Scan barcode
A review by brianmccullar
Sojourn by R.A. Salvatore
4.0
I'm pressing forward on my journey in the Forgotten Realms with Sojourn, the third and final book in the Dark Elf Trilogy and I entered this book with a bit of caution since I had heard that it was the weakest book in the trilogy, but I'm happy to say that I don't think I can agree!
This book feels like both a perfect and natural continuation of Exile, embodying Drizzt's yearning to belong and find a place to call home, as well as tackling not one, not two, but THREE powerful topics. Those topics are?
Firstly: Coming of age, yes Drizzt is about 40 years old during this book, but that's a drop in the bucket in the life of a Drow, and this book has him truly setting out into the world for the first time, learning to socialize, communicate and understand.
Secondly: Racism, this is a powerful theme throughout the entire book and one I feel that doesn't get talked about enough in reviews. Drizzt is good-natured, friendly, and caring, but is immediately treated with disdain and hostility by nearly everyone he meets, just because of what he is, which is a powerful parallel to bigotry in real life. I'll quote Drizzt verbatim to illustrate this point: "But in the end, principles would be seen and accepted for what they were, the character of the person would outweigh the color of his skin and the reputation of his heritage." I found this to be a very strong asset to the book.
Thirdly: Purpose, this is arguably the most powerful theme in this book. What is a person if they have no purpose? Is life worth living, if you're too afraid or unwilling to actually live it? If you just sit idly by, safe and secure without experiencing the wonders of the world and life, are you actually living at all? And if not, what does it mean to truly live?
Not only did I feel these topics were tackled well, but also at a pace that neither passed things by too quickly to have weight nor dragged on so painfully slow that you wished they'd just pass. This is again, a testament to Salvatore's writing prose, he doesn't attempt to be flowery in his descriptions or make scenarios sound smarter than they are, nor does he push past them with so little regard that the messages ring hollow, and that's a balance I have rarely found in my reading journeys so far.
But none of this comes at the expense of what might make you love the first two novels either! It has just as many, if not more, exciting and fun action scenes, great characters who you smile when reading, chuckling comedy, and intense tragedy. It's a very well-rounded experience, and it manages to balance the individual story arcs well, it ends in a way that feels like a perfect setup for the next trilogy, which I'm excited to dive into!
Is this the weakest of the trilogy? In my opinion, no, not at all. I'd say it's arguably the strongest of the three, vert nearly tied with Homeland, though for very different reasons, so I'm giving this book a 4.5 out of 5 star review, pick it up, read it, and love it!
This book feels like both a perfect and natural continuation of Exile, embodying Drizzt's yearning to belong and find a place to call home, as well as tackling not one, not two, but THREE powerful topics. Those topics are?
Firstly: Coming of age, yes Drizzt is about 40 years old during this book, but that's a drop in the bucket in the life of a Drow, and this book has him truly setting out into the world for the first time, learning to socialize, communicate and understand.
Secondly: Racism, this is a powerful theme throughout the entire book and one I feel that doesn't get talked about enough in reviews. Drizzt is good-natured, friendly, and caring, but is immediately treated with disdain and hostility by nearly everyone he meets, just because of what he is, which is a powerful parallel to bigotry in real life. I'll quote Drizzt verbatim to illustrate this point: "But in the end, principles would be seen and accepted for what they were, the character of the person would outweigh the color of his skin and the reputation of his heritage." I found this to be a very strong asset to the book.
Thirdly: Purpose, this is arguably the most powerful theme in this book. What is a person if they have no purpose? Is life worth living, if you're too afraid or unwilling to actually live it? If you just sit idly by, safe and secure without experiencing the wonders of the world and life, are you actually living at all? And if not, what does it mean to truly live?
Not only did I feel these topics were tackled well, but also at a pace that neither passed things by too quickly to have weight nor dragged on so painfully slow that you wished they'd just pass. This is again, a testament to Salvatore's writing prose, he doesn't attempt to be flowery in his descriptions or make scenarios sound smarter than they are, nor does he push past them with so little regard that the messages ring hollow, and that's a balance I have rarely found in my reading journeys so far.
But none of this comes at the expense of what might make you love the first two novels either! It has just as many, if not more, exciting and fun action scenes, great characters who you smile when reading, chuckling comedy, and intense tragedy. It's a very well-rounded experience, and it manages to balance the individual story arcs well, it ends in a way that feels like a perfect setup for the next trilogy, which I'm excited to dive into!
Is this the weakest of the trilogy? In my opinion, no, not at all. I'd say it's arguably the strongest of the three, vert nearly tied with Homeland, though for very different reasons, so I'm giving this book a 4.5 out of 5 star review, pick it up, read it, and love it!