The Spine of the World

The Spine of the World is a fantasy novel by the American writer R. A. Salvatore, published in 1999. It is the second book of his Paths of Darkness series and the twelfth book of the Legend of Drizzt.

Wulfgar is a barbarian who spent years held in the torture chambers of the Abyss, and even a single day in that place would be enough to break most people. When he is finally returned to his companions they find that he has been changed by the experience, and not for the better. The novel follows his recovery rather than a quest, because the road back is one he has to travel by himself, and the people who care about him cannot walk it for him; it is a road that takes him towards drink and away from the friends who would help. The book sits in the middle of a trilogy that follows the same group of characters, and it follows directly on from The Silent Blade, which precedes it, with Sea of Swords coming after.

Salvatore's Drizzt novels are set in the Forgotten Realms shared world and follow one drow ranger and his companions through a long sequence of books.