Despite struggling a little with Exile, I decided to carry straight on to Sojourn, given the improvement between Homeland and Exile. With a much wider world to explore in this volume than in any of those previous, I was eager to explore it with Drizzt. I very much enjoyed the book in some aspects, but also found myself despairing of others. For example, I very much enjoyed Drizzt’s internal monologue and his examination of morals and ethics, as well as his interactions with other races. After a few encounters however, I found it all too repetitive. I understand the reasoning for such encounters, but it all got quite ‘samey’ very fast. Not until the latter half of the book was there true variation, and unsurprisingly that was the half I far preferred.
Overall, I thought that the language lacked some finesse, and came off rather blunt, though this is most likely a reflection of the age of the book. As well, there were slightly jumbled points of view in places, and a few consistency issues, most notably regarding the size and strength of giants, and human ability. Having said that, it was very nostalgic, and easy to follow, with a refreshingly small-scale cast.
‘Sojourn’, by R.A. Salvatore is the third in The Dark Elf Trilogy.
Jack Beaman 