Revenge of the Iron Dwarf: the review

Revenge of the Iron Dwarf

With Revenge of the Iron Dwarf comes the third chapter of R.A.'s Companions Codex III. Salvatore, continuing the adventures of the legendary drow Drizzt Do’Urden and his companions from Mithral Hall. The plots woven by the goddess Lolth with The Hunter's Night have generated a series of fatal events that lead up to this last volume, published in Italy by Armenia, in which finally some subterfuges, secret alliances, unexpected machinations finally come to the surface and the he only possible solution to give freedom again to the surface peoples is put into action: war.

This is probably the best volume of Companions Codex III published so far, with R.A. Salvatore at the best of his performances, although one cannot help but notice some smudges that otherwise would have guaranteed a full grade if they had been absent. Here, then, is our review of The Iron Dwarf's Revenge.

No Escape

In previous volumes (The Night of the Hunter and The Rise of a King) we had seen the drow of the underground Menzoberranzan carry out their plans to conquer the surface world, led by the Matron Mother Quenthel and the evil goddess Lolth. A powerful "darkening" magic had completely clouded the celestial vault and a new alliance was born among the drow and the orcs, with the establishment of a new king among the latter who would certainly bring the destruction of human, elven populations. and dwarves breaking the Garumn treaty.

The vicissitudes of the companions of Mithral Hall had been such that they had had to fight for their own survival and to thwart the plans of destruction carried out by the drow, however the latter had in some cases had the better of conquering cities of surface and besieging the dwarves. Even the comrades had suffered the consequences of this struggle, forced to part in the deadly darkness of the Underdark. In The Iron Dwarf's Revenge, we therefore initially find only Drizzt Do'Urden, his wife Catti-Brie and the dwarf Bruenor Battlehammer in the dwarven city of Mithral Hall, almost certain that friends Regis and Wulfgar have been killed by orcs in the Deep Dark.

The three nevertheless lend their strength to the besieged and near-death dwarves in their cities due to the increasing pressure of the orcs outside. Thanks to the arrival of unexpected help, they then join forces and prepare a plan to break the siege and give freedom again to the dwarves who are slowly losing most of their population to starvation. So, while the orcs try to conquer the kingdoms of the North and annihilate their ancient dwarf enemies, strong in the alliance with the drow that have granted them even an ice dragon, they do not know that even the dwarves have an ace up their sleeve and they are willing to do anything to regain the freedom that belongs to them and to other threatened populations.

Meanwhile, two other unexpected allies arrive in the magical city of Silverymoon: Regis and Wulfgar, alive and more determined than ever to use the their forces to join the Silver Knights in a series of raids that will surprise the orcs and other monsters that accompany them, changing the fate of this grueling war. Among the drow, however, Tiago Baenre is blinded by a single desire and willing to satisfy it at any cost: to kill Drizzt Do'Urden and carry his head as a trophy in the streets of Menzoberranzan to obtain the eternal blessing of Lolth. What awaits the drow elf who has renounced his dark origins this time?

The Iron Dwarf's Revenge in an epic battle

Although in Night of the Hunter we were involved more in the he tangle of drow machinations that in the actual action, in The Rise of a King, more emphasis was placed on clashes and battles, with still an eye towards dark political plots and alliances. With The Iron Dwarf's Revenge, however, we find an R.A. Salvatore at his best, able to finally give us a volume in which to find an epic battle that takes place between the pages with moments that keep your breath away and twists. The siege of the dwarves in their cities of Mithral Hall, Felbarr and Adbar is debilitating for this proud and proud population, and can throw us into despair over their fate. In reality it only prepares the field, it represents only the beginning of a crescendo that will lead to the real action made up of swords, hammers, spells, well-studied tactics and clashes that even see dragons as protagonists.

The sections more descriptive of the intrigues and alliances between this or that drow house or between this or that character, they finally leave more space for battles, for the war that must descend on the lands of the Forgotten Realms as a necessary evil to banish the darkness and free the peoples. The fights therefore become the real protagonists of The Revenge of the Iron Dwarf, with the raids of the companions of Mithral Hall to give, as often happens, the best performances. You may often feel the lack of Drizzt Do'Urden's surprising abilities, however it must also be recognized that the drow elf alone is able to defeat many enemies so it is understandable that more space is dedicated to the other protagonists of the historical fantasy series.

Perhaps the most welcome presence, in particular, is that of Jarlaxle: also an important character in the series of novels by Salvatore, a drow mercenary of Bregan D'aerthe, makes an appearance in La Vendetta del Nano di Ferro in a somewhat phonecall way, but still able to surprise thanks to his charisma and his cunning strategies. A great emphasis is also given here to Regis and Wulfgar despite their separation from the companions of a (indeed, more than one) life, unleashing weapons, potions and camouflage in a masterly way: a duo that we loved reading.

What could be improved

The Revenge of the Iron Dwarf represents in some way the squaring of that circle started with The Night of the Hunter, reaching a climax here in which RA Salvatore describes in great detail the epic battle between peoples through siege tactics, desperate strategies, breathtaking clashes. It is the volume of Companions Codex III that provides a sort of conclusion to the exhausting struggle between the surface populations and the drow allied to the orcs, setting the stage for future volumes with new questions and strange, unexpected alliances. We can therefore affirm that this is undoubtedly the best volume of the three and that for this reason it will certainly conquer readers.

An aspect that Salvatore often stumbles on is his jumping from pole to branch whenever he talks about the protagonists. . His are not individual points of view, but rather passages that are sometimes really too rapid and chaotic of the points of view of the characters, so much so that it could sometimes happen to get lost and find it hard to understand who is doing what at that moment. The situation is in some rather exasperated by the fact that there are indeed many characters whose deeds the author describes, when perhaps it would have been enough to concentrate only on a few, significant protagonists.

With The Revenge of the Iron Dwarf we are then in the presence of a new adventure of the companions of Mithral Hall, who were given a new opportunity after their death thanks to the intercession of the goddess Mielikki. It is precisely this point, however, that raises some doubts: certain mechanics seen in previous volumes are sometimes re-proposed and one wonders how the beloved protagonists of the fantasy series will ever evolve in the novels that follow. Note of merit, however, for this edition of the book which presents greater care and attention than the previous volumes, which were not free from errors or typos. To be read, therefore, certainly to find out what new struggles the path of Drizzt Do’Urden and his companions continues towards.