The Legend of Drizzt Visual Dictionary Review
One of the most popular fantasy characters of all time, the iconic dark elf ranger Drizzt Do’urden has spawned a massive volume of books, D&D materials, video games and comic books set in the Forgotten Realms (check out our reader’s guide which offers the full list of all Drizzt books in order).
Now, to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the scimitar-wielding Drow, Wizards of the Coast (in conjunction with DK) is publishing Dungeons & Dragons: The Legend of Drizzt Visual Dictionary, which was released in March 2023 and available now for from Amazon.
We managed to get our hands on a copy, which are going to retail for around $30 US. So just what can you expect from this new release? We take a deeper dive below!
What’s Included?
You’ve probably seen these types of oversized hardcover DK books before, which have been produced for a number of pop culture franchises, including most notably Star Wars and Star Trek. They’re hefty, glossy books that are crammed full of pictures, schematics and characters, and really designed to appeal to a pretty hardcore fan base.
The Legend of Drizzt Visual Dictionary is no exception. It’s a chunky hardcover that comes in at about 200 pages. Each double-paged spread features a specific character or element from Drizzt’s history, along with a brief description.
The content itself is written by Michael Witwer, who is perhaps best known as one of the contributing authors to Dungeons & Dragons: Art & Arcana (which was published several years ago and offers a brief a visual history of D&D) and Heroes’ Feast: The Official D&D Cookbook (which provides a delicious firsthand look at recipes adventurers would appreciates). It’s a bit disappointing that R.A Salvatore didn’t contribute more directly to the content, although he has written a brief introduction and (according to WoTC) given his official blessing for the book.
In terms of the quality of the content itself, the book is pretty well done, showcasing all of the familiar friends and foes from Drizzt’s past, including the likes of the stubborn dwarven warrior Bruenor Battlehammer, the deadly dark elf mercenary Jarlaxle Baenre, and of course, Drizzt’s trusty magical panther, Guenhwyvar. There’s also plenty of detail on the many locales from the Forgotten, including the ancient dwarven stronghold of Mithral Hall, the evil drow city of Menzoberranzan and the frozen steepes of Icewind Dale.
The art is also extremely well done, with a ton of beautiful illustrations. That being said, sharp eyed D&D fans may notice that much of the artwork isn’t entirely new and has appeared in a number of other places before, including a few novels, a scattering of Magic the Gathering Cards, and D&D supplements like Waterdeep: Dragon Heist. That being said, great art is still great art – even if it has appeared elsewhere- and this book has a lot of stunning images packed into every page.
It is worth picking up?
While The Legend of Drizzt Visual Dictionary definitely isn’t for everyone, if you’re a fan of the Forgotten Realms books, chances are you’re going to love it. While much of the information and artwork isn’t entirely new, the way it’s produced is impressive, making this one book that any D&D fan will want to have in their collection. The book is currently available now for order from Amazon.
Final Rating
18 out of 20.
Below are also a few images to give you a taste of what you can expect from the book.
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Ollie Delano is a Staff Writer who lives in Chicago, Illinois where he majored in Journalism at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. He’s been playing Dungeons & Dragons for over 10 years, first learning 4th edition in High School. He’s too terrible at voices to be a Dungeon Master but has been playing in a weekly game group where he rolls way too many natural 1s and chugs way too much Mountain Dew. His favorite D&D campaign setting is Eberron and his favorite character to play was a Tiefling rogue named Draxiss who enjoys both literal and figurative backstabbing.
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