Beautiful as she is deadly, Liriel Baenre flits through the shadows of Menzoberranzan, city of the dark elves. Amid treachery and murder that are the drow's daily fare, she feels something calling to her.something beyond this dusky world far removed from the sun.
Yet as she ventures toward the surface and the lands of light, enemies pursue her unceasingly.And one enemy Beautiful as she is deadly, Liriel Baenre flits through the shadows of Menzoberranzan, city of the dark elves. Amid treachery and murder that are the drow's daily fare, she feels something calling to her.something beyond this dusky world far removed from the sun. Yet as she ventures toward the surface and the lands of light, enemies pursue her unceasingly.And one enemy may offer her the only hope of salvation.A new version of one of Elaine Cunningham's most popular titles.This rerelease of a top-selling title from one of the most popular authors writing in the Forgotten Realms setting debuts a new look for the Starlight & Shadows series, complete with all-new cover art. The recover of this title and its sequel, Tangled Webs, will precede an all-new concluding title to the series, Windwalker. Yeah, ok, so I'm getting re-addicted to Forgotten Realms novels.
And what a superb way to fall off of the wagon!DROW ELVES!Anybody who's ever dipped their toe into Forgotten Realms books knows about the drow: the malevolent, chaotic, manipulative mirror-images of the elves of the surface word. They're a long-time favorite topic of mine, as far as fantasy reading goes. And this tale does not, in any single way, disappoint.From the Underdark to surface forest meadows, from a living hut with Yeah, ok, so I'm getting re-addicted to Forgotten Realms novels. And what a superb way to fall off of the wagon!DROW ELVES!Anybody who's ever dipped their toe into Forgotten Realms books knows about the drow: the malevolent, chaotic, manipulative mirror-images of the elves of the surface word. They're a long-time favorite topic of mine, as far as fantasy reading goes. And this tale does not, in any single way, disappoint.From the Underdark to surface forest meadows, from a living hut with chicken's legs to a two-headed mutant dragon, from all-out bloody warfare to subtle intrigue and plotted machinations, this book has me hooked. I enjoyed this book for what it's worth.
Liriel is a great character, and it was really nice to read a fantasy book with a strong female protagonist. This book really bothered me though. I don't like the idea of there being many drow who are not evil, or that there a many drow that live on the surface. Nisstyre's Vaehrun community didn't bother me as much as the Elistraee group. The whole point of the drow is that they are evil and conniving. It undermines that if there's a whole group of them I enjoyed this book for what it's worth. Liriel is a great character, and it was really nice to read a fantasy book with a strong female protagonist.
This book really bothered me though. I don't like the idea of there being many drow who are not evil, or that there a many drow that live on the surface. Nisstyre's Vaehrun community didn't bother me as much as the Elistraee group.
The whole point of the drow is that they are evil and conniving. It undermines that if there's a whole group of them out there helping people, acting as a force for good. It makes Drizzt less unique, and it changes the overall feel of the drow. I know there is variety in any and every race, but the idea in the realms is that humans have wide variety, while the other races are much more homogeneous. The first part of the book, that takes place in Menzoberranzan, is much more interesting that the latter parts on the surface. The interaction between Liriel and Fyodor is the one redeeming quality of the surface section.return returnAnd what kind of name is Fyodor?!?
Is he going to return to Rashemen to sell travel books about the realms? It just makes me think of those travel guide books we used to have. This is what I define as 'cereal fantasy' - mass-produced sugary fantasy, fortified with essential elements and heavily processed within a comprehensive, predefined rule set. Don't get me wrong, I love cereal just as much as when I was a kid. On occasion, I love to indulge my sweet tooth by returing to these wonderfully detailed, shared universes such as Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms. The only thing about eating saccharine cereal as an adult is that there is such a thing as too much and This is what I define as 'cereal fantasy' - mass-produced sugary fantasy, fortified with essential elements and heavily processed within a comprehensive, predefined rule set. Don't get me wrong, I love cereal just as much as when I was a kid.
On occasion, I love to indulge my sweet tooth by returing to these wonderfully detailed, shared universes such as Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms. The only thing about eating saccharine cereal as an adult is that there is such a thing as too much and rather having a hearty full English breakfast instead.I am fascinated by the Underdark, particularly Menzoberranzan, the City of Spiders, a large underground, matriarchal ruled city-state inhabited by the drow.We have previously experienced this world through R. Salvatore's wonderful books of Drizzt Do'Urden.
Now we get a fresh perspective from the rare female wizard, Liriel Baenre who is forced join the clerical academy of Arach-Tinilith, a temple devoted to the worship of Lolth.Political intrigue and scheming ensue as Liriel battles internally for the meaning of being a drow and Lolth (Spider Queen of chaos), Vhaeraun (drow god of thievery and intrigue) and Eilistraee (the Dark Maiden, patron of song and swordcraft) compete for dominion over the drow. I only read this book because my brother, who is a massive sci-fi/fantasy fan, said I should. The book is great. I devoured it within 24 hrs. I wasn't sure if I would like it, because some of it, okay, most of it, is so dark. It is, after all, set in the Underworld, with dark elves and their culture. It was completely fascinating.
Liriel, the main character, was likeable but flawed (like any good main character), and all the other major characters were interesting and well-developed as well. I I only read this book because my brother, who is a massive sci-fi/fantasy fan, said I should. The book is great. I devoured it within 24 hrs. I wasn't sure if I would like it, because some of it, okay, most of it, is so dark.
It is, after all, set in the Underworld, with dark elves and their culture. It was completely fascinating. Liriel, the main character, was likeable but flawed (like any good main character), and all the other major characters were interesting and well-developed as well. I felt engrossed in this book, much like I did reading the Harry Potter books or the Chronicles of Narnia. The only warning is that you may need to look up a few of the terms if you are not familiar with Dungeons and Dragons lore. But even so, the book is easy to follow and understand, as well as enjoy.
I recommend it to anyone looking for a good escapist read. As a fantasy nerd who cut her teeth on the Dragonlance Chronicles, I really wanted to like this book but the best I can say is that I shouldn't have had such high hopes for early-90s fantasy. Out of 300 pages, the first 250 suffered from mind-numbingly slow plot as the reader is immersed in the utter fanservice that is Drow culture. Once the action kicked in, I very nearly forgave all the tropes and cliches, but then we got to the 'sex scene'. I honestly thought we were going to make it through As a fantasy nerd who cut her teeth on the Dragonlance Chronicles, I really wanted to like this book but the best I can say is that I shouldn't have had such high hopes for early-90s fantasy. Out of 300 pages, the first 250 suffered from mind-numbingly slow plot as the reader is immersed in the utter fanservice that is Drow culture. Once the action kicked in, I very nearly forgave all the tropes and cliches, but then we got to the 'sex scene'.
I honestly thought we were going to make it through at least one book unscathed, but no.I really should have known better. It just wouldn't be believable to have a female main character travelling with a male character WITHOUT them having some sort of physical attraction toward one another! Daughter of the Drow is the first book of Starlight & Shadows series, which was written by Elaine Cunningham in 1995.I’ve bought Daughter of the Drow 7 years ago (2008) but could not find time to read it. This year I promised myself to read all unread books in my library.Daughter of the Drow is an interesting book to learn the life of the Drow. Until this book I’ve only read R.A. Salvatore’s Drizzt Do'Urden books and all my knowledge is written by one author.
Reading a different author is Daughter of the Drow is the first book of Starlight & Shadows series, which was written by Elaine Cunningham in 1995.I’ve bought Daughter of the Drow 7 years ago (2008) but could not find time to read it. This year I promised myself to read all unread books in my library.Daughter of the Drow is an interesting book to learn the life of the Drow.
Until this book I’ve only read R.A. Salvatore’s Drizzt Do'Urden books and all my knowledge is written by one author. Reading a different author is really good to learn new things and helped me to see from a different point view.In this story we have a female wizard-priest drow who is named Liriel Baenre and a barbarian named Fyodor who could not control his berserker attitude.Despite there are lots of interest things in the book I do not like the plot and the characterization. Everything is happening very fast in this book. I actually enjoyed this book a decent amount, but the way the story resolves the central conflict between the two main characters left me a bit disappointed.
The storyline actually was really satisfying up until that point, and then it seems the author gave up on really digging into that tension and kind of side-stepped the issue with a bit of magic hand waving.Still, I'm playing a female drow sorcerer in my current DND game and this novel helped give me more background/ideas for a drow I actually enjoyed this book a decent amount, but the way the story resolves the central conflict between the two main characters left me a bit disappointed. The storyline actually was really satisfying up until that point, and then it seems the author gave up on really digging into that tension and kind of side-stepped the issue with a bit of magic hand waving.Still, I'm playing a female drow sorcerer in my current DND game and this novel helped give me more background/ideas for a drow character. I liked that (as opposed to the saintly Drizzt) Liriel is more of a product of her culture than someone born innocent and good to a fault.
It mad her journey to a decent person more interesting, to me.I would like to read more of the series, but I have to note that the audible version of this was pretty bad. The narrator sounded like she was reading something someone only just handed to her, and her weird emphasis on the wrong word/phrasing made some sentences sound truly ridiculous.
Also, she mispronounces more words than I could count.The writing was fine/serviceable, but I did notice a few phrases were a bit overused to my liking (curving lips into a smile is the one that springs to mind). Still, for a genre work in a D&D setting relevant to my interests, it worked for me. This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,Daughter of the Drow by Elaine Cunningham- This is the first book in the Starlight & Shadows trilogy. The second being Tangled Webs and Windwalker being the third.
The events of the book take place after R. Salvatore's Siege of Darkness.The story is about a young drow girl named Liriel Baenre, who is the daughter of the Archmage of Menzoberranzan, Gromph Baenre. The beginning tells of Liriel's early life, how Menzoberranzan has changed since the failed conquest of Mithral Hall, Liriel's Daughter of the Drow by Elaine Cunningham- This is the first book in the Starlight & Shadows trilogy. The second being Tangled Webs and Windwalker being the third. The events of the book take place after R. Salvatore's Siege of Darkness.The story is about a young drow girl named Liriel Baenre, who is the daughter of the Archmage of Menzoberranzan, Gromph Baenre.
The beginning tells of Liriel's early life, how Menzoberranzan has changed since the failed conquest of Mithral Hall, Liriel's wizardly training, and how she is forcibly made to become a priestess of Lolth, the Spider Queen. You are also introduced to Fyodor of Rashemen, a wandering berserker in search of an amulet called the Windwalker to control his berserk rage.
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Later on in the story, Liriel and Fyodor meet and start to travel together. You are also introduced to Shakti Hunzrin, a fellow priestess of Lolth who has a grudge against Liriel because she is the target of all of Liriel's pranks.
She tries everything and anything to bring about Liriel's downfall. Also you meet a merchant captain and follower of Vhaeraun (the drow god of thieves) named Nisstyre who stole the Windwalker from Rashemen. Later on in the story, Liriel comes across the Windwalker (after meeting Fyodor) and manipulates it to allow her to cast her wizardly powers outside of the Underdark. Soon Shakti finds out about this and goes to accuse Liriel causing her to flee to the surface. Being chased by Shakti, Nisstyre, and all of Menzoberranzan, can she trust in Fyodor and go on her 'grand adventure'?Negatives:1) Dancing. This is by far my biggest problem with the story. Evil drow DO NOT dance.
Yet, what does Liriel throw? A party, with dancing. It just boggles my mind about why this would be, having drow dance and all. It just annoyed and bothered me like nothing else. When I think of drow, I think of them being heartless, evil, killing machines that have little joys in their lives. Joys being used very loosely because if you find 'joy' in flaying off someone's skin, you need help.
I just don't see how they could dance, yes it's meant to be competitive and everything but it just DOES NOT make any sense whatsoever. Leave the dancing to elves and Eilistraee (the drow goddess of good) worshipers.2) The Ending.
You have all this build up throughout the story only to have it all just rush by in a few chapters. I did like the build up that was happening, it was slow but it really worked. You had a lot of details and insights throughout the story only to have them be tossed aside and forgotten later. It just made me a little unhappy. Also, the ending wasn't really all that great. For one thing, everything just seemed so convenient and not really inspiring.
Another thing is that the ending wasn't climatic or even remotely as exciting. You have the story building up to something special and it just ends in a way you weren't expecting and hoping it wouldn't end.3) Bad Drow. There were things (Ahem.dancing.) that just didn't seem to fit into my idea of being an evil drow. It seemed at times that Elaine Cunningham didn't know anything about drow culture and life that it was just disheartening and confusing to understand what was happening. It's really hard to explain what I mean without some exposure to other stories with drow in them. For example, I wouldn't think that drow.dance.
Or play pranks on one another. Yes, I can see the pranks bit, but the scenarios and pranks described seemed almost nice. I would think they would have been much more crueller and sinister. However, because these things are just small and insignificant (EXCEPT FOR DANCING), you easily forget about them. I will say though that Elaine Cunningham did a -Positive:1) Good Drow. great job in capturing what it is to be a drow. For close to ninety percent of the story, you really see how twisted and evil these creatures are.
All the backstabbing, turn on a dime personalities, and general horrible things they do to each other were really written wonderfully. Elaine Cunningham really does capture what a drow is and how heartless and cruel they are.2) Liriel. She's just a great character. You really get to see into her mindset and thought patterns as things come up (such as the idea of friendship). It was also every interesting to see how she struggles with certain concepts that we, as humans, are so familiar with. At times she's like an excited child, always asking why about one thing, such as clouds, and this just really grounds her down into being a character that is for the first time seeing the surface and not knowing what these everyday things are.
On the same token, she has another twist (yet not as twisted as a 'normal' drow) side. She is just as ruthless and evil as her heritage allows, but yet her curiosity generally gets the better of her. She's just an interesting look into how someone from one world is just placed into another and how they would adapt and learn.3) Everything Up Until the Ending. The whole build up of the story was just great. It was a little slow and tedious at times but just added to the build up (and the eventual let down). How everyone's place in the main plot was ingenious. Menzoberranzan is actually painted in a new light as well and how everything after the failed conquest is rippling in the city was also very appealing.
The other minor characters were well done and they really did add a lot to the story and the overall feel to it. It was just exciting and interesting, to put it simply.Side notes:1) What ever happened to Gromph? His plot line towards the end fizzled out and was just forgotten, it was and is a shame.2) The sudden knowledge of who is Gorlist's (a warrior drow for Nisstyre merchant company) father was just out of the blue and frankly, dumb.3) The cover of the 2003 version. I do like it, but I don't like the face of Liriel. It just doesn't fit the picture I had in my mind. It's just too human and round.Overall: 4/5Final Thoughts:I really do like this story. Aside from the utter stupidity of dancing drow and the lackluster ending, it was really fun and entertaining.
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If you like stories about drow, then by all means, pick this up and read it. Heck, if you're a casual Forgotten Realms reader, pick it up.
Liriel really is a wonderful character and definitely on my top 10 list of best Forgotten Realms characters. To start off I got this book many years back when I was young. When reading was not something I would not do because I did not want to, but because of my dyslexia. This was the first book that pulled me to it as I walked through a book store. I could not but be pulled to it. After trying to read the first few pages.
I found it filled with words I wanted to read and understand. I feel in love how the story pulled me in and got me hooked on the written word. She pulled me from the world of TV To start off I got this book many years back when I was young. When reading was not something I would not do because I did not want to, but because of my dyslexia. This was the first book that pulled me to it as I walked through a book store.
I could not but be pulled to it. After trying to read the first few pages. I found it filled with words I wanted to read and understand. I feel in love how the story pulled me in and got me hooked on the written word. She pulled me from the world of TV shows to a work of books.
For this I want to thank Elaine Cunningham.The story it self is a great read. Would tell anyone that listen to at least give this work a read once.
3.5 stars for this tale about Liriel, a female dark elf whose curiosity takes her to the surface world, where she meets Fyodor, a man on a quest for a magical talisman to control his berserker rage.Daughter of the Drow takes place after R.A. Salvatore's in the drow undercity of Menzoberranzan.
It contains many dark elf characters created by Salvatore. However, the main characters are purely from the mind of Elaine Cunningham. I was pleasantly surprised that she stays true to 3.5 stars for this tale about Liriel, a female dark elf whose curiosity takes her to the surface world, where she meets Fyodor, a man on a quest for a magical talisman to control his berserker rage.Daughter of the Drow takes place after R.A. Salvatore's in the drow undercity of Menzoberranzan.
It contains many dark elf characters created by Salvatore. However, the main characters are purely from the mind of Elaine Cunningham.
I was pleasantly surprised that she stays true to the treachery, deceit, and malevolence that abounds in the dark elf culture.While Liriel Baenre doesn't quite fit into the drow mold, she's not just another Drizzt Do'Urden. What sets her apart is her curiousity and sense of wonderment, yet she understands the nature of her people and isn't repulsed by it, as is Drizzt. In fact, she shows herself to be even more adept at trickery than many of her counterparts. Cunningham also gives us a glimpse of the leisure life of the drow; what they're doing when they're not either killing each other, or plotting to kill each other.Their are plenty of characters that add color to this story, including Liriel's tutor, a mutated dragon, a competitive peer, and a leader of a merchant band, to name a few. Their paths converge and diverge in schemes, battles, alliances, and betrayals throughout the novel.Cunningham introduces dark elf fans to two other Gods - Vhaeraun and Eilistraee - who play prominent roles in Series.The story holds up well on it's own, but it is better appreciated as part of Drow and Menzoberranzan history, as it explains what happens between Siege of Darkness and the War of the Spider Queen.If there was one thing I could change about this book, it would be the title - 'There's something about Liriel'. I read this book after War of the Spider Queen and The Lady Penitent series at the encouragement of my partner.
I felt very distanced from the Drow in most of the War of the Spider Queen books and felt that, in part, it was because of the lack of female perspective on the matriarchy.In short, I greatly enjoyed this book. That isn't to say that I didn't feel there was flaws, but that I felt the good far outweighed the bad. It brought up interesting, new conundrums that weren't touched on heavily I read this book after War of the Spider Queen and The Lady Penitent series at the encouragement of my partner. I felt very distanced from the Drow in most of the War of the Spider Queen books and felt that, in part, it was because of the lack of female perspective on the matriarchy.In short, I greatly enjoyed this book. That isn't to say that I didn't feel there was flaws, but that I felt the good far outweighed the bad. It brought up interesting, new conundrums that weren't touched on heavily in previous books, and introduced new lore and ideas previously unexplored.The character of Liriel was especially interesting. I know that other reviews have said something akin to 'but the drow are EVIL!'
And that's not necessarily true. They are pragmatic, and they are required to be cold and calculating, and their Goddess is evil, however no group is homogeneous.
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I've loved Ellistrae's followers in both the War of the Spider Queen and The Lady Penitent series, and found them to be interesting and, having followed those two other books, I see no reason to fault this book for the followers of Ellistrae.Daughter of the Drow was well written, introduced interesting new characters, as well as fleshing out already established characters, and had me fascinated from start to end. I found the hypocrisy of Vhaerun's followers to be especially subtle and well handled.This was a book that could have easily fallen flat, but Elaine Cunningham managed it with enough grace and subtly to reignite my passion for the Drow. I would highly recommend this book to any who enjoyed The Lady Penitent series, in particular. I read this book about a month ago although it’s been around for years (it was originally my dad’s). I am honestly really glad I got around to reading it because it was beautiful.
Liriel’s struggles against her culture and her self are really powerful and realistic, despite that this is a fantasy novel.There is romance, but it’s barely a subplot. The focus is on Liriel’s development and her adventures. I don’t tend to like female protagonist because they feel like the author trying to prove a I read this book about a month ago although it’s been around for years (it was originally my dad’s). I am honestly really glad I got around to reading it because it was beautiful.
Liriel’s struggles against her culture and her self are really powerful and realistic, despite that this is a fantasy novel.There is romance, but it’s barely a subplot. The focus is on Liriel’s development and her adventures.
I don’t tend to like female protagonist because they feel like the author trying to prove a point about a woman’s cabilities, but I didn’t sense that with her. She was amazing, strong, and smart, but she was also beautiful and feminine. I enjoyed reading about her self-realizations.I’ve ordered the sequels and plan to thoroughly devour them. I’m excited to see what kind of person Liriel will become. The main character was very Mary Suey. There was two things she wasn't phenomenal at: sword fighting (although she was good at physical combat, just not particularly good at swords), and horse riding (there were no horses in the Underdark).
At everything else, she was the best. She was the best magic user (for her age), she was the most cunning, she was the most famous, she was the most influential, she was the most desired, she was the most. I started reading the book wanting to read about the The main character was very Mary Suey. There was two things she wasn't phenomenal at: sword fighting (although she was good at physical combat, just not particularly good at swords), and horse riding (there were no horses in the Underdark). At everything else, she was the best. She was the best magic user (for her age), she was the most cunning, she was the most famous, she was the most influential, she was the most desired, she was the most.
I started reading the book wanting to read about the story of a female drow that felt different from other drows, and ended reading some mix of teenage fantasy protagonized by a wizard she-drizzt.At one time, the book felt like it should be renamed to 'Not the Daughter of the Drow', since it was basically about everything except her. We followed a bunch of other characters for what felt like forever without any of the 'two' main characters showing their faces. This was the first book I read by Elaine Cunningham, and now I'm a big fan. I definitly have my favorites, mediocres, and loosers of the Forgotten Realms authors, and she is in the top three of my favorites.She has several series that are much older than this one, and I look forward to reading those soon!This story introduces a new character into the noblest of Drow families, Baenre!Lireil is the daughter of Gromph, the eldest son in House Baenre and the High Mage of Menzoberanzan. Gromph has This was the first book I read by Elaine Cunningham, and now I'm a big fan.
I definitly have my favorites, mediocres, and loosers of the Forgotten Realms authors, and she is in the top three of my favorites.She has several series that are much older than this one, and I look forward to reading those soon!This story introduces a new character into the noblest of Drow families, Baenre!Lireil is the daughter of Gromph, the eldest son in House Baenre and the High Mage of Menzoberanzan. Gromph has her mother killed and adopts Liriel when he first sees signs that she has a magical aptitued.
She grows up with a silver spoon, but harbors a hatred for her father at the lose of her mother.When she is older, we see that she has grown into quite a spit fire of a young princess. She has studied wizardry, but is told that she is now old enough to attend Arach Tinilith (the drow academy dedicated to training preistesses of Lloth). Well, Liriel is not interested in becoming a priest, but wants to continue learning about magic. However, her aunts, the rulers of Menzoberanzan make sure that she understands that she will be attending the priesthood. Being the sneaky and determined princess that she is, she agrees to indulge her aunts, but continues her studies of magic clandestinly.While this is going on, we're introduced to Fyodor, a barbarian from Rashiman. He is looking for a magic item that will help him control his barbarian rage. You see, Fyodor is blessed and cursed with a rage that gives him great strength and power, but unlike his Rashiman bretheren, he is unable to turn off his rage when the battle is over and he fears that eventually he will not be able to differeinciate between friend and foe.
A shamen of his tribe tells him that he has to find a sacred item (a chisel that is used in the art of ruin magic) if he is ever to be cured of his uncontrolable rage.Fyodor almost had his hands on the item, or at least he knows where it is (inside a moving hut that walks on giant chicken legs.hahaha), but before he can go retrieve it, some drow on a raid attack the house and take everything, then teleport back into the underdark. Unsure about what to do, Fyodor hesitates, but decideds that he must aquire the chisel at all costs and follows the drow through the portal only to find himself lost in the endless night of the Underdark.Dun dun duuuun!!Back in Menzoberanzon, Liriel has made an enemy at her new academy. She is a frumpy drow(I can't remeber her name, all call her fd), who is jelious of Liriel's talents and beauty. Liriel does not help the situation by playing practical jokes on fd, and she soon harbors a seething animosity towards the princess that builds and builds. Fd, through spying, discovers that Liriel is studing magic, and plans to expose her by using a dark naga to sneak into Liriel's room and steal her spell books.
Somehow, Liriel avoids this, and exposes Fd for spying on her, but I don't remember how.While Fd is plotting, Liriel takes a trip to a 'special place'. To get there she must ride a small boat through underground rapids and time her journey just right inorder not to make it into her special chamber and not be smashed or drowned. When she gets there, we are introduced to one of Liriel's freinds, a female shadow dragon with two heads!! (I don't remember her name either, but she plays an important role later on). We find out that the chamber is fused with strong magic (which maybe responsible for the dragons second head, which also makes it kinda' crazy, by the way).
I think she went there to hide her spell books.maybe.Later on Liriel is out exploring in the caverns around the city and discovers some dead drow bodies, eaten by babie giant bats. On the bodies she finds the chisel that Fyodor is searching for. At this point, she knows the chisel is a powerful magic item, but she doesn't know what it does.Somehow, the two characters meet, and Liriel(being a typical drow) takes Fyodor captive. As she is leading him back to Menzoberanzan, he tricks her into trying his 'Fire Wine', which is so potent she is distracted and he escapes.I don't remeber exactly how the plot progresses from here, needless to say, Liriel researches the chisel and learns about ruin magic and is determined to use it to keep her inate powers in the world above (as she has grown tired of the rules of Menzoberanzan). Fd has become more and more hateful of Liriel and has graduated from Arach Tilnith to become a high preistess of Lloth. Next she is approched by a preist of Vhrun, Lloth's hatful son, and offered the power of that god, as well. Lloth and Vhrun are not on good terms, needless to say, Fd must keep her practices secret within Menzoberanzan.Liriel and Fyodor escape from the Underdark, but are persued by Quagoths (bear/cat people inslaved by the drow and sent to bring the two of them back).
When they defeat them, they are persued by Vhrun worshiping drow. (I think that at one point, Liriel is introduced to some good drow women who worship the drow goddess of the moon and dance.that goddess's name slips my mind right now, too. I think that Liriel snides them)Eventually, they escape the drow persuers and ingeinusly sneak their way into Waterdeep. Now they have some adventures in Skullport (the seedy underbelly of noble city). The shadow dragon friend of Liriel joins them to seduce another shadow dragon gaurding the treasue that they seek (pretty cool).And everyone lives to go on to greater things in the second book!!
Cunningham manages to make her Drow characters distinct from one another - physically & personality-wise - which is no mean task. What at first seems to a ponderously large cast actually ends up playing to the author's strengths and the readers will find the dramatis personae to be a much lighter burden than at first glance. The heroine strays slightly into mary sue / manic pixie girl territory, but the author is skillful enough that it doesn't rub the reader's nose in it. The ending, Cunningham manages to make her Drow characters distinct from one another - physically & personality-wise - which is no mean task. What at first seems to a ponderously large cast actually ends up playing to the author's strengths and the readers will find the dramatis personae to be a much lighter burden than at first glance. The heroine strays slightly into mary sue / manic pixie girl territory, but the author is skillful enough that it doesn't rub the reader's nose in it. The ending, however, seems a tad rushed, as if the writer had to wind things up in a set page count.
I started rereading through Daughter of the Drow at a somewhat slow pace, but that pace increased exponentially when I woke up sick. Having already been about 1/3 of the way finished with the novel to begin with, I wound up finishing all of it laying in bed reading. One thing, though, before I get on with the review: What is the first chapter about?
My book literally is missing the first chapter, starting with Chapter Two, “Matron Baenre is dead, long live Matron Triel”. I must really have bum I started rereading through Daughter of the Drow at a somewhat slow pace, but that pace increased exponentially when I woke up sick. Having already been about 1/3 of the way finished with the novel to begin with, I wound up finishing all of it laying in bed reading.
One thing, though, before I get on with the review: What is the first chapter about? My book literally is missing the first chapter, starting with Chapter Two, “Matron Baenre is dead, long live Matron Triel”. I must really have bum luck, because things like that seem to happen to me often.Anyway, it’s been a while since I picked up this trilogy of books, and having read the entire thing, it’s interesting to see some of the character development. Liriel, when she was first introduced, I immediately thought of Paris Hilton, in that she is a somewhat spoiled rich girl who is shielded (for the most part) from ‘average’ society because of the political power and reputation of her father, Gromph Baenre. It’s interesting to see how she changes, over the course of really not even the entire book trilogy, but just this book itself. Regardless of other novels out there dealing with the same topic, the Starlight and Shadows trilogy are, I think, the best representation of what it is like to grow up in a certain culture, and then try to remove yourself from it.
In other novels, we have priests and priestess of deities flip-flopping all around, worshipping someone, and then replacing someone else, and then their replacement, and so on. With Liriel, we see how much she struggles to free herself from Lolth, and all that Lolth represents.Daughter of the Drow is also a very good source to see what Drow life is really like. I’ll ashamedly admit that, when I first read Daughter of the Drow for the first time, I took a dislike to it, because it didn’t depict a “R.A. Salvatore” Drow culture, where all Drow were militant to a degree, deadly, and ready to fight with anyone on a moment’s notice. That was a long time ago, having been introduced to the setting via Drizzt, and Salvatore’s novels. Unlike Salvatore, Cunningham depicts Drow society as something that makes sense in terms of a society.
It’s interesting to see depictions of Drow “high life”, of parties, of ‘peaceful’ galas, of things that are not in any way related to combat and/or conflict, Salvatore’s specialty.I’ll admit that I didn’t like a lot of the characters featured in the book. Really, it seems that I disliked more than I actually enjoyed.
Fyodor, I’m very neutral on him, overall. I don’t dislike him, but at the same time, he isn’t my favorite character out there. Liriel, I enjoy her more than I dislike her, but a lot of the points that I like concerning her character don’t happen until later on in the series, and are mostly missing during Daughter of the Drow. Shak’ti is probably my favorite character in this novel, and maybe the series.
She’s a realistic Drow- she’s willing to do anything, to go anywhere for power. She isn’t going to let anything like a vengeful spider goddess unwilling to share her worshippers with her thief-of-a-son Vhaeraun stop her from gaining the power she wants and craves.Hands down, though, the worst character in the book has got to be the Deep Dragon Zz’Pzora. The fact that she’s a two-headed Dragon doesn’t really bother me, or the fact that she is described as insane, or the fact that she has multiple personalities as much as the fact that the entire character seems completely out-of-place. Normally, with a Dragon, you feel ‘grandeur’. With Zz’Pzora, I felt anything but. The character reminded me of Magellan from Eureeka's Castle (a late-80s/early-90s television show for those who don’t know of it)- though, I’ll need to also thank Elaine Cunningham for this, as I just looked up Eureeka’s Castle on Wikipedia, and got to relive plenty of childhood memories from that show, and my incessant Wikipedia habit of clicking on lots of links to lots of things.
I haven’t thought of the Adventures of the Little Koala, Eureeka’s Castle, or David the Gnome for yearsDecades, evenOverall, plot wise, nothing too intense happens, and those are usually the best types of novels. Though there are lots of mentions of the Dragon’s Horde Merchant Company in source material, I prefer to think that’s not because of their relative importance in the world, but rather, because of a lack of named and stated Vhaeraunite organizations in the world. The introduction of the Windwalker Amulet as both something integral to the story, character, and possibly world was a touch that I like, and knowing how everything turns out, it’s interesting to see things in their formative stages.Of note, it is also interesting to see that “Welcome to the FORGOTTEN REALMS” segment at the end.
I don’t recall any other novels having stuff like that, offhand. It’s not relevant to the story, but it’s interesting to see, nonetheless. I guess, overall, I can describe rereading this novel, and this subsequent review in the following words: “Blast from the past.”.
The drow make wonderful villains. They have ever since they first were introduced into fantasy literature. Elaine Cunningham crafts a wonderful tale by taking the quintessential villain and leading her to discover that there may be options outside of her evil paradigm.What are the drow? For those who don’t dally in fantasy literature—particularly the TSR Dungeons and Dragons genre, drow are the evil cousins of the elves. Whenever they are introduced into a world’s ecology they are given their The drow make wonderful villains. They have ever since they first were introduced into fantasy literature. Elaine Cunningham crafts a wonderful tale by taking the quintessential villain and leading her to discover that there may be options outside of her evil paradigm.What are the drow?
For those who don’t dally in fantasy literature—particularly the TSR Dungeons and Dragons genre, drow are the evil cousins of the elves. Whenever they are introduced into a world’s ecology they are given their own creation story. Daughter of the Drow is set in the Forgotten Realms universe—a creation of TSR in which many of their role playing supplements are set. In the Forgotten Realms, the drow area subrace of elves that fought against their sister races. They lost the war and were banished to the “Underdark.” They now live below the ground and sunlight is nearly as dangerous to them as it is to vampires.
They have numerous innate magical abilities and worship a spider queen goddess.The drow have a completely matriarchal society and the men of the species are little more than slaves. Indeed, one of the sacrifices the goddess’ priestesses are called upon to make is the life of a male drow they care about.In Daughter of the Drow, we meet Liriel Banrae, first as a precocious five-year-old who listens as her father murders her mother. She is then taken into his household and given his name, despite the tradition of taking the mother’s name. Her father is the highest ranking male in the city of Mezzobarran where she lives. We see Liriel grow up to be murderous, cunning, and powerful. Yet, we also see her start to question the evil intrigue with which she daily lives.This questioning grows more powerful when she meets a Rasheman berserker on a quest for the one object that would let Liriel escape the Underdark and visit the surface. The berserker is devoted to all that is noble and good.
He is trusting, forthright, and extremely strong. These two protagonists are brought together to act toward a common goal. The writing is wonderful in these scenes, for though their very natures ought to repel them from each other, there is instead a magnetizing effect.Cunningham’s writing is engaging and lyrical. She weaves a fascinating tale and it is easy to get engrossed in it.
I tend to look on the D&D fiction genre as bubblegum reading—books that are entertaining but serve no other purpose. I don’t expect them to be challenging or even overly creative.
Cunningham manages to flourish within the strictures of an already well-defined universe.Indeed, my only complaint with the book is one that has little to do with Cunningham’s writing and more to do with the universe in which her writing takes place. Those of you who are stridently anti-political correctness may want to skip the rest of this paragraph, or at least prepare to roll your eyes. TSR created Forgotten Realms in the late 70s/early 80s. There is a certain amount of offensiveness in a universe where the only black race and the only matriarchal society is one that is as evil and intrigue-filled as the drow. Later another race of color was added to the universe, but it is a fairly new addition. That being said, while Cunningham portrays the race according to the history established by TSR, she goes a long way toward rectifying some of the more blatant slurs by creating a character who discovers that the drow are capable of more than just the most abject evil and betrayal.Overall, Daughter of the Drow is not great literature or even a book that is likely to have readers a few decades from now. But it is a good story that is well told.
If you enjoy fantasy literature or like role playing, this is a book I would recommend to you without hesitation. To begin with and as a heads up, it took me several months to read through this book, due to work and other interests, so it is not all fresh and warm in my mind. Nevertheless, the basic plot of the story follows a young elf, Liriel, seeking adventure and a way to carry her innate magical powers into places where such things are impossible. She is pursued by enemies who are such by various reasons. One person she meets is a young human named Fyodor, and as the story progresses, their divided To begin with and as a heads up, it took me several months to read through this book, due to work and other interests, so it is not all fresh and warm in my mind.
Nevertheless, the basic plot of the story follows a young elf, Liriel, seeking adventure and a way to carry her innate magical powers into places where such things are impossible. She is pursued by enemies who are such by various reasons. One person she meets is a young human named Fyodor, and as the story progresses, their divided storylines merge together as they form an alliance to achieve a singular goal: to obtain a magical relic that passes between hands more times than a basket of grandma's dinner rolls.From the very beginning I had the feeling of being lost, like there was a book or series I was supposed to have read beforehand that would have given me a more in depth description about various places, people, and history. Basics were touched upon, but I had the sense that I was supposed to have already known the details.Liriel is a person born and raised in darkness, deceit, and debauchery with the prideful haughtiness and devotion to their spider goddess of chaos shared by every other female in the underground city of Menzoberranzan. However, she also has a more open side that lets her develop an alliance with a shape shifting dragon, who has little purpose except in the last chapter, as well as one of her teachers, a master in battle magic who's never actually used it until his encounter with the main antagonist of this first volume. Liriel, as she travels with Fyodor, is introduced to the world of 'friendship', 'trust', and 'hope', which are mindblowing concepts to her, and there is a promise of a growing relationship between them no doubt to be seen in the following two installments.The ending, to me, seemed a little anticlimactic, as well.
I felt there was little build up, though that could very well have been my lethargy in getting there. We knew little and nothing of the 'good' guys we just met, other than Liriel and Fyodor, and it all came together so swiftly and smoothly that I, at least, found myself at the end with an 'Oh. Well, I guess that's it, then.' The last page or so details the introduction to the next stage in the story, which may very well be very good, but I discovered I was more glad to be at the end than impatiently anticipating the next book. The ending held little draw for me, but that's not to say the writing itself was bad. Cunningham does have a way of words that I, as a writer, could take from.I wish I could be more concrete and eloquent in my opinion of Daughter of the Drow, but the most definite thing I can say is that it wasn't the best book I ever read. I didn't really like it, and I have no desire to continue, which is a rare thing for me, who's usually obsessed with finding out how the story ends no matter what.