The Icewind Dale Trilogy: The Crystal Shard, Streams of Silver, the Halfling's Gem (Forgotten Realms)

Rating:
Summary: Good, light reading for the fantasy fan
Review: These are the first Forgotten Realms books I have read, my only other experience with the setting being the computer role-playing games (e.g. Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale). On their own, these are great books, and highly recommended to fantasy readers interested in a fairly fast pace, with more action than details. In terms of how much of your attention they will require, I would place them closer to Harry Potter than Lord of the Rings: something you can put down for a day or two if you need to without worrying about forgetting the name of an obscure character or location. In my case, these books also gave me a better appreciation of some of the locations and creatures that are only lightly touched upon in the games. The books span a wide range of locations, more than just the titular Icewind Dale.

Just a few negatives: By the end of the trilogy, the characters have been through enough far-fetched and dangerous situations that they all should have been killed several times over. (Nevertheless, a fun ride if you don't think about it too much.) The second and third books in this edition have more typos than I have ever seen in a work of fiction; I can only hope that problem is limited to this edition. More annoying was that the first map of the first book is swapped with the second map of the second book, which of course I didn't realize until after I finished the first book. Also note that this is actually printed as *one* thick book with rather large type (note carefully the dimensions), so don't expect to carry it in your pocket.

I give "The Icewind Dale Trilogy Collector's Edition" four out of five stars.