''Exile'' is a

fantasy novel Fantasy literature is literature set in an imaginary universe, often but not always without any locations, events, or people from the real world. magic (paranormal), Magic, the supernatural and Legendary creature, magical creatures are common i ...

by American writer R. A. Salvatore, the second book in

The Dark Elf Trilogy ''The Dark Elf Trilogy'' is a prequel to the ''Icewind Dale Trilogy'' by R. A. Salvatore. Drizzt Do'Urden, a Drow (Dungeons & Dragons), drow, or dark elf, was originally written as a supporting character in the ''Icewind Dale Trilogy'' to Wulfga ...

. It was published in 1990.

Plot introduction

''Exile'' follows

Drizzt Do'Urden Drizzt Do'Urden () is a fictional character appearing in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game. Drizzt was created by author R. A. Salvatore as a supporting character in the '' Icewind D ...

to the wilds of the

Underdark The Underdark is a fictional setting which has appeared in '' Dungeons & Dragons'' role-playing campaigns and ''Dungeons & Dragons''-based fiction books, including the Legend of Drizzt series by R. A. Salvatore. It is described as a vast subter ...

. For the ten years following his abandoning his house, he is left with no one but his faithful Guenhwyvar, a magical Panther he had acquired in ''

Homeland A homeland is a place where a national or ethnic identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethnic natio ...

''. He is also met with great dangers that he meets with the business ends of his scimitars. Struggling with conflicting emotions, which involve his failure in Menzoberranzan and a deep grief for his father Zaknafein, he makes his way to the surface to face newer dangers.

Plot summary

Drizzt spent some years in the Underdark, during which he was enslaved by

mind flayer In the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game, illithids (commonly known as mind flayers) are monstrous humanoid ''aberrations'' with psionic powers. In a typical ''Dungeons & Dragons'' campaign setting, they live in the moist caverns ...

s and then had to fight Zaknafein again, who had been made

undead The undead are beings in mythology, legend, or fiction that are deceased but behave as if they were alive. A common example of an undead being is a cadaver, corpse reanimated by supernatural forces, by the application of either the deceased's o ...

by Malice, thanks to Lolth's "greatest gift" Zin-Carla, to find Drizzt. In the end, Zaknafein regained enough control to sacrifice himself, flinging his body into a pool of

acid An acid is a molecule or ion capable of either donating a proton (i.e. Hydron, hydrogen cation, H+), known as a Brønsted–Lowry acid–base theory, Brønsted–Lowry acid, or forming a covalent bond with an electron pair, known as a Lewis ...

. For Malice's failure to use Zaknafein to kill Drizzt, Lolth decreed that house Do'Urden should be destroyed, and House Baenre, the most favored First House of Menzoberranzan, did just that, with only Vierna and Dinin surviving.

Reviews

*Review by Mark Caswell (1991) in ''Fear'', June 1991 *Review by Andy Sawyer (1991) in ''Paperback Inferno'', #90 *''

SF Site ''SF Site'' is an online science fiction and fantasy magazine edited by Rodger Turner. It is among the oldest of websites dedicated to science fiction and primarily publishes book reviews. It has won the Locus Award and received nominations for ...

References

1990 American novels Forgotten Realms novels Novels by R. A. Salvatore {{1990s-fantasy-novel-stub