Reading order
The Hunter's Blades Trilogy reading order
Volumes 17–19 of 39 in The Legend of Drizzt
1
2
3- 3 volumes
- Volumes
- 2002–2004
- Published
- about 21 h
- Reading time
- Completed
- Status
- Fantasy
- Genre
Quick answer
Affiliate link: buying through it supports BookRank at no extra cost to you.
Publication order
3 volumes2002–2004Completed
- Forgotten Realms novels that follow Paths of Darkness: an orc king, Obould, leads a vast army against the dwarves of Mithral Hall, and Drizzt, believing his friends dead, turns into a lone hunter of orcs.
- Read in order — one story — ideally after the earlier Drizzt books.
- All three rate almost the same, with The Lone Drow a hair ahead.
A plan for the whole series
3 volumes, 1,144 pages, about 21 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 4 weeks.
Share of volume 1’s readers who reach the last volume. Chance of reaching the last volume: high
- From volume 2 on, the number of ratings falls most before volume 3, “The Two Swords” (by 28%). Plan your break after volume 2, before the series plans it for you.
Stages
2 stages, with 1 short book from outside the series between them. You finish around December 5, 2026, 9 days later than in one go.
- Stage 115 h19 daysby November 17, 2026
- BreakMaus · Art Spiegelman · 295 pp. · score 9.0
- Stage 26 h9 daysby December 5, 2026
- The end of the series
We count 1.1 min per page, the pace of an average novel reader. Faster? Move the slider.
Does the series hold up
Shape of the series: even. Volume scores differ by at most 0.1 points. You get the same level from the first page to the last.
Best volume: The Lone Drow (7.9, 101 ratings). Weakest: The Thousand Orcs (7.8). From volume 2 on, the biggest drop in the number of ratings is between volume 2 and 3: 28%. The series is complete; you can read it start to finish with no waiting. The last volume (7.8) scores close to the series average or above it.
How this plan is calculated
The plan comes from the pages and ratings of each volume: we split the series into stages of about three weeks’ reading, size each break to the stage before it, and read the chance of finishing from how many readers rate the last volume compared with the first. How we work out the plan →
Every volume in order
Order checked by hand · Order and years: Wikidata (CC0). Spotted an error? Tell us. · Data updated October 29, 2026
The Hunter's Blades Trilogy books ranked, best to worst
- 1.The Lone DrowBook 2 · 20037.9
- 2.The Two SwordsBook 3 · 20047.8
- 2.The Thousand OrcsBook 1 · 20027.8
Frequently asked questions
Which Hunter's Blades Trilogy book is the best?
By reader score, The Lone Drow (7.9/10). The lowest-rated is The Thousand Orcs (7.8/10).
Which The Hunter's Blades Trilogy book is the longest?
“The Lone Drow” is the longest at 440 pages; the shortest is “The Thousand Orcs” with 352 pages.
What should I read after The Hunter's Blades Trilogy?
Other series by R. A. Salvatore: The Cleric Quintet, The Dark Elf Trilogy, Legacy of the Drow.
