Homeland: The Legend of Drizzt

By R. A. Salvatore

The thrilling first adventure in the classic D&D fantasy series, the Dark Elf Trilogy—perfect for fans of the tabletop RPG and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.

Discover the origin story of one of the greatest heroes of the Forgotten Realms: drow ranger Drizzt Do’Urden.
 
As the third son of Mother Malice and weaponmaster Zaknafein, Drizzt Do’Urden must be sacrificed to Lolth, the evil Spider Queen, per the traditions of their matriarchal drow society. But with the unexpected death of his older brother, young Drizzt is spared—though still at the mercy of his abusive sisters.

As Drizzt grows older, and proves himself to be a formidable warrior at Melee-Magthere Academy, he realizes his idea of good and evil does not match up with those of his fellow drow, who show only cruelty to the other races of the Underdark . . . Can Drizzt stay true to himself in a such an unforgiving, unprincipled world? 

Drizzt Do’Urden, first introduced in The Icewind Dale Trilogy, quickly became one of the fantasy genre’s standout characters. With Homeland, Salvatore pulls back the curtain to reveal the fascinating tale of how this hero came to be—how this one lone drow walked out of the shadowy depths of the Underdark to leave behind an evil society and a family that wanted him dead.
 
Homeland is the first book in the Dark Elf Trilogy and the Legend of Drizzt series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Jun 23, 2009
• ISBN: 9780786954018

R. A. Salvatore

Over three decades ago, R. A. Salvatore created the character of Drizzt Do’Urden, the dark elf who has withstood the test of time to stand today as an icon in the fantasy genre. With his work in the Forgotten Realms, the Crimson Shadow, the DemonWars Saga, and other series, Salvatore has sold more than thirty million books worldwide and has appeared on the New York Times bestseller list more than two dozen times. He considers writing to be his personal journey, but still, he’s quite pleased that so many are walking the road beside him! R.A. lives in Massachusetts with his wife, Diane, and their two dogs, Dexter and Pikel. He still plays softball for his team, Clan Battlehammer, and enjoys his weekly DemonWars: Reformation RPG and Dungeons & Dragons 5e games. 

Reviews for Homeland

[ron18-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Having gotten into D&D a little with my kids, reading this was an attempt to see some game-specific story dynamics in action. I'd also seen it listed among favorite fantasy series. This book probably suffers from some of the problems common to pilot episodes, but it did give flavor to the game (useful to get running examples of the timing of magic use) and did a little unique world-building. There was little that was original, but a few fun twists on old themes. I haven't read Elric, but some of the dark elf love seems to originate from that classic.

Drizzt is an aggravating name. It's hard for me not to pronounce like the sound from a bug zapper.

I was hoping for some more original storytelling. For as many classic elements as it uses, there is still a feeling like it is a plot from an old He-Man episode, with the shoddy animation, reused backgrounds on loop, and cut scenes of villains pontificating in their throne rooms. I'll have to read more if I'm to get what is most loved about the series, but I'm not sure the invitation is tempting enough.

[briefmissives · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I turned to this recently when I wanted a quick fantasy fix, and because I'd heard that R. A. Salvatore's stuff was pretty good. While it wasn't as good as I expected, it was still a fun read.The story itself, dealing with dark elves (duh!) and Drizzt Do'Urden's rebellion against his race's ingrained lack of morality, is a good one. What marred the experience for me was not the story telling, but some bad writing quirks that Salvatore has. Specifically, he uses a set of tag lines for his dialogue over and over - and then he uses them some more. I get that dark elves are evil and all, but do they really have to *growl* and *snap* so much? As I remarked on my blog, it reached the point that I wondered if the dark elves had a bit of canine blood in them. There were some other things that seemed a bit goofy, which were incorporated into the book mostly (I assume) to plant more links to the D&D game itself. For example, all dark elves can levitate; the Do'Urdens, Drizzt's family, can levitate repeatedly. And so they have no stairway to their tower. They just levitate up to the balcony to get in. It was explained in the book that it helped them defend their home from the other ruling houses of the city, but even with that explanation - levitating into your house? Struck me as goofy. :)All in all, I don't regret reading it, even though I had to grit my teeth a bit to get through the dialogue. It was a bit battle heavy, but it *is* based on D&D, so I can't say I expected otherwise. I'm going to finish reading the Dark Elf Trilogy to see how it all pans out.

[kristelh_15 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book was part of my NPR top 100 SFF books that I have been working on completing. I have had this book since 9/11/17. It is a fantasy novel,the first book in The Dark Elf Trilogy, a prequel to The Icewind Dale Trilogy. It follows the story of Drizzt Do'Urden from the time and circumstances of his birth and his upbringing amongst the drow (dark elves). Drizzt is a male child, not that valued in this world. Women holding the power. Drizzt is allowed to live by providence and becomes a warrior but he is a man with honor and principle. The book takes us through his birth, childhood and his training as a drow warrior. Drizzt exists in a culture that is evil which makes his life very difficult. Legacy: I believe that this book has something to do with Dungeons and Dragons. A role playing came The stories are action packed, this being a background information book is probably not the best. The stories lack a bit in character development. They are readable. Achievement; made it to the NPR 100 list (the whole series made it, not this particular book). Style is nothing special, Sex, language, handled decently and no obvious PC in fact the book has been accused of being misogynist probably because the women (compared to spiders) are not very fond of men.

[brakketh-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

An enjoyable and page-turning fantasy romp.

[joseph_scifres-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

My first impressions of the book were not that it seemed a bit generic and that the plot moved too quickly (light on detail and description with large skips in time). However, I quickly accepted these after I came to understand that this is NOT the first book published, just the first book chronologically. This novel is intended as a 'ground zero' in the tale of Drizzt. And, if you can fully understand and accept that, the book is quite nice. However, if you are looking to be immediately sucked in and made a die-hard after this reading this solitary story, then, you are going to be out of luck.

[coffeesucker · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A pretty good read.

[revslick_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Homeland is the origin of Drizzt DoUrden and the primer for Drow culture. The Drow have a Spartan-like society that glorifies war but there is no honor among them. Day to day life is filled with deceit, treachery, and lies. I've often thought if Robert E Howard and L Sprague de Camp had a love child, it would be Salvatore. He is a master of adventure! Read further to see how Drizzt transcends the Drow culture.

[sffstorm · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved this book, it is an amazing example of a great fantasy novel. I had serious trouble putting it down. Drizzt is such an awesome character and his story is completely engaging. The depth and complexity of the character makes for a wonderful connection and a great read. I truely cannot wait to read the next book in the series.I would recommend this to anyone.

[perpetualrevision · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I'm still not sure how I feel about the fact that all the female characters are basically "evil" (at least from Drizzt's perspective, though they certainly don't seem very likable from my perspective either!)

On the one hand, I like the idea of "equal opportunity villains." Who says women can't be the bad guys? And how often do you see men as the subjugated group instead of women?

But on the other hand, the only two characters with any hint of virtue (at least by our standards) are both men, and it's not at all clear where they got this virtue, as it seems conspicuously absent from the women who dominate the dark elf society of the underworld. So I can't help but wonder: how did the men come by their "moral superiority," and will Drizzt ever encounter a woman with similar virtues?

[shirezu · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The story of the beginning of a legend. This book tells of how Drizzt, a Dark Elf, grows up as an honest, moral, skilled fighter in a city and race of pure evil and how he struggles against the world he was born in. Unfortunately the story ended too early so now I'll have to read the next book.

[bell7_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Drizzt is born a Dark Elf, or drow, living in a world of caves and evil, where status is everything and you can trample - and murder - anyone to get in your way, as long as you're not caught. Will revelations about his world break or twist him? How can he survive in the dog-eat-dog world of the drow?While I was reading, I kept wondering to myself why I didn't like it more. Another fantasy fan recommended the book to me as one of his favorite, and perhaps it gave me high expectations. Perhaps I was just in the wrong mood. But while I liked Drizzt and cared enough to keep reading the book, I wasn't bowled over. I kept nitpicking every time the narrator rather bluntly gave me information about a character or event, instead of working it into the story more subtly, and noticing every clunky bit of dialog. I might try some of Salvatore's newer books to see if his writing is improved, because I liked the premise and world-building, but while it sometimes interested me, it never had me enthralled.

[booksfordinner · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Drizzt! This is the fourth book by Salvatore I've read... I am reading them in the order he wrote them, not the chronological order. He is starting to hit his stride here: great ideas, great world building, just a hundred times more mature of a writer than he was just three books ago. Can't wait for some more.

[soliloquies · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This isn't the usual thing I read, but my bf loves these books so I wanted to see what they were like. Surprisingly enjoyable with a coming-of-age storyline and an introduction into the world of the Drow. Drizzt is an enigma to his fellow Dark Elves, struggling to find his own identity within the Underdark.

[evanplaice · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Easily my favorite character of any of the fantasy novels I've written (and I have read a LOT). Troubled and living as an outcast in a self-consuming society of individuals that are led blindly by a distant yet powerful figurehead.I'm not sure of how much of the material is motivate by modern culture but it's not hard to make that leap of faith. I think Drizzt is a prime example of how a fantasy character can be used to express more extreme and realistic perceptions of self/society/human nature than would ever be possible in a non-fiction work.

[trelander_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The story follows the upbringing of Drizzt Do'urden - secondboy of Daermon N'a'shezbaernon. The trilogy of Drizzt's childhood and life up to Icewind dale was written as a prequel to the Crystal Shard series that Drizzt originally showed up in.I have always read the series in Chronological order (via storyline not publication) and have enjoyed it that way. This being the first book I read, you get some premonitions from Drizzt's narration of his life talking about events and people yet to come and gives you a sense of greater self that you rarely see.The combat scenes were all very well written and enjoyable. The detail on the politics of the underworld were fascinating although a bit dark.This is one my favorite series of all times and this is my 4th time thru the chain of books.

[rainrunner · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I'm not one to write a long synopsis of a book because there are usually quite a few ahead of me. Anyway, it usually takes me awhile to figure out what the heck is going on when I start a new fantasy. I'm learning a new land, characters, etc. I have to say with Salvatore's style of writing, I really got things quickly. Menzoberranzan, Drizzt's home, holds a complex, aggressive bunch of dark elves. Drizzt's personality doesn't quite mesh with the norm, so to speak. Drizzt has taken a place in the top ranks of my favorite characters and I'm rather psyched to move on to book two, "Exile".

[kw50197 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Rereading Homeland has taught me some memories are better left alone. The story of the dark elf, Drizzt used to be one of my favourite reads especially the introduction to Drizzt's past and how he first met Guenhwyvvar. This time round however, nothing much seems to be happening. Drizzt's journey from innocent child to an extraordinary warrior is hardly surprising with the early demonstration of his natural talents. Even his nearly single handed combat fights, first against an earth elemental and later on against 2 wizards, which are meant to be a superb show of his prowess are hardly exciting stuff. Ho-hum. Let's hope the next book in the Drizzt saga, Exile, fares better.

[susanbevans · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In Homeland, R.A. Salvatore introduces us to Drizzt, drow and secondboy in the 9th house of the city of Menzoberranzan. It is the story of Drizzt's early life, his journey from birth to adulthood, as a member of an evil society of dark elves ruled by a dark Spider Queen deity.I am not a role-playing game girl, and am unfamiliar with "Forgotten Realms" - the game on which the Drizzt books are based. In fact I never would have read this at all if not for my husband. I don't even read a lot of science fiction. So I was caught completely by surprise when I actually enjoyed it.The story is complex, and compels the reader to continue turning pages to see where it will lead next. The setting is intricate and deliciously dark, illustrating the malevolent culture of the dark elves. With great artistry, Salvatore describes the Underdark, and the reader can see it as if it were a wicked painting passing before his eyes.Rich in detail and heavy with an unexpected and deep emotional connection to the characters, Homeland is an excellent fantasy novel. It is an astonishingly well-written introduction to The Legend of Drizzt. I will definitely continue reading this series.

[karlstar_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Salvatore goes back into the past of his hero, Drizzt, and explores his childhood in the Underdark. He does a great job of describing the drow society, and the machinations of its leaders. This is the story of how Drizzt became good, and why he fled from his homeland.

[joshteeters · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I turned to this recently when I wanted a quick fantasy fix, and because I'd heard that R. A. Salvatore's stuff was pretty good. While it wasn't as good as I expected, it was still a fun read.The story itself, dealing with dark elves (duh!) and Drizzt Do'Urden's rebellion against his race's ingrained lack of morality, is a good one. What marred the experience for me was not the story telling, but some bad writing quirks that Salvatore has. Specifically, he uses a set of tag lines for his dialogue over and over - and then he uses them some more. I get that dark elves are evil and all, but do they really have to *growl* and *snap* so much? As I remarked on my blog, it reached the point that I wondered if the dark elves had a bit of canine blood in them. There were some other things that seemed a bit goofy, which were incorporated into the book mostly (I assume) to plant more links to the D&D game itself. For example, all dark elves can levitate; the Do'Urdens, Drizzt's family, can levitate repeatedly. And so they have no stairway to their tower. They just levitate up to the balcony to get in. It was explained in the book that it helped them defend their home from the other ruling houses of the city, but even with that explanation - levitating into your house? Struck me as goofy. :)All in all, I don't regret reading it, even though I had to grit my teeth a bit to get through the dialogue. It was a bit battle heavy, but it *is* based on D&D, so I can't say I expected otherwise. I'm going to finish reading the Dark Elf Trilogy to see how it all pans out.

[jmcclain19 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Excellent fantasy story about Drizzt, the evil dark elf (otherwise known as the Drow) who just wouldn't be evil. Salvatore dances that fine razors edge of what is good and what is evil and all that's gray in-between. The author constructs this vividly dark and brooding world which Drizzt is born into - I could read several other novels on the back story of the Drow and their seedy underworld. The knifing & politics of keeping their evil deity happy makes for good reading. I just wish the rest of the trilogy matched up to this tale - the story of the world of the Drow extends somewhat into the first half of the 2nd story "Exile" but tapers off into a blase & boring zone from which it never returns.

[elbakerone · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Homeland takes the reader on a journey into the dark depths of Menzoberranzan, land of the evil dark elves but also birthplace of R.A. Salvatore's most popular hero Drizzt Do'Urden. This novel is considered by many to be Salvatore's best work and his combination of fantasy adventure with introspective prose sprinkled with mystery and wit make it a hard claim to argue against. Although it is truly a hard act to follow readers of this page turner will be eagerly reaching for Exile and Sojourn, the next two books in an amazing trilogy.

[kavinay-677830 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

There's probably a perfect age to read this book and find it fun and novel. My guess is around 16. Otherwise... it just gets a bit dull. The Drow are a neat idea, but Menzoberranzan comes across more as a module setting with the constant exposition. Drizzt's treatment as a Saturday morning cartoon hero doesn't really help much either.

Hopefully it gets better. The Underdark is such a well-loved setting that it would be nice to discover what makes it so popular.

[jklugman_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I read the Icewind Dale trilogy quite a while ago and I found it uninteresting and totally unmemorable. So this was quite a pleasant surprise. I think I liked this book for a similar reason as I enjoyed Feist and Wurts' Daughter of the Empire, a fantasy novel that belongs to a totally different franchise: both explore a strange society where our taken-for-granted norms are chucked out the window. The Feist and Wurts' work is the better of the two; it takes a more anthropological, less judgmental view (here Salvatore makes it clear this society is EVIL). I fear I will enjoy the rest of the books in this trilogy less, as the hero leaves Drow society and roams the surface of Faerûn and we get more of the stock high-fantasy cardboard characters that irked me with the Icewind Dale trilogy.

[johnnypanic13 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Homeland by R.A. Salvatore.The Legend of Drizzt #1I read these books back in highschool. Lots of years ago. More than I like to admit to myself. For about the next month I want to read something that I don’t have to think about. These, along with the Dragonlance books, were my first introduction to fantasy novels. There’s a lot of nostalgic baggage that goes along with these books.I would never recommend these books to someone who has sort of “matured’ in their fantasy reading. But for someone who just wants a good sword and magic vacation book, these are perfect.When I read this series the first time I started with the Icewind Dale trilogy. These three dark elf books are prequels. But in most reading lists you see see them listed first. And it’s true, chronologically they come earlier.But I would strongly disagree. Reading these books first, it gives the impression that Salvatore is trying to create a gritty, dark and edgy storyline. But that’s just not what these books are. Drizzt is a short skinny nimble Connan the Barbarian. Since the announcement for the next Drizzt book in 2014 just came out, I don’t think I’m spoiling anything by telling you that he always figures out a way to win out over the forces of evil. You know he’s going to win. You know he’s going to do the right thing. And you know he’s going to kick some ass along the way. He’ll protect his friends, and fight fiercely to protect the innocent. This isn’t A Game Of Thrones where you get all anxious about your favorite character getting suddenly and violently offed in the next chapter. You’re safe to kick back and enjoy and know that the good guys are going to win.But there’s the problem with reading the “Underdark” books first. They are meant to fill out the back story. To give Drizzt a bit of a troubled past. But if you start here, it’s his present, not his past. Sure, you get the story told in chronological order, but I would argue that it’s not as good as the Drizzt story where his Underdark days are more of a flashback.For your enjoyment, start with the Icewind Dale trilogy.These are just fun books, so I don’t know if it’s worth the deeper discussion. But, I wonder if the order you read them in doesn’t just change your enjoyment, but if there’s a less harmless change to the over all theme too. I read a harsh, but good, review of these book. A reader who was disturbed with the relentless and unredemptive darkness and violence in this book. The reviewer wasn’t wrong. And without the context of the moral beacon and defender of justice that Drizzt become, I’d have to agree with that assessment. Flip it. Start with Drizzt as a character always struggling with the “right thing”, and then step back into the dark past, and it makes his moral compass more remarkable.Aaaaanyway…. Fun books. But start with the Icewind Dale trilogy. Take them on vacation. Or read them when you have to work stupid hours at work for a couple months and just want something to read while you’re going to sleep, or don’t want to think too much. Good action sequences. Swords, wizards, monsters, action galaore. Nothing too deep.

[laphenix · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A fascinating world. Honestly, I think the cover is what kept me from enjoying to book more, the sickly colors painted the world and pushed me out of the pages.

[rbtwinky · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book is awesome! I love watching Drizzt grow and learning about his upbringing. Getting to see the culture of the Drow so intimately is also fantastic. Ultimately, this book is great because of the inner turmoil Drizzt goes through as he attempts to come to terms with “what it means to be a Drow” and his existence as one.