The Crystal Shard

great book

I listened to the first 3 Drizzt books, And now I am glad to find this new series that carries on his adventures with other heroic characters. I ignored these books back when I used to actually read scifi/fantasy, now I wish I hadn't, excellent yarns. And by far, Bevine is the best narrator for the genre, not a fault can be found -- clear, good tone, his voice adds enthusiasm and excitement during exciting scenes, he does enough voice imitation for different characters to make it clear who is talking, but not corny either. And of course, the story was very good, else I wouldn't give it 5 stars. Highly recommended!

27 of 29 people found this review helpful

Good start. Not great but good enough.

I'm writing this after having finished "Streams of Silver". I appreciate where the story is going and I like the overall effort and tone. The first half is a bit slow for me, but I liked the pacing in the second half of this book.

The performance is good and enjoyable.

I thought the core relationships are a little forced at the beginning of this book. Made me think about how most D&D parties feel a little forced as well at the start and how they need to grow into each other.

If you like D&D fantasy tales, this is a good one that spans the gamut in short time. It sets up the next installment well, which I have enjoyed more than this one.

10 of 11 people found this review helpful

Typical Salvatore

not the best, not the worst. really a 3.5 for me. it's a earlier work, so not as fun as some of his later books.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

wasnt as fun

good wise cracks and new character intros but all in all i had a hard time staying in this book

9 of 10 people found this review helpful

6-7/10

i had high expectations for this and it did not disappoint. I enjoyed Salvatore's writing style there was not too much fluff.

9 of 10 people found this review helpful

Another Epic Drizzt Saga

Would you listen to The Crystal Shard again? Why?

I would definitely listen to this book again. Maybe two or more times. Why? Because the nonstop action and adventure. The way that Salvatore captures the world is profound and detailed and makes me feel like I'm beside the characters.

Who was your favorite character and why?

My favorite character in this book was Brunner. He is witty and stubborn and plays a good prank on drizzt. I couldn't help but laugh and smile whenever he was in the chapter.

What does Victor Bevine bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Victor Bevine is an awesome narrator. He makes each character feel distinguished and gives each the charm and/or personality as if he were actually that character.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This book definitely made me laugh at several parts, as well as bite my nails or even feel disdain at others. Defiantly kept me at the edge of my chair.

14 of 16 people found this review helpful

Flashback to old school fantasy

There was a time when R.A.Salvatore was one of my favorite fantasy authors. I even had him autograph my copy of "Homeland," his introduction to the Drizzt character, which was riveting and original, set as it was in the Underdark where we were introduced to an entirely novel culture of shocking matriarchal cruelty and the Spider Queen goddess of the Drow elves.

Somehow I missed moving on to his second Drizzt trilogy, so I was looking forward to picking up the tale now after all these years. Unfortunately I found that the old school world of frost giants, dwarves, hobbits and barbarians suffers somewhat in comparison with the deluge of imagination and creativity to which we have been treated in the past thirty years. I wish I had read "Icewind Dale" when it first came out so that I could have enjoyed it without having to compare it to Sanderson and Abercrombie and Bujold and Lynch's Locke Lamora and, yes, R.R. Martin."

Still, I enjoyed traveling with the old companions again for a few hours. Though I find Victer Bevine's delivery to be a bit wide-eyed and labored, he does maintain the energy of the work and delineate the characters clearly. Though I will not follow the rest of the "Icewind" series, I'm glad I got reacquainted with Salvatore, and I may check out some of his more recent works to see how he has responded to the development of the fantasy genre.

27 of 33 people found this review helpful

Not worth it.

I could not get into this despite having enjoyed the free Drizzt anthology with the various performers. It felt like the narrator was simply just reading the book. It took me out of the book which wasn't that great to begin with. Lasted maybe 5 hours until I just did not care anymore.

10 of 12 people found this review helpful

Great Intro to Drizzt

Where does The Crystal Shard rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Upper-middle tier.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Like most folks, I really connected with Drizzt. I think many of us have moments where we feel like singular bastions of decency in a world that needs fixing. He is unwaveringly loyal and has a strong moral compass - I can get behind a character like that!

What about Victor Bevine’s performance did you like?

I truly enjoyed Mr. Bevine's voice talents for the various characters, along with the ease applied to speaking unusual words and names that are frequent fare in the fantasy genre.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No, but that didn't make the story any less enjoyable.

Any additional comments?

I will be getting the balance of the Icewind Dale trilogy, so that says something :-)

9 of 11 people found this review helpful

Not bad

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Perhaps, it's a basic story.

Would you ever listen to anything by R. A. Salvatore again?

Nope.

What aspect of Victor Bevine’s performance would you have changed?

Noting

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No

Any additional comments?

Drizzt and his friends are far too powerful with lots of plot armor. The enemy was cliche.

11 of 14 people found this review helpful