Book VI), The Halfling's Gem (The Legend of Drizzt

I read this book as a child and it is no less amazing for reading it now as an adult. It never lost its magic. And as I forge further into the series, I can hardly wait for the expected hilarity, moral introspections, and comradery before me.

Once again the intrepid, unusual friends of R.A. Salvatore's imagination ride out on another exciting adventure, leaving the familiar world of Icewind Dale behind for the Sword Coast, from Waterdeep to Baulder's Gate, to Calimport to save the lovable but thieving halfling, Regis. Regis was taken away by the assassin Artemis Entereri in the last book for a debt owed to a powerful guildmaster, Pasha Pook.
There are host of battles, as always, sea battles, spider creatures, wererats, demodand's from another astral plane.
Drizzt leads the way but can't do it alone. His friends, Wulfgar, Catti-brie and the still breathing king of Mithral Hall, Bruenor, are instrumental on every step of the journey.
Being a fan of R.A. Salvatore's work, especially the drow elf Drizzt, I felt this edition lived up to all the intrigue and adventure of the other volumes. Highly recommended.

Like many others reviewing this book, this is my 3rd or 4th time reading through the Drizzt series, mainly because Salvatore has put out more books in the series since I last read through it, and I wanted to refamiliarize myself with the back-story again. Even though I've read all this before, it still feels like the first time, exhilarating and fulfilling reading! It's a tribute to the author's skill that so many people have read and reread his stories over the years, and keep coming back for more. R.A. Salvatore continues to make the Heroes of the Hall engaging and emotional reading. The pace was perfect, with enough balance of dialog and action to keep me entertained and intrigued. The only reason that this wasn't a 5 star rating was that (without going into spoilers) I felt that a certain major plot point at the end of the book was rushed and more of a synopsis, rather than the entire chapter (or more!) that it could have been. After building up to it for 2 books, I felt that it should have been more fleshed out than it turned out to be, but that's a minor complaint compared to the rest of the book.
Whether you're a fantasy fan, or a follower of Drizzt and his companions' story, this is definitely worth a read, (although if you're new to the Companions of the Hall storyline, I highly recommend going back and starting from the beginning, or at least reading the book before this one, entitled Streams of Silver.)

A fine end to a very good trilogy. Drizzt and his company are out to save a friend. To do so, they must travel much further than they have travelled before. There are noticeable echoes here of Forgotten Realms products released around this time, but they are mere mentions (possibly unnoticeable to those who weren't around when the book was first released) and not intrusive. What was more noticeable in this edition (which I have been re-reading every several years since I bought it new) was the typos... there was likely a rush to get this book out and ride the wave of popularity that it turns out didn't dim with time. There were also a few times when the timeline of the friendships in the story seemed to be in doubt (were Bruenor and Regis friends more and a decade or just a handful of years?).
As makes sense in a story about a group of friends, any larger battles could be covered in mere mentions while a battle involving the companions alone might take a few action-filled pages. Still, the story holds up over time as an adventure story with a good mix of morality tale and friendship. Especially the friendship.
Read and enjoy.

R.A. Salvatore is a great writing in my opinion. His Drizzt novels are fun and exciting, especially within the universe of Forgotten Realms when you can get so many campy, cheesy novels that literally sound like a bunch of nerds writing down their Dungeons and Dragons campaign into book format. Nothing against nerds. I play D&D. Just saying that some of the quality of writing in the Forgotten Realms universe can be somewhat lacking.

Anyways, Salvatore does a great job with characterization in his Drizzt novels. Characters like Drizzt and Wulfgar are believable to me. He also writes action really well. I was entertained throughout the whole book and in reality, that’s why I read a Forgotten Realms novel, to be entertained.

Don’t look for any earth shaking themes and don’t look for any moving discoveries to life’s many questions. Pick up this book and look to have fun, have your imagination invigorated, and be entertained. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves action & adventure and loves good science fiction & fantasy.

If you do like good action and adventure and you are a fan of good science fiction and fantasy, then pick up a copy of the newly released novel A Chance Beginning: Book One of the Shadow's Fire Trilogy

This is the third novel in the Icewind Dale Trilogy by R. A. Salvatore. In the previous book, Streams of Silver, Regis had been taken prisoner by the assassin Artemis Entreri. Bruenor had fallen to his death in Mithril Hall in battle with a dragon. We learn in the beginning of this book that Bruenor is not dead, but was saved from the dragon fire by the magic of Drizzt's sword Icingdeath. Drizzt and Wulfgar set out for Calimport on the trail of Regis and Entreri. Catti-Brie remains behind to gather a dwarven army to retake Mithril Hall from the deugar, a race of treacherous dwarven type creatures. Along the way Drizzt and Wulfgar meet Captain Deudermont, a character who will appear in many more of the novels. The search will bring the four companions together again. The only question is will they be in time to save Regis.

An ongoing theme in the Drizzt novels is the theme of prejudice. Many of the races and peoples of The Forgotten Realms dislike each other. Some races are more hated than others. Orcs, trolls, and goblins are universally loathed. The drow, the race of dark elves who live deep in the earth in the Underdark are among the most hated and feared of all races. Drizzt understands this of course. His race is known for their cruelty and treachery. Their entire culture is built on such ideas. Their evil goddess Loth, the Spider Queen, is nourished by treachery and chaos. Drizzt rejected his people's ways and set out on his own. Everywhere he goes he has to prove over and over that he is different. In this story he fears that the rejection of his race will hinder him in the search for Regis. A friend gives him a magical mask that will change his features to that of a light elf. He uses it, but it causes him great emotional pain. The need for the mask also pains and angers his loyal friend Wulfgar. Along the way though Drizzt will find that his deeds always make him welcome among good people.

All of the usual elements of a great Salvatore novel are here. Salvatore is rightly famous for his fight scenes. The battle between Drizzt and Entreri is legendary and long. Classic Sword and Sorcery fantasy at it's best.

Once again, I enjoyed every bit of the author's ever
growing talent and his brilliant way of bringing Drizzt to life.
Although our favorite drow is no longer friendless, he
continues to search for place to call home. This latest
journey just might lead him there!

At last, Regis's troubled past has finally caught up to him.
What else can he do but run away, joining his four best
friends on an epic journey to rediscover Breunor's lost
ancestral home, Mithril Hall. Little do the loyal friends
know that a renowned assassin has followed them!

The assassin hopes to recover what Regis has stolen from
Pasha Pook, leader of the thieves' guild. Join us as we
travel along with this wonderfully diverse group of pals on
their latest adventure.

This book is essentially your basic Hollywood action movie.

I don't mean something like the original Die Hard, or the more recent John Wick - more like one of the Expendables movies. If you go into it understanding that you can have a good time. It's a long chase scene peppered with tense battles.

The characters are exactly who you expect them to be. They come across as fairly one dimensional, with the possible exclusion of Artemis Entreri who makes for an enjoyable villain.

Like many modern action movies the characters suffer from a bit of Superman syndrome. Cattibrie, who makes the new fourth since Regis is indisposed, is apparently a crack shot with the extremely powerful enchanted bow they found in the previous book. Wulfgar never runs out of steam, and Drizzt is basically untouchable. It makes it difficult throughout to ever feel any tension or worry about what might happen to the characters - you know nothing can stop them.

There are other kind of odd inconsistencies too: Drizzt who spends a lot of time in angst over the 'not all supposedly evil things are bad look at how good I am guys' deal goes out and wrecks a banshee home that was basically protecting a village to steal from her with little apparent remorse. Bruenor makes it clear how much he hates thievery & thieves, but completely ignores all of Regis's indiscretions and his assumption of the title of Head of the Thieves Guild.

There isn't any emotional growth for anyone outside of paying a bit of lip service to the idea of it here and there. Cattibrie in particular goes from staunchly against the idea of her having to kill a human to shredding bandits with that super powered bow of hers in barely no time at all with no explanation of the apparent 180.

Know what you're getting, the literary equivalent of a Michael Bay movie, and have some fun with it.

Over the holidays, I had the pleasure of rereading the "Icewind Dale" trilogy for the first time in almost twenty years. The most striking part of rereading the books has been following Salvatore's efforts in replacing Wulfgar with Drizzt as the main character of his series. In "The Halfling's Gem," Salvatore completes this process and Drizzt finally assumes center stage by himself.

Salvatore's strengths are on full display in the book. He offers an excellent narrative, a number of fun and exciting battle scenes, solid secondary and supporting characters, and a host of fascinating villains. After two books, Salvatore has clearly hit his stride as an author and this volume is a better book than either "The Crystal Shard" or the too rushed "Streams of Silver."

This is not to say the book is without flaws. The late William F. Buckley used to say if a book had more than one staggering coincidence than there was a problem. Salvatore seems to try to get around this by the old fashioned "now see here 007" Q method. In "The Halfling's Gem", Salavtore relies on too many magical devices which can be a bit over the top in advancing the plot. Salvatore also uses the first of his way too many "I'm not really dead and so I have come back" plotlines. The end seems a bit too rushed and serves as an odd end to the trilogy.

Do not think I believe Salvatore is a bad writer or this is a bad book. Far from it. Salvatore is one of the best fantasy writers of his generation due to his strong use of character and while his falling back on resurrections and devices to reunite his characters can annoy, the ends justify the means. Best of all, Salvatore knows who his best character is and was able to cast aside his original plans to allow Drizzt center stage. That took a great deal of courage and Salvatore should be commended for it.

The end of the second volume leads right into the third. As the companions escaped from Mithral Hall, Regis fell into the clutches of Artemis Entreri, the deadly assassin hired by the leader of the thieves' guild in Calimport of whom Regis had run afoul. Furthermore, Entreri gained possession of the statuette that conjures the black panther Guenhwyvar, Drizzt's faithful extra-planar companion. Saddened by the loss of Bruenor and now Regis, Drizzt and Wulfgar resolve to track down the assassin to his lair and rescue their friend, while Catti-Brie is grimly determined to finish Bruenor's quest and retake Mithral Hall from the duergars.
After the excitement of volume two, there is a bit of a let-down. After all, the action doesn't really pick up until Drizzt and Wulfgar near the end of their destination. After that, all hell breaks loose, literally. What follows is non-stop action. The party must survive an ambush in the city sewers, find an exit through the trap-filled thieves' guild, and escape from an an astral plane filled with bloodthirsty demons. All the while, Drizzt is drawn inexorably toward a confrontation with Entreri, who's his equal in every physical aspect and martial skill, yet is his polar opposite in spirit and morality. As expected, Drizzt's duel with Entreri is the highlight of the story, though unfortunately it ends without a resolution. Drizzt's emotional saga continues, as he struggles to be comfortable with his physical appearance, and succeeds in gaining a small measure of acceptance by the nobility of his actions. Yes, the dour ranger may be capable of even love, as the little confession from Catti-Brie seems to indicate. Die-hard Drizzt fans may not want to miss the moment he plants a wet kiss on Catti-Brie's lips, though whether she is aware of it is unclear.
As serious as the story seems, RA Salvatore's naming scheme may need a little more work. Many of the names are original, but some, like Wulfgar, Alustriel, Morkai, etc. come off as a little generic. Drizzt's name for his scimitar, "Twinkle", hardly befits a deadly weapon. I hope his nickname for Guenhwyvar isn't "Pussycat". My last complaint has to do with the "battle" for Mithral Hall. That's just it, there is no battle. I had looked forward to seeing the combined forces of barbarians, dwarves, and wizards rout the despised duergars. Instead, the author seems to have run out of his page quota and only devotes a few brief passages to the party's triumphant return to Mithral Hall. Somewhat disappointing, but I suppose by this time the book will already have fulfilled its purpose.
While this book doesn't quite measure up to Streams of Silver, congratulations for putting this series under your belt. Now you can join Drizzt Do'Urden in his next exciting adventure, be it in Menzoberranzan or Faerun. If you don't feel intrigued with Drizzt after having read this series, I'm a bearded gnome.

First off, this is the conclusion of the Icewind Dale Trilogy. I would strongly recommend reading the first two novels in the series, The Crystal Shard and Streams of Silver, to truly enjoy this book. This story picks up with Artemis Entreri, running off with Regis from Mithral Hall, the halfling, to return him to Pasha Pook the leader of the largest thieves' guild in Calimport. Drizzt and friends chase after Entreri to save Regis from the almost certain death that awaits him in Calimport. The plot is pretty straight forward, but there are definitely enough complications to keep it interesting.
I really enjoyed this book and thought it was the best book in the trilogy. The Halfling's Gem regains the continuous fast paced adventure that was lost in part of Streams of Silver. I found the supporting characters in this book much better conceived and interesting. The battle scenes in the boat and at Pasha Pook's palace were at least as good as any of the battle scenes in the other two books. Also Drizzt's attempt to find himself and what he stands for really progresses in this book. This continues in the Dark Elf Trilogy, which occurred before he reached Icewind Dale, but was written after the Icewind Dale Trilogy. All in all the writing in this novel has really improved from the first two books. This same quality continues through the rest of the Drizzt series. I whole-heartedly recommend this novel for the entertaining fast paced read that it is.

In the last book of the trilogy, the adventurers keep up their constant stream of crazily difficult scenarios but once again come out on top of their foes. Maybe it was just me getting kinda tired of the same story, but I thought that this last book of the three wasn't as good as the first two. (That's where the four stars, instead of five, comes from)... In some places the book almost seemed rushed, as if Salvatore was looking forward to finishing the story, but overall the book was very good and exciting. The adventures just didn't quite match up to the scale of the other books (Bruenor's fight with Shimmergloom), but the presence of bad-ass weapons (Catie-Brie's bow and Drizzit's two scimitars) was cool.
While the adventures of this book were somewhat weaker than in the others, they are by no means weak by any standards. The pirate ship attack, fighting the ratmen in the sewers, Wulfgar's fight with the Hydra, and of course Drizzit's and Entreri's showdown.. The book ended on a wonderful note with Regis (temporarily) taking over the theives guild and Bruenor taking his place as the King of Mithral Hall and Wulfgar + Catie-Bire/Drizzit + Lady Alustriel hooking up.
I look forward to reading more of Salvatore's books featuring Drizzit Do'Urden.

I thought that "The Halfling's Gem" was a good book, but like the rest of the trilogy it seemed very random and unrelated to the previous two books except for the ending of the second book. Out of nowhere (it seems) the group has to run after the assasin half the continent away to Calimport - while running into evil creatures and people they have to fight. This book has great action and well thought out fights which is one reason Salvatore has grown in the ranks of fantasy writing. Everyone loves his battles.
As a side note, an interesting idea and well done character development is the fact that the drow Drizzt is having to hide his identity because of the racist overworld and his heritage. His hiding is referenced in the later books many times. His thoughts and those he shares with Cattie-brie get nagging and annoying, but of course I would probably feel the same way if I was persecuted and hated while saving the lives of good people.
I absolutely love the Drizzt and Entreri duel. I loved the battle at the end of "Streams of Silver" and as always they duel it out in such a beautiful and deadly fasion.
Overall, the book was good and the trilogy was also good, just not great. I love "the Legacy of the Drow" a thousand times better than this trilogy, but of course these are necessary for complete understanding of the characters involved in both sequences. I would have given this book (and the other books in the trilogy) a higher rating(s) if the tasks and quests did not seem so random and reaching for relavence to the rest of the realm.

The Halfling's Gem had it all great battles and the story was well paced plus Drizzt's friends tell him how the feel and thier opinion's when he hides behind the magic mask to hide his heritage and what he is. For being so young Catti-brie really gives Drizzt her opinion on him trying to hide behind the mask and gives it to him hard. She is a good character but her stubbornness is going to get her killed one day,I know she wants to prove to everyone that she can take care of her self but this attitude of I don't need someone to save me,and then gets mad when someone does is stupid. But we have already seen that she is not as good as she thinks she is. Yes she will get better and is doing great in battle so far but a couple of times the enemy all most killed her when she was busy taking care of someone else so Wulfgar or Drizzt help her and instead of being thankfull she gets mad because they helped her, especally at Wulfgar. I know he doen't (later in the book the Legacy) wants her to fight in battle but she has to understand that he grew up in a village where the men fight women stay home, alot different views and opinions than how she grew up. She should not excpect him to change right a way any more than Wulfgar should expect her to change her ways, she should at least respect the ways he grew up even though she thinks they are dumb. I'm not saying she should fallow his ways and do as he says but at least respect them. the biggest surprise is like (the Cowardly Lion in the Wizard of OZ) Regis at last found courage and stood up to Pasha Pook. all in all a great series and one I highly recommend.

... Salvatore has managed to create dynamic characters that I fell completely in love with almost immediately upon meeting them (and even those who I did not fall immediately in love with, I immediately hated. A strong feeling, either way). With the exception of one (Wulfgar the barbarian calls to mind others of his type, such as Conan), they are fairly unique, and each of them only gets more well developed as the story goes on. This is especially true in the case of the dark elf Drizzt, who turns out to be what most would consider the main character. From the start, you are witness to internal reflection on a level that most novels do not allow, but in a way that does not diminish the action of the story. ...

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The novel picks up right where "Streams of Silver" left off. The deadly assassin Artemis Entreri has kidnapped Regis, intent on returning the stolen gem (and the halfling culprit) to Pasha Pook, the thieves guild master in the southern city of Calimport. Rather than fear being followed, Artemis goads Regis' friends to follow him, even making sure that Drizzt Do'Urden (a Dark Elven friend of Regis) sees that he has Drizzt's magical cat, Guenhwyvar.

For Drizzt and Artemis have a deadly animosity with each other. They are like night and day. Both masters of two-handed fighting, their deadly skill in combat more akin to dancing. However, their similarities end there. Drizzt fills his life with dear friends, values life and holds fast to high principles, despite being ostracized on the basis of the color of his skin and the heritage of his race. Artemis, on the other hand, has devoted his life to dealing death out on behalf of the highest bidder (as a paid assassin), dependent on no one, he has no friends, believing that compassion, love and friendship are traits which demonstrate weakness in a warrior. Being so diametrically opposed, each seeks to best the other, to prove that their way of life was better, and for Artemis to prove that his lonely existence has not been for naught.

And so the stage is set. Artemis takes Regis to Calimport, with Drizzt and Wulfgar the barbarian in hot pursuit, later to also be joined by Bruenor the dwarf, and Catti-brie, Bruenor's adopted human daughter. The four friends battle pirates on the high seas, battle treachery in the desert, try to navigate the traps of Artemis, and even get cast down to the depths of Hell in their quest to save their friend.

The best battle of all, however, is mental. In chasing Regis south, Drizzt chooses to to wear a magical mask, to conceal his dark elven heritage and appear as a surface elf, to avoid prejudice and risk delaying their pursuit. However, he soon comes to realize the benefits of the mask, and must come to decide whether he should continue wearing the mask, if they are successful in their current quest, and live out his life as a lie....or whether he would reject the mask, gain strength from his principles, and face the world honestly and deal with prejudice as it comes at him.

So do they succeed? How will Drizzt decide?

Well, I'll leave that for you to discover, as I highly recommend the book. The Epilogue felt terribly rushed, but otherwise the book is an exciting read and very addictive.

As the book starts out, Drizzit and Wulfgar start their pursuit of Artemis Entreri, who has captured Regis and Guenhwyvar's statue. Drizzit, as if he didn't have enough incentive to pursue Entreri as it is, also wishes to finish his battle with Entreri. Along the way Drizzit must disguise himself with the help of a magical mask. While most people would do this without hesitation, Drizzit is highly reluctant to hide his heritage, fearing that he will lose his identity and would prefer that people accept him for who he really is instead of who he pretends to be. Eventually, during their journey, Drizzit finally starts finding acceptance among some people, despite his race.
It's rare when the last book in a series outshines all the others but this one sure seems too, and by a good bit. The main improvement in this book over the two others in the series is that it manages to eliminate the tediousness from the middle part of the book that plauged its predicessors. Instead we have action spread evenly through the entire book, and not only that, but some of the best presented in the series so for.

Definitely a great fantasy epic and one of my personal favorites, The Icewind Dale Trilogy- The Crystal Shard, Streams of Silver, and The Halfling's Gem, brings to life the story of a good hearted dark elf ranger named Drizzt Do'Urden and his adventures in the northwestern reaches of the World of Faerun. The books are so incredibly well written that the reader feels that they have been transported to another universe and are actually present among the characters, seeing what they see, feeling what they feel, sensing what they sense. RA Salvatore has truly outdone himself and has presented us with a masterpiece of literature the likes of which we have seen only in JRR Tolkien's work and in authors Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman's Dragonlance Chronicles and Legends trilogies. Duty, honor, bravery, magic, dragons and heroes are all about. A great trilogy indeed and a "must read" along with RA Salvatore's Dark Elf Trilogy!

Salvatore has done it again in the third book of the Icewind Dale Trilogy. Entreri, intrigued by Drizzt and wanting to prove that his moral code is the better, that by losing his goodness and bringing his body under absolute control, by honing his muscles to their finest fighting edge to the exclusion of all else, he has become a pure fighter, undefeatable. So he takes Regis and draws Drizzt into a fight he cannot avoid. I think, the most compelling thing about Salvatore's books is his beginning of section musings, a probe into the honorable and wise mind of Drizzt Do'Urden. And in his writing it is apparent that he sees these characters as more than just words on a page, he has done a masterful job of making us see the same thing. For breathing life into a book I will never tire of reading, I thank you, R.A. Salvatore. Nathan Jones

The assassin artemis entreri captures the halfling regis, in an arrogant attempt to fight drizzt one on one, once more. The friends are off again, this time traveling by sea to the city of Calimport. Where regis is being held captive in the dreaded thieves guild. It all comes to a climactic end as drizzt, wulfgar, bruenor battlehammer, and cattie-brie desperately try to get the halfling back alive. This book delves into the darker, seedier towns and cities of the surface world. And to me it was all too familiar to some of the dangerous, and often deadly streets and alleys of the world's most famous cities. A great read!!!!! ;)

This book is really special, because it is full of battle and sorcery like all fantasy novels, but it also has theme, just in case there is anyone in the world who isn't immediately obsessed with Drizzt Do'Urden. His bad experiences in the Underdark have weighed on his character, and the story of him getting over them while rescuing his friend, fighting his near-equal in sword skill, chasing pirates...the characters are the best. If you don't like the characters and look for Grisham or Clancy-like plots in every book you read, then read Grisham or Clancy and evaluate R.A. Salvatore's work in the context of what he intended it to be. The plot is very simple, and kind of predictable, but the fact is that I supremely enjoyed the book despite this; it should have been a bestseller, and that Salvatore managed to create such a masterpiece with such a simple plot. But you have to like the characters. You have to relate to them. If you can't or don't, you're sunk. Not all of Salvatore's books are this good; this one is special. This is on a par with Tolkien. His other books are just regular, pulpish fantasy. But this is an absolutely wonderful book.

My only complaint about Salvatore's series is that I had to wait a year between books! Salvatore makes up for the lag between "Streams of Silver" and this book by giving us everything we want. He takes the Companions of the Hall on a breathless chase to free Regis the Halfling from the clutches of evil Artemis Entreri. We visit the eastern-themed world of Calimport, the desert city, and meet the master thieves guild. Drizzt gets his climactic battle with his almost alter ego Entreri, and it's a doozy! Personalities from the Forgotten Realms gaming world are dropped in here and there, such as Alustriel of Silverymoon. If there's a complaint, it's the finger-choppings, which are a bit shamelessly Frodo-ish, but who cares? A wonderful conclusion to this trilogy, with a hint of new and promising adventures to come.

This is the 3rd book out of the Icewind Dale Trilogy, so make sure you read the first two as well, which are The Crystal Shard and Streams of Silver, otherwise this book will leave you confused at times. If you've read the first two and you liked them, then I see no reason why you should not read this one as well.

This was my least favorite book out of the 3 because of several reasons. First it's because the way our heroes run into seemingly inescapable situations but in the end manage to escape is getting rather old. Second, one of the characters [Cattie Brie] posesses a mightly weapon against which foes hardly stand a chance. Third, at times it's hard to follow the fighting scenes because of the way they're described by Salvadore. And finally, I would have liked the dark elf Drizzt to settle his score with his archnemesis, Artemis Entreri. Instead, Artemis escapes.

All in all, the book is well worth reading.

Halfling's Gem

Halfling's Gem is good for anybody that likes to read.

Halfling's Gem is great. I finished it like 3 weeks ago, and it was one of the best books I have ever read. It's the sixth book in the forgotten realms series. It's great for people that love to read.
There are tons of books in the series. It's about a dark elf that runs away from his home inside the tunnels of the earth. Its name is Menzberranzan. He tries to escape the murderous life style that he had left behind. I like to read a lot and so far this has been the prefect series for me and anybody that loves to read. This series is good for people that like fantasy. I would suggest this series to anyone who likes reading. Great for kids 12 and over. Great book.

I have been a very big fan of R.A Salvatore for many years, I began with his first book years ago and have been following the legendary drow 'Drizzt Do'Urden.

Here in the final stages, Drizzt and his companions must over come a loss and to find Artemis at all costs since he had kidnapped one of their own. Angered and saddened, Drizzt tries to undermine Artemis and locate his little friend.

This one is a very good book for any collector. It's worth to be picked up and it's fun to read.

Richard Todd

The Madness of Avlon Klynn

Drizzt and companions are off to rescue Regis from his captor Entereri, before he reaches Pasha Pook. They encounter many new foes, but also find new friends. Great character development here, leaving you wanting more.

Regis the halfing is kidnapped by a an assassin Artemis Entreri. This novel is an exciting adventure of cat and mouse with Drizzt and the gang. Drizzt lost his statue of his mystical companion Guenhwyvar. It was interesting to see how would Guenhwyvar reacted within the hands of another master beside a drow. Artemis's employer Pasha Nook is his third owner. R A Salvatore threw Pirates, Demons, Dragons and everything into this adventure including the kitchen sink. It was amazing to see someone who was an equal to Drizzt when it came to a thrown down. I can read this part of the trilogy alone over and over again.

This trilogy makes a great read for lovers of the fantasy genre. The driving pace, lovable protagonists, and great character development more than compensate for the infrequent dark scenes that accompany many novels of this genre. There is never a dull moment in the adventures of Drizzt, Bruenor, Wulfgar, Regis, and Catti-Brie.

Full Christian Review Here: http://www.geeksundergrace.com/books/review-icewind-dale-trilogy-the-legend-of-drizzt/

A disappointing finish to an otherwise fine trilogy, 'The Halflings Gem' attempts to wrap up some plotlines that began in 'The Crustal Shard,' but it fails due to a terribly anti-climatic ending.
All would still be well if the meat of the book was up to par, but sadly, that is not either. Gone is the fast paced, non-stop action of 'The Crystal Shard,' or the roving adventure and excitement of 'Streams of Silver.' There is no suspence or anticipation as in the other novels - you know where the story is headed at all times, and you know how it will turn out. It's just a matter of trudging through the pages to get there.
A stale ending to an otherwise fun and enjoyable fantasy adventure series...still the best of the TSR line of books, but the poor ending keeps it from getting on any other "best" lists.

3.5 stars

Artemis Entreri returns in the final selection of the Icewind Dale trilogy, doing some really evil things to Regis as he takes him back to Calimport to face the rough justice of the thieve's guild. We get to see Regis grow in this novel, from the shallow, content, manipulative fat halfling in the previous books into someone who has a spine and exhibits real bravery.

Meanwhile our heros pursue them via sea and partake in a high seas adventure battling pirates. A scenario that Salvatore will use again to great effect in the fourth book of The Legacy of the Drow. It is really a great change from dungeon crawling to have some open air adventuring on the high seas.

Upon finally arriving at Calimport, the heroes get to experience treacherous life in the big city, with were-rats, the thieves guild and Artemis Entreri all working together against the group, but each out for their own interests.

As in Streams of Silver, the plotting is fairly tight and the characterization reasonably good.

I've read 6 of Salvatore's books so far, & have yet to take longer than a week to read each one. His stories are so well done that you may want to hire a driver so you don't have to stop reading to go places. This one picks up exactly where "Streams of Silver" left off, with Drizzt & Wulfgar chasing the assassin Artemis Entreri across the land of Faerun trying to save their halfling friend Regis. The edge-of-your-seat excitement continues from the previous book and doesn't let up until the end. Salvatore does a great job describing the action & does not sacrifice the element of character developement to do so. This may be the best of all of the Drizzt Do'Urden books to date.

The same characters doing the same things fore the nth time.
They sometimes even get a little hurt...
Here they are trying to rescue the Halfling from the Assassin
Artemis Entrerei. As usual they kind of do it, but the end leaved a cliff hanging for a next adventure.
This novel is the third of these that I've read and
if I hadn't got it cheap, I'd never have bought it.
Some people seem to like newer series by R. A. Salvatore over this one:
I tend to agree that the last one I read was better than this one,
but only because it had characters I liked better.

This was may favorite book in the Icewind Dale Trilogy. The first book, I thought, was lacking some maturity. The second was better, but still not there. But the third....... the best one in that series. I hope....if Salvotore writes again.....Drizzt will kick Artemis' butt. The way I see it, Artemis will never stop going after Drizzt. His pride has taken too much of a beating for that. But..any way....the book was never lagging....the plot just flowed right through...and the charactors were just altogether awesome...:-). My favorite part was when Drizzt kissed Catti-brie.and I'm like...'It's about dang time'...but..It hardly got past that until the book 'Starless Night'...but any- way...Salvotore..keep writing..and get those two together...:-)....

Salvatore takes us on the thrilling journey of his now famous trio of Dwarf, Elf, and Barbarian as they seek to rescue their little friend! The plot is well paced and developed and the action and setting is perfectly illustrated with Salvatore's powerful prose. This is an intensely readable book for anyone who likes to feel good after reading a book and anyone who likes the idea of a Hero. Plus, if you, like many, are obsessed with Drizz't, this is must read stuff. Read it.

The Halfling's Gem: The Legend of Drizzt, Book VI (Forgotten Realms)

This is a beautful book to read and something to remember for years to come for new readers. Salvatore opened my eye's years ago and have been readin this works for so long.
This classic in its own right continues the journey of Drizzt and his companouns. It's not heavy to read and a welcome addiction to this legacy.
In hind sight it helps other writers to start their own world and it helped me as well.
Keep up the good work, Robert.

The same characters doing the same things fore the nth time.
They sometimes even get a little hurt...
Here they are trying to rescue the Halfling from the Assassin
Artemis Entrerei. As usual they kind of do it, but the end leaved a cliff hanging for a next adventure.
This novel is the third of these that I've read and
if I hadn't got it cheap, I'd never have bought it.
Some people seem to like newer series by R. A. Salvatore over this one:
I tend to agree that the last one I read was better than this one,
but only because it had characters I liked better.

This was may favorite book in the Icewind Dale Trilogy. The first book, I thought, was lacking some maturity. The second was better, but still not there. But the third....... the best one in that series. I hope....if Salvotore writes again.....Drizzt will kick Artemis' butt. The way I see it, Artemis will never stop going after Drizzt. His pride has taken too much of a beating for that. But..any way....the book was never lagging....the plot just flowed right through...and the charactors were just altogether awesome...:-). My favorite part was when Drizzt kissed Catti-brie.and I'm like...'It's about dang time'...but..It hardly got past that until the book 'Starless Night'...but any- way...Salvotore..keep writing..and get those two together...:-)....

Salvatore takes us on the thrilling journey of his now famous trio of Dwarf, Elf, and Barbarian as they seek to rescue their little friend! The plot is well paced and developed and the action and setting is perfectly illustrated with Salvatore's powerful prose. This is an intensely readable book for anyone who likes to feel good after reading a book and anyone who likes the idea of a Hero. Plus, if you, like many, are obsessed with Drizz't, this is must read stuff. Read it.

The Halfling's Gem: The Legend of Drizzt, Book VI (Forgotten Realms)

This is a beautful book to read and something to remember for years to come for new readers. Salvatore opened my eye's years ago and have been readin this works for so long.
This classic in its own right continues the journey of Drizzt and his companouns. It's not heavy to read and a welcome addiction to this legacy.
In hind sight it helps other writers to start their own world and it helped me as well.
Keep up the good work, Robert.

It was the best Drizzt book in existence because it didn't only have to do with fighting battle after battle. It really brought out Drizzts true colors as a leader and companion. It was a well written book that entertained me much more than any of the others because it had a definite plot. It had wonderful descriptive passages and I would recommend this book to any fantasy or Forgotten Realms fan.

A nice D&D style adventure here, where the companions go to rescue their endangered friend Regis, the halfling. Nice duel between Drizzt and Artemis Entreri towards the end of the book and some interesting ideas in the book. Overall, a nice solid fantasy effort filled with action and adventure. If I was 10-15 years younger, I would have given this 5 stars no doubt.

In The Halfing's Gem Salvatore shows that he can end a series as good as he starts one. In this book Drizzt's halfing friend Regis gets kinapped by hhis arch rival Entreri. Drizzt and crew follow Entreri up and down the sword coast and from there it only gets better. Salvatore can pick up the story line and never lets go until the last page. Good Work!

I feel that this one is a great way to end a trilogy. But it's not the best. What didn't make me give it 5 stars was that I couldn't really understand those fireworks, and that I think Artemis should've been in Baldur's Gate. But,still,a great book! After The Halfling's Gem is The Legacy of the Drow, 4 more books to read, which is the sequel to the Icewind Dale Trilogy.

This one took me 3 days to get through, its that good. Whenever i would leave to hang out with friends or something, i would tell myself i should be at home reading!

This one delivers everywhere you could expect! Really, if you have read The Crystal Shard & Streams of Silver, dont abuse yourself by not reading this! This is Vintage material.

Showdowns between Drizz't and Entreri are very heart pounding from the get-go. Since you're looking forward to it the whole time, its just that great when you finally get to it!

Pick it up, read it, dig it. It's very good.

The last book in the best Fantasy trillogy ever written.
The assassing has Regis the halfling, and may kill him. Now Drizzt and his compainions must follow the trail and at a fast pace in order to find their small friend.
This is a great book and a great ending to Salvatores first Forgotten Realms series.
Awesome book. Buy it.

to me it seemed that the characters were invulnerable. Don't get me wrong, by now his writing style was perfected but from when they started the heroes were killing companies of their enemies. Still it was a very good novel and I d highly recommend this book to anyone who likes fantasy.

R. A. Salvatore did a fantastic job on this. Artemis Entreri was my favorite character in this one. The way that he described Drizzt vs Entreri and many other battles was amazing. It makes me wonder if Mr. Salvatore himself had any experience in the field of fighting...

The third book in the Icewind Dale Trilogy is a great conclusion. Our favorite little Halfling Regis develops from a shallow somewhat one-sided character into a deep and seven fingered (read the book to get the refrence) person. But of course this book has all the great fights and adventure that has become the staple of the series. We are introduced to several new and important chracters and get to see Drizzt fight some pirates!

Read this years ago and recently revisited this series. One of my first from Salvatore and still a favorite. great characters and writing, and exciting action.

If you like books like this one, might I suggest another I've recently come across. The Unsuspecting Mage by Brian S. Pratt. It's another fantasy adventure sure to please. I highly recommend it.

This book showed me that Salvatore actually has some potential...he had some good ideas and they sound interesting...BUT:

The thing you have to understand is that this book takes place after Cattie-Brie has recovered Taumaril, "The Heartseeker," yeah real cool name Salvatore you schmuck...anyway Cattie-Brie has Taumaril, and therefore, as a rule, nothing interesting can happen. Do you know why nothing interesting can happen? Because there is never any challenge for our friends "The Companions/Tools of the Hall". For example, let's say they were attacked by the airforce Cattie-Brie would immediately shoot down several planes with her bow, while that cat from another dimension and Drizzt dissappear, only to show up later and destroy whatever's left, while Regis messes himself, Wulfgar cries Tempus and does something stupid, and Bruenor cries stuff like "Girl, get me back Girl!" all the while our beloved friends are talking trash, not having any second thoughts about the carnage they are causing because, hey! They're perfect! Oh except for Cattie-Brie, she hasn't quite mastered the english language yet.

R.A. Salvatore is magic! Unbelievable epic fantasy! This book left me speechless! Me!!? I was happy to see more of the same in later writings. I could smell the cities the characters visited. I shivered atop the mountains. I am humbled.

This book has a wonderful intruging descriptive plot that can grip your heart in complete terror and complete joy. I must say this book is the best ever written by anyone Ive ever met I believe Salvatore is the best writer on this galaxy I believe if we ever meet life more intelligent than humans they could not compare to Salvatores writings they should replace the bible and he should be given all the writing awards in the world I praise his books on a altar in my room. I love his books so much I stopped reading all other series and will keep reading them until I die

Best series ever! Finished this book in three das amd immediately jumped to the next one. Fun at evry scene and thrilling adveture! I greatly advise anyone to read and enjoy R.A. Salvatore and his many works

Entreri is one of my favorite character in the Forgotten Realms, with Elaith Craulnober and Arilyn Moonblade. He's cunning and brilliant, and whenever he shows up I can't help but be drawn more into the story. His role is most important in that book, so that's why I chose this one. Although, he better be fine in Silent Blade... o.O Anyhow, I think he is much better than Drizzt >:) and the Icewind Dale trilogy was possibly the best. Now only Silent Blade remains for me to read...

It was the best Drizzt book in existence because it didn't only have to do with fighting battle after battle. It really brought out Drizzts true colors as a leader and companion. It was a well written book that entertained me much more than any of the others because it had a definite plot. It had wonderful descriptive passages and I would recommend this book to any fantasy or Forgotten Realms fan.

Sometimes I wonder why am I still doing this. Writing about Salvatore's books here on the store. I certainly have better things to do and more interesting stuff to read. Only answer that I can think of goes something like this.

I spent much of my youthood with Drizzt Do'Urden and Forgotten Realms, playing Dungeons and Dragons role-playing game. Forgotten Realms campaign setting was one of my sanctuaries, place of wonder and magic with familiar topographies and characters. There were other fantasy worlds out there (there still are), but these needed different type of person, one willing to learn about the new world over and over again. FR was generic as it always was, but that was precisely what made it so secure. Ages ago one could easily wish that he had been born there. This was all role-playing of course, and main problem with roleplaying (main plus if you like) is that you make up your own rules as you go. Something within the core books felt stupid? You changed it and kept everyone satisfied.

As always, time passes, and one begins to have other interests. People change and people grow and sooner or later role-playing group dissolves and instead the world without the boundaries (except for limits of one's own imagination) one is suddenly left with the world confined within the book. World with clear beginnings and clear endings, with defined characters and carefully plotted adventures. Problems with reading about Forgotten Realms, instead of "actually" being there, were obvious even then - there were great writers out there but for some reason they didn't work for TSR.

I am far from D&D world now and rarely do I look in that direction. Waves of nostalgia come and go, and I try to satisfy these weird deities that are sending them over and over again by reading through Salvatore's books every now and then, trying to see if something has changed within the Forgotten Realms. I'm a sucker for narrative continuity though, and I can't help but to start from the beginning of Drizzt's adventures, even though I know that late eighties/early nineties Salvatore was unreadable to anyone with some literary taste. Don't get me wrong, it still is unreadable, nostalgia can't help with that. It can help with book getting two instead of a one star rating. That much I can be bothered to overlook. "The Halfling's gem" takes me once again to journey through Calimport, Baldur's Gate, and Sword Coast, and I can overlook Salvatore's inability to evoke the feel of these places with words. Names alone are enough for me. I don't need a guide. You might. But, whenever I snap out of this fluffed up sentiment, when I actually lay my eyes on sentences, structure and language used to write this story, I can hardly believe it.

I must give credit where it's due. Salvatore obviously has iron discipline. The sheer amount of willpower needed to write around 1000 pages of utter garbage in a year or two is something to be envious of. As is the fact that he is living in US where he can actually cash in on this sort of thing. Everything else about his writing isn't really worth mentioning. I am fully aware that "The Halfling's gem" is advertised as a Young Adult book, but, as I have stated elsewhere, this doesn't really mean anything. Writers did wonders within the boundaries of Young Adult "genre" - Salvatore didn't. "The Halfling's gem" is generic as it gets, without a single memorable sentence, single memorable event, without any kind of drama and/or character progression - it plays by the rules and there isn't anything more boring than D&D game session that blindly follows the rules. I honestly doubt that people who read this in late eighties/early nineties were much different form people today. Even as kids we knew a bad story when we saw one. Superman was over the top but at least it was colorful and imaginative. Drizzt, unfortunately, is neither. Salvatore tried to differentiate him from thousands of heroes out there by incorporating some psychological insecurities and existentialist musings, but sadly he didn't have the skill to do this properly.

Considering the vast amount of fantasy related material out there I can't possibly imagine why someone would choose this one instead of, let's say Zelazny, Mieville or Wolfe. Even nostalgia has its limits.