Siege

**384 pages. Wizards Of The Coast, inc. 8 dollars**.
=Shadow of the Drow= by Zach Korol-Gold

Good and evil face off in this epic and traditional fantasy novel by R. A. Salvatore. The main character, Drizzt, must fight with his friends from a dwarven kingdom called Mithral Hall against the evil city of the night elves where Drizzt was born. Will Drizzt and his friends from his new home defeat the enormous force of the drow elf army, or will everything in the surface world fall under the reign of Matron Malice, ruler of the underground drow city, Menzoberranzan?

Salvatore’s ninth installment in the Legend of Drizzt series travels deeper into the mind of Drizzt than did previous stories. Salvatore shows many fears in Drizzt brought on by the attack from Menzoberranzan. Even though the story is not written in the first person, Salvatore presents direct thoughts to explain Drizzt’s inner turmoil well; his heritage, believed to be long forgotten once again intrudes into his new life, threatening his friends, and all those from the surface world. Salvatore also uses a creative device to reveal the inner feelings of Drizzt. Each segment of the book begins with a quote from Drizzt explaining his feeling at that time. These quotes lead the reader directly into the world through Drizzt’s eyes even though the story is written in third person.

Salvatore also brings up many issues that are relevant in modern day times. One example is the racial stereotype that Drizzt faces because of his heritage. In the books, many people believe that Drizzt is evil, just because of the color of his skin. This extreme stereotype mirrors what many minorities go through today. Drizzt is very grateful that many are joining in the battle, hoping to defeat Menzoberranzan, even if it means losing their lives. This is especially meaningful to Drizzt since he is a dark elf. As Drizzt says, “I am drow. My skin proves that I am different…and yet, not a glare was aimed my way.” However, Drizzt also feels guilty, guilty for bringing the wrath of Menzoberranzan onto the shoulders of his innocent comrades. Salvatore incorporates these sorts of inner conflicts into his fast-paced novel, giving the book both emotional and physical conflict in the desperate war to save the surface world.

Salvatore’s writing is fluid and easy to read, with a clear cadence that flows from line to line similar to poetry. While this book may be easier to understand having read the previous novels in the series, each volume does present new moral issues and a new problem for the characters to face. In addition, Salvatore has amazing fast-paced fight scenes, leaving the heart of the reader pounding. One excerpt from one such scene is, “Drizzt, moving quicker than ever, slipped in, stabbed one [kobold], pivoted and spun to the left, launching the blue-glowing Twinkle against the attempted parry of another. Had Twinkle been a straight blade, the Kobold’s small sword would have deflected it high, but Drizzt deftly turned the curving weapon over in his hand and slightly altered the angle of his attack. Twinkle rolled over the Kobold’s sword and dove into its chest.”

Even this excellent book has some flaws. For example, though Salvatore creates interesting characters and relationships, many interactions between characters use unrealistic dialogue, even for a fantasy novel, and the characters’ reactions are overly exaggerated. In addition, after reading the eight earlier volumes, much of the writing becomes predictable. Nonetheless, __Siege of Darkness__ is still a quick, fast-paced attention-grabbing novel.

Salvatore has created a vivid world in which realistic modern day issues exist in the form of fantastical creatures and magical events in a world that is distinctly his, from small, inhuman Goblins to the powerful tundra Yeti. Salvatore shows his superiority over other fantasy novelists by not only providing exciting action scenes, but also analyzing his main character’s inner feelings about war, loyalty, friendship, death and guilt. Drizzt’s friends fight for their homelands, but also for Drizzt. Every soldier, elven, gnomish, dwarven, or human, weighs heavily on Drizzt’s shoulders.

Matron Malice has put most of her forces towards the goal of conquering the small dwarven kingdom of Mithral Hall. The drow forces outnumber the small alliance that Mithrall Hall and a few other surface kingdoms have put together many times over. So, the big question: Will Drizzt and the goodly races prevail, or will all of the surface fall under a shroud of darkness?

The only advantage the goodly races have is hope.