Sea of Swords

I don't understand. The plots in these books aren't very different from each other, the fight scenes go on too long and it's another "group of friends go adventuring book". Nothing original or anything here. The problem is that I LOVE these books! RAS makes me care about the characters and what happens to them. Watching Drizzt evolve as a character is fascinating. Drizzt is the most evolving character I've ever seen in fiction. It's amazing. His relationship with Cattie-Brie keeps me at the edge of my seat. I do find myself skipping over some of the more lengthy fight scenes, but other than that I'm hooked. I don't particularly care about Wulfgar at all, but when the focus is on him I find that I do care. Same with Bruenor and Regis. I just don't understand...

I'm sick and tired of seeing Sea of Swords insulted merely because a few spoiled readers would have preferred that things go in another direction. SOS is another masterful writing, and it is a must-read for anyone loyal to the Fantasy genre.

Sea of Swords is an excellent novel written by one of fantasys' best authors, R.A. Salvatore. The novel takes a slightly different route from previous writings, drawing out certain parts to excellent detail. This allows for more character development and more story, which in my opinion is a key point to any good piece of writing. There is still enough action in there to keep the lulls to a minimum, as well as a good bit of humor (dry or not.) If there is one thing I did not approve of, it was the disappointing display of fighting put forth by Le'Lorinel despite years of training to do battle with the renegade Drizzt Do'Urden. However, it was not enough of a disappointment to lessen my love of this book. R.A. Salvatore has proven yet again that he is one of the finest fantasy writers of our times. Keep up the excellent work, Mr. Salvatore, as your fans are, as usual, wanting more.

I first heard about the author named R.A. Salvatore through one of my friends. We were going to colorado for camp. Through the drive I found out that the book he was reading was called Sea of Swords and by R.A. Salvatore, it seemed kinda good, so I started reading it. Soon I was fighting him off the book (literaly) so I could read it. By the time the unfortunate end of the great book came, the only word that could describe Sea of Swords was EXELLENT!

I honestly wondered if R.A. Salvatore could pull off another book about Drizzt Do'Urden. After all, with fourteen previous books in the series, who was left for the scimitar-wielding ranger to fight? The Crystal Shard was shattered, Drizzt's malicious family was long dead, Artemis Entreri had recovered from his obsession with the drow ranger, and the demon lord Errtu had been banished to the Abyss for a century. (Though if the series runs long enough, Drizzt may eventually have to face Errtu once more!) And with Salvatore's last two Forgotten Realms books focusing on the tormented barbarian Wulfgar and the aging assasin Entreri, it seemed that Drizzt's days had perhaps come to an end. But fourteen books prove, if nothing else, that Drizzt cannot be kept down. The book opens with Drizzt and his friends chasing down highwaymen in the frozen reaches of Icewind Dale. When one of the surviving bandits is found with the mark of Aegis-fang, Wulfgar's magical hammer, Drizzt decides to discover what has become of his missing, tormented friend. The hammer is actually in the hands of Shelia Kree, a ruthless pirate chief. Wulfgar, meanwhile, pursues Kree aboard Captain Deudermont's pirate-hunting ship, conflicted between his old life as a warrior and his new roles as a husband and a father. And while Drizzt hunts for Wulfgar, a mysterious moon elf named Le'lorinel hunts Drizzt, obsessed with killing the drow ranger. These seperate plot threads could result in a tangled mess, but Salvatore weaves them together well. Mixed in with the main plot are scenes with dozens of minor characters from previous novels: Captain Deudermont and the wizard Robillard, Morik the Rogue and the owners of the Bloody Cutlass in Luskan, Lord Feringal, Lady Meralda, Priscilla, and Terimgast at Castle Auckney, and others. A large portion of the book's appeal comes from the growth of these lesser characters: Robillard's transistion from crusty curmudgeon to crusty mentor, for example, and Morik the Rogue's altrusitic side comes to the top once again, despite his best efforts. "Sea of Swords" does start out slowly, with Drizzt and companions seemingly having nothing better to do than harass highwaymen. But the pace soon picks up, and how do the pages fly! Five stars.