Though I’ve been interested in Dungeons & Dragons for most of my life, picking up the many tie-in novels didn’t occur to me until recently. During a bookstore browse, I ran across a novel focused on my favorite character from the Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves movie, and the rest is history. But even if I’ve read a book here and there, I’ve yet to delve into the many books centered on the iconic hero Drizzt. Instead, I’m starting my venture into that world through the story of his daughter, Breezy, which begins in The Finest Edge of Twilight.
This book is a sort of generational hand-off, turning readers’ attention towards the daughter of established heroes Drizzt and Catti-brie. It’s not quite an origin story, as Breezy has already been training for many years, but it does show her early attempts to set herself apart from her parents’ legacy. As she seeks to step out oftheir shadow, she finds herself drawn to the world of shadow as her first true adventure unfolds.
Key Details
- Publisher: Random House Worlds
- Author: R.A. Salvatore
- Price: $30 on Amazon
- ARC Received: Yes
The Finest Edge of Twilight Takes Its Time With Breezy’s Tale
It took me a little while to really get pulled into The Finest Edge of Twilight. I like to try and see where the threads are coming together in a story, get a sense of where we’re headed. But Salvatore takes his time here, laying the foundation and tugging in threads from the past with a somewhat leisurely pace. We’re in no hurry to get to the story’s climax, but are encouraged to enjoy the journey. At first, I resisted this. But when I let go and simply started to enjoy the writing, I found myself starting to connect with the story at last.
The daughter of heroes, Breezy, can be a bit of a difficult character to like at first. She is quite confident in her abilities and, at times, oblivious to her privilege. Yet for all that, she is skilled – and as the story unfolds, we begin to see how that confidence is, in fact, earned. But Salvatore does a nice job of resisting letting his newly minted hero be too perfect. We watch Breezy fail, misstep, and make poor decisions along the way. This helps make her a more relatable character, a young woman at the start of her hero’s journey.
Though the slower pacing feels intentional, it didn’t always hit the mark. The book begins with a character who vanishes for many, many pages. We do come back to her eventually, but it takes time. I started to get frustrated with this, which is part of why I struggled to invest in Breezy’s story early on. When we did finally return to that character, things seemed to wrap up a bit quickly. For all the time it took, I wanted a bit more from the story’s climax. That said, the character in question is one that longtime readers of Salvatore’s other D&D novels might recognize. For them, the ending might feel less abrupt the longer they’ve known her.
A D&D Fantasy Steeped In Lore and Reaching for the Past Even as It Lays the Future’s Foundation
Though this is Breezy’s story, it relies on her parents’ past quite a bit. Many of the characters are her parents’ friends and acquaintances. Some references harken back to their adventures and journeys. I expect these would be fun easter eggs for longtime readers of Drizzt’s stories. But for me, some of the lore dumps got a bit tough to keep track of. The explanation required made me wish we spent a bit less time showing how Breezy’s life has been influenced by that of her parents and their friends.
That said, there’s plenty to enjoy here for D&D fans like me who might be new to Drizzt’s story. Like any good tie-in novel, we get some solid Faerun and D&D lore that most fans will recognize. I liked seeing Breezy’s real-life multiclass efforts. Rather than focus on just being a monk, etc, she dabbles in many disciplines. That was interesting to see play out in a story format. There are also familiar locations and spells to enjoy. The story balances its own lore and that of the TTRPG quite well. It feels like a true expansion of the world, a natural fit for the fantasy setting of Faerun.
Final Score: 7.5/10
Ultimately, I did enjoy The Finest Edge of Twilight. It’s well written and delivers much of what you want in a solid fantasy novel. But I wanted the story to stand on its own a bit more. Breezy is just getting started, and hopefully her future tales will rely less on the former friends and foes of her parents. I came away with the sense that, for all the pages I’d read, the journey had only just begun.
**Bonus Action received a review copy of The Finest Edge of Twilight via NetGalley for the purpose of this review**
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