I was looking for a good book to read and this series kept on nudging me to try it. It's everywhere, all over amazon with its seemingly endless different packaging and editions and they usually take up a few rows in the fantasy section of bookstores. So I decided to try it out.

It was a good read, it was short and well written, but it seemed to be wandering around without much of a solid plot. That can be expected though since its a prequel and its purpose is to introduce the drow race and the main character, Drizzt, so I didn't look too far into it. The only thing that was pretty off was the way in which he was raised. He spent around 8 years of his childhood locked inside a room with his older sister that was 'teaching' him his standing in drow society (males are looked down upon by women). I thought that this was a huge flaw. I have read many books where there is a race, class, or gender that was spat on by people of higher standings, but I have never read of a slave or a servant go through 8 years orientation to fit that role. It's expected that they learn through experience, not 8 years of brainwashing. Nevertheless, it all proved useless against the boy wonder who blatantly disrespected his mother the first day he gets out. Aside from this, I wish the author would have explained a bit more of how the city functions. The role the noble houses play in the government, how the regular drow citizens live, and where the real power lies in the government. I feel as if he only scratches the surface of all this.

Other than that, the book has its high points. I enjoyed the moments of self discovery that Drizzt experienced throughout the book, in which he seems to be understanding the drow race. The parts with the panther are quite good as well, even though there is a 'Love conquers all' sequence that I think the author should have avoided and had gone with a more realistic solution to the dilemma.

Overall this is a pretty good read, a simple and crisp book for anyone that wants to indulge themselves on a little fantasy.

I give a book 100 pages of leeway. This one didn't make the cut.
The characters are not fleshed out or sympathetic, the descriptive writing is unremarkable, and the plot is unengaging. This all leads to it being a total slog, and I finally gave up.
It's not Gene Wolfe bad, but this still needs a serious rewrite.

This was my first Salvatore book and I must say that I was utterly impressed! Other than Harry Potter, I have read very little fantasy, but I can already tell that I'm hooked on this series. Salvatore's prose is no-fluff, nonstop action from cover to cover. I found HOMELAND so exciting, I read it in only two sittings! Already, I've grown attached to the characters and can't wait to finish the next book. An "A+" for Salvatore, a master fantasy author indeed!

I promise not to spoil anything in this review. My goal is to help you decide whether or not you should read it.

This book is littered with dark, evil happenings. You spend every chapter of this book amidst evil slayings, murders, and cruel events. The author certainly has no problems denying the reader a happy conclusion to every event. There is no comic relief to break the intensity. If you can bare that, and if you are looking for a fun adventure story rather than a philosophical endeavor, then this book is surely for you.

The ongoing unhappiness in this book was the only thing that bothered me; sometimes I would need to stop reading and go do something fun to cheer myself back up. Other than that, it was fun to get into this truly evil underground city and see what it's like!

Salvatore truly paints a clear picture into your mind, of this abstract and magical underground realm! Well written.

I subtract 2 stars. -1 for SO much unhappiness in the book without any comic relief to break it up, and -1 because there were several times that the author really makes you want something, and it just doesn't happen, leaving you unsatisfied several times.