Rating: 
Summary: Salvatore Is Great
Review: I don't think I could have a better introduction into the Forgotten Realms World. I just finished the 9 book series of Dragonlance by Hickman and Weis. I have always been interested in Drizzt ever since I had a party encounter in Baldur's Gate 2. This story fills in a lot of story line with Icewind Dale. I have always been interested in Icewind Dale since I played the first Icewind Dale game for the PC. Even though I know the history of Icewind Dale PC game doesn't have anything to do with the series that Salvatore made it did help expand that world.
Rating:
Summary: Simply AMAZING!
Review: By far one of R.A. Salvatore's greatest works. This book launches a story that will keep you on the edge of your seat waiting for more with every page you turn. The story is in-depth and easy to follow without being boring. R.A. Salvatore is reknowned for is his talent at character development and this book is no exception. Read it! You won't be sorry.
Rating:
Summary: Old-Skool Fantasy at it's best
Review: I had never read any of Salvatore's works but heard good things about this trilogy and bought all three in a boxed set. Well, as my rating clearly shows I wasn't dissapointed. This first book follows the adventures of Dark Elf Dritzz Do'Urden (who despite his appearance on the cover doesn't look like the main character from the PC Game Doom) The Conanesque barbarian warrior Wulfgar (Whose name, fittingly enough, is taken straight from the the epic Anglo-saxon poem Beowulf),the rowdy and likeable dwarf Bruenor, the hobbit-like halfling Regis, and the beautiful Catti-brie. Many memorable moments from this 333 page book stick out to me as I write this review; Wulfgar crushing Heafstaag's head with his bare hands, Drittz and Wulfgar's raid on the Giant's Lair and fight against the Ice Dragon, Drittz's unbelievably simple but entirely credible tactic for destroying the evil tower Cryshal-Tirith, etc. All of it is gold, and for the three days it took me to read this I was enthralled. Salvatore's writing is exciting and action-packed, with not a lag in the million mile per hour plot to speak of. This is old-skool fantasy to the core and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys the genre as much as I do. Time to get back to Streams of Silver, the second book in Icewind Dale.
Rating:
Summary: not a bad start
Review: I enjoyed reading the start of the Icewind Dale Trilogy. Although it is mostly a hack and slash story, it was entertaining and difficult to put down. In my opinion, The Crystal Shard is a good example of how power corrupts and destroys people. The only thing i didnt like is that Drizzt seemed a little too invincible. Other than that, its a great read, well worth the money, and deserves the five star review.
Rating: 
Summary: Felt too rushed...
Review: This is a decent start to a promising trilogy, although this seems to be a very early start in Salvatore's career (his writing improves greatly during 'Streams of Silver'). The main problem in this novel... the battles have too rushed a feeling to them. How does Drizzt seem to escape battle after battle, etc. with hardly any wounds at all?
How can any character possibly defeat the enemies with the mass numbers, mass sizes, and even demons so easily? This in all honesty has that feeling that if I read it to my son for a bedtime story, all would be ok.
Don't let these questions deter you away from this novel/author though. As said above, the next novel shows real promise... within the first chapter I noticed a difference in the writing style. Pick this up, and begin your journey with Drizzt, Wulfgar, Bruenor, and "Rumblebelly" (as the halfling is called)
Rating:
Summary: Advocate's review.
Review: Obviously, Advocate should stick with Tolstoy, Dickens and Steinbeck. Fantasy is NOT for asthetic minded people. However, if you like fantasy and don't want to just
criticize things you don't like. This book is EXCELLENT.
However, make sure you get its sequels, as once you start, you won't want to stop! Fast paced, interesting and lots of fun, you'll be done with this book before you know it!
Rating:
Summary: The beginning of and era......
Review: Salvatore's first book ,and one of his best, is the first book that introduces the world to his flagship characters Drizzit Do'Urden, Wulfgar, and Bruenor. The book begins with an inept wizards apprentice ,Kessel, who is persuaded to kill his mentor with the promise of being granted the position of full wizard by a group of his masters rivals after completing the task. Natrually, they betray the aspiring apprentice and leave him in the snow-covered mountains to die. By sheer luck he stumbles onto a magical artifact buried in the snow that turns out to be a very powerful crystal that was made around the same time as the world itself. Kessell uses the crystal to construct a large tower and uses it as a base of operations to build a massive army of goblins, orcs, and giants that he plans to use to conquer Icewind Dale. Enter our heros who discover this hideous plot and attempt to bring unity to all the communities that inhabit Icewind Dale before Kessel's unholy army attacks. Overall the book is paced very well but tends to lull a tad in the time between the barbarian raid and the attack from Kessel's army. After reading the Dark Elf Trilogy first I went in with a good bit of knowledge about Drizzit and that may or may not cause a few problems as Drizzit acts slightly differntly, especially in regards to Guenwyvar. Overall a great read, especially if you are into large scale battles, which Salvatore narrates wonderfully.
Rating:
Summary: Just Great
Review: I was a new reader to this author and of the whole fantasy genre, and I picked up this book after hearing about it from a friend. I thought the book had a fantastic plot and there was ample fighting and gore to quench my thirst for blood. I don't know how this book would rate to a long time fantasy reader, but it was great for me. Salvatore, in my opinion, is a great author. I've just bought Streams of Silver, The Halfling's Gem, and the whole Dark Elf Trilogy. Read the book, you'll love it, and if you dont...you've got issues...
Rating:
Summary: Most enthralling fantasy story!
Review: This first installment to the icewind dale tril, serving of the introduction of many salvatore characters. The sheer brillance of story creation and telling is a testament to salvatore's early mastery of this genere. The novel is captivating from beginning to end, with each part unravelling a more epic section of the plot. The telling flows with the grace of a dark elven swordsman, as it weaves in and out of encounters with monsters, and other conflicts of ALL sorts. if thats not enough, the end is the best part---if you are a true lover of fantasy---READ THIS BOOK!!
Rating:
Summary: Very good fantasy
Review: It seems that all Salvatore's books are just the smallest fraction above 4 stars, but not yet good enough for 5. This was his first, it has been stated, and as such shows he possesses remarkable talents. I actually got into it easily, even though I had not read any AD&D related fantasy earlier.
Salvatore always excels with the characters (although I must agree with whoever it was that said that it was a bit silly to start them off with skills that equal a 17th -level character or so in the game system), who inspire so much psychological-style description it always feels a wonder that it all works and does not fall into unconvincingness. This side is not so much emphasized in this first book, but the beginninngs are already more than definitely there.
Another thing that is good is the description of he action (which is, of course, just a nicer name for violence), which even I like even though I do not like violence, even in fiction. 'Tis completely different from, say, Philip Athans' "Let's butcher each other for twenty pages" -descriptions.
The plot is decent, and contains a bunch of classic elements, which have been applied well. The only thing the story lacks is a certain epicness, but then again that is only necessary in epic stories (which this thus admittedly isn't).
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