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Servant of the Shard (Paths of Darkness)

Servant of the Shard (Paths of Darkness)

List Price: $7.99
Your Price: $7.19
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: uhhhhhhh
Review: this book was just to good for words in my opinion. i was a fan of Artemis Entreri since I first saw him in "Streams of Silver" and this book just increased my love of that charecter. at first when I read the first few chapters and learned Drizzt was not in it i was slightly upset but then i realized the main charecter was Aretemis, unlike "The spine of the world", which was Wulfgar and Meralda. I was very happy when I read the book and found that Entreri finally got ovr his obsesson of Drizzt, I was begnign to get annoyed with my fravorie charecter. I personally believed this was Salvatores best book, but i still have to read " The dark elf trilogy""The cleric quintlet" and the "Legacy of the drow", so I still have some reading to do before i can say which book was the best, i'll be starting the "Legacy of the drow" very soon.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: It's our favorite assassin!!!
Review: When I first bought this book, and realized Drizzt wasn't in it, I was almost ready to return it, and then I saw **starry eyes** it starred Artemis Entreri! (And Jaraxle and those other crazy drows of course...) This is probably one of my favorites so far -- Artemis becomes more then a fighting peice of cardboard out to kill Drizzt -- now that he thinks Drizzt is dead, his stupid obsession with defeating him is gone too. Hallejuha for that, too!! We finally dig deeper into his personality (yes, he does have one) and he gets friend for once, one he trusts...
Fast, absorbing read, even if you are a devoted Drizzt fan, you will enjoy this, it's different, and different isn't always bad.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Could not put it down.
Review: I am an absolute fan of the whole Drizzt series. However, after the Legacy of the Drow series, The Silent Blade began to dull Drizzt's luster a bit. It was good, but was missing something that had come to expect from what I have been reading so far. I have been reading the series non-stop since my friend lent me The Dark Elf Trilogy. The Spine of the World was a little less exciting. I found the side plot with Meralda and Jaka quite boring until it all came together. I would say that the first half of the book was blah and the second half was really good. Then I got Servant of the Shard. What a fun to read book. What makes Servant of the Shard so good is that it is constantly moving and there is always something exciting happening. The combination of Artemis and Jarlaxle is also very entertaining. If you are dredging through Spine of the World now, don't worry, a really good read awaits you.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Classic Salvatore
Review: The only book that didn't keep me glued to it was "The Spine Of The World". When I started "Servant Of The Shard" I was worried Salvatore was lossing his flare. However, once I started reading I couldn't put it down. This is classic Salvatore but in the minds of the male rogue Jarlaxle, and the now older but still deadly nemesis of Drizzt Do'Urden, Artemis Entreri.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Intrigue! Backstabbing! Entreri!
Review: Following up Salvatore's "The Spine of the World", it's no suprise that he's decided to write another novel focusing on a character other than Drizzt. What's different, this time around, is that the character chosen is none other than Drizzt's archnemesis, Artemis Entreri, now battling for control over the Crystal Shard (and his life) and matching wits with Jarlaxle, the enigmatic drow mercenary.

As always, Salvatore spins an enjoyable tale, and he continues the more intriguing plotlines that are the hallmark of "mature Salvatore"- his writings from Legacy of the Drow on. No longer content just to regurgitate the same stories of his predecessors, Salvatore engages the reader with a far more intelligent story. He rises above the pack of "shared world" fiction with refreshing style- one can tell that Salvatore enjoys writing his novels as much as his readers enjoy reading them.

All in all, another fine book. Hopefully Drizzt is in the next one!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Truely an Amazing Read, a Journey into the Minds of Evil!
Review: How could you not love this book? If anyone says that the protagonist of a novel can't be a villan, they will certainly be silenced by this novel. This book has givin me a new respect for both Jarlaxle and Artimis Entriri. Never before had i read a novel from the point of veiw of a villan and i was tuelly astonished. Before this novel i had never really appritiated Entriri, in fact i found him annoying. After reading this book i am quite anctious for more tales of the deadly assassin. I've always loved Jarlaxle, he has been one of my favorite characters since he first entered the drizzt saga. This book allows people to truely see the drow behind the eye patch, his cunning, wit, and even delve deeper into his obvious uniqueness from the rest of his race.
Truelly a thrilling read, i can't wait to read another novel about the adventures of Jarlaxle and Entriri.

Lance

(PS. those of you who have read the previous Drizzt books you will find a very interesting surprise about a certain bald headed drow's backround, not gonna tell you what though)
=)

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: More Than A Heartless Killer
Review: I truly loved this book, it added a lot more to the character of Artemis Entreri. In the previous books Artemis was nothing but a rival to Drizzt not really a character his own. However, you get a peek into the mind of Entreri with this book. In the first few books Entreri is nothing more than a heartless killer bent on proving that he was better than Drizzt.
After Entreri's encounter with Drizzt on the cliff face outside the tunnels of Mithral Hall where he is badly beaten by Drizzt he is humbled. In Servant of the Shard he is no more just a heartless killer. He has the closest thing he will ever get to actual friends. He no longer kills to just make a name for himself, but mostly out of necessity.
He has a large conflict with the chararacter of Jarlaxle who has taken over House Basadoni in Calimport. However, there are two main conflicts in the story. Between Jarlaxle and Crenshinibon, and Entreri an Charon's Claw. Entreri's is easily overcome, but Jarlaxle's last through nearly the entire story.
This is truly a great book and I reccomend it for Forgotten Realms fans.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Drizzt Hurt Entereri, In More Ways Than One
Review: Yeah, you're supposed to hate the bad guy, right? Not quite like I did.

I had started my run with Salvatore's books with The Dark Elf Trilogy. After exploring the intrigue of Menzoberranzan, seeing the horror of the Underdark and the contrast of Blidgenstone, and followed our favorite Ranger to the surface, a lone warrior against seemingly insurmountable odds, I almost didn't want to move on. But alas, there was more story to be told, more adventure to be had, and so I moved forward.

I was not disappointed. By the end of The Crystal Shard, I found I not only had a fondness for Drizzt, but a certain connection to Regis, the poor halfling who couldn't seem to stay out of trouble; an admiration of the proud barbarian Wulfgar, the barbarian who united his tribes; and, of course, I could hear Buernor's every curse and half-hearted insult. By the end, I enjoyed these characters as much, if not more so, than the dark elves of his second Trilogy.

But Streams of Silver? A good enough book, to be sure, but their choice of villains, to me, was a large step down from the demon Errtu and bumbling wizard, Akar Kessel. An assassin, threatening, in his own right, but nothing compared to a demon and hordes of monsters, and a female mage I didn't particularly care about.

I read with the utmost boredom how Entreri captured Cattie-Brie. I plodded along, hoping to find some redeeming value, but once it became apparent that Entreri was meant to be Drizzt's chief rival, I couldn't help but feel my heart sink a little. How arbitrary, it seemed, that this cold-blooded assassin, this man who survived by his ability to remain disconnected from his work, became obsessed with Drizzt Do'Urden.

As it became increasingly apparent through later novels that Artemis Entreri would keep on appearing, I sighed and plodded through, thinking that it would be OK if I were simply able to keep the story going to get back to Drizzt.

The Silent Blade changed my opinion a bit toward Entreri, and I became slightly interested in his inner turmoil, though I was still more interested in skipping to the Companions of the Hall, particularly with Wulfgar's return.

So it was, with a bit of hesitance, I picked a copy of Servant of the Shard from the library. Interested enough in Jarlaxle to tolerate Entreri's presence, I began to read. And found, to my surprise, that I couldn't put it down.

Whereas Entreri was before a cardboard cutout, a soulless mirror meant as an adversary for Drizzt, with the dark elf's "demise", he became something much more. A character in his own right, with a life, thoughts, and quirks beyond the scope of his obsession with Drizzt. For the first time, he had friends, people he actually related to and interacted with. For the first time he experienced complex emotions; more than revenge or simple emptiness. Most importantly, he evolved, matured. The ending left me actually wanting more Entreri, and feeling disappointed with the knowledge that he would not be in Sea of Swords.

Even beyond the scope of the assassin, Jarlaxle holds his title as one of Salvatore's most interesting characters. The maverick drow, closer in alignment to Chaotic Neutral than Chaotic Evil, seems to live by a code all his own and always makes for an interesting read. Without giving too much of the plot away, his eventual life-altering decision is a good one, as it seemed time he strike a different course. It left me wanting more of Jarlazle, as well as Entreri.

Salvatore's new characters also (for the most part) score homeruns. Though not entirely new, those who first appeared in The Silent Blade are given bigger roles and added depths. Rai-guy, Kimmurel, Dhwavel, and Sharoletta Vespers all add to the intrigue, and the suspense, of this novel.

That being said, there are some complaints, but nothing too major. Entreri's rivalry with Danica, for instance. To have his rivalry with Drizzt ended only to once again define his character by another seemed a waste, indeed. The wererats seem to go through leaders like most people go through shoes, which is a shame, because the interaction between they and the dark elves is priceless. And Sharoletta... let us just say that a potentially entertaining character was removed from any further novels.

All in all, it doesn't detract too much from the over all quality of the story, and Salvatore found a perfect blend of revelation and mystery to let us inside the head of Artemis Entreri while making us want for more. And that is the mark of a good character, as well as a good author.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Depressing - with a gleam of hope at the end
Review: 75% of this book was depressing. The only happy parts are when readers join Cadderly's role in the plot (his family and the dwarves are awsome!) and the last page with Jarlaxle and Enrtreri. But other than the fact that it is immensely depressing it is a good book. If you are new to the Forgotten Realms series DO NOT start with this book! Try The Icewind Dale Trilogy. This would be a good book for any and all fantasy-fiction fans. Especially Tolkein fans!(Because in my opinion Salvator has more action less philosophy and waaay more descriptive in his battle scenes!)

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: My Opinion on Servant of the Shard
Review: I will be as honest as I can in this review, I like Salvatore and I have for a long time in fact I read very few books and Salvatore is the only author who inspires me to continue on reading his work, this book starts out great it starts where the silent blade leaves off but I must say this is the first of his books that I have been disappointed in, Salvatore put a few things in The Silent Blade that made me look forward to reading this book but I think he simply forgot a few of the things he put...? I will not go into details because I do not want to spoil this book but what I can say is that he did indeed rush through the ending in my opinion and he left out some vital things he could have included and looked like he would include by creating an opening in The Silent Blade, The book mostly focuses on Artemis Entreri and Jarlaxle which in my opinion is a nice change Drizzt is good but as many would agree he is getting somewhat old, focusing on the anti-heroes was a great idea and I truly send Salvatore my compliments on making it work, in my opinion you will enjoy the beginning and the middle, but he rushed through the end I believe and if you are Cleric Quintet fans such as I you will be displeased for the lack of revenge a certain bat winged character did not get a chance at just because Salvatore forgot about it, he must have and if he didn't then I think he should have left some scenes out of The Silent Blade, Cadderly and his friends are in this book and the climax was heading into the right direction but I must once again say he rushed through it, the book is short compared to Spine of the World and The Silent Blade, so I will not settle for "It would make the book to long excuse". All in all I still recommend you read it, it is a good book and most people have given it a better review then I have so you might enjoy it more then I did.


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