Catching up with the Classics: The Demon Awakens by R.A. Salvatore (DemonWars Volume 1)

Title:

The Demon Awakens (DemonWars Volume 1)

Author: R.A. Salvatore

Publisher: Saga Press

Length: 704 Pages (Trade Paperback)

Publication Date/Year: 1997 (Original Hardcover) / 2024 (Saga Press Reissue)

Genre: Epic Fantasy

Sometimes, it is a nice change of pace to go back to a classic, or at least a novel/work people consider classic. I've remarked previously that keeping up with all the HOT! NEW! releases can allow some of the older novels be forgotten or slip to the side. We as readers, especially those of us who read addictively, owe it to ourselves to take a step back and look at some older, foundational works of whatever genre it is we enjoy so much.

This brings me to R.A. Salvatore’s DemonWars saga. Salvatore has been a brand names in Epic Fantasy/Fantasy for the better part of the last few decades. He made his name in the Forgotten Realms shared world of Dungeons and Dragons with the character of Drizzt Du'Orden, but his DemonWars saga came to be his biggest non-shared world saga. Many years ago, I read the original Icewind Dale trilogy and the first few Drizzt novels and enjoyed them and even enjoyed an earlier novel in the world of Corona - The Ancient. In other words,  knew Salvatore could spin an entertaining tale, at the very least. Originally published in 1997, The Demon Awakens introduces readers to the world of Corona, the ranger Elbryan, the warrior Jilseponie “Pony,” and the monk/cleric Avelyn.

This may sound familiar… a dark entity has awoken after many, many years of being dormant. The races of the world think it dead or nothing more than a myth. This entity pulling the strings of all the darkness encroaching is the demon Dactyl also known as Bestesbulzibar, among many other names. The dactyl gathers the monstrous races of giants, goblins and other creatures together in an attempt to takeover the world.

We have three heroes at the center of this epic tale, Pony and Elbryan are romantically drawn to each other but before they can really get their relationship into gear, their home village of Dundalis is attacked by goblins. They are pulled in separate directions, thinking the other dead. Pony suffers from memory loss and PTSD while Elbryan is more fortunate. He’s taken in by the elves of Corona, the Touel'alfar. Meanwhile, Avelyn is a devout monk whose eyes are opened to the true nature of his brotherhood when he is sent on a mission to retrieve some magical gems. As the forces of darkness grow in power, as the dactyl's armies and minions become more of a presence in the world Pony, Elbryan, and Avelyn find themselves drawn together. 

I was swept away by the novel, by Elbryan’s journey with the elves as he became a true Hero. I was pulled into Pony’s (a.k.a. Cat) plight as she relearned who she was. I was taken aback by the change Avelyn made from his initial introduction as devout monk to powerful, almost jovial cleric. I found the centaur Bradwarden to be a refreshing character. The friendship and camaraderie that developed between these characters felt genuine and real.

I found the magic of the gems to be fun and interesting. The way they were introduced and how the magic was utilized throughout leaves a lot of room for development in future novels. There's some similarity to the way -mancy in Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn novels work. 

There are some little issues; however. The biggest one that continually brought me a chuckle was the naming convention and names of things. I’m sure there’s some logic to a name like Bestesbulzibar or Elbryan, but one could be forgiven for thinking that some random scrabble letters thrown together or tacked onto what are otherwise normal/standard sounding names.

Is this a Fantasy novel that exhibits some…familiarity? Yes. Does much of the story feature tropes and cliches? Sure. Then again, I’ve been reading fantasy for the majority of my life and for a significant amount of time prior to this novel being published. In other words, I had a sense of what might happen in the novel, what some characters might be.

But you know what, (to quote Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson), that “DOESN’T MATTER!” I enjoyed the hell out of this novel.

The Demon Awakens also surprised me in some places. There was more depth to the novel, the plot and characters than I was expecting. In particular, Pony’s journey throughout the novel. At the time the novel was written and published, I can’t say for certain how much PTSD was featured in fantasy novels but Pony’s plight and how her trauma affected her felt more mature than I was expecting. I had a very powerful sense that Salvatore put a great deal of care, energy, and compassion into Pony's journey. While I’ve seen a lot of comments negatively suggesting this as a “YA novel” (I do hate how people use that as a derisive label) there’s more depth and maturity than one might otherwise believe. Overall, the tone was a little darker than I was expecting, too. 

I have to admit to enjoying the earnest, largely straightforward nature of the story. Salvatore fully embraces the hero's journey, the familiar character types/classes and monsters of fantasy (Dungeons & Dragons and particular), and goes with it. Not saying I don't enjoy subversive novels that play with the tropes, but sometimes, a good straightforward novel/story like the one Salvatore presents in The Demon Awakens is just what the doctor ordered.

In 2024, with Pinquickle’s Folly, Salavatore returned to the world of Corona and made the switch to Saga Press, the Science Fiction and Fantasy imprint of Simon & Schuster. I assume as part of that deal, Saga Press acquired the rights to repackage/republish the entirety of the DemonWars saga with cohesive branding/artwork. I know Salvatore’s many fans adore the late Keith Parkinson’s artwork on the latter 4 DemonWars novels. That said and this is no slight to the original artwork, but these newer editions have modern feel to these books. When I saw them on the Simon & Schuster table at New York Comic Con 2024, I was immediately drawn and finally decided this was a good time to acquaint myself with Salvatore’s beloved saga after many, many years of having The Demon Awakens on the ever-present "virtual" to be read pile in my head. 

I am very, very happy I finally dove into this series. I’ve been knee deep in horror the past few years (more than 50% of what I’ve been reading), especially most recently so I was happy to dive into a novel like this, something that hit the familiar notes of epic fantasy I enjoy so much, along with some unexpected nuances, told with a very engaging pace. Had I picked up these books when they were first published when I was first getting into The Wheel of Time, Memory, Sorrow and Thorn by Tad Williams, and The Farseer by Robin Hobb, I suspect I'd hold them in very high regard, at least based on how much I enjoyed The Demon Awakens. 

Bottom line: this very seasoned reader of Epic Fantasy thoroughly enjoyed The Demon Awakens and has plans to at least read through the next two novels, and probably the “bridge” novel Mortalis. I’ve seen several fellow fantasy readers consider it Salvatore’s finest novel.