Fantasy books usually start in a tavern. Or a cozy hole in the ground. Not Homeland. R.A. Salvatore decided to start his most famous story with a baby about to be stabbed in the heart by his own family.
Talk about a mood setter.
If you grew up reading Dungeons & Dragons novels, you know Drizzt Do'Urden. He's the guy with the dual scimitars and the purple eyes. He’s basically the face of the Forgotten Realms. But back in 1990, when Homeland first hit shelves, nobody knew if a story about a "good" Dark Elf would actually work.
Honestly? It shouldn’t have worked. The Drow are objectively terrible. Salvatore writes them as a society of backstabbing, spider-worshipping sociopaths. Yet, here we are, decades later, and Homeland is still the gold standard for fantasy origin stories.
The "Godfather" Under the Earth
Most people don't realize that Salvatore didn't just pull the city of Menzoberranzan out of thin air. He’s mentioned in interviews—and it’s pretty obvious once you see it—that the Drow noble houses are basically the Five Families of the New York Mafia.
It's The Godfather, but with more obsidian and fewer cannoli.
How the Do’Urden Family "Business" Works
In the world of Homeland, your family doesn't love you. They use you. If they can’t use you, they sacrifice you to Lolth, the Spider Queen. Here is the messed-up reality of Drizzt's early life:
- Matron Malice: His mother. She’s the boss. She’s cold, calculating, and literally tried to have Drizzt murdered the second he was born because he was the third son (and third sons are sacrifice fodder).
- The Sibling Rivalry: Drizzt only survived because his older brother, Dinin, murdered their other brother, Nalfein, during a house war at the exact moment Drizzt was born. This bumped Drizzt up to "second son" status.
- The Glass Ceiling: It’s a matriarchy. Men are soldiers or wizards, but they are always second-class. They are the "expendable assets" of the Drow world.
It’s a brutal environment.
You’ve got a kid growing up in a place where "virtue" is a punchline. Compassion is seen as a mental illness. If you help someone, you’re weak. If you don't betray your friends, you’re a target.
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Zaknafein: The Real Hero of Homeland?
We have to talk about Zaknafein. He’s Drizzt’s father and the Weapons Master of House Do’Urden.
He is, without a doubt, the most tragic character in the book.
Zaknafein is a man who stayed. He hated the Drow way of life, he hated the cruelty, but he didn't leave. He stayed and became the best fighter in the city just so he could survive another day in a system he despised.
When he sees that Drizzt has inherited his "soul"—that innate sense of right and wrong—it’s both his greatest joy and his biggest fear.
The relationship between Zak and Drizzt is the heartbeat of Homeland. It’s not about the sword fights (though those are incredible). It’s about a father trying to protect his son’s innocence in a world designed to destroy it.
When Zaknafein eventually sacrifices himself to save Drizzt from Malice’s wrath, it isn't just a plot point. It’s the moment Drizzt realizes he can’t stay. He can’t become his father—a man living a double life. He has to get out.
Why the "Nature vs. Nurture" Debate Matters Here
There’s a lot of talk lately about how D&D portrays different races. People get spicy about it. But Salvatore was tackling this back in the 80s and 90s.
Is Drizzt good because he’s a "special" Drow? Or is he good because he had a teacher like Zaknafein?
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Homeland suggests it's a bit of both. Drizzt has an inherent empathy that his sisters lack. But without Zaknafein, that empathy probably would have been tortured out of him at the Academy (Melee-Magthere).
The book shows us the "nurturing" process of evil. We see the brainwashing. We see how the Drow are taught that surface elves are the villains. It makes Drizzt’s eventual rebellion feel earned. It wasn't just a whim. It was a slow, painful realization that everything he was told was a lie.
The Surface Raid Scene
The turning point is the raid on the surface elves. Drizzt is forced to participate in a massacre. He sees his kin laughing as they murder people who are essentially cousins.
When he saves that elf child by hiding her under her mother’s body, he’s not just being a hero. He’s committing treason. It’s the final nail in the coffin for his life in Menzoberranzan.
The Legacy of the Scimitars
Let’s be real: people love Drizzt because he’s cool.
Salvatore writes combat like a choreographer. You can feel the weight of the blades. The way Drizzt uses two scimitars—Twinkle and Icingdeath (though he gets those later, he starts with House Do’Urden blades)—became an obsession for D&D players.
Suddenly, every player wanted to be a dual-wielding Ranger.
But if you only read Homeland for the fights, you’re missing the point. The book is really about loneliness.
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By the end of the story, Drizzt is utterly alone. His father is dead. His mother wants his head on a platter. He’s walking into the trackless, terrifying tunnels of the Underdark with nothing but a magical panther figurine (Guenhwyvar) and his conscience.
It’s a heavy ending.
Most fantasy series start with the hero finding a group of friends. Drizzt’s story starts with him losing everyone. That’s why his bond with Guenhwyvar is so iconic—she’s the only creature in the world that doesn’t want something from him.
What You Should Do If You're Starting Now
If you’ve never read Homeland R.A. Salvatore, or if you haven't touched it since the 90s, it's worth a revisit. It’s not just "trashy tie-in fiction." It’s a character study of a person trying to remain human (or elf, technically) in a sub-human society.
Here is the best way to tackle the series if you're a newcomer:
- Read the Dark Elf Trilogy first. Even though The Icewind Dale Trilogy was written first, Homeland, Exile, and Sojourn provide the emotional context you need.
- Look for the 25th Anniversary editions. The cover art is usually better, and they often include intros from Salvatore where he talks about how he basically invented Drizzt on a whim during a phone call with his editor.
- Don't ignore the side characters. Pay attention to Jarlaxle and the mercenary band Bregan D'aerthe. They represent the "middle ground"—not purely good like Drizzt, but not mindlessly evil like the Matron Mothers. They make the world feel way more complex.
Drizzt might seem like a bit of a "perfect" hero by today's gritty standards, but Homeland reminds us that he had to go through hell to get there. He didn't just wake up one day and decide to be a nice guy. He was forged in the most toxic city in fantasy literature.
Go grab a copy. Seriously. Even if you don't like Dungeons & Dragons, the political maneuvering in House Do’Urden is better than most "serious" historical fiction.
Next Steps for Your Reading List:
If you finish Homeland and find yourself hooked on the Underdark, dive straight into Exile. It’s a much more psychological book that deals with Drizzt’s survival in the wilds and his struggle not to lose his mind to "the Hunter"—the feral instinct that kept him alive during years of isolation. After that, you'll be ready for the surface world in Sojourn, where the real challenge of being a Drow in a world that hates you begins.