R. A. Salvatore

Robert Anthony Salvatore (b. January 20 1959, Leominster, Massachusetts), who writes under the name R. A. Salvatore, is a fantasy author best known for his Forgotten Realms Novels and The DemonWars Saga.

Robert Salvatore was born in Leominster, Massachusetts. He was the youngest of a family of seven. A graduate of Leominster High School, Salvatore has credited Scott Hay, his high school English teacher, with being instrumental in his development as a writer. During his time at Fitchburg State College, he became interested in fantasy after reading J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, given to him as a Christmas gift. He earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Communications and later a Bachelor of Arts in English. Before taking up writing full time he worked as a bouncer.

In 1982 he started writing more seriously, developing a manuscript he titled Echoes of the Fourth Magic. He went on to publish several series of books in the Forgotten Realms campaign world, while lately his popularity surged due to his Demon Wars sagas and his two Star Wars books.

One of his most popular characters is Drizzt Do'Urden, a drow, or dark elf, portrayed against the stereotypes of his race, who fights for what he believes is right.

In addition to his novels, Salvatore wrote the story for the PS2, Xbox and PC video game Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone (2004), working with the design team at Stormfront Studios. The game was published by Atari and was nominated for awards by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences and BAFTA. CDS books commissioned him to edit a four book series based on the interactive online Everquest game. He also wrote the bot chat lines for the Quake III bots. Currently, R.A. Salvatore is busy at work as Creative Director for Green Monster Games, along with pitcher Curt Schilling and Spawn comic creator Todd McFarlane.

He is noted for his intense and descriptive battle scenes which have been attributed to his history in boxing and his work as a bouncer.

In 2000, Salvatore's collected papers, including correspondence and unpublished works, were donated to his alma mater Fitchburg State College to create the 'R.A. Salvatore Collection.'

The Icewind Dale Trilogy

 * The Crystal Shard (1988) (Between 1351DR and 1356DR)
 * Streams of Silver (1989) (1356DR)
 * The Halfling's Gem (1990) (Between 1356DR and 1357DR)

The Dark Elf Trilogy

 * Homeland (1990) (Between 1297DR and 1328DR)
 * Exile (1990) (Between 1338DR and 1340DR)
 * Sojourn (1991) (Between 1340DR and 1347DR)

Legacy of the Drow

 * The Legacy (1992) (1357DR)
 * Starless Night (1993) (1357DR)
 * Siege of Darkness (1994) (1358DR)
 * Passage to Dawn (1996) (1364DR)

Paths of Darkness

 * The Silent Blade (1998) (1364DR)
 * The Spine of the World (1999) (Between 1365DR and 1369DR)
 * Servant of the Shard (2000) (1366DR) - Now in The Sellswords Trilogy
 * Sea of Swords (2001) (Between 1369DR and 1370DR)

The Cleric Quintet

 * Canticle (1991) (1361DR)
 * In Sylvan Shadows (1992) (1361DR)
 * Night Masks (1992) (1361DR)
 * The Fallen Fortress (1993) (Between 1361DR and 1362DR)
 * The Chaos Curse (1994) (1362DR)

The Hunter's Blades Trilogy

 * The Thousand Orcs (2002) (1370DR)
 * The Lone Drow (2003) (1370DR)
 * The Two Swords (2004) (Between 1370DR and 1371DR)

The Sellswords Trilogy

 * Servant of the Shard (2000) (1366DR)
 * The Promise of the Witch King (2005) (1370DR)
 * Road of the Patriarch (2006)

Transitions

 * The Orc King (2007)

War of the Spider Queen

 * Dissolution (written by Richard Lee Byers) (2002) (1372DR)
 * Insurrection (written by Thomas M. Reid) (2002) (1372DR)
 * Condemnation (written by Richard Baker) (2003) (1372DR)
 * Extinction (written by Lisa Smedman) (2004) (1372DR)
 * Annihilation (written by Philip Athans) (2004) (1372DR)
 * Resurrection (written by Paul S. Kemp) (2005) (1372DR)

The Spearwielder's Tales

 * The Woods Out Back (1993)
 * The Dragon's Dagger (1994)
 * Dragonslayer's Return (1995)

Corona Novels

 * The Highwayman (2004)

The DemonWars Saga

 * The Demon Awakens (1997)
 * The Demon Spirit (1998)
 * The Demon Apostle (1999)


 * Mortalis (2000)
 * Ascendance (2001)
 * Transcendence (2001)
 * Immortalis (2003)

Chronicles of Ynis Aielle

 * Echoes of the Fourth Magic (1990)
 * The Witch's Daughter (1991)
 * Bastion of Darkness (2000)

Crimson Shadow

 * The Sword of Bedwyr (1994)
 * Luthien's Gamble (1996)
 * The Dragon King (1996)

Star Wars: New Jedi Order

 * Vector Prime (2000)

Star Wars

 * Attack of the Clones (film novelization)

Graphic Novel Adaptations

 * Homeland
 * Exile
 * Sojourn
 * The Crystal Shard


 * Trial by Fire (2001)

Other novels

 * Tarzan: The Epic Adventures

Other media

 * The Accursed Tower A 2nd Edition AD&D Module
 * Demon Stone Role-playing Game released on PS2, XBox, and PC
 * In collaboration with Seven Swords, R A Salvatore created the bot chat responses for the computer game Quake 3 Arena

Miscellaneous
As the author tasked with writing the first book of the New Jedi Order series, Salvatore was ordered by Lucasfilm to kill off Chewbacca, one of the most popular characters in the franchise. Many fans thought that Salvatore himself had made this decision, but it was actually Randy Stradley.

Interviews

 * Interview conducted by Jay Tomio for Fantasybookspot.com
 * Interview with R.A. Salvatore at SFFWorld.com
 * Interview with R. A. Salvatore on wotmania.com
 * Interview at Flames Rising (May 2006)
 * Interview at rasalvatore.com
 * Interview at Lavender Eyes (October 2006)
 * Interview with CNN, The Man Who Killed Off Chewbacca

Reviews

 * Cassada, Jackie. “The Lone Drow (book).” Library Journal 9/15/2003, Vol. 128 Issue 15, p95
 * Cannon, Peter. Zaleski, Jeff. THE THOUSAND ORCS (BOOK) Publishers Weekly. 10/7/2002, Vol. 249 Issue 40, p57
 * THE HIGHWAYMAN: a Novel of Corona Publishers Weekly. 3/1/2004, Vol. 251 Issue 9, p54.