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“The Companions is the best novel [R.A.] Salvatore has ever written. It’s insanely courageous, profoundly powerful, masterfully constructed, and easily Salvatore’s most ambitious work to date.”—Paul Goat Allen, BarnesandNoble.com “After a quarter of a century, R.A. Salvatore just keeps getting better and better, and The Companions is another masterful leap forward for one of the greatest fantasy epics of all time.”—Philip Athans, best-selling author of Annihilation and The Haunting of Dragon’s CliffThis latest installment in New York Times best-selling author R.A. Salvatore's beloved fantasy saga, The Companions moves Salvatore's signature hero Drizzt into a new era of the Forgotten Realms. As Drizzt's fate hangs in the balance, he reflects on the lives of the trusted allies who stood by his side throughout his early life--the friends now known as the Companions of the Hall. Meanwhile, the first stirrings of the Sundering begin.
I've been a fan of The Forgotten Realms and R.A. Salvatore in particular since early 1992. The Realms was a place that was full of wonder, where the evil, darkness, pain and suffering was relentlessly overpowered by the hope, mercy and selflessness of characters like Drizzt Do'Urden, Cadderly Bonaduce, Elminster, the Seven Sisters, the members of the Harpers and others. Then around 2000 it seemed that the darkness began to win. Too many of the events that occured after the Time of Troubles left the world darker than before. And then in 2008, the entire world was broken - many thought beyond repair - by the events of the Spellplague.But the world is broken no longer! In The Companions, R.A. Salvatore has masterfully begun the restoration - nay, resurrection - of the Forgotten Realms. If you've read his previous books in the Legend of Drizzt saga - specifically the Transitions and Neverwinter series - you'll quickly see how Salvatore has been subtly laying the groundwork for this story since before any of us knew there was going to be a Spellplague.The novel is more a collection of sub-plots tied together into an overarcing story, with chapters alternately advancing the individual tales of Ruqiah, Reginald "Little Arr Arr" Roundshield, and Spider as they prepare themselves for a meeting ordained by a goddess. Drizzt does not feature as a main character, but his presence is felt throughout. Several interesting new supporting characters are introduced throughout the book and given tremendous depth considering that we're essentially talking about novella-length stories for the three sub-plots. In all, it's a very enjoyable and exciting read that I had trouble putting down for any length of time.But more importantly for those of us invested in the Forgotten Realms as a whole, it is the beginning of the Sundering, which - ironically - is pulling the world back together. Instead of the doom and gloom that has dominated Realms stories for over a decade, it is a tale of hope, of love, of friendship, duty, loyalty - of all the good things that we once knew to be the foundation of the Realms. It is the hearld announcing the return what we "old-timers" of the Realms lovingly refer to as "Ed's Realms." What had become old, tired - dead - is new and exciting again. For those of us fortunate enough to have learned of the Forgotten Realms 20-plus years ago, it's like the first time you opened the old gray boxed set and began exploring your new home.Bravo, Mr. Salvatore!
