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Summary: Derivative genre fiction but great fun anyway...
Review: This is one of those books you just can't help loving in spite of yourself. This was Salvatore's first book ever, and it shows. The plot is workaday, the writing is uneven and amaturish, and the characters are stereotypes. Even so, Salvatore brings such sincerity and honest exuberance to this tale that you will find yourself getting caught up in the excitment anyway. Ultimately, the characters have such humanity that they transcend the sterotypes that they are and the plot is damn exciting in spite of itself.From the beginning Salvatore shows the mastery of writing action scenes and creating memorable characters that has made him famous and so beloved as an author. This book is the first in a very entertaining series that is up to 13 books and counting. I've read it three times now and it's still my favorite book in the series despite its faults.
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Summary: this book was ok
Review: this book was fine except for the grammer and spelling errors. the charectors were good the plot was ok. how ever, i bet this guy had a fight with the editor.
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Summary: An amazing book!
Review: This is THE book if you want to know about Drizzt, Forgotten Realms, or if you liked Lord of the Rings. This book is probably the best one out of all 3. Akar Kessel, the evil guy, wants to take over Icewind Dale by using The Crystal Shard. Drizzt, Wulfgar, Bruenor, and Regis must stop him before his orc army destroys all of Icewind Dale. Also, there is a barbarian attack in Ten-Towns. You'll like this book if your a sci-fi fan. The book has some moments that were like The Hobbit, however. With the "Icingdeath" creature, and the tower sounded a lot like Minas Tirith from Lord of the Rings. But, it's his first published story, what do you expect? Pretty good.
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Summary: I Loved It
Review: I have read many, many books in my lifetime, and the Icewind Dale trilogy is some of the best I have ever read...second only to (or tied with) the Dark Elf trilogy. I personally believed it was much better then Lord of the Rings - I just enjoyed it more. R.A. Salvatore seems to let us get closer to the characters, and feel more emotion, then any of Tolkein's works. That's just my opinion, however. These books have a great storyline. It kept me turning the pages from the first to the last. You can feel the evil that is the Crystal Shard, and you quaver as the thousands upon thousands of monsters attack the people of Ten-Towns, who must ally with each other in order to defeat them. You feel poor Drizzt's agony as he strives to gain acceptance in the surface world. You laugh as proud Bruenor hands Wulfgar the mighty warhammer, then tries mightily to make it appear as if it doesn't mean much to him. You really understand the tentative bond and fierceness, and the heirarchy, that keeps apart (and ultimately brings together) the towns around the three lakes - Ten-Towns. All in all, these are three books that I am very glad to have read. However, if you don't like fantasy, I would perhaps steer away from them - first, read the Dark Elf trilogy and see if you fall in love in Drizzt, as I did. Oh, and by the way - the very last scene caught me by complete surprise, and sent me from tears to laughter like no other book did in a very, very long time.
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Summary: Excellent Novel, Reminds me of Dragonlance
Review: I finshed reading the Crystal Shard for the seconed time this year and it was great, I love all the Characters in this series. My favorite is Drizzt, all of them remind me of the Characters from Dragonlance The Companions Tanis/Drizzt,Flint/Bruenor,Riverwind/Wulfgar,Tas:the kinder/Regis, and Tika/Cati-brie. the friendship between Drizzt and Brurenor is like Tanis and Flint and the same goes for Brurenor and Regis, like flint and Tas. altough like the characters from Dragonlance, the charactors from Drizzts and company each have there own identity that make them different.allin all a good story and I can't wait to read the rest of the series.
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Summary: Formulaic and poorly written
Review: I read this book because I wanted to see what has happened in fantasy literature in the last ten years. Robert Salvatore is widely regarded as a one of the foremost authors of this genre, so I gave The Crystal Shard a try - mind wide open. This book was an incredible disappointment. The setting and the characters all seemed promising at first, but it turned into another misogynistic teen fantasy. The editing was so bad that sometimes Saalvatore repeats a cliche twice in the same paragraph (and this novel is loaded with cliches). The characters are cookie-cutter hero types who believe in hacking their way through any adversity. And, since there is a heavy emphasis on medieval warfare in the novel, I would expect salvatore to do a little research into what combat is really like, rather then expect us to believe that someone could swing an axe or hammer for an entire day in the midst of hundreds of foes, cutting them down by the half dozen while they apparently do nothing but stand around and wait to get slaughtered. A final gripe has to do with Salvatore's treatment of women, who make an appearance in the novel as either mindless concubines or generic "womenfolk" who exist only to have children and be defended by the men. The one female charater in the novel is nothing more then a handmaid and potential love interest who puts up with an incredible amount of deragatory abuse from a sexist barbarian. I think Salvatore wants us to think of her as a powerful woman. Why, because she sits around and makes jokes while waiting on men hand and foot? In short, skip this novel and hope for something better sometime in the next ten years.
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Summary: My third, and FINAL review
Review: I take back most of what I stated in my second review. This book is decent, and maybe a little better. This book is not bad at all really. If you want easy escapism, some Braveheart remeniscent adventure, and some cool characters, give this book a try. This is not a great work of literature. This is not a book to be compared with David Copperfield. However, it is not like I said earlier, a piece of trash. No, this book is neither you see. This is just good old fantasy, and NO, Salvatore is not a Tolkien rip off at all. Jordan is. That is why Salvatore is better than Jordan. If you have the choice for The Wheel of Time or Icewind Dale Trilogy, I advise you pick the Icewind Dale Trilogy. This book has some nice escapism, kick a§§ battle scenes, cool lil' creatures, and some great heroic and humorous characters. You might as well give it a try. As Salvatore himself told me, "Reading is subjective" END Maturity level- Teen, has bloodshed Favorite Scene- the fight with the ice dragon! hehe
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Summary: Ack! I restate my review here:
Review: Remember my review? Sure you do, the one with the Rating system. Remember how people enjoyed it? Well, to say the least, I direly regret that review. This book can be summed up in one word: Abhorrent. This book is not literature. It is nothing. Nihil. Whatever. This book is just ad nauseum for teenagers, nothing more. (Sorry for exercising my Latin)Do not read this book, it is a dreg of a book. (Do not take offense) It is a read for young adults who are familiar with fantasy, yet have a sub-par taste in literature. No, this book is a waste of good trees, art, and ink, that's for sure. I can't advise you enough on reading this book. Please, just don't. Some good Alternatives to Salvatore's juvenile sophomore effort: *Tolkien*, Jordan, Martin, Eddings, or Moorcock.
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Summary: A Great Beginning to an Epic Trilogy
Review: The Crystal Shard is one of the greatest books I have ever read, rivaling with Slaughterhouse-5 and Breakfast of Champions (both by Kurt Vonnegut check them out). I think the Salvatore is a very talented writer. There are a few things wrong with his writing, but that can be expected with any writer. Salvatore's will keep you at the edge of your seat. I've read Tolkien's books and Tolkien's is the founder of the Fantasy genre, but I think people that write that Salvatore steals ideas from him are speaking prematurely. The book has a fabulous set of creative and interesting characters. All in all Salvatore is one of the best writers of the modern day.
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Summary: Possibly the worst book I've ever read
Review: This is one lousy book! Very childish. Very very badly written. Any one could've written this. The characters are described as stoic and seasoned and so forth - damnit man! let us think! Salvatore shouldn't spoon-feed his readers. But then, most of his readers seem to be quite stupid. Heck, most of them are illiterate. No wonder they love Salvatore: he's on their low level. My point: don't buy this book if you're an intelligent reader!
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