The Crystal Shard: Legend of Drizzt: Icewind Dale Trilogy, Book 1

I had never read a single work of fantasy before I first read THE CRYSTAL SHARD three years ago (unless you count HARRY POTTER, which I wouldn't). It all just didn't make sense to me. My mind could not wrap itself around a genre in which magic and elves were the norm. It could not. My friend had been pressuring me to read R.A. Salvatore's books for years and years and I always refused. But one day, I was leaving to stay at my uncle's cabin for a few days and I didn't have much to take with me as a means of entertainment. So I reluctantly took along my friend's old first edition TSR copy of THE CRYSTAL SHARD.With everyone asleep and my back to the fireplace, I started reading: and I didn't stop until my eyes were almost completely dried out and tired. Every night, all I did was read that book: the introduction of the drow, Drizzt Do'Urden, sprinting across the tundra of Icewind Dale; the halfling, Regis, carving scrimshaw on the shores of a lake near Lonelywood; Bruenor Battlehammer's crafting of the legendary weapon, Aegis-Fang. All of it was burned into my mind, followed me all the way back home, and invaded my waking thoughts long after I had finished the book. I could not forget what I had read for the life of me. I read the next two books in the trilogy, and , later that week.This book, as well as the rest of this trilogy, is so important to me that I'm STILL afraid to read the rest of the series for fear that the story will lose that magic, and I never want that to happen. THE CRYSTAL SHARD delivers on every promise that its opening poem holds. The characters are unforgettable and unique as they are quirky. The action is fast and wonderfully detailed, which Salvatore is very much known for these days, thanks to his work as a bouncer. The story is good, as well, revolving around a weak almost-mage who happens upon a powerful relic that grants the wretch almost anything he wants in the world, which happens to involve the destruction of the Ten-Towns of Icewind Dale. It's then up to the four friends, Drizzt, Bruenor, Regis, and Wulfgar, to stop him.Looking back on it three years later, it's not hard for me to see why this series has so many outspoken detractors. There are cliches abound in this debut entry, I won't lie. This was written by a man who must have loved Tolkien as much as I love these books. But, to me, Salvatore is one of the few authors who understand the spirit of fantasy stories: high adventure and how friendship can conquer even the worst of demons. It's the reason why people STILL play D&D, and why WORLD OF WARCRAFT is an international phenomenon, the thought that ordinary people can do fantastic things worthy of legend. To me, Drizzt and the gang are definitely worthy of such status.I've read a few authors who will say, "Yeah, I read those Forgotten Realm stories, but I moved on." I don't think I'll ever be able to move on. Even after all the fantasy novels I've read since, that feeling of pure engagement with this story and its characters that I had will likely never be matched. I still see those four adventurers departing Icewind Dale, taking their first steps on their journey to find the Mithral Hall, and even after three years I'm still running to catch up.

I loved these books when they were first released into paperback! Many memories of waiting for the bookstore to open so I could get my hands on the next book to come out! Even better are the memories of bringing fresh muffins to share with the bookstore employees who always had my copy of my book on the counter with a new bookmark and a bow on it!Many years later, these books are still amazing and I’m excited to buy the new ebook format though my son grumbles that his prized paperback books are better!The characters are very well developed, storylines are always amazing and full of excitement and adventure!Best part of my re-reading of them, is sharing the joy of each book with my son again as I did many times over the years as he grew up. I will never forget his first book report on this very book. His teacher was very concerned about the size of the book and he wouldn’t understand it. I explained that he’d read this series several times over especially when a new book was about to be released. One must stretch out that excitement by starting on Book one to be fully prepared for the next installment as he learned over the years watching me do that exactly. She didn’t believe me but said if he failed, he’d have to take an F for a grade! I told her if he completes it and gets an A, she had to read the series. Needless to say, my son got an A+++! She started on Book 1 on loan from my son, then to his surprise and joy, she chose that series as a daily reading exercise for the kids!Many parents were amazed and actually bought these books for their families! For Halloween/Harvest Festival, They had a dress as your favorite character from the world of Drizzt!I found this to be the best honor one can give to their favorite author! Just hoping I get grandchildren soon, so the tradition can continue!

While nowadays labeled as Book 4 in the "Legend of Drizzt" series under the many-authored shared universe of the Forgotten Realms (itself one of a number of campaign settings for the Dungeons & Dragons tabletop roleplaying game, and a popular choice for videogames of a few genres), this particular entry, The Crystal Shard, was originally released in 1988 as R.A. Salvatore's first published work, and the first volume in the "Icewind Dale Trilogy," a slightly misleading series name since this is the only book of the three set in the region of Icewind Dale. It's worth noting that while this book provides a lot of world-building for that part of the Forgotten Realms, there's also no direct story connection between the Icewind Dale Trilogy and the PC roleplaying games released under the name Icewind Dale--they simply take place in the same area within of the campaign setting.The Crystal Shard, set against the many Forgotten Realms novels that exist nowadays, is easy to consider inferior to many of its brother and sister works. Before picking this one up, it's worth knowing that at the time of its publication, the Forgotten Realms setting itself was very new as a D&D product line, the first game products being released in '87, the year before. Together with Douglas Niles's "Darkwalker on Moonshae," this book is a pure example of an entry point. Together with the following two works in the trilogy, "Streams of Silver" and "The Halfling's Gem," this book thus focuses on three elements:- An endearing and eccentric cast of heroes to familiarize the reader into with the archetypal Dungeons & Dungeons adventurer's ensemble- Establishing the region of the Forgotten Realms in which the story takes place, to be give both readers and D&D players a feel for the universe this and other stories would take place in- Setting the norms by which the Forgotten Realms label would be judged, in other words, the standards of its brand of fantasy adventure.As such, The Crystal Shard is characterized by its adherence to the basics. The principle characters are an elf, a dwarf, and a man. The villain is a vain, bumbling wizard who stumbles upon an ageless, evil artifact of great power and sentience (the eponymous Crystal Shard). The chief threat to the safety of the region arrives in the form of a legion of goblins, orcs, lesser giants, and trolls which serve this evil wizard. Throughout the adventure, the action-packed tempo is kept moving from beginning to end, starting with the first act's preliminary war with the unified barbarian tribes of Icewind Dale, a shorter peril which runs parallel to the slower introduction and development of Akar Kessell, the wizard who finds the Shard. And over the course of the story, both a demon and a dragon stand as adversaries for the story's two chief protagonists. Magical trinkets and weapons are forged and found, and though the story splits off to follow several characters on their different paths through the adventure--much as J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" did on a larger scale--the story never deviates from the tried and tested basics of what makes a fantasy adventure feel magical. In that sense The Crystal Shard is simply an example of good, old-school fantasy fun.The major story hook of this novel that sets it apart from other novels of its type released around the same time is its main character, who at this point requires no introduction. Drizzt Do'Urden, a heroic ranger of the "dark elf" sub-race which at the time was considered universally evil in D&D, does not dominate the adventure as an almighty invincible swordsman as he would come to in some later novels, nor does he weigh the story down with undue focus on his own troubled life as a drow who has forsaken his heritage. It is in this novel that Drizzt, not identified by his author or his publisher as the quintessential D&D cash cow, made his debut, and it is partly this even-handed use of the character that made him so interesting at the time. Over the course of The Crystal Shard, and the following books in the Icewind Dale Trilogy, Drizzt stands out as a fantastic protagonist without being hyper-competent or stealing the spotlight from either the setting itself or the rest of the cast, feeling as much like another player at the D&D table as the main character of a novel. Start-of-act journal-like essays (added to later editions of the Icewind Dale Trilogy, I think) provide additional insight into Drizzt's character and outlook and speak directly on the story's themes without intruding on the plot or bogging the overall product down with preachiness. The pacing of Drizzt's portrayal in this book, which I can't help but feel tapered off somewhere after the later novel Starless Night, is very well-done here, and in re-experiencing this book again after so many years, I find myself remembering quite fondly why I loved the character so much in his heyday.The rest of the cast is likewise entertaining, although coming at this book after the rest of the series is a little awkward in several aspects. For one thing, the first three books listed under the Legend of Drizzt title, the Dark Elf Trilogy, are Drizzt's origin story but were written later, so reading the books in chronological order does for the writing what watching the Hobbit Trilogy before the Lord of the Rings movies does for the action and special effects: it's pretty obvious that Salvatore had improved by the time Homeland, Exile, and Sojourn were written, so without knowledge of the series history, The Crystal Shard can appear to be an inexplicable dip in quality and complexity. Furthermore, the inherently "basic" nature of this Dungeons & Dragons story, while serving well as an entry point, can feel underwhelming compared to the more inventive and complex stories later released under the Forgotten Realms brand, a theme that continues to a lesser extent throughout the two books immediately following, with The Halfling's Gem being the least by-the-numbers adventure of the three.There are only two parts of his story in particular that feel unwieldy to me, however. The first is the character of Catti-brie, who in later books is written as both a more prominent character and speaking with a dwarf-like accent which she inexplicably does not have in her appearances here (despite having it at the end of Sojourn, Book III in the Drizzt line, and in Streams of Silver, immediately after this one). She does absolutely nothing worthwhile but the narrative insists that she is strong, fiery, and independent, which kind of feels like the book wanted to make her the token female warrior but gave up halfway through and settled for having her say some mildly interesting lines of dialogue here and there while taking great pains to describe how much her eyes sparkled. Drizzt mentally refers to her as his most trusted friend and companion, but we are given no context for this connection within the book itself, resulting in Catti-brie's inclusion here feeling forced and awkward. This is doubly stark if the reader happens to be a long-time fan of Drizzt and his companions prior to reading The Crystal Shard, as Catti-brie is one of the most interesting and frequently-utilized members of the "Company of the Hall" in later stories. Seeing her so minimalized is, in retrospect, kind of insulting to the character.The second unwieldy portion of the book is the dragon that happens to be involved in the barbarian Wulfgar's portion of the plot. While the scenes involving this dragon are well-done on many levels, this particular part of the story feels awkwardly tangential when it occurs, because all of the other plot threads involved in The Crystal Shard--from the barbarians to the political conflicts of Ten-Towns to the dwarves to the demon who ends up being summoned by coincidence to the world during the story's events, right up to the primary conflict with Akar Kessel's army--the dragon is the only part of the story that receives no build-up and only a very small token bit of foreshadowing before it happens. When it does happen, it happens with style, but it feels almost like a one-chapter sidestory than a real part of the novel. The inclusion of a dragon feels forced, as if it were an item on the checklist of Fantasy Adventure Staples the author needed to include, and compared to other dragon encounters in fantasy fiction, such as Tolkien's Smaug, or even Shimmergloom the shadow dragon in the book immediately after this one, this one falls flat and leaves a lasting legacy not so much in the imagination of the reader as on Drizzt Do'Urden's own weapon belt.Apart from those stumbling points, though, The Crystal Shard is a great time from beginning to end. If ever there were an example of reading a Lord of the Rings *movie* in book form, it would be this. While there are certainly better fantasy novels out there, and far more interesting ones to choose from within the Forgotten Realms line itself, The Crystal Shard is one I'd recommend that every fan of the genre read at least once, either to re-acquaint themselves with the basics of these kinds of stories, or to see one of the earliest examples of what made both the Forgotten Realms and Drizzt himself so popular amongst fantasy RPG and novel fans.A note about the audiobook:Victor Bevine's narration is quite good, giving the characters suitable voices and adjusting the drama level suitably for most scenes, however, I feel that some of the subtleties of tone are lost in the narration and there were definitely a few places where the narrator mis-spoke or mis-read a word. The audiobook also contains the prologue, opening Drizzt essay, and first chapter of Streams of Silver as a teaser at the very end, after the credits.

Perfeito estado.

My hubby wanted it, it came in good shape, he was happy, what else matters? No, really…I have no clue about the writing itself, but since it is one of his favourite authors and I go out if my way to find anything by him time and time again…it must not suck. Oh, and this was a replacement for a copy that got wrecked that he still wouldn’t get rid if until the replacement was physically in his hand. If that isn’t a ringing endorsement then I don’t know what is.

Great story as expected from Drizzt series.Can't put it down, once you start reading.

It is a wonderful book. I recommend it ti allego fantasy lovers...I Read it twice, and it was like the First time

This is the first book I've read by R.A. Salvatore, I was looking for an epic fantasy read and a good friend pointed me here as they read it a long time back. Now I wish I started with book one and may find myself backtracking.This book was initially published in 1988 stemming three editions to date, that means it predates the games such as World of Warcraft and other role play games which have brought to life some of the very images being described here. These books were what I would class as an epic movement in the world of fantasy stories, baring in mind the genre back then was not as popular as today and these tales have aged excellently. I didn't feel as though I was reading a story crafted almost thirty years back, which in itself is a tribute to the author and their styleI've not played D&D but it is certainly on my to do list, the reason I mention this is I can't be certain how much of the lore and mythos are from the author's own creation and how much already exists in the books. I will say that the book contains a fantastic narrative, flows well, and introduces a number of interesting and gripping characters, and as so many have before me, I must say I am very fond of the characters in this book, Drittz especially caught my interest, and I look forward to learning more of him as I back track to book one. I have laughed and cringed with the characters through their tale, it really was an enjoyable read.This author is definitely on my future buy list when I feel like a good old fashioned fantasy tale, in fact, I predict I shall be picking up a number of his works in the near future.