The Legend of Drizzt

Beware, the mass market paperback copies are missing Drizzt Do’Urden’s beautifully written epigraphs.

R. A. Salvatore can be credited with single handedly bringing The Forgotten Realms and Drizzt Do'Urden into the minds and hearts of fantasy lovers everywhere. Being one of his first serious works, The Icewind Dale trilogy is a fun and action packed story with it's strongest trait being the extraordinarily detailed characters that inhabit it's pages. The first book tells the tale of a community located in the ice filled north. These harsh conditions set the tone for a book filled with magical beings, dragons, and fantasy races of all kinds (namely dwarves, humans, elves, and dark elves). While the central conflict remains the defense of Ten Towns against a maddened wizard, what the story really focuses on is the central characters: Wulfgar the Barbarian, Drizzt the dark elf ranger, Bruenor the dwar, Catti-Brie the mage, and Regis the halfling. The second book whisks the main characters off to the warmer and more dangerous southern coasts along the Sea of Swords. Salvatore increases his boundaries and really fleshes out the world he is slowly creating. It is really in this book that the story begins to really focus on Drizzt Do'Urden: his past, his present, and his future. Some critics have stated that Salvatore focuses almost too much on this much-loved dark elf. I would tend to agree, but that does not mean that this wonderful character and his night-filled past isn't worth exploring. The concluding book in the trilogy remains (in my opinion) the least powerful of the three books, while introducing one of the more enjoyable villains who goes on to become a regular feature of future Salvatore books: Artemis Entreri. As with the other two books, you find yourself less and less caring about the overall story and just waiting for the time to come around when Drizzt and Artemis are going to square off. The work itself exemplifies what R.A. Salvatore is very good at: creating characters that are filled with emotions, experiences, and character that are put in situations where you learn more and more about them. What you find is that you could care less about the overall story and look forward to the interactions between these very diverse people as they interact (or sometimes are forced to interact) with each other. Overall, I recommend this book as a fun-filled summer read which is relatively light, but full of adventure. As the characters, especially Drizzt, hack and slash their way through hordes of undead, goblins, dragons and demons they endear themselves to you in a way where you want to pick up the next trilogy just to see where they will go next. In a way, these characters are the equivalent of fantasy superheroes and the story is almost a drawn out comic book in that the characters may find themselves tore apart, but they always manage to come back and save the day. The one discredit I will give this book is that it, along with The Dragonlance Chronicles, began the era of cookie-cutter fantasy books which now fill the shelves of nu

If you really didn't like the books, why don't you post several you did like? Drizzt is one of the finest and noblest characters ever written. The Crystal Shard portrays him best as wild and fearless, as well as honorable and stoic. I look up to his uncorruptable character in my own life. The second half of Streams of Silver is at the very top of my favorite fantasy book list. The action, the fights, just blew me away the first time I read it. It is true that the novels can be clownish, and lack dimension at times, but in the end there is much there to be discovered.

I have to admit I was not a very big fan of the D & D world. But after reading Salvatores Icewind Dale Trilogy, I am hooked. He has a way to make almost anything seem interesting, and takes enough time to vividly describe whats goin' down.I had no problem understanding what most of the monsters looked like, or the characters for that matter.If you are a D & D veterain or just a newb wanting to get into the D & D universe, I highly recomend getting any of Salvatores books. I did, and I love them all.I do however recomend this series order below. For all of his books with Dizzt in it.1) Icewind Dale Trilogy2) The Dark Elf Trilogy - This is a prequal to Icewind Dale but you should read Icewind Dale before reading this.3) Legacy of the Drow - four book series4) Paths of Darkness - four book series5) The Hunter's Blades Trilogy

After reading the Icewind Dale Trilogy I have again been immersed into the rich plots of the Fantasy genre. I read this book due to a recommendation of a friend and I was overjoyed when I found that Salvatore's writing kept me hooked. His plot development through all of his Forgotten Realms novels are excellent and the Icewind Dale Trilogy is just the beginning. I find that it is hard to stray from superlatives when describing the Icewind Dale Trilogy and Slavatore's writing in general. The real low-down on these books is the character development. Drizzt Do'Urden (the main hero of most of Salvatore's Forgotten Realms novels) is expertly developed. Drizzt is a dark-elf that must overcome the nightmares of his own heritage, and most importantly, gain acceptance among the highly paranoid and unwelcoming surface dwellers. Throughout his travels in the frigid wastelands north of the Spine of the World, Drizzt finds many good friends and fights against unspeakable terrors. Yet, he upholds his own personal code of ethics and virtues like that of a noble paladin. The reader can't help but feel empathetic to him and the entries of his personal memoirs gives an insight into the very essence of Drizzt.Upon finishing the Icewind Dale saga, I have become an avid reader of Salvatore and I would highly recommend all of the novels in his series. If you are a Tokien fan, this is a must buy. I've debated whether Icewind Dale or the Dark Elf Trilogy would be the best place to start in this series, but I've determined that Icewind Dale is your best bet. On top of everything, this collector's edition (while containing some typos) is well bound in a very attractive package. Make yourself a good cup of coffee and get comfortable, because you've got an excellent read ahead of you. Just remember to allocate plenty of time because I gurantee you won't be able to put this one down.

This is the trilogy that launched the career of one of the greatest fantasy characters ever in existence, the Dark Elf, Drizzt Do'Urden. Such a wonderful character! (It didn't do too much harm for Salvatore's career either!) This trilogy is heavy on the action and fighting sequences but they are balanced with thoughtful character-driven insight and development. And I can't forget to mention one of the best villain's ever to grace the written page, Artemis Entreri. You will rarely see a better written bad guy. If you have stayed away from Forgotten Realms books or others based on games, don't pass this one by. And don't miss the Dark Elf Trilogy either, for a wonderful taste of the early life of Drizzt and the world of the Underdark. Both volumes have a very special place on my crowded book shelves. Good reading!