Reviews

The fourth book in the legend of Drizzt should be the first book you read, because unlike the rest of the books the writing of The Crystal Shard is unimpressive to say the least. The author shows his great skill at following each details of a fight, but, besides the introductory 'book' (which is well written, and gives a good insight on style used for the rest of the Legend of Drizzt series) the rest of the text feels sloppy and naïve. However, it's a book that one must read; it is the proper introduction to Drizzt Do'Urden and Artemis Entreri, and a classic that spawned these wonderful characters cannot be skipped.

bre13rose's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

kelmandaris's review against another edition

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adventurous slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

magnetgrrl's review against another edition

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3.0

Still really enjoying these! Also, whereas the first 3 books about Drizzt had a lot of characters, they were 90% antagonists or otherwise unlikable. Now whenever there's a new character there's a chance it will be a new hero making up this quickly forming party!

By the end of the book, a solid 3-5 people are ready to basically start a dungeon adventure. :) While sometimes things are REALLY super easy black and white (you can tell who is going to be good, who is going to be bad, who is going to likely die but only because they might have to, and who is definitely going to live, pretty much on the page you meet them) I'm totally OK with that.

Maybe these books are like the antidote to Game of Thrones in that way. Mind-numbingly fun and pleasant, not afraid of some cheesy puns, and only bad guys die. And ONLY sometimes.

I guess there are no critical fail rolls in Drizzt's world! He and his NPC friends are just way too OP. I'm honestly fine with that.

ewil6681's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

brywalls's review against another edition

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3.0

Probably closer to a 3.5 than a 4 (was that an editions joke? who's to say). This late 80s tie-in to TSR's D&D universe might have seemed fresh at the time, but leans a little too heavily on pre-established tropes that have only grown in popularity in the last 30 years. I'm not expecting high art here but I didn't see anything...standout in this book.

Even the dashing and compassionate, but ultimately misunderstood and universally ostracized future legend Drizzt was a letdown. And while we're here, was he a side character or the hero? Clearly he's supposed to be your fave but he was a little too cardboard here.

I digress. There was quite a bit of universe building and it is handled well so I do agree reading this is valuable if you are going to read more of Salvatore's world, but the style and writing, no doubt limited by TSR, doesn't make this a 5 star book. This is D&D, not a Homeric poem.

The novel was fun enough and I don't regret that I read it. I was assured by a fellow AL player that the series picks up, so I'm happy to move on to Strams of Silver and keep on keeping on.

elenahitomi's review against another edition

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4.0

Surprisingly, a good book, especially that part when the heroin wasn't that obvious until you'd actually explore the rest of it. Can't wait to read more Forgotten Realms stories, journey to a place of magic and experience the good 'ol fantasy fix.

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