Rating: 
Summary: Dont miss this one
Review: I wasn't sure if i should buy this book, when the reviews mentioned that there was no drizzt and the band. Being a forgotten releams fan, i went ahead and brought the book. Didn't regret it one little bit. Although the first several pages are immersed in self pity by wulfgar, the story picks up and the climactic finish is good. After this one, i am looking forward to reading more of wulfgar's adventures. I cant wait for the next book to come out. If u are a die hard fan of salvatore, then this is a must read.
Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly Good
Review: When I first learned that The Spine of the World was about Wulfgar, and not Drizzt, I almost decided to not even read it. I mean, an entire book about Wulfgar, the big drunk who spends his time as a bouncer in a run-down bar? I understood that Wulfgar had many psychic demons (no pun intended..or is there?) to battle, but still - this was the hero that had once fought besides Drizzt Do'Urden, slew an ice dragon, united the barbarian tribes, and..well, you get the picutre. I thought it would be depressing to read about how far he's fallen. And at first, it was. The first half of the book was as I thought it would be - somewhat depressing. There was also alternating chapters on a girl named Meralda and her boyfriend(s), and I thought her story was quite touching. As the book goes on, the two stories entwine, and it's really great to read - I just couldn't put it down. The ending of the book is very satisfactory - it didn't seem rushed, as so many of Salvatore's "Drizzt" books seemed to be lately. The fight scenes are very well described, and pleasant to read. I'll admit that it's -almost- just as fun to read about a roaring Wulfgar punching a man to send him flying across the room, as it is to read about Drizzt's whirring scimitars. You really understand just how fierce and powerful Wulfgar can be. Very nice. There was also a lot of gore in this book - Wulfgar would fight things with his bare hands, and whatever tools he had at hand, making for some pretty gruesome scenes. Like, when he slew a giant - he shoved an axe handle into it's eyeball. And of course, Salvatore happily described it very well. You can almost hear the eye squishing as it sinks deeper....The torture scenes were also very gory. Wulfgar was never my favorite charcter, but if you don't admire him by the end of the book, then I guess there's just no hope for you. All in all, this is a very good read. It's just missing that special spark (maybe in the form of a certain dark elf?) that would make me give it 5 stars.
Rating: 
Summary: Not good enough!!
Review: This book starts out slow, with not enough depth to Wulfgar. Too much gore, excessive violent tortures, (enough with the demon already)and not enough solutions to Wulfgar's problems. I was reminded of Caramon from the Dragonlance books, and that ruined it for me...(love Dragonlance)
I found the way that Delly follows Wulfgar around condescending and annoying,since he treated her disrespectfully.
I hated the way that Wulfgar's memory of his tortures turned him into a thief, drunk and useless person.
I lost my respect for Wulfgar,and did not think the ending was realistic. Wulfgar seems to turn on the heroism like a switch.
The love story woven within the book was quaint and a little bland.I don't think that Salvatore took enough time to really tell Wulfgar's emotional plight.
Too much wallowing in despair,and not enough getting over it...It got tiring towards the end, I had to make myself finish.
THE ONLY THING I LIKED ABOUT THIS BOOK WAS MORIK, WHO WAS INTERESTING IN A THIEVING SORT OF WAY.
Morik's story held my interest since he had to come up with ways to get Wulfgar out of the trouble he found himself.
I would not recommend this book for anyother purpose other than it is part of the series.
I would recommend it if you need to agree with my review...ALSO THE GIANT'S fight scence was too fantastic...Come on..Especially with his limited weapon situation..
Rating: 
Summary: Not up to par, but still a good novel....
Review: Though I was a bit disappointed with this novel, well okay, more than a bit disappointed, it is still a book worth reading. Exploring Wulgar's character instead of Drizzt's is extremely interesting and shows Mr. Salvatore's desire to branch out instead of always sticking to Drizzt's life. Don't get me wrong, I love Drizzt and I love every single book with him in it, but after oh-so-many books about the stoic elf, exploring the persona and tribulations of another character is an excellent idea. However, the novel had many downfalls. The story never seemed to move anywhere. The psychology of Wulfgar's plight could have been explored more and in a more interesting manner because ultimately that is what the book is about; Wulfgar's mental and spiritual strife. The other harlequin novel type half was really distracting from the main story and should not have been emphasized as much. Thhough I severly miss the action packed chapters of his previous works, Mr. Salvatore shows he is not restricted to a stereotype of just writing about battle and action. He shows that he can write about love, loss, and the trials of friendship. All in all, I'm happy Mr. Salvatore's attempting to explore the diversities of the character's, but this book just seemed dry and didn't seem to go anywhere. I am looking forward to the next novel in the search of Aegis-Fang.
Rating: 
Summary: Completely different style for RAS
Review: I agree it starts out QUITE slow with seperate stories running. Its very difficult to see how they will combine. The combination is not predictable. Lots of time spent on character development in this book so that everything the characters do is consistent and believeable. This book is basically about Wulfgar's torment. Its the first RAS book I shed a tear over. Not everyone is a ultra hero or ultra villian. Characters are flawed, and they are shown suffering from their flaws. I have to be honest and call it a "romantic" book. I got sucked into it because of the characters, and had this been writen by someone else I would have never read it. But since its about my buddy Wulfgar, I thouroughly enjoyed it. You should ONLY read this book if you have grown to care about the characters it contains, namely Wulfgar. If not, find another book to read because I think you will not enjoy it, or you will get the wrong impression of RAS books. In the end this turns out to be one of RAS best books, and probably his most successful character book. He accomplished in this one book for Wulfgar what he did in The Dark Elf Trilogy for Drizzt.
Rating:
Summary: Greatest ending of any Salvatore book! (NO SPOILERS!!)
Review: At first, I believed this book to be a little dull (especially because Drizzt wasn't in it!! :) ), but I was very intrigued nonetheless, as Salvatore incorporated a dramatic love story into the book--a story that seemed totally separate from Wulfgar's struggle of his past. It seemed as if Salvatore were telling two completely different stories within the same book. Although I do not care much for books on romance, I was still interested to see where Salvatore was going with the telling of the peasent Meralda and Lord Feringal's love story and how it could possibly tie in with the self-loathing, alcoholic Wulfgar. Needless to say, Salvatore brilliantly combined the two seemingly different stories into one, making the whole love story essential to Wulfgar's redemption. The ending was without a doubt the happiest (and probably the best) ending I have ever read (giving me the biggest smile I've ever had on my face after completing a book, too! :) ) And although he didn't have to, since the ending was already wonderful as it was, Salvatore ends off the book with obvious evidence that there will be a badass sequel to follow in the future! I highly recommend this book if you are a Salvatore fan, despite the fact that it does not contain Drizzt. There is still plenty of action in it as well to keep any Salvatore fan satisfied. :)
Rating:
Summary: Skip this tripe
Review: I love Salvatore's story telling, but this book is a real low. I kept wishing that Wulfgar would just die (again). And half the book is about a love triangle between 2 peasants and a petty lord. What a waste of time. Unlike Salvatore's other magnificent novels I couldn't wait for this one to be over.
Rating:
Summary: A New Direction for Old Heroes
Review: This installment of the series takes a new direction. Moving away from the constant combat and adventure, Salvatore tells the story of a small town girl and the lord of the castle hopelessly in love with her. While initially slow, I enjoyed the character development and really appreciated the introductory thoughts of Drizzt beginning each chapter. Even though Drizzt isn't in the story, we can see his development as a thoughtful and introspective character. At first skeptical, I ended up enjoying the book.
Rating:
Summary: Holy sh**! What's this book for!
Review: What a dissapointment. I knew things would go downhill after Wulfgar returned from the dead, a really crappy idea. I think, if Errtu so desperately needed a prisoner, it should have been Zaknafain. At least that guy was cool. Drizzt was missing a lot. And Salvatore, with this new Wulfgar, SO breaks character. ANYWAY, just skip this book, people. Unless you like sappy romance crap, don't do this to yourselves. I'm sorry I did!
Rating: 
Summary: Slowly, slowly
Review: This book gets better toward the end, but the first half is weak, very weak. The Meralda story line is bad. It's just very basic and cut and dry, nothing to keep you reading other than you just know it will involve Wulfgar in the end. But it should stand on its own, and it doesn't. Salvatore also seems to have a problem as a writer in that he will latch on to a certain phrase or word and just use it over and over throughout the whole book. For example in the Crystal Shard, he likes to "drive it home" refering to a killing blow. There's 2 in this book. First is bottle and "potent liquor". Next is things like "slowly, slowly". There's at least one instance of 2 of those on one page! Once you notice how often he does this, it's very jarring when you read it. Doesn't he have editors? This is easily the worst Salvatore book I've read. Salvatore's strenghths are very interesting characters (Drizzt and Jarlaxle being the best) and writing about intrigue and subterfuge (that's why Jarlaxle is so interesting.) This book doesn't really play to his strengths. However, it does have some good points. It is the first time that one of the main "good guys" isn't totally perfect. And shows Wulfgar to be much more than a big guy who has a big hammer and hits really hard. Once the 2 stories come together, the book picks up for sure.
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