Relentless: A Drizzt Novel (Generations Book 3) by R. A. Salvatore

Jan 13

Relentless is the third book in the Generations trilogy by the prolific fantasy author R. A. Salvatore. It is the 36th book in the Legend of Drizzt series. Published by Harper Voyager on July 28, 2020, Relentless weighs in at 464 pages.

After having read so much horror as of late, I had a longing for fantasy. I needed battle scenes, plucky dwarf characters, magic, villains, and the deep dive into imagination that books such as this bring to a reader. I found all of this and more. Not only did I get everything I was seeking, Salvatore delivered a book so packed with emotions and enlightening situations that it stirred both my feelings and my imagination. I found myself reading this book on several occasions while sitting in a coffee shop as I waited to pick up my son from school. Not once, but three separate times did I find myself perched on the edge of my seat, blinking away tears as I read some of the scenes. I was not expecting that reaction, as the first two books in the Generations series didn’t affect me in this way. This book delivered. Salvatore did a fantastic job reaching me as a woman, mother, and spouse. He tugged at all of my emotions, and I loved every second of it. He really brought it with Relentless.

I will admit, it took reading about one fourth of the book to get me settled into the story, though. I finished reading both Timeless and Boundless a handful of months ago, so I needed to reacquaint myself with the lay of the land, so to speak.

Relentless is about many things, the main being an upheaval in Menzoberranzan that forces all of the great drow Houses to figure out their roles in the war at hand and how their decisions will affect their relationships with the chaos-loving Lolth, the Demon Queen of Spiders. Backstabbing, intrigue, hidden meanings, and unspoken words keep the game interesting as the huge cast of characters battle each other and their inner thoughts to survive. So many of the characters risk everything for the good of themselves and all of Menzoberranzan. On a side note, as a fan of “monsters,” I thoroughly enjoyed all of the driders and retrievers. There was no shortage of demons or bugbears, either!

This story is a fitting ending to the Generations trilogy. Salvatore does a great job tying up loose ends and giving closure to situations that have been brewing since Timeless. I enjoyed how he intertwined concerns and situations in our present day world to help readers better relate to the characters in the story. It’s not subtle, which I applaud. This book has a lot of subject matter that is important, and I’m glad he unabashedly brought it to light. The relationships between the main characters and how they deal with these situations is what makes this book shine.

There was only one thing that tripped me up a bit, and it might have been due to reading Relentless in e-book form. I sometimes find e-books don’t separate out scenes as well as a printed book, so there were moments I had to reread a paragraph to get myself situated in a new scene. There was also a bit of back-and-forth with the timeline, but once I realized the scene changes it made it easier to follow.

There are a few words that came to me throughout the story that I found to be major themes: friendship, redemption, sacrifice, truth, hope, patience, and conscience. The characters undergo a lot of trauma in this book, and they grow from it and find truth where before small lies and deceits kept it hidden from them. I enjoyed the aha moments and celebrated them right along with the characters. It was well done, and I enjoyed getting to know them even more than I already had in previous books.

I had a lot of “OMG’s” jotted in the notes I took while reading Relentless. Once the storylines are set in motion, this book grabs you and doesn’t let go. I went through the full gamut of thoughts and feelings while reading this. Some of the Matrons made me so angry! I was overjoyed for some characters. I was heartbroken for others. I wanted to jump into the book to join and have adventures with some of my favorites - namely Drizzt, Zaknafein, and Jarlaxle. I even found a new love for the psionicist Kimmuriel this time around. Salvatore has written some great characters, and I want to tell more but I don’t do spoilers in my reviews! Numerous times I wished I could escape into one of Jarlaxle’s portable holes and hide so I could read the whole book in one sitting without interruption.

I was beyond thrilled to see that there is indeed another book in the Legend of Drizzt series. Starlight Enclave is book 37 in the series, and I will be getting my hands on that one in the future. I can’t wait to see what deceit and lies are woven into Lolth’s web of chaos and how the Matrons of Menzoberranzan will respond.

Meet the author:

R. A. Salvatore penned his first manuscript in 1982 in a spiral notebook by candlelight as he listened to the Tusk album by Fleetwood Mac. His first novel, The Crystal Shard, was released in 1988. Since that time, he has become one of the most famous fantasy authors and has a huge following for his characters, especially the dark elf Drizzt Do’Urden. He has written books for the Star Wars universe and has won awards for the video game storylines he has created.