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: The definition of "Fantastic!"
Review: For years, friends told me I had to read this novel, that it was the epitome of "fantasy novel." Actually, I feel "The Lord of the Rings" earns that distinction, but this is still in the top of list! Strong characters are what makes this story tick. Drizzt, the renegade dark elf, struggles to find a place in the world, protecting those who fear and despise him for his heritage. Even then, he finds some comfort in his few friends, the crusty dwarven cheiftain Bruenor and the opportunistic halfling Regis. Drizzt warns the Ten Towns of an impeding barbarian invasion, enabling them to form a brief alliance. Meanwhile, a weakling mage discovers a powerful artifact, the Crystal Shard, and slowly begins to develop his army, enough to make him the tyrant of the Ten Towns. As Akar Kessel's army grows, Bruenor trains Wulfgar, a barbarian youth he took captive, to be a noble man of both brains and brawn. The many forces meet again, in a titanic clash to determine the fate of the Ten Towns. The characters develop well, and mesh their conflicting personalities and traits with each other. In a grand scheme, they all play strongly on each other, weaving an imginative tapestry with a harsh, tundra setting. It is a strong promise and opening for the entire trilogy.
Rating:
Summary: GOOD OLD FASHIONED SAVAGERY
Review: This is the greatest work of literature I have ever read. Ok, I'm kidding. The Crystal Shard, another in the galaxy of one zillion novels put out by TSR to capitalize on their ever popular gaming system. A cheap tie-in product right? Wrong! This book was a gas! Pardon this expression. Is it out of date? The Crystal Shard referred to in the title is a powerful talisman made by seven undead sorcerors that would use sunlight as its power source. They soon found out that they had made it TOO powerful and perished. In a battle for its possession, gods and demons cast it across the planes. A treacherous apprentice wizard, Akar Kessell, left for dead in the mountains, and becomes the minion of the shard where it fell. Its lust for conquest will bend his mind to the surrounding towns. There are a lot of subplots involved in this book, mostly involving a group of diverse friends. Drizzt, a dark elf, is an exile from his underworld haunts who has pretty much adopted the role of protector of the towns of Icewind, known as Ten Towns. Bruenor, a dwarf, is his best friend, and also Regis, a halfing whose favorite pasttime is fishing and eating and drinking. The character of Wulfgar the barbarian is also introduced. Ten Towns is being plagued by its divisiveness, at some points almost coming to civil war over such issues as fishing rights. Like Greek city-states, all the towns are out for themselves, well, almost all of them. This could lead to their ruin because the barbarian hordes, using a man from Ten Towns as an informant, are preparing to invade. They're tired of living out on the plains. In addition to this threat, the wizard being controlled by the crystal shard is having his own dreams of grandeur. It's up to the main characters to somehow dream up how they can unite the towns and how to defeat these powerful enemies. I really enjoyed this book, probably mostly out of nostalgia's sake, having spent many hours playing D&D in my youth. Of course the whole world is heavily derivative of Tolkien and other past folktales, legends, and fairy tales. That's not a putdown. Nothing is created in a vacuum. There was tons of action and it never got too hokey. I mean, after all, this is heroic fiction. It's supposed to be a little over the top. The next book in the series is Streams of Silver.
Rating:
Summary: The first introduction to Drizzt
Review: This book is the book to introduce Drizzt the powerful drow that we all grown to love. The mysterious drow living above the Underdark truely intriguing in itself. People who are into AD&D Dungeons & Dragons know that Dark Elfs are evil and have evil intentions. Learning that Drizzt was different drew you in. The curiosity of learning who Drizzt was made you love him so much. His jounals revealed a compasionate and kind individual trying to be accepted by others who hated him because of his race. If you never read a story about Drizzt and would like to, I would definetly start out with this book.
Rating:
Summary: The Second Beginning
Review: This book is the second beginning of the travels of Drizzt. I bought the first printing, and have followed the series ever since. A definate buy for anyone who has read the later books and wants to learn more of the origins of Wulfgar and Aegis Fang. This book also has (to my knowlege) the first appearance of Errtu. A good beginning book, for I read it before I read the Dark Elf Trillogy. It had me spellbound, and I hope it will entertain you too.
Rating:
Summary: Real fun book
Review: Not the most serious work of fantisy but one of the best. This book hgas every thing from ice dragons to murderous barbarians. just a book to enjoy reading. it also introduces Drizzt who is one of the best literary characters EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Fun but predictable
Review: The main problem with works that are inspired by or that borrow from RPG is predictability. After all, what adventure would be complete without a warrior, a rogue, and a sorcerer. Not to mention the party must include a gruff dwarf and a light-hearted, pleasure-loving halfling. The Crystal Shard has got all that and more, but it also brings to life an original in the form of Drizzt Do'Urden, who's undoubtedly one of the most well-known and beloved characters in fantasy. That may be the most enduring legacy of this fun if otherwise unremarkable series. The story is set in the Icewind Dale, a barren, wind-swept region nestled in the armpit of the Spine of the World. Thanks to its remote location, Icewind Dale is largely ignored, until our present story that is, in the lores of the Forgotten Realms, that fabled realm of the vast Dungeons & Dragons universe. Icewind Dale is home to Bruenor, a old, curmudgeonly dwarf (who's ever heard of a happy go lucky dwarf?), who fled here after the destruction of his ancestral home, and the halfing Regis, an epicurean who's on the run from some trouble in the south. Befriended to both is Drizzt, a drow-elf ranger on an self-imposed exile from the underground realms of his people. Highly principled and strongly disturbed by the evil and self-serving ways of the drow, he willingly makes his home on the surface world despite the fear and revulsion of almost everyone he comes across. Drizzt's background and emotional complexity makes him a deeper characters than one would expect from a series like this. Rounding out the group are Catti-Brie, a human girl adopted by Bruenor, and Wulfgar, a fierce barbarian warrior taken under Bruenor's tutelage. Trouble brews when Akar Kessell, a bumbling wizard's apprentice, stumbled into possession of Crenshinibon, an almost sentient crystal imbued with vast powers. Aided by the crystal, Kessell assembles a vast army of goblins, orcs and giants to invade Ten Towns and establish himself as the tyrant of Icewind Dale. Drizzt and company must rally the squabbling inhabitants of Ten Towns and gain the help of the hitherto hostile barbarian tribes if everyone is to have a chance. As transparent as the plot may seem, there are memorable moments such as Drizzt's confrontation with the demon Erttu and Wulfgar's journey to the lair of the ice dragon. This was RA Salvatore's first major work and there are some rough edges here and there. The battle of Bryn Shander somehow lacks the fury and scale of a climactic clash (face it, few are going to be able to outdo the battles of Helm's Deep and the Pelennor Fields). Nevertheless, the author does an excellent job to bring excitement to one-on-one swashbuckling; one can almost envision the blur of Drizzt's dual scimitars or Wulfgar hammering everything into smithereens with mighty Aegis-Fang. The Crystal Shard has something about each character. While I would have wished for less stereotypical portrayals and a little more depth, it's a satisfactory introduction and launches us immediately into the companions' even more exciting second adventure.
Rating:
Summary: The first Drizzt book EVER!!!, And one of the best
Review: This is the first book in the Icewind Dale trillogy, and also the first book that Drizzt ever appeared in. I loved the book very much. You get to meet all the characters that you will soon grow to love and also learn about the soon to become infamous Crystal Shard. The Crystal Shard falls into the hands of a traveling wizard and takes over his mind. Soon he becomes one of the biggest and dangerous enemies that Drizzt and his Companions will ever face. In one word.......Wonderful!!!!
Rating:
Summary: A Little Light, But Very Good
Review: Drizzt do'Urden (a dark elf), Bruenor the dwarf, Regis the halfling, and Wulfgar the barbarian join forces to defend the arctic frontier cluster of villages called Ten-Towns, against a sorcerer's only-semi-competent apprentice, Akar Kessell, whose power is greatly enhanced (and directed) when he accidentally stumbles upon a long-lost but immensely powerful sentient crystal. This is book one of the Icewind Dale trilogy. The pace is good, the characters have some depth (although they are somewhat caricaturistic or archetypal), and the setting is well-described and exotic, but the plot is somewhat simplistic. One minor issue that bothered me slightly was Salvatore's naming of places and characters; half of the names are exotic and original (e.g., Drizzt, Catti-brie) while the other half are borrowed (e.g., Wulfgar, Bremen, Rheged). Overall, this a fun, fast-paced, well-written fantasy novel that lacks some of the grit and complexity of George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series, but that is also a plus for those who find Martin's work too dark and/or convoluted.
Rating: 
Summary: blah
Review: HOW CAN YOU PEOPLE GIVE THIS BOOK FIVE STARS?!?! It is the most blatant ripoff of Tolkien that I've ever read!! Throw in some allusion to Beowulf and you've got the most unoriginal story written since LOTR. Here let me list some of the most glaring uses of Tolkien that i saw in the hundred or so pages I managed to read before giving up in disgust:
*Regis- a hobbit-like creature called the Halfling, loves to eat and sleep *Bruenor- an axe carrying dwarf that suspiciously resembles Gimli and speech and manner, longs for his lost home deep under the earth, called (get this!) Mithril Hall!! I quote the book "Bruenor was an unbearded boy when his people had delved too deep into the bowels of the earth..." THat is taken directly from LOTR! *The name of Kessel's tower is Cryshal-Tirith (if anyone has read Tolkien, that should be self-explanatory) *The relic Crystal shard- always searching for a weilder, able to give that person total dominion, this is, of course, after it is found after thousands of years of being lost. Hmmm...sound familiar? I could go on of course because there are tons of little things that tie it to LOTR, but i really don't want to waste anymore time on this book. I discourage anyone from reading it. The dialogue is trivial, that landscapes very unrealistic, and the characters are so paper-thin you'd be better off watching soap operas.
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