The Stowaway

The Stowaway by R.A. and Geno Salvatore. 2008.

The Stowaway is a fantasy novel written by the father-son team of R.A. and Geno Salvatore. (The son, Geno, wrote the story with some insight and input of his father the legendary R.A. Salvatore.) The book is connected--though not so tightly newbies would get lost--to the Drizzt series. I should know because I was able to follow the story without having read the other [adult] titles in the series. Though I'm sure if I'd had that background it would have added just that much more to the story.

We've got a twelve year old narrator who is a captive, he's telling his story--revealing it bit by bit by bit--to his captor, his jailer. "My name does not stand alone," I said, the tremble gone from my voice. "It comes with a story. The tale of an artifact--tied to my soul through no fault or courage or heroism or hard work of my own. An artifict that has led me from one adventure to another, leaving a trail of destruction in it's wake." (6) Here is how his story begins, "I do not know what name my mother gave me. I do not know because every person who knew my name died--killed by a dark creature, a demon called Asbeel--mere days after I first entered the world." (7).

Orphan boy. Chased by demons. Life of adventure at sea. Pirates. An elf friend, Drizzt Do'Urden. What's not to love about this one?

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews