Rating: Summary: From Dawn to Darkness Review: Truly Wulfgar had passed through the passage to dawn, yet it was the pain of the what the light relvealed that destroyed him. This is Wulfgar's path of darkness, for in the darkness he is blinded and thus finds shelter from the demons within him. In essence, this novel depicts Wulfgar after his return from death. However, the SotW goes in further depth to describe something more. The plot is parallel to the old war stories of POWs and war veterans how suffered in epic battles to return as tortured shells of then men they once were. As is seen in Wulfgar from The Silent Blade to this novel. Though this book seems mostly a continuation of Wulfgar's down fall, their lies a spark and a hint of hope; true, Wulfgar return to life in Passage to Dawn, but it is in this novel that he once more begins to live. For those that love the blonde barbarian of Icewind Dale, this novel tears him down even further only to rebuild and redefine Wulfgar. Salvatore's use of chapter splitting to describe two intertwined stories definately gives him an edge over other authors. The process was indeed risky and the story-mix somewhat baffling, but Salvatore's command in writing is what pulled off this composition stunt. Aegis Fang is another story. The legendary warhammer has become the soul survivor of Wulfgar's past; it is also his reminder of who he once was. Wulfgar's want to regain his hammer is his need to have a weapon to defend himself with. Salvatore seems to use Aegis Fang as a symbol of things to come for Wulfgar. Wulfgar's want for his stolen hammer suggests his subconscious want to return to his old life and to be rid of the demons that ravage his dreams. Demons that a hammer cannot crush. Salvatore's extensive knowledge of torture and life in the Dark Ages is hauntingly extensive. His gruesome descriptions of torture are more detailed than many others would dare to go. Yet as discriptive as the torture methods were, in SotW, the evils of human nature that Salvatore conveys through this novel are far more disturbing than the inventive torture methods. It is a part of what I love about Salvatore's writing; his books are not merely tales, but real world situations expressed in terms of Dungeons and Dragons. Wulfgar's tale, as it begins here, is much more of an epic struggle than Drizzt Do'Urden's burdens of his past. In truth, Wulfgar is by far the strongest human in Faerun without magical aid, yet in SotW, Salvatore shows that their are things that even the strongest of men cannot easily overcome. Another victory for the great writer of our time.
Rating: Summary: Awesome Review: This book, although it does not feature Drizzt still delivers everything your expect in a Bob Salvatore novel. I for one truly enjoyed getting to know Wulfgar and his troubles in dealing with the memories of being trapped and tortured by the Balor Errtu. This book is a story well told, with twists and turns that weave into the very soul of the "Companions of the Hall" stories.
Rating: Summary: Not at all typical, but still good Review: Before ever reading this book, I thought Silent Blade had some interesting non-heroic character development parts when Wulfgar had trouble recovering from the traumatic experiencies that he had been subjected to while in the Abyss. Well, The Spine of the World is all about those. It is not like anything else by Salvatore I have read, albeit that that only includes the previous parts in this ("Drizzt") series. For one, Drizzt Do'Urden only appears in this book in those almost philosophical ponderings at the beginning of each part. There is not really a perfect Hero in this book like in practically all those before. Certainly, Salvatore has described the negative sides of human nature earlier, but only in antagonists and insignificant people; here, everyone is somehow, if usually understandably, flawed. At the beginning Wulfgar is too traumatized to bother to behave in any other way than by bashing people's heads through walls and getting drunk... and he's the *hero* of the book, more or less. The only very virtuous character is Captain Deudermont, who does not play a significant role at all. The start of the book, with description of Wulfgar's messing about and setbacks in Luskan, is very slow and not exactly cheerful; luckily, there is another storyline going on that remains separate for a long time. It just tells about some people and their personal problems, with quite a standard plot idea, but it is well-written and effective and I found it more than enough to keep my interest up while the other part of the story almost dragged. The way people's emotions and relationships is described is interesting, because it is done with Salvatore's usual skill but without the absolute heroes - so that it nearly reminds me of Stephen King, which also shows how much more mature it is than is usual. And also, this book includes one of my favourite lines in all of literature; I cannot tell it here because I don't want to spoil anything and, not knowing me, you probably would not see the point, but it had me laugh for minutes afterwards. Anyway, it was no joke, in fact it was very serious, as is the rest of this book, serious and dark. And half way through - or even later - one might even doubt if everyone is going to live happily ever after. But at least it all is touching, and I found the ending reasonably satisfactory. Funnily enough, there was a little, oversimplified "role-playing game" at the end of the book, with rules that were based on D&D and a plot that was placed on some of the places and involved some of the characters from the book. I am sure someone could find that entertaining.
Rating: Summary: whats wrong with you people Review: The best book in the paths of darkness saga, betrayal, murder, old friends new enemies, love hate, seduction, severed ties all in a days work
Rating: Summary: One of his best Review: I loved every one of RAS' books but Spine of the World is up there with my favorites. In short it's Wulfgar's struggle to become the man he used to be. There is a side story that introduces completely new characters which confused many people, including myself, when they were first introduced. But it's interesting to see how the two stories end up converging together. There's still plently of action scenes but there is also a large amount of the philosophy and deep thought in the book.
Rating: Summary: ....... Review: Even though Wulfgar isn't my most favorite character, but I know he is written a little more differently then any other Barbarian I've ever read before. But still, I do get a little bored when I do read about him. Don't get me wrong, he does have that intense level that I really will get into reading more, but then he quickly becomes flat for me. There were two reasons for me to buy this book (1)I wanted to give this character more of a chance since he has been seperated from his friends & (2)Heck I don't want to break up a set of a fantastic series ever. But to sum how I really felt about this book it was just a big snore for me. Sorry to any Wulfgar fans but he is best in his pack of friends
Rating: Summary: one word to discribe this book, "RAD!" Review: Without Drizzt and the gang I was a bit disappointed, but once again Mr. Salvatore kicks my... The raw emotion put into this book is unbelievable, making each character three dimensional and making the reader (me) feel what the characters were feeling. So, if you like Drizzt books and RA Salvatore's writing, I highly recommend picking up this book.My second favorite, "Drizzt book," first being Homeland!
Rating: Summary: ZZZ...ZZZ...ZZZ Review: I hate to admit it, but I am pretty dissapointed. Like the rest of you, I have thoroughly enjoyed the previous books in this serie about the worlds toughest scimitar-slinger and his gang of monster-bashing avengers. However, this book is progressing so slowly that now I have given up! I have been trying to finish it for as long as I can remember, because I really want to get on to the next RAS book. I just can't. I can't even recall what I have read so far. I really regret writing this negative review, but R.A.S. has made me expect the most fantastic experience every time I pick up one of his books.
Rating: Summary: spine of the world Review: i really like RA salvatore's work so it saddens me that he wrote this... the story did not move well and the characters did not seem to meld in the book as some of RA's former book character's, all my friends thought this book blew chunks I do however love everything else RA has written--jadewolf
Rating: Summary: Salvatore's FIrst Book I Was Able To Actually Put Down Review: I'm an avid reader of Mr. Salvatore's work. I enjoy his rich characterizations combined with excellent plots. The problem with this book is at times it seems to drag--as if the author was suffering from writer's block and was desperately trying to invent a way out of it. Once I was through the first half of the book the pace picked up considerably and I enjoyed the rest. If you like the Drizzt-Wulfgar-Bruenor-Cattie Brie series you'll probably want to read this regardless what others say--I did. Was I disatisfied by the lack of Drizzt? No, as a matter of fact some of my favorite books by Salvatore aren't in this series.
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