www.wizards.com/Company/Press.aspx?x=wz/...
It isn't too long, but it appears RAS has agreed to do six more Drizzt novels, and that we'll have the first of them sometime next year. I guess RAS has managed to cope with the loss of many of his characters pretty well. I also was impressed by how he said his relationship with WOTC has never been better. RAS seems to be one of those love-him-or-hate-him authors, but I'm glad to see he's still happy with his work.
Wasnt he just saying that he was going to give Drizzt a rest for awhile?
I didn't hear anything recently, but based on what he's said in the past few years, I got the impression that he wanted some time to write about someone other than a drow ranger of Mielikki (or his demi-Shade nemesis).
Ive never been a big fan of the Drizzt novels, but still it might be interesting to see where he goes with this. Im assuming that theyll take place in or around 1479 DR.
The Drizzt novels have been rather hit-or-miss for me. Looking at this latest trilogy, I thought The Orc King was good, but the other two were disappointing. I know RAS probably hasn't even begun to brainstorm this novel, but I'll be interested when we get the first details about its plot. And yes, I think all six will probably take place in the fifteenth century, though I'd expect him to incorporate plenty of allusions to the past, especially where Clan Battlehammer and Obould's descendants are concerned.
So, I'll be waiting more to see what those novels bring to the realms than to see what happens to RAS characters, but it's a good thing IMO.
I guess RAS has managed to cope with the loss of many of his characters pretty well. I also was impressed by how he said his relationship with WOTC has never been better.
Yeah. I dare say a nice hefty advance (kerching $$$$$) has made up for the loss of some of his characters.
Correct me if I'm wrong (and please do!!) but didn't RAS create some of these characters BEFORE they were placed in The Realms! In one respect where does the 'Intellectual Property' lie with these literary creations? If WoTC aren't supporting 3e as a game what's stopping RAS writing 3E era character novels and finding another publisher.
Does it work like a Recording contract where he is now 'tied' to Hasbro/WoTC and going to another publisher is too much legal hassle?
If i was a writer and had created all these characters that I could no longer use, I'd be a bit annoyed. Think about it. WoTC advanced the calendar 100 years - that's quite a lot of scope for writers to use.
I think at some point you just have to let go.
Gomez
Hit or miss is just right for me to in terms of describing how I feel about RAS' Drizzt novels.
My housemates and I find that we're more interested in rereading and talking about RAS older Drizzt books than anything recent. All the love triangles and emotional stuff reminded me too much of how the X-Men were written in the early to mid 1990s. The whole "woe is me" and "let's explore our feelings" crap got tiresome: I wanted to see stuff get blown to bits by Cyclops and shredded by Wolverine!
Now that I'm older, with a different life perspective and am (presumably) more mature, I'm considering exploring some of RAS middle works again. I think he's a smart, intelligent writer and I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt when it comes to his writing style maturing and the exploration of themes in his books that your average teenage or young adult male fantasy reader might not be terribly interested in.
Aside from Drizzt, the stuff on Entreri I'm absolutely hooked on. Promise of the Witch-King and Road of the Patriarch perfectly captured the style of play that was going on in my home Third Edition D&D Forgotten Realms campaign at the time. Those were just really damn good reads.
On a sidenote....I think RAS needs to create new interesting characters besides Drizzt. Maybe he'll use the future Drizzt novels to introduce the new character. I fear that people will soon loose interest in Drizzt, he is getting kind of old lately..but he's still interesting.
Entreri and Jarlaxle were pretty interesting characters....the hell, so was Obould. I loved the orc ; he could take down mages with fireballs, succubus who blinks in and out, powerful drow servants of Llolth, and half ogres bigger than him. Maybe RAS should write about an orc main character, just one book and try his luck on Obould.
I loved the Orc King, I really didn't like the Pirate King and thought it was more of a filler than a continuation to the novel (Maybe well be hearing much of the Crow soon). Hven't read Ghost King tho'
I don't begrudge RAS his success: I loved the Crystal Shard and parts of Homeland and some more of his earlier stuff. And I am grateful because I think his novels kept TSR afloat long enough for us to be able to enjoy D&D and the Forgotten Realms to this day.
However, RAS has become a parody of his former self. He's essentially the George Lucas of FR authors; he hasn't realised that ewoks, gungans and Jar-Jar Binks suck. And like Lucas in his SW prequels, he's lost the ability to write dialogue and his choice of names is schoolboy-is at best.
I won't read another Drizzt emo monologue. I won't read another fight scene which, while remarkable for its detail, lost its magic about ten novels ago. I won't read about a dwarf named Athrogate whose dialogue is often reduced to "Bwahahahaha" or something like that. I won't read about characters in the Forgotten Realms whose names are inspired by Greek mythology, that is when the names aren't completely retarded. And I don't want to read dialogue from dwarves with a speech impediment ("doo-dad").
In short, I won't read any more RAS stuff unless and until an editor says to him, "Bob, you still sell a lot of books but it's time you evolved as a writer rather than devolved. Have you heard about that George Lucas fellow...?"
a problem I have with many so-called "gritty/dark" novels more in vogue in the last decade is..they are sick.
I KNOW evil, twisted, brutal, bad and insane SOBs, damn few of them are at all interestign or likebale unless you have a screw lose.
Honour, courage and bobility of spirt aren't a joke and DO exist, you oftne find 'em in the mostunlikely places and people, and are really damn refreshing..I like D&D for such stuff, in part.
I want to be amused, uplifted, intrigued, made to laugh, smile and care for characters, even if they are orugh, brutal, strange, lost, mad or whatever. Jarlaxle is most definately NOT chaotic evil as the DDI shows him, he is more than that...but he's nto so fake as some characters out there in literature, he is a believable anti-hero cause he aint' just a selfish shmuck.
oh and yes, "Homeland" was superb
But maybe it wouldn't be. We'll see what the next novel is, whether it's Drizzt or not, I'll probably pick it up. And I'll make my decisions from there.
What I want to see is some new faces. Maybe we'll see Drizzt pair with his drow friend who's married that Corellon priestess, I can't remember his name. Or maybe a dwarf who's the son of Pwent or another dwarf character from the Two Swords trilogy. Hopefully it'll be diverse and I'd like to see him paird with an elf character.
Anyways, I've read every book except the last and while I do favor the earlier books and roll my eyes at the Emo part of the later books, the past two (Orc and Pirate King) I really enjoyed. The Pirate King more-so because I know now how Luskan got the way it did from it's write up in the FRCG and I'm glad for it. That and the fact that Drizzt wasn't really the main character and showed us just how minor a roll he can play in an epic battle. Sure, he killed lots of bad-guys but the outcome didn't change much.
If i was a writer and had created all these characters that I could no longer use, I'd be a bit annoyed. Think about it. WoTC advanced the calendar 100 years - that's quite a lot of scope for writers to use.
So what makes you think that these characters can't still be used?
Flashbacks, preludes, time-travel, clones, ressurections, nifty "AhHa! You only thought I'd died" tricks & more.....
It all works for other authors. And it's all certainly within the realm of a D&D game.
The only reason a character couldn't be used would be if WoTC said "NO." And then how likely would we be to even know that??
I started with Homeland, believe it or not. Many people tell me I should have started with the Crystal Shard but I have not been disappointed. I am, however, WOEFULLY behind on the entire series... 
following that:
the legacy of the drow trilogy and the dark elf legacy, and after that Daughter of the drow, legacy of the drow and wind walker.
following that Silverfall, following that one the por II, many stand alone novels that include Depths of madness, the Elminstr book, to the last drizzt novels....
oh and Anarkis, did you know that all authors save two have to write in the present time line??
the first book I read was the Icewind Dale trilogy
following that:
the legacy of the drow trilogy and the dark elf legacy, and after that Daughter of the drow, legacy of the drow and wind walker.
following that Silverfall, following that one the por II, many stand alone novels that include Depths of madness, the Elminstr book, to the last drizzt novels....
oh and Anarkis, did you know that all authors save two have to write in the present time line??
That doesn't change that "book was expensive, short, and another casualty of spell plague.".
Austriel, Cadderly, Cattiebrie, Regis are all still screwed... doesn't change anything. Just became another part of slaughtering the soul of the realms.
I stumbled across this earlier, and I noticed no one here seemed to be talking about it, so I figured I might as well bring it to everyone's attention for the sake of conversation.
www.wizards.com/Company/Press.aspx?x=wz/...
It isn't too long, but it appears RAS has agreed to do six more Drizzt novels, and that we'll have the first of them sometime next year. I guess RAS has managed to cope with the loss of many of his characters pretty well. I also was impressed by how he said his relationship with WOTC has never been better. RAS seems to be one of those love-him-or-hate-him authors, but I'm glad to see he's still happy with his work.
I'd be surprised if he wasn't HAPPY to clear the decks and start with a new set of characters and situations.
Wulfgar no more, Cattie-brie and Regis dead....it seems like Drizzt's life has been tied to his friends' lives for the past, I don't know...for almost the entire saga?....and now that they're dead/gone, RAS has a bigger set of options as to what adventures lay ahead for DRizzt....because the boundaries have been broken right now that Drizzt has already lost several companions of the Hall, not to mention his wife.
In my own opinion, of all his books, his work on Artemis & Jarlaxle stand out to me as his best work really.. While I love Bruenor, Regis, and the pre-wizard Catti-Bri...Drizzt has been weighed down by comparatively underpowered characters for far too long... Tho it does put Drizzt as the star of the show... Personally Im waiting for Drizzts' "Big adventure"... Sure, he's participated in allot of big events.. but im sure you all understand what I mean by "Drizzt's big adventure".
When I think about it.. Even though I love Drizzt.. I think I like some of RAS other characters more.. Maybe because there more flawed and its a change from the usual Drizzt this & Drizzt that... But Artemis, Jarlaxle, and Athrogate are probably my favorite characters. With Obould as a notable mention.
EDIT: As a final side note... While "The Crystal Shard" did introduce quite a few people to the FR setting... It aggravates me that it becomes the focus of his novels two additional times...
www.amazon.com/Gauntlgrym-R-Salvatore/dp...
For those who are not already aware, RAS has a book coming out this October: Gauntlgrym. There's no info about the storyline yet, but the title alone sounds interesting.
www.amazon.com/Gauntlgrym-R-Salvatore/dp...
Gauntylgrym is the name of a city that was built by the dwarves of Delzoun for the humans of Illusk. Last time I heard, it was crawling with Mind Flayers and half-illithid derro.
The Crystal Shard was the first Realms novel I read.
Mine was the Pool of Radiance trilogy.
I wonder how RAS is going to bring Drizzt into the 4th edition scene. Drow don't live as long as they used to so adding on another 100 years would make him up there in age. Also I'm surprised Drizzt has commited suicide from depression. I mean he loved his friends dearly and now they are all dead. I'm not sure if any of this was handled in the newer books because I haven't read those.
We already have a glimpse of Drizzt in the 4E time period, in the intro of The Orc King. The opening has him still defending the downtrodden, although there is a bit of a reversal: he fights against a band of marauders who travel through the Orcish Kingdom of Many Arrows and kill orcs in their sleep. By 1479, the Orc Kingdom is recognized by the nearby dwarf and human civilizations and orcs are no longer just considered sword-fodder.
My intro to FR was Homeland, and have read/own(ed) all of RAS Drizzt books... The books have been overall fairly solid, some others... Not soo great, and outright boring. Most notably Wulgar's "drunken emo stage". Actually, as a character, Wulgar has been the biggest dissapointment to me.. After The Crystal Shard, he becomes annoying.. Sure, he went through allot and RAS even tries to flesh him out by giving him his own couple of books.. But it was not enjoyable to read at all. The Orc King was much vetter than I thought it would be, while the Pirate King was... "Meh" and Ghost King was alright.. It was nice to see everyone -minus Wulgar & Artemis- in one place and working together
In my own opinion, of all his books, his work on Artemis & Jarlaxle stand out to me as his best work really.. While I love Bruenor, Regis, and the pre-wizard Catti-Bri...Drizzt has been weighed down by comparatively underpowered characters for far too long... Tho it does put Drizzt as the star of the show... Personally Im waiting for Drizzts' "Big adventure"... Sure, he's participated in allot of big events.. but im sure you all understand what I mean by "Drizzt's big adventure".
When I think about it.. Even though I love Drizzt.. I think I like some of RAS other characters more.. Maybe because there more flawed and its a change from the usual Drizzt this & Drizzt that... But Artemis, Jarlaxle, and Athrogate are probably my favorite characters. With Obould as a notable mention.
EDIT: As a final side note... While "The Crystal Shard" did introduce quite a few people to the FR setting... It aggravates me that it becomes the focus of his novels two additional times...
I actually liked Spine of the World (Wulfgar going emo),if I think about it, the setting was actually one of the best placed...The only problem I think about it is that, I think FR book fans might not be too happy about it, considering the lack of hack'n'slash and lightningbolts flying round wizard's wands.
But if you were to consider reading it in a "non-fantasy fan's" point of view, you'd actually realize that it is very good.
On a side note....I didn't like Ghost King and Pirate King that much.....seemed a bit empty, and much of a FILLER arc (aside from the fact that a lot of important things happened in the book)..
I for one am anxious to see how that will turn out!
Product Description
Drizzt joins Bruenor on his quest for the fabled dwarven kingdom of Gauntlgrym: ruins said to be rich with ancient treasure and arcane lore. But before they even get close, another drow and dwarf pair stumbles across it first: Jarlaxle and Athrogate. In their search for treasure and magic, Jarlaxle and Athrogate inadvertently set into motion a catastrophe that could spell disaster for the unsuspecting people of the city of Neverwinter—a catastrophe big enough to lure even the mercenary Jarlaxle into risking his own coin and skin to stop it. Unfortunately, the more they uncover about the secret of Gauntlgrym, the more it looks like they can’t stop it on their own. They’ll need help, and from the last people they ever thought to fight alongside again: Drizzt and Bruenor.
www.amazon.com/Gauntlgrym-Neverwinter-Bo...
www.amazon.com/Gauntlgrym-Neverwinter-Bo...
I enjoyed most of the series but second l2edShift's opinion on the Wulfgar books. I had to resist the urge to skip the chapters altogether. Of the latest trilogy, I found the Orc King good, didn't like the Pirate King at all and loved the Ghost King.