Customer Reviews

The Spine of the World (Forgotten Realms: Paths of Darkness, Book 2)

5 star:		(72)
4 star:		(44)
3 star:		(22)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(29)

 

 

Though I was a bit disappointed with this novel, well okay, more than a bit disappointed, it is still a book worth reading. Exploring Wulgar's character instead of Drizzt's is extremely interesting and shows Mr. Salvatore's desire to branch out instead of always sticking to Drizzt's life. Don't get me wrong, I love Drizzt and I love every single book with him in it, but after oh-so-many books about the stoic elf, exploring the persona and tribulations of another character is an excellent idea.

However, the novel had many downfalls. The story never seemed to move anywhere. The psychology of Wulfgar's plight could have been explored more and in a more interesting manner because ultimately that is what the book is about; Wulfgar's mental and spiritual strife. The other harlequin novel type half was really distracting from the main story and should not have been emphasized as much.

Thhough I severly miss the action packed chapters of his previous works, Mr. Salvatore shows he is not restricted to a stereotype of just writing about battle and action. He shows that he can write about love, loss, and the trials of friendship.

All in all, I'm happy Mr. Salvatore's attempting to explore the diversities of the character's, but this book just seemed dry and didn't seem to go anywhere.

I am looking forward to the next novel in the search of Aegis-Fang.

For a Dungeons and Dragons book that is not about either I am impressed. For once the author treats the character Wulfgar with respect and sheds believable light on the inner turmoil the barbarian faces after being in the Abyss. This is in stark contrast to how I have seen other science fiction and fantasy stories deal with this type of situation (like Star Trek). You do wonder if he will really ever fully recover as you read the story.

The part of the book not devoted to Wulfgar was totally unexpected yet I found myself truly caring for Meralda and the non-adventuring characters and their small part of the realms. The way the author weaves her story into that of Wulfgar is masterful, and made the ending of the book truly enjoyable.

When I saw the title I had thought that "The Spine of the World" meant that he would be spending lots of time in that part of the realms fighting giants and finding himself. After reading the novel is becomes clear the mountain range represents the separation in his soul between what he had been (to the north of the mountains) and what he had become (to the south).

When I heard Drizzt was not in this book, I was upset. When I heard it was all about Wulfgar, I was even more upset (I used to hate Wulfgar). But because it was Salvatore, I went and bought the book and sat down to read it.

WOW!!!!! I was pleasantly surprised, incredibly so. It was so well-written, I couldn't put it down. It wasn't the action--it's not a page-turner in that way--but you just want to know what kind of hell Wulfgar is going to go through in the next chapter. It was great (the only thing I have qualms about is the whole thing with the peasant girl... there was too much of her and Auckney... way too much). The Drizzt element was fantastic--a true philosopher, the stuff he had to say in the journal entries were great, and tied in so well with the stuff happening. Now I can't wait to see what happens in the next one! Surely Wulfgar will meet up with his friends again... and won't they be in shock!

Oh, yes... and I love Morik the Rogue!

Yet another amazing work by my favorite fantasy writer. I was certainly not dissapointed after reading this novel. In fact, I had, when I first picked up the book, no worries that I would miss Drizzt. From what I know about Drizzt from the previous eleven books, I'm sure he is doing just fine. Which brings me to another point. I am beginning to notice a change in what I love to read about in these books by Salvatore. When I first read the Icewind Dale Trilogy and the Dark Elf Trilogy, I loved it when Drizzt or any of his companions got in battles. I would play the mental imagery over and over for the greatest satisfaction. But now, as I have finished the 12th book, I realized how much more I enjoy reading about character developement. I thrive off learning more and more about each character Salvatore presents. Certainly I enjoy the battle scenes as reminders of how powerful these characters are, but I grow more and more fascinated with the ongoing struggle of Wulfgar's past and present life. As the reader learnes more about Wulfgar's horrific torment, he/she comes to understand why an entire book is necessary to cover his redemption, perhaps even more than one book...perhaps an entire trilogy...who knows, I just can't wait to find out! A great read for any who are not as closed and simple minded as those who criticize the book for a lack of Drizzt.

I can understand RA giving Drizzy a break, you have to get tired of the same focus after such a long time. I can even happily accept a book dedicated to Wulfgar. So I'm basically pleased with 135 pages of this book.

The rest reminds me of one of those realllllly long jokes where the teller delights in adding pointless details and description only to arrive at a punchline which was never intended to be funny in the first place. The joke's on you for listening, fool.

There is nothing remoely original about the secondary story, it's been done a hundred million times just this fiscal quarter. To get to the end result with this much pointless day-time TV stupidity is irritating. Exactly NONE of the secondary characters are interesting and, to be honest, I have no use for Wulfgar's Luskan pals either.

For a guy who has come up with some pretty decent lesser characters in the past this has to be his weakest effort. I think he was too busy killing Chewie.

I am not a D&D fan, I'm an RA fan and still am. It'll take a few more of these books for me to give up on him.

And one word about value. This book is a horrible value, even at half the list price. Huge font, big margins, thick paper all add up to a few hours spent for 15 bones. Wait for the paperback and go read some of his original non-TSR stuff, it's not the best, but it's good and you get your moneys worth.

Besides the numerous spelling mistakes throughout the book (far worse than his other books), this book was great. It seems there are many mixed reviews, which I can understand. The style of this book differed greatly from his styles in other books.

I have heard many people slam other books in this series, such as Passage to Dawn, and heard many slams on this book. But, no matter how bad parts of any of his books were, overall, they have all attributed to a greater excellency. Salvatore has yet to write a book in this series that I can put down without wanting to pick back up!

I was open to the change of style, to a heart felt book, rather than a sword driven one. Before, I, like many others, felt Wulfgar to be a plain and boring (if not heartless) character. This book certainly clarifies that his struggles run deeper than ever imagined. My only complaint is that this book really never talked about Wulfgars childhood, and how he felt growing up under the father figure of Bruenor. It would have been interesting to see himself reflecting upon his childhood self. Instead, we are left with third person point of views on this. Oh well.

Overall, GREAT book! If you've read the others, read this.

Spine of the World picks up from the end of Silent Blade, and was a suprisingly dark story. The reader gets to see the trusted, and tortured hero Wulfgar coming to terms with the apparent shambles that his life has become. Drunk, and disorderly, and becoming increasingly violent, I had to wonder if this may be Wulfgar's last stand. His violence soon costs him the only home that he is known in the city of Luskan, and he is expelled. Wulfgar, and his traveling companion/Drow spy Morik are soon accused of attempting to murder an old friend, and what follows makes the torture scene in Braveheart look tame! Wulfgar, and Morik manage to escape, and move on to a very different future, and one that I could not stop reading. Salvatore really explores the depths of his characters in Spine of the World, and yet I sorely missed Drizzt save for the periodic diary entires. It was an excellent read, and I plan to read it again. Just give it a chance, and I am sure that you will not be disappointed in this very different story from the Forgotten Realms. Enjoy!!!

Wow... seems people either loved or hated this book.

Yes, the first 3 parts of the book spend about half the time with a plot thread that isn't centered on Wulfgar. Bear with it - it is leading up to something.

Have faith and just keep reading because he brings it all together at the end. Wulfgar took on a major undertaking and transformation at the end of the book and Salvatore invested considerable time creating the context in which that decision was made.

Salvatore's universe is much broader than just Drizzt. As much as I like reading about Drizzt I would hate to see Salvatore in a rut where he could ONLY write about the famed dark elf. Wulfgar now has a bit more depth to him than what he had before. When and if he joins the COTH (Champions of the Hall), it will be most entertaining!

Bottom line, bear with it. You might not care for/about Marelda, Jaka, and Lord Feringal but it all comes together in the end. That and he creates fertile ground to start other stories.

I simply do not understand all of these positive reviews here. I too have read all of Salvatore's Drizzt novels and think they're fantastic, but throughout the entire time I was reading this book, I was thinking "What the hell is he doing here?". Remember: 1) Wulfgar is in only *half* the book, 2) the other half is *not* fantasy in the least; there is no magic, no monsters, no combat, no quest, no climactic ending, or antyhing else that you would expect to find in a fantasy novel. It could have very well just have been a romance novel set in the 1800's. You read the entire book thinking "this has got to get better", waiting patiently for the payoff, and end up no where at the end of the book.

Wulfgar is an interesting character, and Salvatore could have made this a great *fantasy* novel, but he didn't. I understand his desire to branch out in his writing career and try new things, but I wish he had done that in some other, different series. When you read a Drizzt-based novel from Salvatore, you come to expect certain things. When you don't get them, it's a real dissapointment. I hope he returns to normal in the next novel. If he doesn't, I know he's lost at least one fan.

I never wait too long for a new book in the seemingly neverending adventures of Drizzt Do'Urden, Cattie-Brie, Bruenor and Wulfgar.

At First, I was quite disappointed when Wulfgar "returned" from the clutches of Errtu. I thought it to be a rather lame way of putting him back into the story. That was until I read this book.

Instead of giving the usual hack'n'slash, typical to Salvatore, I found "Spine of the World" to be a quite refreshing and exciting story of a torn man sobering up..

"Spine of the World" joins two threads of stories into one in a simple, yet thrilling way. I couldn't stop reading until I found out what would become of Meralda, Biaste, Morik and of course of Wulfgar.

This is a story of a broken man, closed up in his own inner torments, who finds the will through another, who shows him the way to overcome those tormenting memories.

"Spine of the World" has shown me yet again that R.A. Salvatore is one of the best fantasy authors, if not...and keeps me waiting anxiously for "Servant of the Shard"