I bought the first book, the crystal shard back when I was in 9th Grade and just finished it the end of my junior year of highschool. (I put the book down for a while then lost it amongst other books later to be found and finished junior year). Not only was it a personal acomplishment being that it took me an great amount of time to finish such a small book, it brought me into a whole new world of hobbys. I finished Streams of Silver and the Halflings Gem on the following weekend. Just today I went out and bought The Legacy of the Drow, The Dark Elf Trilogy and The Cleric Quintet, in hopes to totaly bury myself within them till I have read them all. IM HOOKED!!! The Icewind Dale Trilogy byfar was a ground braking read for myself for I never really considered myself a "reader" and the thought of sitting down and finishing 2 books in 2 night sounded more of a punishment then pleasure. Now I find myself reaching for any R.A Salvatore book in reach, just trying even if for a split second to loose myself within his writing. I particularly took a liking to Artemis Entreri whom I now found myself wanting more of towards the end of the trilogy. Although his character eventually dimed towards the last few pages I was not disapointed by the way he handled Rassiter and his final dialogue. In conclusion I loved these books, all fulfilled my exspectations to a "T" and would now consider myself a fan of the master of Fergotten Realms, R.A Salvatore.

This is one of Salvatore's most brilliant works. From the opening paragraph of the first book to the last sentence of the final book, you are engrossed with the story. The will have to be some routine altering changes when you start reading this, you will never want to put it down.

I myself couldn't be torn away from it and was left anxious to read more about Drizzt Do'Urden and his friends. I am waiting right now on the next set of Salvtore's books that expands the tale the title character, Drizzt.

Read this! You'll never regret it if you are a fan of the genre.

This book has fighting scenes all the way through, tied in with an awesome story. If you like the first 5 chapters you'll like all three books.

'The pillars of the earth' was outstanding. It was one of the best books I have ever read. It was one of those books that you couldn't put down, there was always something happening so the storyline was never boring. It's characters were wonderful, they were all very different from each other and they all had different values, which made the story exceptional. This is truely one of Follett's best.

I have not read the other two books in this set, but "Pillars of the Earth" is outstanding. I have read every thing written by Ken Follett and have been extremely happy with all of them. "Pillars.." though is unique in that the setting is 12th century Europe and Follett does a remarkable job of making you feel like you are right there with the characters, feeling both their joy and pain. This book is not for the weak of heart. There are many graphic descriptions of both a violent and sexual nature. If for some reason this book does not become a classic and thus, required reading for some Honors English literature class, it will be due to the graphic nature I mentioned above.

Instead of one central character, there are several, all of which the reader will feel like he knows personally very early in the book. I would give most anything if this book could be made into a movie, but the only way to do it justice would be to make it multi-part mini-series with Ken Follett writing the screenplay, and even then it would not have the same effect.

Obviously, I give this book my absolute highest recommendation. So, don't wait, buy this book right now and plan on losing some sleep, because you won't be able to put it down !!!

I haven't read the other books in this set, but The Pillars of the Earth is my all-time favorite book. However, I would hardly call it a thriller. It falls more under general fiction, perhaps even a loose kind of historical fiction. That is not to say that it isn't an outstanding piece of work, just that it is a bit mislabeled in this boxed set. Perhaps the confusion is that most of Ken Follett's other books fall into the thriller/mystery category? The Pillars of the Earth is quite different from Ken Follett's many other books and I wish he would write more in this style!

Welcome to Icewind Dale! The Bloodstone Lands, of Vaasa and Damara, are the infamous realms where blood and power reign supreme. As featured in the H series of modules, this land of ice, hope and monstrous terrors is the ideal setting for high-level campaigns. It's here that Orcus, the Prince of the Undead, once reigned supreme. This book features details on culture and history, recent events (summarizing the H modules), foreign relations, cities and ruins, races and monsters, dungeons, famous personages, 8 outlined adventures, and more! An instant classic, and by far the most in-demand book in the series, with good reason.

Bob Salvatore provides the reader with all the information you need to run a full scale roleplaying campaign in this area of the forgotten realms, giving a summary of the recent events in this region (see h1-h4) and describing the major places, lands, cities and NPCs.

In this comprehensive and voluminous tome, Salvatore Maddi presents what must be the seminal review of personality psychology today.

This book does not only present fair and detailed accounts of various theories of personality, but also succeeds in capturing the reader's imagination and truly represents personology as a fascinating and uplifting discipline.

Additionally, the second section of Maddi's work features discussions of empirical and rational support for various theories, as seen from within the author's proposed conceptual framework for clarifying personality theory.

This book is an indispensable guide for all students of Psychology or Philosophy

I read this book first, so I didn't have a lot of background, but I figured out the plot from the book pretty much- and without having to wade through laborious retellings the author put in to make sure a reader could pick up from anywhere in the story. A good thing! Also, even though the storyline is quite impractical- yes, almost never does such a radically moral hero show up when raised in such an evil environment- hey, guys, lighten up a little. It's a FANTASY novel. Also, I said, 'almost never,' which is is to say that there's a very slight chance. Besides, it makes for a great story, as the reader follows Drizzt through his search for acceptance from the rather prejudiced surface world. I thought it nice that the author realized the kind of difficulties Drizzt would face in such a different world, from the changing seasons to firemaking. That kind of attention to detail is what makes a good book even better. This is really a great book, and Drizzt makes himself a real hero by the hope he never lets die that somewhere someone will realize that he's different from his evil kin. I found myself wishing him the best of luck.

Don't stop at the trilogy!!! Salvatore his added six books since! I have been a solid follower of Drizzt through the Icewind Dale trilogy, the Dark Elf trilogy, The Legacy, Starless Night, Siege of Darkness, Passage to Dawn, and the current book I have been reading The Silent Blade. Even after I complete this book which I am half way through and can not comment on for fear of ruining the previous books for those of you who need to catch up. After the completion of this book there is The Spine of the World due out in September 1999 in hard cover. Why should you spend your time reading these books? There are so many hidden moral lessons in life amongst the pages. In the meantime you are drawn into a world that brings the illumination of battle and fantasy hurling towards the reader in a never ending story filled with intrigue and action like no other book I have ever read. I was out of the circuit for a while until a friend I recommended the trilogy to informed me of the release of The Silent Blade. Without hesitation I ran to the store and have been unable to put the book down. Beware!!! Once you begin with Homeland and move on to the Icewind Dale trilogy, before you even know what happended you'll be reading the Legacy and wonder where you were able to make all that time.

This is by far the best book (or triligy) ever created by anything ever! I'm starting to believe that this was actually created by God almighty himself, in R.A. Salvatore form! Only such a being could have created such real and awesome characters, Drizzt and Guenhwyvar. He tells the story masterfully, with stunning battle scenes and captivizing characters, which i've come to admire. This is the only perfect triligy i've ever read. PERFECT! ABSOLUTELY THE BEST! Bob (or God), please never EVER stop writing about Drizzt! No matter what Corona world you write about, it may be almost as good, but people won't worship you like they do for this series! Anyway, this is by far the best book ever, no questions asked! Ask anyone, they'll agree. Drizzt rules! Woohoo!

This book is the start into a magical, dark, cruel and chaotic place - Menzoberranzan. City of the drow and birthplace of Drizzt Do'Urden. This book and the rest of the series describes Drizzt's way to the surface, his first steps in the realms and his way to Icewind Dale, the place he will call home. I have read all books of this series 'til now and I hope that I will never miss one. This - like any other book by R.A. Salvatore I have read 'til now - is a masterpiece of fantasy-literature. Written with passion this whole story contains so many realistic descriptions of action, fighting and movements that you can see Drizzt whirling his scimitars in the fights as if you would watch a movie - this is an absolutely incredible piece of writing and I want everybody to know, that the books about Drizzt are the best series I've ever read - and I have read some, and will read many more I'm sure, but I doubt that I will find one series able to compete with this one. I've read some of the books in German language and I have to say that the translator did a damn good job. So, that's all! Ciao - and let the Forgotten Realms never be forgotten!

"Homeland" is one of the most excellent novels I've ever read. I read it for the first time 9 years ago and I've not come across another novel yet that has touched me in the manner this book has.

The novel, about the childhood and past of one of the Forgotten Realms' most beloved characters, Drizzt Do'Urden, is a novel of intense passion, of intense inner turmoil, of intense character. It's a prequel to the The Icewind Dale Trilogy and explains why Drizzt is the way he is - stoic and burdened yet content and happy with his life. The storyline and plot are solid and phenomenally detailed as is the character development. The descriptions of the settings, the characters, the battles, the _emotions_ create a novel that is gripping and exciting, while at the same time conveying a feeling of reflection and self-examination. Through his use of amazing detail, Mr. Salvatore allows the reader to feel Drizzt's pains, his triumphs, and his insatiable search for something good in his life.

This is a complete novel; all aspects work well together and create a timeless Forgotten Realms story that is enjoyable on many levels. I highly recommend this book and consider it Mr. Salvatore's best novel.

I have heard about Drizzt Do'Urden, the dark elf ranger, from many sources over the internet. Of course, so have many readers, as is obvious here. After reading The Crystal Shard, I was hooked. As Terry Brooks had said (not in these exact words), once you start reading, you do not want to stop until the book is done. I have read the Icewind Dale Trilogy, and thought to start on the series that details the origins of Drizzt, the noble dark elf.
This book is definitely a fine example of the cruel society of the drow, and it is very interesting to see such a wise and intelligent character as a young and naive one in this novel. It is quite a contrast actually, but it does make sense.
All fans of Drizzt NEED to read this novel sometime, and the others in the series as well, to see how he went from a drow warrior of an evil society to a noble ranger. I would recommend this book, as well, to any who would like to see why R.A. Salvatore has such a famous character!

Perhaps it is just my personal fascination with drow society, but I think this is the best of the many trilogies Salvatore has penned. He goes into great and fascinating detail on life in the Underdark, but you never become bored with the exposition. It is cleverly tied in with the lifestory of Drizzt Do'Urden, a hero that one quickly becomes extremely sympathetic with.

The character of Drizzt is appealing for a number of reasons. Many people will relate to him because Drizzt does not fit into his society. But this is because his innate goodness goes against the nature of most drow. The first book details his upbringing as a noble in Menzoberranzan, where he excels at fighting, but fails to understand the cruel nature of the world around him. In the second book, he is forced to leave the city and ranges the Underdark, finding some friends along the way. Finally, on the surface world, he is outcast as well - because of racial stereotyping.

I would actually recommend that people read this volume first, before Salvatore's first series ("The Crystal Shard", "Streams of Silver", etc). It is a great prequel to that series, and I personally think it's superior storytelling. Not that all of Salvatore's work isn't exciting, riveting stuff - this is just the best.

I read these books when I was 17, and I thought they were fantastic. It is now 8 years later, and I still enjoyed them. One great thing about this package is that you can sit down and read it cover-to-cover without carrying around 3 books. I had originally bought this set in order to have a complete copy for my future children, but decided to refresh my memory. It was delightful, and inside of a week, reading every night, at lunch, and at the breakfast table, I had finished the trilogy. It was so good that I didn't want to do anything else.

R.A. Salvatore really brought to life the legend of Drizzt Do'Urden in this absolutely wonderful trilogy set in the Forgotten Realms gaming universe. Salvatore's tortured dark elf has grown to be one of the most popular heros of all the Realms. Even though introduced in Salvatore's previous novels (the Crystal Shard trilogy). Drizzt's early life is documented through this thick tome, and just endears himself to both the new, and the Dungeons and Dragons experienced reader. For the new to the Realms reader, some of the creatures mentioned within are confusing, but overall the book is fantastic, and well written, and full of trademark Salvatore fight scenes! I felt that the final book in the set, Sojurn was my favorite, and have enjoyed all of Drizzt's other adventures very much.

I'm not a jaded sci-fi/fantasy reader; in fact, I haven't read a fantasy novel in a very long while, because a lot of them I found to be very pedestrian and not worth finishing. I just decided to pick this up, and this was one of the best fiction novels I have read in a very, very long time. I didn't think combat could be described on a page very well until I read this trilogy. Salvatore describes every move in glorious detail; you read it, and you see it in your mind's eye. The character development is top notch, all the hidden motivations of the main characters are not left to doubt. All three of these books are tense and gripping; it's a "just one more chapter" pageturner of a book. The first two books will shock you at what a ruthless and cold trip the climb to power and status can be (especially when your expected lifespan is 600+ years), and how The third book makes you feel Drizzt's frustration as he tries to find acceptance on the surface. I hope I get the same rush out of it the second time I read through it. So what if Drizzt seems to be the perfect warrior? There are enough heroes with fatal flaws out there, so there's plenty of room for an excellent story where the main character gives the baddies a well-deserved beat down, and you just sit back and smile at his success. A wonderful series.

i do not own this trilogy-in-one, but i do own all books written by salvatore concerning drizzt do'urden. he is and always will be the best character i've ever read about. i'm an avid fan and reader of salvatore's books. this book is well worth the price. the book is so complete about plot and characters that it's like walking on a cloud as to understanding the book. it has a smoothness to reading. and you're unable to predict what would happen next. this is a must buy for avid reader of any genre.

To me this is absolutely, without a doubt the best series of books ever.. That isn't to be taken lightly.. I have read Tolkien (Which I loved very much), But Salvatore writes fluently. You never lose interest in his books. So far I have read the Dark Elf Trilogy, and the Icewind Dale Trilogy, and I have one book to finish in the Legacy of the Drow series. I have seen some so-so reviews on the Legacy series, but I'm still hooked. I can't wait to read the Cleric Quintet and see how he ties all the characters from the two series together in his next Drizzt series called The Underdark. And for those of you fascinated with the drow society he is beginning to release a new series based on the drow society called the War of the Spider Queen, first book called Dissolution. Can't wait to catch up.. If you really like good exciting fantasy with intersting characters and societies I also recommend Laura Resnics In Legend Born. Also an excellent read. Have fun.

Salvatore is brilliant. There's no doubt about that. Heck, if I could make as much money off of one of my characters as Bob's made off of Drizzt, I could die a happy man. The Icewind Dale Trilogy is a work of art, beautifully written and wonderfully played out. Within this book, you will find some of the best characters in ANY novel, fantasy or otherwise. The only problem is the typos. There's probably 1 typo every 3-4 pages. y's become v's, l's become I's, etc. It seems they scanned Salvatore's hand-written work through a text analyser and didn't thoroughly proof-read it. It doesn't destroy the book, not by any means, but it does become a bit irritating. This is one of the best stories I have ever read, and would LOUDLY suggest it to anyone who can read the English language -- or any language this book has been translated into. But, if typos really bother you alot, buy the seperate paperbacks instead of the hardcover, because there's definitely a healthy amount of em.

First of all, I will read just about anything SW,but so far have not been overly impressed with Mr. Salvatore's work. Ifeel as though I'm reading a children's book with adult topics. Jude Watson writes young reader books that are perfectly readable for adults. Please let Timothy Zahn write EpIII or anything else for SW. I enjoyed the new info on all the characters, but didn't feel as though I got more understanding of their thoughts from the book than the movie like I usually do. After seeing the movie I was so excited to read the book, but was disapointed. I agree with other reviewers that Lucas etal. should pay attention to previous books. Obi'wan use to love flying,now he hates it? Part of the fun of SW is the continuity and "history". A good SW book should let us into the characters minds so we feel what they feel & understand their point of view. We don't have to understand everything that's going on - that's what makes for great cliffhangers. I also didn't like that all those Jedi were killed on Genosis, without letting us know who any of them were. I expected this in the movie, but thought the book would flesh this out more, so we would see how much of a loss the Jedi are taking. Overall, I liked the story line, but felt more heart was needed.

I have been a Star Wars fan since 1977 when I was 5 and saw the first movie.

When I got this book I promised myself that I would read it before the movie came out. Well I did without even trying, it was that easy to read, fast paced and good plot. I highly recommend it.

But what I noticed a few days ago when I watched Star Wars for the 100,000th time, is that no matter how good the next two movies/books might be, they will never come close to the original series. Why? It is simple. When we first saw The Star Wars movies no one knew where they were going. You were surprised when you found out Vader's relationship to Luke, and Luke's to Leia. And the introduction and development of all the other characters.

But in the new prequel trilogy we already know the end result. So the adventure and excitement have been removed from the story. Yes it is interesting to find out how Anikan became Vader, but there is no suspense in the process. Part of the reason is, for the last ten years there have been a lot of Star Wars novels written, mostly in sequence with each other. Through them we are able to piece together the mystery of Vader and the Empire. Plus, even for people that just watch the movies, they have aready seen the end. So the new movie's just seem like and historical retrospective, which may seem cool but no real thrill.

So while the new movies/books may be good, they will never have the epic feel that the originals have.

Saying all that I still love the new movies and hype that surrounds them.

I loved this book. I read it AFTER having seen the movie because I wanted to watch the film without knowing any spoilers. I have to say that the movie totally lived up to my expectations! I personally think it is way better than Episode I - The Phantom Menace which was a pretty unexciting beginning to the Star Wars saga.

This movie, however, is anything but unexciting!! It totally rocks, actually. The story is really good this time. I don't wanna tell anything about it here cause you should really go and watch it for yourself. Just the basics: Obi-Wan is now Anakin Skywalker's master. Anakin meets Padmé Amidala (who is now a senator) again, and they fall in love. The Republic faces a new threat in the shape of the Separatists, many star systems who seperated from the Republic under the leadership of Count Dooku (Christopher Lee does an awesome job here!)....

To sum it all up: The movie is great, the love story is nice, so are the action scenes. Obi-Wan rocks (good job, Ewan!), Anakin is kinda hot (for the girls), Padmé is pretty sexy (for the guys!), Yoda just rules (if you have seen the movie, ya know what I mean). Good story, too, though people who havent seen the other star wars movies will probably have difficulties in understanding it.

The BOOK is just the same, actually even better cause it focuses more on the characters, their thoughts, feelings and motivations and so on. Buy it and go see the movie! It's worth the money.

My title for this review comes from some narrative on page 228 of the paperback edition of this book. That line alone will tell you what you can expect from The Crystal Shard. For those who are fairly new to the genre of fantasy, you might think that this is a good, if not excellent book. If I were in your shoes I'd probably agree with you. But readers--like me--that have long followed the fantasy genre will find just another mediocre fantasy yarn. Orcs, goblins, dragons, wizards, stupid antagonists, lucky protagonists, simple storytelling--all are in here. As bad as I make this book sound, it is not a total disaster. The storyline certainly has lots of action and Salvatore takes you all over his sparse map. One of the promising characters is Drizzt Do'Urden, an exiled dark elf. Perhaps if I were younger I'd like to follow in Drizzt's footsteps in his other journeys, but not now that I know there are better characters to be found in fantasy. Still, younger readers will undoubtedly find him mysterious and interesting. Like many reviewers have stated before, this book abounds in cliche's. I've personally gotten to the point where I don't mind if authors use cliche's, but I do expect them to twist them around and try and make them their own. R. A. Salvatore does a mediocre job of that. At the very end of this book, Salvatore does lay some groundwork so that a sequel can be envisioned. Not very good groundwork, but at least the story doesn't leave you hanging.

I first came upon this novel thinking very little. I expected it to be nothing more than some typical fantasy trash. I just could not stand "The Hobbit" at all, yet I wanted to venture into fantasy, so a friend (who hasn't read this) referred me to the novel itself. He had mentioned that "Homeland" by Salvatore was better than decent. But still, I was rather skeptical. All in all, this is a tremendously great read.

Adventure Value: 9/10- This book contains numerous battle scenes and heroic combat moments

Romance Rating: 3/10- Wulfgar the Barbarian does do a little hitting on the female protagonist, but nothing more.

Character Development: 7/10- Drizzt, Bruenor, Regis, and Wulfgar are well developed, but there is some slacking on the antagonist: Akar Kessell.

Climax: 8/10- The ending of the read draws to a beautiful close.

Plotline: 6/10- The plotline was thin at random points, though at times it was as thick as molasses...

Creature Feature: 8/10- there are barbarians, goblins, orcs, ogres, giants, and even an ice dragon...it's well done...

My overall commentation on this book is that it is very good, and I recommend anyone new to the genre read it soon!

I had never read any of Salvatore's works but heard good things about this trilogy and bought all three in a boxed set. Well, as my rating clearly shows I wasn't dissapointed.

This first book follows the adventures of Dark Elf Dritzz Do'Urden (who despite his appearance on the cover doesn't look like the main character from the PC Game Doom) The Conanesque barbarian warrior Wulfgar (Whose name, fittingly enough, is taken straight from the the epic Anglo-saxon poem Beowulf),the rowdy and likeable dwarf Bruenor, the hobbit-like halfling Regis, and the beautiful Catti-brie.

Many memorable moments from this 333 page book stick out to me as I write this review; Wulfgar crushing Heafstaag's head with his bare hands, Drittz and Wulfgar's raid on the Giant's Lair and fight against the Ice Dragon, Drittz's unbelievably simple but entirely credible tactic for destroying the evil tower Cryshal-Tirith, etc. All of it is gold, and for the three days it took me to read this I was enthralled.

Salvatore's writing is exciting and action-packed, with not a lag in the million mile per hour plot to speak of. This is old-skool fantasy to the core and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys the genre as much as I do. Time to get back to Streams of Silver, the second book in Icewind Dale.