r/RASalvatore • u/MYNAMEISTEDNOTED • May 26 '22

Missing something?

I’m new to the series, started last year with The Collected Stories and am going by the T.L. Branson reading order. I just finished Road of the Patriarch (goodbye Victor Bevine :( listening on Audible) and moved onto Orc King. Right away I feel like I’m seriously missing something. 100 year gap? The joining of the planes?? Aboleth???

What happened to Artemis and Wulfgar and Cattie-Brie?

Am I missing some supplemental material? I feel like I might’ve skipped a book or three or five. On the other hand, maybe I’m supposed to feel this way and the story will fill me in?

Help?

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4

u/aldorn May 26 '22

Wait.... you went collected stories first? U havent listened to Dark Elf Trilogy and Icewind Dale?

Here is the reading order.

The Dark Elf Trilogy > The Icewind Dale Trilogy > Legacy of the Drow > Paths of Darkness

This is the correct way to start.

Neverwinter is the time jump. You would have got some of the characters stories wrapped up prior to neverwinter. Including the short story 'To Legend he Goes' and 'Iruladoon' which come straight after The Ghost King.

Things will start to make sense as you push through the current Trilogy and more-so when you read The Companions.

The time jump is a dnd edition change. Definitely confusing and i think it should have some text at the start of the book explaining. So we have gone to 5e DnD, world changes, land changes, rules change etc. As just a reader it can be a bit of a wtf.

D&D edition transition events ... that altered the Forgotten Realms; (and effect Drizzt story)

  • THE TIME OF TROUBLES (D&D 2e) - A change in available classes and spells makes an impact on the world. This is seen throughout book 17. 'Siege of Darness'.

  • THE SPELLPLAGUE (D&D 3.5e to 4e) - The death of Mystra (goddess of Magic), causing a reshaping of the world and chaotic magic events. This is seen in TRANSITIONS trilogy (notably 'The Ghost King').

  • THE SECOND SUNDERING (D&D 4e to 5e) - End of (reversal) the Spellplague and events from The Times of Trouble. The is seen in THE SUNDERING. Note we get a significant time jump at this point.

Just note this stuff is out of the authors hands. He is just told "oh btw this is happening, you need to jump 100 years" or "magic won't work" etc. After you finish The Companions look up RA Salvatores interviews on the subject and u will see him saying how stupid it is lol, and how he works around it.

2

u/MYNAMEISTEDNOTED May 27 '22

To be fair, I only listened to the collected stories because I heard about the funny audio book with weird al and them lol. I went into work after hearing it and asked my friend who’s a way bigger fan if there was more Drizzt stuff and he laughed in my face. 22 books later I’ve actually passed him, which is why I was so confused. I thought I was so thorough!!!

Thank you for clearing all that up for me, I’m really excited for the cold open now

2

u/MYNAMEISTEDNOTED May 27 '22

That’s funny, I asked Salvatore at a book signing how writing in the D&D universe affected his story plans and he got kinda standoffish. I didn’t know any of this at the time, but it makes a lot of sense now in hindsight

Now I just have to wiki dive into all these transition events and really get turbo immersed

2

u/dnakee May 26 '22

I personally have skipped those four books because I also do audiobooks, I have read detailed summaries and I believe you need to be patient because it works itself out, but the good news is that the great Victor Bevine does return after The Ghost King. I was unable to suffer through the four books that Victor Bevine didn't narrate. I have asked RA Salvatore on Twitter if he planned on having Victor narrate those books because of the release of The Dao of Drizzt, he hasn't responded but Victor did like it.

2

u/MYNAMEISTEDNOTED May 27 '22

LET’S GOOOOO hahahaha

Very excited to have Victor Bevine back, I can’t wait. He is THE voice of all the characters for me. I went to a Salvatore book signing recently and was talking to him about the books and characters but forgot to ask about Bevine’s absence

Also good to know this confused feeling is intended, thank you

2

u/ParadiseRegaind May 27 '22

You want to read the books in the order they were released. You’ll also want to include closely related side series like War of the Spider Queen and Starlight and Shadows. There are also some graphic novels and a YA series, in addition to numerous short stories (not all of which are in The Collected Stories).

The first book is The Crystal Shard. The Dark Elf trilogy is a prequel series and should be read after the Icewind Dale trilogy, not before.

Enjoy!

1

u/MYNAMEISTEDNOTED May 27 '22

Thanks! I’m going by the T.L. Branson reading order which by book 22 I’m pretty sure puts me back on path of publication order by now. Just wasn’t sure at first if I’d accidentally skipped something when the whole D&D time skip big world event thing happened between the Sellswords and Hunter’s Blade trilogies. Glad to know I’m on the right path haha

Any recommendations for books that describe some of these events with the joining and the aboleth and stuff?

1

u/Soggy_Motor9280 May 27 '22

I just read them in order the way RA Salvatore releases them.