''Siege of Darkness'' is a 1994

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

novel by American writer R. A. Salvatore. It is the third book in his

Legacy of the Drow The ''Legacy of the Drow'' is a The New York Times, New York Times best-selling fantasy book series, series by R. A. Salvatore. It is the third series following the adventures of the Forgotten Realms character Drizzt Do'Urden. This series is fol ...

series.

Plot summary

''Siege of Darkness'' tells the story of how the

Time of Troubles The Time of Troubles (), also known as Smuta (), was a period of political crisis in Tsardom of Russia, Russia which began in 1598 with the death of Feodor I of Russia, Feodor I, the last of the Rurikids, House of Rurik, and ended in 1613 wit ...

, in which all magic is temporarily disrupted and many gods and goddesses are forced to take the forms of their avatars and walk the material plane, affects the

drow The drow ( or ) or dark elves are a dark-skinned and white-haired subrace of Elf (Dungeons & Dragons), elves connected to the Subterranea (geography), subterranean Underdark in the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy roleplaying game. The drow have t ...

and

Drizzt 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 Da ...

and company. The Spider Queen,

Lolth The drow ( or ) or dark elves are a dark-skinned and white-haired subrace of elves connected to the subterranean Underdark in the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy roleplaying game. The drow have traditionally been portrayed as generally evil and c ...

, plots to keep Matron Baenre in power and to ultimately take Mithral Hall. In-house fighting results in the destruction of the 3rd house, House Oblodra, with the exception of their

kobold A kobold (; ''kobolt'', ''kobolde'', cobold) is a general or generic name for the household spirit (''hausgeist'') in German folklore. It may invisibly make noises (i.e., be a poltergeist), or helpfully perform kitchen chores or stable work. ...

goblin A goblin is a small, grotesque, monster, monstrous humanoid creature that appears in the folklore of multiple European cultures. First attested in stories from the Middle Ages, they are ascribed conflicting abilities, temperaments, and appearan ...

army, and the 4th house, House Faen Tlabbar, being left leaderless. Matron Baenre, along with the favor of Lolth, forms a loose house alliance to attack Mithral Hall. Realizing that they cannot possibly stop a drow army, the svirfnebli, the deep gnomes, are forced to abandon Blingdenstone. The battle for Mithral Hall takes place on the surface as well as in 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 ...

. The drow were defeated with a little help from an unlikely source, the

balor In Irish mythology, Balor or Balar was a leader of the Fomorians, a group of malevolent supernatural beings, and considered the most formidable. He is often described as a giant with a large eye that wreaks destruction when opened. Balor takes ...

, Errtu. Through trickery, all Baenre wizardry and spells are temporarily interrupted and the heroes take advantage of the opening, killing Matron Baenre and defeating the drow offensive. Lolth's plan all along was to bring about chaos and to rid herself of Matron Baenre.

Reception

''Siege of Darkness'' debuted on ''The New York Times'' bestseller list at number 13.

References

1994 American novels Forgotten Realms novels Novels by R. A. Salvatore {{ForgottenRealms-stub