Daughter of the Drow (Forgotten Realms: Starlight and Shadows, Book 1)

Rating:
Summary: A story worthy to be read by candlelight
Review: Elaine cinningham has taken the spirit of the Drow and truned it into a wild ride. She has flare and style and a dark sense of humor only a dark elf could hold to heart. Takeing up the mantle from A.A.Salvatore .. Elaine shows us a side of the Drow hinted at but not yet explored...And we drow spirits thank you from the darkest depths of Underdark This book is a must read and will stir your soul and leave you hungry for more.

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Summary: Walk with the deadly and cunning Drow of legend!
Review: Elaine Cunningham breaks all bounds with this unbelievable story of Liriel, a dark elven priestess who desires more than the usual drow treachery and intrigue. Liriel finds herself on a quest with an unlikely companion and numerous enemies. Daring the harsh rays of the sun, this drow takes a step up... out of her home tunnels and into the light above. The very best part of this book, is the way Cunningham brings the characters to life! Her ability to make you feel for the characters is brilliant! You will go through stages of grief, anger, humour, and joy in this utterly amazing story. This is a book you can't put down!

Rating:
Summary: Walk with the deadly and cunning Drow of legend!
Review: Elaine Cunningham breaks all bounds with this unbelievable story of Liriel, a dark elven priestess who desires more than the usual drow treachery and intrigue. Liriel finds herself on a quest with an unlikely companion and numerous enemies. Daring the harsh rays of the sun, this drow takes a step up... out of her home tunnels and into the light above. The very best part of this book, is the way Cunningham brings the characters to life! Her ability to make you feel for the characters is brilliant! You will go through stages of grief, anger, humour, and joy in this utterly amazing story. This is a book you can't put down!

Rating:
Summary: A Expansion of the Works of R.A. Salvatore
Review: Elaine Cunningham, in her book Daughter of the Drow, has attempted, somewhat successfully, to expand on the works of R.A. Salvatore and his books regarding the Dark Elf, Drizzt Do'Urden. What begins as an attempt to tell a good story of a female drow mage quickly becomes a confusing ensemble of new places, names, and more importantly, Gods and Goddess. The story bogs down as the protagonist, Liriel Baenre, a minor member of the highest ranked house in the City of Menzobarranzan, the largest city of the drow, is forced from her lifestyle to become a priestess of the evil godess Lloth, against her wishes. Being much more interested in wizardly persuits rather than becoming a priestess, she is still forced to attend the priestess academy. The story then breaks into a jealous colleague, escape attempts, and an improbable search with a barbarian tribesman for a magical item. Elaine Cunningham is a good writer, but it's debatable whether this story needed to be written. What seems to have begun as an attempt to provide an expansion to the Forgotten Realms (c) universe has instead introduced confusing new things, too quickly. However, this story does have merits... and should not be overlooked by the fans of Cunningham's work. As long as noone expects another Drizzt Do'Urden book, they will not be very disappointed.

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Summary: best unxpected read!!! wounderfull
Review: First of all i just finished reading every R.A.Salvetore book i could get my hands on. After i was lost on what to read next. I tried the war of the spider queen series and just wasnt that impressed. Then i picked this baby up and i was expecting another book that couldnt get close to R.A. but this got very close. It was 1 of my fastest going books ive every read. It took my a grand total of 2 days to finish. The dark humor was a great aspect of the book. The fact that there were other drow gods/goddess was great.When liriel goes to the surface you can picture her cunfused emotions almost as if u were there. looking for a great read and stright up adventure pick this up,

Rating:
Summary: Kept me on the edge of my seat
Review: For those of you interested in the Forgotten Realms world, this is a must-read. I enjoyed every passage of this book, keeping me on the edge of my seat most of the time. The descriptions are well-written, giving a vivid image of whats going on in the story. The characters are portrayed very well, giving excellent descriptions of their personalities which will make you cheer them on. A wonderful addition to the collection of any RPG gamer or fan.

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Summary: Beautiful.... FANTASTIC!!!
Review: I am utterly speechless. When I first read Elaine Cunninghams book called "Daughter of the Drow", I simply couldnt lay down the book. Those nightly hours spent with the beautiful mysterious Lirial and the fearsome warrior Fyodor is all you could ever ask for in a realm of Fantasy. Deffenently one of the best books I have ever read. Its keeping me up in the sleepless hours at night time, and its uniqe ability to draw you into that exact life they live is stunning!!

Rating:
Summary: Another fun drow read
Review: I chose this book because I had to read something for english class in a short period of time, and because I liked drow. Despite such strange reasons, I was pleased with DotD. Having read much of Salvatore's stories beforehand, I was eager to compare the two books. There are a few discrepancies that bothered me, such as Drizzt coming to the surface with his magic intact while Liriel had to fight for it (frankly, the former situation seems more likely to me, but then there wouldn't be much need for the Windwalker, which I find to be quite an interesting idea for an artifact). The characters weren't quite as likeable as Salvatore's either, but that does not mean they aren't interesting on their own. It struck me as peculiar that Liriel, for a spoiled princess, was not quite so uppity upon meeting a /human male/. Curiosity, though, can work miracles... Frankly, some of my favorite characters were the 'bad guys' such as Nisstyre and Gorlist; she did a fair job making them interesting. I have not yet read the sequels because I haven't had time, and I still have the rest of Salvatore to read, but to sum up my opinion thus far: Elayne has a very good writing style, easy to read; her grasp of the drow society is a bit weak in areas but it's nice that she dealt with the other gods besides Lolth (you'd think there weren't any if you read other books), and some of her concepts, though a bit faulty in places, are certainly interesting; not to mention the intriguing dichotomy in Liriel: exploring the world while still holding onto her drow traditions, such as defending spiders (that was a great touch)- a character who doesn't always act so rationally is a nice change of pace. It's a book worth reading, especially since it's quick! Don't take it too seriously (that's what Salvatore is for, in my opinion) and it's wonderful.

Rating:
Summary: Another fun drow read
Review: I chose this book because I had to read something for english class in a short period of time, and because I liked drow. Despite such strange reasons, I was pleased with DotD. Having read much of Salvatore's stories beforehand, I was eager to compare the two books. There are a few discrepancies that bothered me, such as Drizzt coming to the surface with his magic intact while Liriel had to fight for it (frankly, the former situation seems more likely to me, but then there wouldn't be much need for the Windwalker, which I find to be quite an interesting idea for an artifact). The characters weren't quite as likeable as Salvatore's either, but that does not mean they aren't interesting on their own. It struck me as peculiar that Liriel, for a spoiled princess, was not quite so uppity upon meeting a /human male/. Curiosity, though, can work miracles... Frankly, some of my favorite characters were the 'bad guys' such as Nisstyre and Gorlist; she did a fair job making them interesting. I have not yet read the sequels because I haven't had time, and I still have the rest of Salvatore to read, but to sum up my opinion thus far: Elayne has a very good writing style, easy to read; her grasp of the drow society is a bit weak in areas but it's nice that she dealt with the other gods besides Lolth (you'd think there weren't any if you read other books), and some of her concepts, though a bit faulty in places, are certainly interesting; not to mention the intriguing dichotomy in Liriel: exploring the world while still holding onto her drow traditions, such as defending spiders (that was a great touch)- a character who doesn't always act so rationally is a nice change of pace. It's a book worth reading, especially since it's quick! Don't take it too seriously (that's what Salvatore is for, in my opinion) and it's wonderful.

Rating:
Summary: a capable author succeeds in following a tough act
Review: I enjoyed Cunningham's portrayal of Liriel and Fyodor, two radically different characters brought together by destiny. Rarely in fantasy novels do characters ask themselves basic questions about their own evolving worldviews, and it is a treat when someone creates fiction with that level of depth.

The cross Cunningham bears is that anything about the Drow will always be compared to Salvatore, which really isn't fair to Cunningham but such are the travails of writing about the same topic as one of the greats. Her style is different than that of Salvatore but is entertaining in its own way.

Worth the read.