Rating: Summary: No one writes fantasy like Salvatore! Review: Whenever the darkness within the world became too great ... Whenever greed, selfishness, and cruelties abound ... Whenever all turn away from their god(s) ... the demon dactyl awakens! Once again the demon's time had come. His goblin and giant armies spread death and misery in the land of Corona. The first village to fall was Dundallis. Only two survived. Jill, also known as Pony, was unable to deal with the massacre she witnessed. Her mind sealed it all away. Unable to even recall her name, she was taken in by a friendly couple. Her life led her to train hard and become one of an elite corps of warriors. Elbryan thought himself to be the only survivor. He did not know his beloved, Pony, lived. He was taken and trained by the elves to be the next mighty Ranger. Elbryan was no more. He was forged in battle and became Nightbird, the Ranger! Elsewhere, on a far-off island, a shower of gemstones fell from the sky, each full of incredible power. It was up to one young monk to steal them from a corrupt monastery and keep them from the evil that had awakened. People called him "the mad friar". He was the chosen one! Only he could destroy the dactyl. But first a warrior, a ranger, and a centaur must get him there! ***** R.A. Salvatore shows clearly in this book why many people consider him to be today's Master of Fantasy! From the beginning and until the ending, the story is non-stop thrills that kept me hanging onto every typed word! No one writes Fantasy like R.A. Salvatore! *****
Rating: Summary: An excellent, spellbinder Review: Just when you think it's moving slow the plot explodes into action and doesn't ever stop. A unique story to be sure, with familiar elements from Salvatore's more popular (arguably?) Drizzit series. (if you think i spelled it wrong than you need to read a little closer next time.) I picked it up to have something to read while waiting for the next hunter's blades book. I'm nearly finished with the trilogy now, 3 weeks later.
Rating: Summary: A different story Review: This book may seem like the Drizzt novels at first glance, but they are definitly different once you get further into the plot. I recommend this book for any fans of the Drizzt books. Don't listen to people when they say that the series are similar, because they are not.
Rating: Summary: Not A Book for Drizzt fans Review: Upon finishing every book written by Salvatore on the Drizzt 'Do Urden series. I was really looking forward to all the Demon wars Books. When reading the IceWind Dale series and all others I never put it down and hated the fact I had to sleep because I wanted to read!! But with this Demon Wars series I found myself falling asleep!! It seems that these characters are based on the Band of the Hall. I just couldn't get into it becasue it was like I had already read it before! You have the main charcters that portray Drizzt and all of his friends, the story line is different and the battle scenes are writtten like wise. But to me it was the same and not as good. But because Salvatore wrote them I will try to read them anyway and reccomend them also, just don't get your hopes up!
Rating: Summary: It's only the beginning.......... Review: This book starts R.A. Salvatore's Demon Wars series. It is an excellent series. It is his own world and he does wonderful things with it. There are many unique elements to these books and it is much more mature reading than his Dark Elf series. I believe that this series continues to get better with each book. It is worth starting the series, to get to Mortalis, which is one of Salvatore's best. Each book is a great read on it's own, but the series also continually builds up the story, which will be culminated in the eagerly awaited book, Immortalis. Whether you are a fan of Salvatore because of the Drizzt novels, or are new to his books, you can't miss with the series. It is his best.
Rating: Summary: Better characters than story... Review: On the world of Corona, an evil demon awakens from his imprisoning slumber and plots his conquest of the world. A goblin and giant army raze the village of Dundalis to the ground, and only two souls survive: Elbryan and Pony. The two teens are just discovering their love for one another, but they are separated in the attack, neither realizing the other has survived. Elbryan finds himself rescued by elves and trained to be their ranger, while Pony makes her own way in the world. And at the monestary at St. Abele, Avelyn, a novice monk, begins his training for a sacred task: recovering the magical stones which periodically fall from the sky. Ultimately, of course, our trio of heroes are brought together, and undertake the task to defeat the demon. They form a fellowship and venture forth to the firey mountain that the demon calls home, and... Well, you get the idea. This isn't the first time this sort of tale has been told, and it's hardly the best telling, either. The plot is fairly basic and straightforward. The big, bad, evil character is a demon, with bright red skin and bat-like wings, and probably horns (though I don't remember that detail). All of the non-human races in this world become his allies, except for the elves, because elves always seem to be good. His goal is to kill all the humans, and the elves, too. His motivation seems to be that he's evil, and these are the sorts of things he does. Salvatore's writing style is uneven. While he mostly tells his story in straightforward, unpretentious prose, every so often, a sentence would pop up that made me wonder if an editor had read this book before it was published. Awkward prose aside, though, I enjoyed this book enough to finish it, and to want to read the next installment. Salvatore may not be an artist with words, but he's an effective storyteller. He crafts compelling characters whose lives I found myself caught up in. I didn't so much want to find out what happened next because of the twisting, labyrinthine plot, but because I cared about these people's fates.
Rating: Summary: Salvatore Epic Review: I had read all of Salvatore's forgotten realms books before starting this series. At first I was reluctant to move onto these as seems to be the case with most Drizzt fans. After starting the series and now finishing the 4th book I can cleary see why Salvatore holds this series up as his best work and I would have to agree. Not since reading Tolkien has a story been so satisfying to me. Every time I finish one of these I have the sense of having been part of an epic journey. Many say these books are a bit dark and when compared to the heroes of the hall I would have previously agreed. After completing Mortalis though I no longer think of these as dark or foreboding. The key themes for me have been faith, morality and coming to grips with ones own mortality and since of purpose. As always there is plenty of action, epic adventure and Salvatore spins battle scenes that are unrivaled by his peers. If you found any enjoyment in his Forgoten Realms book you owe it to yourself to start reading this series.
Rating: Summary: Quick start, slow middle, incredible ending Review: R.A. Salvatore, the author of many works of fantasy, is best known for his dark elf Drizzt in the Forgotten Realms world. In those works, he's somewhat constrained to elements of the role-playing gaming world. The Demon Wars saga, of which "The Demon Awakens" is the first novel, is a chance for Salvatore to create his own world with no restrictions. The saga begins with a creature known as a dactyl being freed from its longtime prison. The creature slowly grows in strength and amasses armies of goblins, giants, and a dwarf-like race. On the flip side, the adventures of three children are explored from around age 10 until they reach young adulthood. The paths the three take are all different, but they all have the ultimate goal -- to put a stop to the growing evil. They meet a number of companions along the way including a centaur and a nearly untameable stallion. The days of the heroes as children (first third of the book) are filled with thrilling adventures. However, as they grow into young adults, the pace tends to bog down. Some of this is character development, but the author seemed to go a bit overboard in places and some of it seemed unnecessary. However, the final third of the book is a non-stop hack n' slash battle between the forces of good and evil. The ending is somewhat surprising, but obviously ended in an ambiguous way to leave the door open for a sequel (of which there are now four). If you enjoy Salvatore's other fantasy works, definitely delve into the world of the Demon Wars saga. If you're new to fantasy, it would also be a good starting point to introduce oneself to modern fantasy. Have patience with the middle third of the book and you'll be well-rewarded with action-filled finale.
Rating: Summary: Entertaining But Not Profound Review: This is the first book by Salvatore I have read. I have only recently developed an interest in the fantasy genre, having been inspired by The Lord Of The Rings movie. Salvatore is no Tolkien, but you shouldn't and don't have to spend your whole lifetime to write an entertaining and satisfying book. For all of its flaws, this book was entertaining, and I will be reading the others in the series. It's not a very profound work, but I doubt Salvatore intends his work to be. I pretty much liked the whole book except I thought the battle-scenes difficult to follow. He tends to get bogged down in details when describing them, almost as if he feels compelled to paint us as realistic a picture of them as in the movies. Since an author can never be that explicit, he is doomed to failure in this attempt. Also, the effort does not seem worth it, for all we really want to know is not what the specific fighting moves and combinations a character uses are but who is victorious and the consequences of this for the rest of the story. All in all, this book was everything that I wanted it to be, and then some. I recommend it to those who want to have a slightly better idea of what the fantasy genre should be and is all about. It is probably not for hardcore fans of Salvatore's, but serves as a good introduction to the genre.
Rating: Summary: Excellent Fantasy Story Review: I've been a Salvatore fan since I first read the Icewind Dale Trilogy, and I actually am enjoying this series a little more. The story follows Elbryan, a youth in Dundalis who is left orphaned after his town is sacked by goblins and giants, Pony, Elbryan's playmate and love interest who grew up with him, and Avelyn a monk studying the magic holy stones in the Abellican church. They all come together and must face off against an evil demon dactyl that is gathering an army of powries, which are evil bloodthirsty dwarves, goblins, and giants. The transitions between each character work well by chapter, and you really end up caring about each of the main characters. The difference between this and the Drizzt novels is that all the charactes are vunerable. In other words, some of the characters you come to love may not last, let's just leave it at that. The only problems are the usual problems with Salvatore's writing, overuse of certain words (ex. stoic, stoically...). It's a small price to pay for such a fun and exciting book. The holy stones make magic seem new and interesting also. Definitely pick up this book if you have the chance, you won't regret it.
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