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The Crystal Shard - Icewind Trilogy 1
R.A. Salvatore Book Review

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Plot Summary of The Crystal Shard - Icewind Trilogy 1
"It describes a character who fights the prejudices of his race by striving for freedom and equality side by side with characters of other races and genders. It has all the things a good fantasy book would have; master swordsman, angry dwarf, the rash barbarian, the lazy halfling, the cunning assasin, the beautiful young women trying to proove herself and of course the big, mean demon terrorizing the countryside. "
Matt D'Apolito, Resident Scholar

"Drizzt Do'Urden is forced to fight a deluded wizard who is being controlled by a magical item from the past called the crystal shard. Drizzt and his friends, Bruenor, Cattie-Brie and his black panther Gwewhywar, set out to kill the wizard and bring peace to the region"
Eric Lamarche, Resident Scholar

"A poor wizard apprentice is taken in by an evil artifact's promises of power. He tries to take over an area that happens to include a great elven swordsman and his friends, all of whom are quite capable of taking on a lowly apprentice, even one with an evil artifact. The fight is made more difficult however, by the recruitment of several thousand evildoers for the bad guys and the good guys being too suspicious of each other to co-operate. Also, one of the greatest armies for good is under the evil power, with the one man who can change that is under severe delusions of being the best fighter in the area. But as hopeless as this all sounds, the entire book is carried out in high fantasy form, with much action and great dialogue throughout. "
The Ninth Gate, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of The Crystal Shard - Icewind Trilogy 1
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
Descript. of chases or violence - 40%
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 10%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 10%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 40%




Tone of book - very upbeat
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - fantasy world/fantasy past
Mental/magical powers focus Yes
magical powers: - clash between evenly matched magical power(s) (fantasy)
War or Invasion Yes
Major kinds of combat: - sword fights
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Escaping from behind enemy lines? Yes

Main Character
Identity: - Male
Profession/status: - champion of justice
Age: - long lived adults
Has magical/special powers? Yes
Magical/mental powers of main character: - is very quick
Eccentric: Yes
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Physique - very athletic

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Profession/status: - mage/magician
Has magical powers? Yes
Magical/mental powers of main antagonist: - can change shapes - fire/thunder/weather cntrl - telekinesis - clairvoyant - super strength - can fly - teleportation - can cast all sorts of spells - Invisibility
Eccentric: Yes - obsessed - emotionally unstable - wild
How sensitive is this character? - mean, arrogant

Setting
Terrain - Mountains
A substantial portion of this book takes place on a non-Earth planetary body: - humans in a primitive/fantasy society
Planet outside solar system? Yes

Style
Person? - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
How much dialogue? - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
Most similar books to The Crystal Shard - Icewind Trilogy 1
The Chalice by Deborah Chester
Honoured Enemy by Raymond E. Feist
Dragon's Winter by Elizabeth A. Lynn
War of the Twins - Dragonlance Legends 2 by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
The Sword of Bedwyr - Crimson Shadow 1 by R.A. Salvatore


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R.A. Salvatore Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:
  
Pamela Piarowski  

SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).
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