The Woods Out Back

Rating:
Summary: Salvatore vs Anderson
Review: Read Poul Anderson's "Three Hearts and Three Lions." Then, as soon as you're done, read R.A. Salvatore's "The Woods Out Back." They are essentially the same story. A mundane figure from 'our world' finds himself in an alternate world (both involve the myth of Faerie), where he is chosen to wear the armor and guise of an old hero, and take up that hero's weapon - which, in both cases, is essentially a spear, or lance. The 'stranger in a strange land' then becomes embroiled in a plot to save the world, confronts witches and trolls, befriends strange-accented little people (Hugi and Mickey are nearly the same character!), and ultimately tries to use his modern logic to win the day in a world that defies logic in all its forms. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Salvatore flatters Anderson in the same manner he often flatters Tolkien. If a novel's quality is gauged by its originality, then "The Woods Out Back," as you can tell, comes up short. Even so, it's a fast-paced read, and colorful enough that it differentiates itself a little from Anderson's likewise compelling (but superior) novel. Still, there's something to be said for borrowing concepts so blatantly from other writers. For goodness' sake, the lead characters in both "WOB" and "THaTL" are even similiar PHYSICALLY! I liked Salvatore's take on this kind of story, if only moderately, but I can't resist being the one to point out the glaring parallels between his work and Anderson's. Keep it in mind.

Rating:
Summary: This book (and the 2 after it) are VERY cool!!!
Review: Salvatore has written a jewel. It brings up alot of the problems of humanity while still delivering an humors adventure. I would most definitly recomend this book to anyone who likes salvatore's work, even if you don't this is a good book to get you into his writting.

Lord Theasa

Rating:
Summary: YOU HAVE TO READ THIS BOOK!!!
Review: This book is exciting and intresting. R.A. Salvatore, as usual, makes you love his characters. This book is a great start to a wonderful trilogy. You have to read this GREAT book

Rating:
Summary: Not great, but still enjoyable
Review: Unfortunately for books like this, they are always compared to Salvatore's Drizzt novels. In my mind, it's tough to compare to the Drizzt novels, this book is not that good, but I still liked it. This book was very original and very different from the rest of his novels. It still had a lot of action like most of Salvatore's book, and it still had Salvatore's unique and fun characters. The story starts out with a normal guy being taken to a fantasy world. He meets a leprechaun and an elf and they try to reforge a famous spear. They go through many trials through a creative world with many references to "The Hobbit." The leprechaun was my favorite character, the rest of the characters were enjoyable too. This book reminded me a lot of "Magical Kingdom for Sale: Sold!" by Terry Brooks, I don't know which one was better. This is not the most advanced of books, but what do you expect from a 290 page first book. There are a lot of better series out there (LOTR, A Song of Fire and Ice, the Drizzt series, act.) but if you are looking for a simple and enjoyable book to read, this would not be a bad choice. I liked it, but it has too tough of competition to compete against. Hardcore Salvatore fans might want to give it a try, it's definitely better than "The Sword of Bedwyr."