Rating: Summary: The book is excellent as are all of R.A. Salvatore works. Review: The silent blade was a very good start to the journey to destroy crenshinibon. I did not expect Wulfgar to have a nervous breakdown. Entreri was so superb in his confidence on the streets of calimport. Drizzt is always memorable. The following is a note to the author: First I would like to say that you are the most talented and interesting author I have ever come across. I think the way you blend the different stories of the characters is amazing and hope I can some day write half as good as you. You have made such a profound influence on my life I can not express it in words. I hope you will respond to this and could take a look at my story to see if it is any good thank you for all the hours of pure pleasure good bye.
Rating: Summary: Salvatore back to the Forgotten Realms Review: After breaking with TSR for a few years, beloved author R.A. Salvatore has finally come back to the Realms, to visit on his old friends. With his unique style, Salvatore will cease to amaze his readers. This book is no exception. Salvatore's progress as a writer shines through clearly in this novel. The story deals with three intertwined plots: The return of Wulfgar to his friends and his struggle against his inner emotional demons, the return of Drizzt's nemesis Artemis Entreri to his home of Calimport, and the quest by the old Drizzt gang to destroy the infamous relic, the Crystal Shard. In this book, Salvatore has chosen to focus more on the development of the characters Wulfgar and Entreri, giving Drizzt a lesser role. He does this superbly. Wulfgar and Entreri in this book are essentially made more "real" characters in that they do not represent the black/white, good/evil archetypes that are common in many fantasy novels. Instead, Salvatore gives them the shades of grey, such as the emotion of apathy(that can be ever so common today in people), making these characters rounded and relatable. While I hate to see Drizzt becoming a secondary character(as many do), three cheers to Salvatore for his ability to explore other aspects of his stories and keep his audiences attention. He's kept this reviewer's attention for 11 books, and I expect for many more.
Rating: Summary: Drizzt and Enteri face-off for the last time! Review: Finally, a new Drizzt book- and it's just as good (if not better) than any of the others! Drizzt, Wulfgar, and Enteri face battles from within, but also face the challenge of each other. A fight to the death! From R.A. Salvatore, the best fantasy author of all time! Woohoo!
Rating: Summary: Great swiching from Corona to Toril! Drizzt and co are back! Review: R.A Salvatore wrote the first two books of the Demon Wars and then, went back to the Drizzt saga....I would say that this change was really good for the Silent Blade. I felt that Mr Salvatore really matured in his storytelling for the " Drizzt background" books as TSB focused on three characters instead of one (Drizzt, Entreri, Wulfgar)..This is the main thing which made me think of the Demon Spirirt for example as Bob focused on the characters of Pony, Elbryan, Roger and not a single main hero. The silent blade is really impressive for his character development (specially Entreri and Wulfgar). Speaking about this, I would say I don't like Wulfgar ( not because he was not well described , useless or that he should have stayed dead..) but because he was so well described that, I would have really disliked Wulfgar if I had met a person with his character in life. It's the realistic way he is written wich made me say "I don't like him". Anyway I really enjoyed reading Wulfgar's part in TSB, and it fills the lackings of the end of Passage to Dawn.... The part about Entreri is really good as well, the description of Calimport is really full of images and the city seems just wretched and rotten from the insides, with all the differents guilds and powers (I specially like Dwahvel's guild), it reminded me of the Menzoberranzan plots from the Legacy/Starless Night/Siege of Darkness, and it was good to add Bregan D'aerthe to the mess of Calimport... I would love to read more of the drow mercenary Band :) I was glad to see that Entreri was back on his old city but changed because of his time in Menzo but still wanting to settle his rivalry with Drizzt without even being concious of this . Speaking about Drizzt...I was happy to read about him although, he was more let behind the Wulfgar/Entreri plot... I would have liked Drizzt to hook up with Catti Brie ... I guess It's not an original request ;) but still....they have waited too long!!! And another thing I would say is that a numbers of pages à la Demon Wars would have been more fitting to the Silent Blade than the 300 (about) pages of a Forgotten Realms hardcover. This book is so rich! For me RA Salvatore is the best fantasy writer ever and his writtings introduced me to read books in English/American language. A language that I love now. Thanks a lot Mr Salvatore!!!
Rating: Summary: Great sub-plots Review: This was a great book from beginning to end. I will admit that I read most of the reviews that had been printed before mine and I must say that maybe I am putting to much into it but I thought that this was a great book, Drizzt can only be the main focus for so long. When Mr.Salvatore wrote the Crystal Shard the story was about four unlikely friends and their adventures, Drizzt was just such a compelling character that it took three or four books to explain him and it was masterfully done, but people you can only be the outcast for so long especialy for someone of Drizzt fame, it was nice to see Mr.Salvatore place him in the back for a book or two, Catti-Brie has had two to three books written to explain her growth and maturity. With this in mind it was great to let Drizzt have his wonderful Philosophical veiws of the over all story line, but not turn it into the wonderful world of Drizzt. Artemis Entreri has always been one of the most wonderful characters ever written, he is not a mindless thug driven by to much testosterone or the underlying quest for all power but a real man that saw a way to better his life by making himself into a perfect killing machine, there is a lot of comfort in knowing that you by your own hand control your destiney. It was a great and crushing blow to his pride and unsettled his selfconfidence to know that somewhere there was a person that could take away his hard fought freedom. It was very satisfiying to see him grow and regain his composure and self confidence back by knowing that even if he did lose to Drizzt again he had enough focus of will to kill a part of himself, as such Drizzt is the mirror image of himself. Incredible sub-plot! Wulfgars sub-plot was enough to make me weep from sadness because of the trials that he endured and the future that he is leading himself into. Mr. Salvatore did an incredible job of painting the troubled soul that was Wulfgar, it made me sad to see the reviews that stated that Wulfgars plot was pointless or boring, it made me wonder if the most tragic and horrifing thing the writers had ever endured and overcome was the lose of power on a good tv nite. Maybe I am reading to much into it but in the "Halflings Gem" Wulfgar and Drizzt met a huge fat drunken slob name Bunko that had sold his soul and his body for a bottle of forgetfulness and became the "King" of the barroom. The lesson that Wulfgar appeared to learn when Drizzt chided him for wanting to return and beat Bunko seems to have been lost on the mighty barbarian, Drizzt asked Wulfgar if it was the life that he would want, being a barroom champion and Wulfgar after reflecting stated that he most definitely did not want that life, yet in his fear Wulfgar is becoming something that he would have hated most to be, I hope that Mr.Salvatore will show the true strength that is Wulfgar and have him come to grips with his fear of Errtu and the abyss before it destroys him beyond any hope of redemption. All in all a GREAT book for those of us that are willing to let Drizzt surrender the stage. THANK YOU R.A. SALVATORE FOR BRINGING ME INTO YOUR WORLD AND LETTING ME SHARE IT. IT HAS BEEN SOME OF THE BEST TIMES OF MY LIFE AND I LOOK FORWARD TO MANY MORE!
Rating: Summary: Better then the Rest, but still the best !!! Review: I have read all of R.A. Salvatore's Forgotten Realm books, but Drizzt and his friends are my favorite. One thing i want to know is there going to be another one? I mean I finished this book the first day i bought it. It is one of the best books i have read. With detail on many feelings of many differents charcters while keeping the story simple and easy to follow without having to read the beginning of the series. But I can tell that if this is your first to read of R.A. Salvatore's novels it is a good place to begin, but don't forget to buy his Dark Elf Trilogy the begining to it all.
Rating: Summary: Waiting for more... Review: Mr. SalvatoreI started this series with "Homeland" and have been keeping up since. I love Drizzt and how has suceeded where his father did not. I read "The Silent Blade" within two days and never have I done so with any book before. Your style and descriptions are to be applauded. I hope to see more development between Drizzt and Cattie-Brie. I was hoping to get more insights there in this book, but found they were missing with that part of the story being left in a status of just friendship. Wulfgar I was not all that impressed with. The escape he is looking for was well presented, but seems to be lacking. I think taking off on his own was good, but there is no searching within himself about Cattie-Brie. More about them would add depth to their current relationship. It seems as if Cattie-Brie might have to eventually choose between Wulfgar or Drizzt. Bruenor- well he is my favorite with his outbursts. I can not help but laugh when he looses control of his anger and quick to build frustrations. Well written and presented none the less. Looking forward to the next book!
Rating: Summary: Better than the last one, but not nearly one of the best Review: "The Silent Blade" is definitely a step-up from the previous book, the nearly insufferable "Passage to Dawn." However, it still pales in comparison to his better works such as "Homeland" and "Siege of Darkness." Wulfgar's return, which even a tundra yeti realized would happen in PtD, is made a little more tolerable in TSB, since Salvatore does a pretty good job of detailing the barbarian's tortured mind and bringing more depth to him than just depicting him as the stereotypical barbarian. And the assassin Artemis Entreri, whom I originally was loathe to see again after so many failed attempts to kill Drizzt, really saved this book, as he struggles to understand his role in the world through some heavy introspection (though he thankfully never contemplates complete redemption). However, "our heroes" are worse than ever (well, maybe not as bad as they were in PtD). Regis has become utterly pointless, Bruenor provides no insights into his mind at all other than he is a completely stereotypical dwarf, and Drizzt remains flawless as always to an annoying degree. What happened to the Drizzt of earlier novels who actually questioned things? What does Salvatore think is interesting about a character who already has everything figured out? The best Salvatore books were "Homeland" and "Siege of Darkness," in my opinion, because they dealt with the fascinating, wicked politics of the drow city of Menzoberranzan, their evil goddess, Lloth, and their conflicts with Drizzt. Matron Baenre seemed like a suitable opponent for Drizzt, but Entreri and his ignorant gang of thieves just don't. I wish the series would return to the Underdark, where Drizzt is less sure of himself, both morally and physically. All the "heroes" are just too invincible; even "sweet Catti-brie" can take out a whole army with that magic bow of her's (and by the way, what ever happened to the evil sentience of her sword, Khazid'hea? Was it asleep this whole novel?) Jarlaxle does make a return here, but part of the charm of his easy-going character was seeing how he survived in the harsh environment of Menzoberranzan. Here there is none of that. Simply put, this series is really faltering; I no longer care about the characters, and I really think I'm only reading them still because I've been through 11 or so already and I have some nagging impulse to see it to the end. Salvatore should only continue the series if he can think of good plots to justify doing so; right now I feel like he's only still writing Drizzt novels for lack of any better ideas, or the money, perhaps. Improve the series or end it, I say. Oh, yes... one more thing... Mr. Salvatore, why in the world have you allowed such absolutely ghastly cover art on all your books since "Legacy?" Find a new artist, show him the depiction of Drizzt on "Streams of Silver," and maybe the books will at least *look* halfway decent, if anything else.
Rating: Summary: Fantastic- an interesting change of pace Review: After ten books of high-adventure and fantasy (which isn't bad, don't get me wrong), it was refreshing to read a book like this to show us that the Companions of the Hall don't always atract legions of monsters wherever they go. As well, for once Drizzt took a step back to let two other great characters (Entreri and Wulfgar) take center stage and receive development like none I've ever seen before. I was shaking my head as Wulfgar fell farther and farther into the stupor that drinking caused. It was truly saddening. Also, Entreri was fantastically well-showcased. His soul-searching, perhaps on his way to finding the goodness in him that Drizzt was so certain existed, was interrupted by the exquisite Jarlaxle, who has always been a favorite character of mine. The epic proportions of the book were truly touched upon in this part. I wonder who will fall first in the next book (for surely there must be one, if just to complete the trilogy)- Regis came dangerously-close in this one. Hmm, the only one of the crew to never have come so close is Catti-brie. Perhaps that will be the shocking ending to the Drizzt series (he is a great character and it is a great series, but too much of anything is never good). Then what? On to Cadderly or back to Elbryan Wyndon! Again I must say that this book truly impressed me. Long live the king- Salvatore!
Rating: Summary: Not the best but not the worst. Review: Entreri should get his own book. Hopefully he will become a shade or a vampire because he is getting old and will be no match for Drizzt next time they meet. I like R.A. Salvatores books but this book was not his best work. The only interesting part for me was Entreri, Jarlaxle storyline. Salvatore is still my best writer and I hope he will return to his best. Any kind of book from him is a good book but I hope he will write a book with Entreri as a main character. It would be interesting to have a villain as a main character as there are no such books in the forgotten realms. I also hope Entreri wins in it.
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