​The Spine of the World: Legend of Drizzt: Paths of Darkness, Book 2

Review by Paul Fiander

Written by: R. A. Salvatore
Narrated by: Victor Bevine
Length: 13 hrs and 4 mins 
Series: Legend of Drizzt, Book 12
Publisher: Audible Studios

Although the name on the cover is The Legend of Drizzt this is a Wulfgar tale through and through. The former king of the Tribes of Icewind Dale found himself back in the mortal realm and around the ones he loved. The companions have since parted ways with the big man taking to the dockside streets of the northern port of Luskan. The issue is how easily can he shift back from the torment of Errtu to his previous life. The list of tortures that we are exposed to throughout this book make me never want to get onto the wrong side of writer RA Salvatore. Some of the torments are imaginative and downright cruel, however they are interwoven into the narrative from start to finish.

There is however a fly in the ointment and it comes in the form of the tale of a young peasant girl by the name of Meralda Ganderlay. Her story is okay but could have been achieved in a shorter manner. Instead we get a rather long look at a tale of young love that follows a rather predictable route and shows rather petulant and one dimensional characters. For a series filled with complex characters like Jarlaxle and Drizzt himself this shift feels like a misstep. I can see the desire to create a full backstory for what does become a turning point in the narrative, the trouble is it’s just not as strong as other story strands both in this book and throughout the series. Thankfully though Wulfgar and his new found “best friend” Moric the Red find a way to entertain us in a mixture of fights, drinks and even the odd attempted felony.

There is a central theme running through this title that of Justice, every scenario seems to pay off looking at this central idea. Some are quite transparent like the Carnival in Luskan where we get an insight into the use of torture to the more subtle like the fate of a babe in arms. The idea works well and we get Drizzt’s usual letters throughout to remind us of what his feelings are on the situation. Most of the musings are based on the idea of humanity which have an interesting perspective. Even if you do not agree with the principles laid out you can not fault the idea behind Salvatore’s creation. Using a novel to look at sociopolitical ideas is a wonderful move. Of course this is just my reading of the narrative but this is not really the most veiled look at a larger subject.

The narration is generally strong as always by Victor Bevine but his vocal depiction of Jaka Sculi annoys me. I think this is more to do with the loathing I have for the character, so in that way Bevine has done his job with aplomb and created a presentation that perfectly suits this hideous character.

Although this is not the strongest title in the series it does allow some semblance of movement for Wulfgar. Hopefully this will pay off in the future and then this book could feel like one that the series needed in order to bring the key players back into sync.