And May the Road Rise to Meet You, Until We Meet Again…

This first book of “The Sundering” series feels a little like Wizard’s of the Coast copying off of DC comics new 52, rewinding a long running, long loved series to the very beginning in an attempt to get new readers interested in the further adventures of Drizzt and the Companions of the Hall.  While this book sets up plenty of questions to get you interested in the idea of the “sundering,” The Companions itself is more of an introduction to what comes next than a stand-alone tale by Salvatore that’s heavy on exposition and light on action, so read only if you’re planning on sticking with the series for the long run.

It’s been years since I picked up my last book featuring Drizzt (it’s also been a while since I picked up my last 20-sided die, but that’s another, unrelated story) and I was intrigued to see that Wizard’s of the Coast was reintroducing the Companions I’d almost forgotten about.  Each book is going to be written by a different author so it’s difficult to say how well the story will hold up with changing hands, but this isn’t uncommon for a lot of the D&D series books and they usually turn out okay.  “The Companions”, however, does not take the reader on another quest with Drizzt and his friends, in fact, the group is not reunited until the last pages.  The purpose of this first book is to introduce you to the characters as they were in their previous lives and who they are in this new era.  Yes, Salvatore makes references to previous adventures but you won’t miss anything if you’re a first time reader.

Each of these companions goes on to their own new life and their own adventures, each of which makes for an interesting reading experience on their own, but also serve as an introduction to the characters, politics, history, and places of the Forgotten Realms.  As someone already familiar with this world I was worried this preview would get monotonous, but Salvatore has woven the adventures in well enough to keep you turning pages without getting bored while helping new readers along without getting lost.

If taken on its own this book is not one of Salvatore’s best, but it sets up an exciting new challenge for the Companions of the Hall and I’m looking forward to seeing what this new series has to offer.

I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a review.