noble house is basically a mafia family, using lies and murder to improve their own standing in their society. You want to have more power and influence? Then kill off a powerful house and fill the void that houses leaves, just don't get caught. Or maybe you want to improve your standing within the family, then all you have to do is kill your siblings and fill the role that sibling leaves. It doesn't really get much more blunt and Machiavellian than that. So in that sense, Homeland is very much a Maifa novel with a Fantasy setting, which is kind of interesting on one hand.

On the other hand I can't help but feel like its a bit juvenile too. I get that the Drow are supposed to be evil, but there are times when it feels like that they are so cartoony about it that it makes me want to bust out laughing. Like for example: The name of Drizzt's mother and the matriarch of his family is Matron Malice. I mean, come on. Malice? Really? The name in of itself makes her sound like a villain from a Saturday morning cartoon.

But then again, all the evil of the Drow is contrasted in the character of Drizzt. And that, I think, is what holds the book together. Drizzt and his mentor Zak are the only ones who sees just how amoral and wrong Drow society is. But while Zak lives with it, Drizzt does not. He questions everything about his society, even if it is inside his own head: from the stereotypes (Brain washing really) that his people have about the surface races of the Forgotten Realms, to the Drow religion (which he comments that its more like slavery than a religion). This is what I like, Drizzt is the classic rebel who looks at the traditions, beliefs and practices of his society and rejects them, even though he knows that doing so could hurt and/or get him killed. He has a sense of honor, a rarity among the Drow, and he manages to keep it in tact despite all that his society does to beat it out of him. In other words, he's a thinker as well as a fighter. It makes him stand out.

The biggest complaints I have so far about this book is that Salvatore tells us every thing the characters are going through, he never shows us. The result is that the prose doesn't really convey any of the characters emotions to the reader, at least not very effectively. The second problem might admittedly be derived more from personal taste than any real problem with the book itself. But for some reason, Salvatore decides to tell this story with an omnipotent 3rd person narrator. And as a result, he is constantly jumping into different character's head during one scene. If there are three characters in one scene, then before its all over, you will get a POV (or "Point of view") shot of all those characters. Its confusing to say the least, and its also something I don't care for. Because I think there are better ways to convey what a character is thinking without jumping into their POV. Something as subtle as a sly smile could speak volumes as to what a non-POV character is thinking.

In closing, based on what I've read/listened to so far, Homeland isn't a bad book, and its not a great book either, Its a GOOD book. One I will eagerly read to the end. And that goes for its sequels as well.

Pick it up if you can.






View all my reviews