Daughter of the Drow

This book takes place after the disastrous defeat of Menzoberranzan at the hands of Bruenor and Co, in Salvatore's books but before the events that take place in the War of the Spider Queen series, and is thoroughly enjoyable read. A worthy addition to the dark elf line.Menzoberannzan is portrayed with the usual accuracy, scheming power hungry drow female priestesses, opressed males and slaves, and drow superiority to all beings. In addition a little bit of the partying/lustful side of the drow is shown as well as other drow gods. The latter was interesting in that the gods and godesses are actually fighting among themselves for hearts and minds of their worshippers and are willing to grant spells even to not entirely loyal worshippers in hopes of ensnaring them with this power.The main characters are engaging, Liriel is a talented and beautiful young drow wizardess with some fighter and clerical training. She's appealing in that she's definitely not evil but does admire the drow for their power, skill and magic, and she's always ready for treachery. Her personality combines a certain impish adventurousness with the pride of a drow female noble. Not to mention she has the oh so rare quality in drow of having a sense of humour, similiar to Pharaun in the second War of the spider queen book.The Rashemeni beserker she later meets and who's quest is intricately tied to hers, is quite formidable and clever himself, and their complicated relationship is interesting as well.The villains are many and appealing too. There's no Artemis Entreri, but Shaktri, Triel, Gromph and Nysstyre all fill their roles well and work for a variety of agenda, focusing of course primarily on their own. They are after all, drow. Triel and Gromph stand out much more if you've read all the other books in which they show up (Salvatore's series and War of the spider queen).Overall a worthy addition to the Dark elf stories in Forgotten realms, particulary if you've read all the other books, but it would probably stand well on it's own.

I love this book. I feel with the characters. I even find the bad guys interesting (I usually get bored with the vilians).Maybe I like this better than others because I'm not a Salvatore fan. Only read the Icewind Dale trilogy, and wasn't impressed at all.DotD has everything to make it great. It worked for me. I loved the way teh drow were. "Without joy." Striving for, not knowing it didn't exist. Liriel's first understanding of friendship was great. She never imagined a situation like that, a state of being like that, possible. To her frienship was hanging out with someone until they tried to kill her.Yes, she was a spoiled brat. She was meant to be. Nobility and honor were things she had to learn. So was the reality of consequences for actions. She had to grow up. By the end of Tangled Webs, we believe she's done it well.

At first, I was reluctant to read a book by another author of the Underdark. We all know that Mr. Salvatore is the master! The book easily flowed and by the time I was done. I couldn't believe the book was over. I can't wait for the next book! I loved the fact, that there were other Gods & Goddess besides the infamous spider queen. I was also fasinated with the community of drow outside of Menoberranzan dancing in the moonlight praising another Goddess.(I would like to see a cat fight between her and Lloth) I found Fyodor an interesting character even though little is known about him. All in all, this book is an interesting read. The transition from the underdark to the surface, I sensed that E.C. felt more at ease when the story took place on the surface. To be honest, if your a diehard Salvatore fan, I doubt you will like this book. I had to read this book with a new pair of eyes. Just remember that this is Liriel's story & not a female copycat of the well known powerful, but lovable hero from Menoberranzan.

"Daughter of the Drow" is a book that can stand on its own. No, it isn't in the tradition of R. A. Salvatore; the drow are portrayed differently, and even Menzoberranzan seems to have changed. But all of this is readily explainable; Elaine Cunningham's book is set in a time when Menzoberranzan itself is going through change, and the character of the book is a female drow mage. If the character of Liriel Baenre had been modeled on R. A. Salvatore's Drizzt, it would have been much less enjoyable, not to mention somewhat false. I thought this book was fascinating for portraying another side of the drow (the description of the nedeirra dance is particularly good), for the character of Liriel and the way she managed to be both evil and humorous at the same time, and for the character of Fyodor. Finally, two characters in fantasy who are going on a quest to solve a problem for themselves, not to save the world! That was a wonderfully refreshing idea. In short, this is a book that is different from the "traditional" books about the drow. Reader expectations, not the writing, are what would drag it down.