Your opinion on the IWD trilogy

[Jonni Voodoo]

I'm considering reading this, but I don't have the time since I still have to finish the Riftwar saga and Dragonlance (I haven't kept up with fantasy novels so I'm reading a lot of fairly old stuff.)

What did you think of it, the characters, plot and setting?

[Larry_OHF]

<font color=skyblue>
I was a type of guy that never read anything.
TV was my life.

That was before a friend bought me Icewind Dale.

That book was the one that got me interested in books.

Since then, I own every Forgotten Realms novel ever printed.</font>

[Pippin]

Well I read the Dark Elf Trilogy, The Crystal Shard, and I`m now reading Streams Of Silver.
Dark Elf was GREAT! I really liked it lots of action and you often get surprised, VERY different from other fantasy I`ve read.
When it comes to The Crystal Shard....well written but I felt that I kinda knew what was happening, and much cliches. But that`s hard to avoid anyway. Hope the rest of the trilogy is better. But read the Dark Elf Trilogy...amazing!=)

[Cerek the Barbaric]

Keep in mind that Icewind Dale trilogy was looong BEFORE the dark elf trilogy.

In fact, it was the incredible interested generated by Drizzt and Co. that led Salvatore to do the trilogy explaining Drizzt's background.

I'm with <font color="cyan">Larry</font>, IWD is one of the BEST trilogies I've ever read.

[jabidas]

Hmmmmm I trashed Salvatore in the thread below this and since doing so amused me I will cut'n'paste for more amusment and so people dont have to go look. Wish someone would argue though.

Well this will draw flack but I thought all Salvatore's work was infantile, lazy, underdeveloped and just downright stupid.

People go on about how Drizzt is such a balanced and brilliant character but Im sorry are we talking about too noble to shit boy? Drizzt is the same in every book only perhaps becoming more and more whining. He is some kind of twisted mixture of Captain Kirk and an angst ridden thirteen year old. On and on he whines and moralizes sanctimoniously. He isn't a character he is caricature. Drizzt is not even two dimensional, he is only good and it makes a dull unrealistic character.

Every other character in the books is a cliché, lets see a dwarf that likes a good fight, drinks copious amounts of ale and is oddly sentimental no matter how gruff. Did I mention bruenor has red hair and a Scottish accent? next Cattie Brie another non person, the perfect match for drizzt she is just as vacant of originality but who cares she is only there for the drooling kids anyway. Regis, now who the hell is he, i see him referred to as funny but no not really, he never even had a personality, I think he is supposed to be a tasselhoff burrfoot rip off but when you start plagiarizing Dragonlance you know you are in trouble. Wulfgar is an angry barbarian with long blond hair who likes to shout, CONAN, ahem, sorry here we go again, TEMPUS. And last Artreimis the Assassin fighter, how droll. Is he interesting, nah he is quiet and deadly, sigh. What else des he do, ah yes looks good in black, I wonder does he chuckle villainously in mirrors sometimes.

What a complete bunch of airheads. Now lets go to Lazy. Salvatore is god awfully lazy, he never describes scenery, or at least not well, he concentrates on things like the Panthers onyx statue. Why because these are constantly repeatable and he will do so at the slightest provocation, when in doubt do something you have done before, for kicks make it glow, preferably a pale deadly villainous glow. With extra cheese on the side.

The inevitable brilliant fight scenes people come back to. I admit that at first I was in intrigued. i read the dark elf trilogy first and despite Zaks off putting entry into primitive angst which later drizzt regurgitates like stale vomit ad infinitum\nauseum it had an interesting fight scene. It was long and fast paced and it made me want to read more. It was then that I discovered Salvatore's books are fight scenes with a little chat between scenes. They go on forever and there are so many of them. Its not that I object to violence its just when it becomes pointless because of its repetitiveness i get annoyed. For real violence in fantasy go to George R.R Martins a Song of Fire and Ice. Salvatore patented ''whirling scimitars'' are not worth it because there are no real consequences or implications to what is done. Its like watching films just waiting for the next explosion.

I think I gave a reasonably good argument for being anti salvatore so i think if you respond it should be more that Salvatore ROX you Sux. If Salvatore was not so popular I would have been so bored by him I would not have written this but he irritates me now.