The Crystal Shard (Forgotten Realms: The Icewind Dale Trilogy, Book 1)

Rating:
Summary: Great book - gets better and better as it reaches the end
Review: Too many books have a great start and peter out, or have an intriguing story line, but then end in a bogus surprise. The Crystal Shard instead starts off just fine, but gets stronger and stronger as the story reaches its conclusion.

A sign of a great writer, Salvatore uses no "cheating" in the Shard. Characters do what they do because of who they are, not because the plot needs something to take place. Some parts of the book made me laugh aloud as well. A little comedy never hurts, even in an action packed novel. The action, too, while perhaps too bloody and a bit too graphic for younger readers, is exciting and well done.

I don't want to describe the characters because it would give away much of the plot, which involves how they became who they are in the later books of the series. Drizzt is already pretty well known, however. He's a fascinating character, neither too powerless to be of interest, nor too good to be true. The other characters, while not vastly different from similar characters in fantasy novels, are nonetheless compelling, likeable, and all behave so consistently with their personality that they are very believable, which is what matters.

The only flaw, and it's a minor one, is that R.A. Salvatore, in a few places, violates the rule "show me, don't tell me". He awkwardly states, for example, that one character discovered "conscience". The story would have done just fine letting us see that this was true, rather than announcing it. Still, this is a rare flaw, and not one that will seriously diminish the enjoyment of many readers.

The Crystal Shard justifies its reputation, justifies reader's desire for many more books about these characters, and justifies being highly recommended by so many people, including, for what it's worth, me.

Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: My very first fantasy novel by R.A. Salvadore. Great read, the character development is gradual and very detailed, storyline easy to follow, lots of action. I love the writing style, Salvadore doesn't dissapoint.

Rating:
Summary: Great book! 4th in Drizzt history!
Review: This book is the 4th in the history of Drizzt Do'Urden and I was ready and waiting for an action packed book right after all of the learning and training in the Dark Elf trilogy. With a captivating storyline awesome weapons and cool characters on the good and the bad side this book is all that I wanted to be.