The cover of Exile. In the background is the giant floating head of Guenhwyvar, a giant panther, with an expression that could be either menacing or laughing while stoned. In the foreground is Drizzt, a white-haired dark elf, looking dramatic while fire flares around him and a couple of goblins look on, terrified.

Exile

“There’s still some dialogue that feels stilted, some descriptions which seem affected, but the writing here isn’t nearly as painful as his previous work. (Either that or I’m just developing scar tissue from all the terrible books I’ve read, which is a very real possibility.)”

The cover of Homeland. Drizzt, a dark elf with long white hair, climbs over a tall black gate with a scimitar in one hand. Behind him is an ornate building with many phallic-looking towers.

Homeland

“I’ve thrown a fair amount of shade at Salvatore in my previous reviews — the Mary Sue characters, the stilted dialogue, the incredibly florid, dramatic prose style — and all of those flaws are still present here. But despite all that, I have to admit that this is a surprisingly good book.”

The cover of Viperhand. In the foreground, an erupting volcano rises out of a lake. In the background are a series of disconnected images: a cloaked man with an indescribably silly helmet, a woman in particoloured clothing carrying a wand, an armoured crossbowman, some Maztican warriors, and a hand with an eye in the palm.

Viperhand

“So let me get this straight, old man — you did a Ph.D in Astrology just so you could tell us “the moon’s going to keep shining, and things will be different”? Jesus, I could have told you that!”

The cover of Dragonwall. In the background is Batu Min Ho, an Asian man with long black hair and a thin, drooping moustache. In the foreground are two women in tight-fitting cheongsam dresses and the Shou Emperor sitting on a throne shaped like a green dragon.

Dragonwall

“After all, the one thing D&D was really lacking was yet another goddamned word for polearms…”

The cover of Horselords. In the background is a portrait of Yamun Kahan, a Mongol-looking man with strong cheekbones and a thin moustache. He's wearing a furred helmet and staring at the camera intensely. In the foreground is Koja, a tonsured priest on a horse, talking to a mounted cavalryman. On the right is Eke Bayalun, a woman holding a staff and dressed in furs staring off into the distance.

Horselords

“I appreciate Cook’s nuanced portrayal of the Tuigan: they’re dirty, brutal, and barbaric, but also clever, well-organized, and surprisingly sophisticated in some respects. It’s a much more realistic and complex depiction of a culture than the Mazticans, who seemed to be strictly divided into cartoonishly evil nobles and virtuous noble savages.”

The cover of Ironhelm. In the foreground is a stepped Aztec-style pyramid in a forest. Above it float a series of disconnected images: a black-haired young woman wearing a glowing amulet, a dashing young conquistador with poofy pantaloons and a spear, an armored dwarf, and a mounted horseman.

Ironhelm

“You know the plot already; you learned it in high school. They’re even wearing full conquistador outfits in the cover art, just to ensure you don’t miss the historical parallels and confuse this for a fantasy story.”

The cover of The Wyvern's Spur. In the background, a red-scaled wyvern rises up against a sunset. In the middle ground, Olive, a caped halfling woman with long red hair, is playing a complicated lute-like instrument. In the foreground Giogi, a hawk-faced young man with a serious expression, stares off to one side while holding a rapier in one hand and the glowing egg-shaped Finder's Stone in the other.

The Wyvern’s Spur

“It’s about one-third comedy of manners, one-third mystery novel, and one-third swashbuckling action, which adds up to a much greater focus on the characters and their society than any of the other Realms novels to date.”

The cover of The Halfling's Gem. A train of camels races across a desert towards the viewer. The lead camel carries Drizzt, who's disguised as a blond-haired elf and naked to the waist, wielding a scimitar in one hand. The next camel carries Wulfgar, a muscular barbarian, and Catti-Brie, an improbably scantily dressed young woman. Far in the distance, Bruenor, an old dwarf, is on the camel in the rear.

The Halfling’s Gem

The Halfling’s Gem, unfortunately, is a textbook example of Orientalist literature: the noble northern (Western) characters visit exotic Calimshan (the Middle East), are disgusted by what they find, demonstrate their moral and physical superiority by kicking seven kinds of hell out of the depraved Calishites, then return to their home.”