Deadhouse Gates

The book opens with a scene from Drizzt in the future 100 years. The scene is an interesting idea but really should have been saved for the end of the book. It ruins the little suspense that is present in any of the recent Drizzt books. The foreshadowing technique being used in the scene is ham-handed at best.

Quite a few minor plot lines are closed in some rather brutally short ways. The number of side characters killed is fairly high which actually makes sense given the orc army situations. It is good to see the orc using some actual tactics and strategies… evil does not mean you are stupid.

The truce between the Dwarves and the Orcs is an interesting plot twist that has reach into the very structure of the Forgotten Realms multiverse. R.A. Salvatore pushes a philosophy of live and let live through Drizzt’s musings and the truce. The entire book seemed to be an analog for the US involvement in the war in Iraq where the US are the Dwarves.
The message is not necessarily one of appeasement but rather what is the point of fighting as you can not completely wipe out your enemy so you will have to deal with them at some level. So, why not pick the place, time and define the relationship to be one of mutual benefit — live and let live. The war of conflicting cultures and value systems are boiled down to a simplistic view which seems naive and counter-productive to me.

The pragmatic Obould is a nice change from the mindless typical goblinkind (goblic, kobold, orc, orge, etc). However, the reason for the change to pragmatism and civilization building by Obould is not clearly defined but implied. The 180 degree turn by Obould is a bit hard to believe. He maybe showing some great wisdom but the entire time Salvatore is implying the nature of the goblinkind will take over at some point and go to chaotic evil mode again. Frankly, the concept of a high Orc civilization does not make sense given everything in the Forgetten Realms multiverse.

Drizzt, Breunor, and Wulfgar get some nice character development. Wulfgar is transitioned to get his own series aka all dangling plot ties are cut. Regis, Breunor, Drizzt and Cattie-Brie are clearly going to be adventuring in the next books. The addition of To’sun as a recurring character is a good thing (hopefully, he will not just be a warmed over version of Drizzt).