Rating: 
Summary: An entertaining fantasy read!
Review: Sure, the Icewind Dale trilogy is not the next Lord of the Rings, but it was not intended to be. I gave it 5 stars because I think it is a wonderful fantasy adventure. Don't expect to find insights into life, or allegories. The characters themselves are not very well rounded but I do not believe that detracts from the overall value. I read the Crystal Shard looking for a good fantasy adventure to get lost in for a while, and that's what I found. Salvatore stays true to Forgotten Realms and anyone who plays Dungeons and Dragons in that setting will appreciate his wonderful descriptions. I heartily recommend this book to anyone wants to take a break from deep, engrossing literature, and is looking for some pure fantasy fun.
Rating:
Summary: Completely took me by surprise
Review: After reading The Cleric Quintet, I wasn't really expecting much form this book. Man was I surprised to find one of the best fantasy books I've ever read!!This is a classic fantasy in the way of rediculously strong heroes fighting bumbling orcs and goblins, but it was much more too. Drizzit, Wulfgar, Bruenor, and Regis are some of the greatest characters I've come across, rivaling the likes of the Dragonlance heroes (which is saying a lot). Drizzit especially stands out as being especially cool. It would be hard to think of a champion with better (and as believalbe) qualities than him. He's confident enough (and he should be) to take on giants, dragons, demons, and powerful wizards. And hardly relied on luck at all! Throughout this book the good guys kicked a** again and again, leaving the reader with a great feeling of victory! This book was absolutelty wonderful. I reccomend it for anyone who enjoys a good fantasy, no matter what age they are. Salvatore came a long way from when he wrote the Cleric Quintet. I give it four thumbs up.
Rating:
Summary: The Crystal Shard
Review: If you are not familiar with the Forgotten Realms world, it is a place not unlike Middle Earth (Lord of the Rings). There are trolls, orcs, elves, et cetera, in both worlds, but in my opinion Forgotten Realms has much more depth. Not only that, but it also has many more books based on its world, and more are still being made every year.
Icewind Dale is a trilogy, written by R.A. Salvatore, based in the Forgotten Realms. The first book, The Crystal Shard, is about a magical shard of crystal that goes through the dimensions looking for someone to control, so it can come to power. In this book, it meets up with a goblin that summons a demon. The shard senses that it can control the demon's power, and use it to take over nearby towns, villages, and cities.
Throughout the book, there is always something exciting happening. Never is there be a dull moment, as there are sword fights, battles, wars, and intense conversations going on non-stop.
For anyone interested in the fantasy genre, I would definitely recommend reading this book. While it is an easy read, you will not be able to put it down.
Rating: 
Summary: Doesn't get much better
Review: Mr. Salvatore, my hat is off to you. I regret that it has taken me so long to read one of your most acclaimed titles. The Crystal Shard ranks as one of the best all-around buddy adventuring titles in recent fantasy literature. Drizzt is a drow elf that has escaped his home and still seeks to escape the reputation of his race as he protects the people of the Ten Towns. Bruenor is the battle hardened dwarf forced to flee his clan's home in Mithril Hall and take up residence in the unforgiving Icewind Dale. Regis the halfling is just happy living the good life. Throw in Wulfgar the young barbarian forced to live a life of hard work and discipline at the hands of Bruenor. Mix well with a story of adventure and struggle for domination. When poured onto the pages by the author, the result is nothing less than a multi-layered cake you can't resist. Every bit must be consumed and Mr. Salvatore provides plenty of icing. This book has blinding scimitars, slicing axes, magical hammers, epic battles between the folks of the Ten Towns and goblin hordes controlled by an evil mage. Honestly, it just doesn't get much better!
Rating:
Summary: A very entertaining read.
Review: This is the first book starring Drizzt Do'Urden that I have read, and I am in no way disappointed. Almost everything in this book is well done, with the exception of the antagonist Akar Kessell. He is quite annoying, actually, and is one of the worst "villains" I have seen in a book for quite a while. Kessell is mainly bluster, and his greatest desire seems to be--what else--power. Oh well--Even though the villain is half-hearted, the main protagonists are well-developed and will make you wish the book was 1,000 pages longer. Wulfgar, the human barbarian--strong sense of honor, especially after five years as a "prisoner" of Bruenor Battlehammer and Drizzt. Bruenor, the dwarf--a gruff outer personality, designed to hide his inner kindness. Catti-brie, Bruenor's adopted human daughter--seems to like Wulfgar, and has the same high principles. And last, but greatest, Drizzt Do'Urden, drow elf, who has deserted his evil kin of the Underdark, in the city of Menzoberranzan. The tormented dark elf is, in my opinion, one of the best fantasy characters ever created. A friendship has formed between these characters (and with Regis the halfling, a fat, lazy but smart blob who has a lot of good luck but a knack for getting into trouble) as they battle the evil Akar Kessell and his minions: enslaved goblins, orcs, trolls, and even giants. Extremely well-done action sequences take up the majority of the pages in the book, most centering around Drizzt and Wulfgar. Sometimes, the plot is somewhat shakily tied together, but those occasions are rare. This is actually one of RA Salvatore's worse books, but it is still extremely good. A must read!!
Rating:
Summary: Well, well, well...
Review: A friend gave me this book, and I made the fortunate mistake of judging this book by its cover-- because it hurtled my expectations by that much more. I'm not a big D&D fan, but as fantasies go, this one was a lot of fun. Drizzt, Wulfgar, and Bruenor are enjoyable, although there was never a single set protagonist-- and for the villains, Akar Kessel is as loathesome as he could be. The situations the characters get into-- from yeti-bashing to dragon-hunting-- are highly entertaining, and the ending leaves you in high spirits, waiting for the next big adventure. The writing, and especially the dialogue, can get a little stiff at times, and I noticed a few glaring gramatical errors and wierd quirks in the format, but none of this detracts much from the overall experience. It's a good, quick read that should please most newcomers to the fantasy genre, I'd imagine.
Rating:
Summary: Completely Awesome
Review: This book is the first of the Icewind Dale series. R.A.Salvatore wrote this first I believe. He later went back and did a prequel series called "Legacy of the Drow". I read that first and found the books fantastic. The first one was awesome. The second one was slow to start but picked up and ended brilliantly I would say. The third one was alright but it wasn't the same atmosphere as the first two so not nearly as good. This book is tremendously good. It starts a little slow. Drizzt(pronounced Drizz or dritts, im not too sure - I pronounce it Dritts) doesn't appear that much compared to the legacy of the drow because the main focus of the novel is Wulfgar. I applaud R.A. Salvatore for giving all the characters different weapons than your ordinary sword and bow. Wulfgar gets a really awesome hammer and Drizzt still has his twin schimitars + a dagger and a rather useless at times bow. The other characters are good. Regis is enjoyable somewhat, but the "little trickster" angle has been portrayed before. I am really looking forward to reading more about Catti-brie because ... well I could figure her out easily. Start with the Legacy of the Drow and you will know what I mean. Bruenor was enjoyable if not overdone as the "tough-guy dwarf". The book really picks up though. Eventually we get to see one of those big battles happen. At the beggining of the book there is a big battle that isn't that well done. Bob doesn't write it very descriptively until Drizzt gets to fight. As for the later battle.... awesome. The book holds you for the last 1/3rd and just completely rocks. I haven't read lotr although I plan to. This book would do a great job in the movie theatres I think. If they got Peter Jackson to do it that is... Please make the movie of this if you're reading Pete.
Rating: 
Summary: "THE MONSTERS DIDN'T HAVE A CHANCE."
Review: My title for this review comes from some narrative on page 228 of the paperback edition of this book. That line alone will tell you what you can expect from The Crystal Shard. For those who are fairly new to the genre of fantasy, you might think that this is a good, if not excellent book. If I were in your shoes I'd probably agree with you. But readers--like me--that have long followed the fantasy genre will find just another mediocre fantasy yarn. Orcs, goblins, dragons, wizards, stupid antagonists, lucky protagonists, simple storytelling--all are in here. As bad as I make this book sound, it is not a total disaster. The storyline certainly has lots of action and Salvatore takes you all over his sparse map. One of the promising characters is Drizzt Do'Urden, an exiled dark elf. Perhaps if I were younger I'd like to follow in Drizzt's footsteps in his other journeys, but not now that I know there are better characters to be found in fantasy. Still, younger readers will undoubtedly find him mysterious and interesting. Like many reviewers have stated before, this book abounds in cliche's. I've personally gotten to the point where I don't mind if authors use cliche's, but I do expect them to twist them around and try and make them their own. R. A. Salvatore does a mediocre job of that. At the very end of this book, Salvatore does lay some groundwork so that a sequel can be envisioned. Not very good groundwork, but at least the story doesn't leave you hanging.
Rating:
Summary: AMAZING!!!
Review: Definitely a great fantasy epic and one of my personal favorites, The Icewind Dale Trilogy- The Crystal Shard, Streams of Silver, and The Halfling's Gem, brings to life the story of a good hearted dark elf ranger named Drizzt Do'Urden and his adventures in the northwestern reaches of the World of Faerun. The books are so incredibly well written that the reader feels that they have been transported to another universe and are actually present among the characters, seeing what they see, feeling what they feel, sensing what they sense. RA Salvatore has truly outdone himself and has presented us with a masterpiece of literature the likes of which we have seen only in JRR Tolkien's work and in authors Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman's Dragonlance Chronicles and Legends trilogies. Duty, honor, bravery, magic, dragons and heroes are all about. A great trilogy indeed and a "must read" along with RA Salvatore's Dark Elf Trilogy!
Rating:
Summary: A great adventure
Review: The Crystal Shard is an amazing book written by the imaginative R.A Salvatore. There are many things I liked about this book, and a few that I disliked. The beginning starts out a little slow, and somewhat confusing. For example, the author talked about some demon named Errtu wanting the crystal shard so bad that he ate his messenger that he sent to retrieve the crystal shard. Salvatore also put some questions in my head like, "Who is this demon?" and "Why did he want the crystal shard so bad?" But as I read further on, I found out that the author answered those questions very easily.
One thing I liked about the book was the whole story. Salvatore added so much detail in each paragraph that I could see the picture in my head so clearly. I also liked the humor and attitudes that the characters had throughout the book.
The author starts the book out by introducing the demon named Errtu, who was looking for the crystal shard. But he couldn't find it, so he mourned over it for a long time.
Later on a young wizard named Akar Kessel woke up on the spine of the world, which is a very high point on the world. This place was so cold that Kessel was about to die, until he found something that made him the most powerful wizard of them all. With these powers, he tried to take over many people's lives by attacking Icewind Dale, Which was a bad idea because that was where Drizzt Do'Urden and his friends lived. Drizzt is a drow elf that was born to fight, but instead he chose the other path with fighting skills so amazing that almost no one could match his abilities. Drizzt moved to the surface of the world to get away from his evil kind and the evil god that ruled over them.
This book was so exciting to read that it made me read the next one called Streams of Silver. I think R.A. Salvatore has to imagine things so great to write these books, because he has done so well in pulling so many people into these books.
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