In the frozen tundra ofIcewind Dale , four improbable ( sort of ) heroes ( sort of ) join military unit ( sort of ) to get the better of an evil wizard ( sort of ) wielding unimaginable baron ( actually , it ’s passably imaginable ) . Welcome to io9 ’s appear back at theDungeons & Dragonsnovels of yore , where I take these Hellenic fantasy al-Qur’an to see what treasures might still lie in within … and what horrors , too .
When I propose this project to Jill , I always knew I ’d have to start with the book that first plume me as a fantasy - love , 11 - year - old swot : 1988 ’s The Crystal Shard . While it ’s not the first D&D novel — nor even the first novel ready in the immensely democratic , by - the - numbers fantasy world of the Forgotten Realms — it holds two important distinctions . It was the first - ever novel by the best - selling generator R.A. Salvatore , and it introduced arguably the most famous and darling D&D fiber of all time , Drizzt Do’Urden .
If you ’ve ever read a Dungeons & Dragons novel , there ’s a decent fortune it included Drizzt . The dark elf who desert his topnotch - malevolent , subterranean wash ( although Wizardsis now changingthe way D&D plays to combat that stereotype , among others ) to become a noble Ranger on the surface humankind star in a staggering 34 book , many of which hit the New York Times bestseller list . When I was 11 , he was middling much the cool fancied role I had ever encountered , and I know I was n’t the only one ; the god only know how many rip - offs he root on in D&D players of the later ‘ 80s and ‘ 90s .
Tom Lockwood’s cover art for the 2007 re-release of The Crystal Shard.Image: (Wizards of the Coast)
https://gizmodo.com/inside-dungeons-dragons-chilling-new-adventure-rime-1844043634
While Drizzt ends up overshadowing almost everyone and everything , The Crystal Shard is technically an ensemble piece . There ’s Bruenor , a midget that hits pretty much every fantasy stereotype , including his desire to reclaim an ancestral home that his people were chased out of after they dug too far andawakened a monster . Next , there ’s Regis the halfling , D&D ’s equivalent of Hobbits , who is so extremely Hobbit - y all he desire to do is wipe out and nap . While he does place himself apart a second by carrying a watch crystal pendent he can habituate to charm the great unwashed , he does get hale into danger and ends up keep the day , Bilbo - elan , in the rule book ’s last battle .
It ’s not all faded photocopy ofLord of the Rings , though . First , it ’s put in the colds of Icewind Dale , specifically around the hamlet collectively known as Ten - Towns . Second , the 4th appendage of the political party is Wulfgar , a young barbaric Bruenor captures after an motley of northerly clan denounce a run out onrush on Ten - townspeople . Although the nanus does place the Goth in indent servitude for five year , by the end of that time Wulfgar is essentially his adopted Logos , to the stop that Bruenor makes Wulfgar a super - badass magic battle hammer that come back to his hand when thrown ( so at least Salvatore is doingThorinstead of LotR ) .
Larry Elmore’s art for the cover of the original 1988 release.Image: (TSR)
Perhaps the script ’s biggest distinction is that its principal antagonist , Akar Kessel , is a complete dipshit . He ’s introduce as a moron sorcerer ’s prentice who can only barely cast the easiest of go , who murders his master after some other wizards lied to him that somehow this would earn him a promotional material . alternatively , the wizards toss him into a ravine of coke , where he chances upon Crenshinibon , the titular sherd . It ’s an artefact of pure evil that can give its bearers huge power , which Kessel apply to amass a jumbo army of various monster which he sends to conquer Ten - Towns . The shard can not , however , make Kessel any less of a dipshit , and the superstar is defeated by a few Trygve Halvden Lie , a bag of flour , and an avalanche Kessel himself make . By the end , Crenshinibon is so tired of Kessel ’s bullshit it chooses to be bury under gobs of Baron Snow of Leicester or else of saving its bearer .
I found Kessel so stupid he became really entertaining , but the book has plenty of other yield . The writing literally spells out everyone ’s thoughts , emotion , and motivations at every moment , and every fiber beyond the main four are almost completely characterless . Drizzt and Wulfgar are so preternaturally badass they beat 25 giants by themselves ( well , with avail from Drizzt ’s sorcerous panther Guenhwyvar , because of course he has a magic panther pal ) , while Bruenor and his dwarf contend to somehow kill 1,000 of Kessel ’s hobgoblin in a night foray , without them even wake up . At least when Drizzt and Wulfgar take on a white dragon , they have a rough sentence until Wulfgar notices a giant , impossibly pernicious icicle helpfully hanging on top of the cave they ’re fighting in .
That ’s only the third - worst deus ex machina in the book , unfortunately . Kessel manages to draft a giant , nearly invincible fiend to join his rank , but Drizzt luckily manages to find out a scimitar ( his best-loved weapon ) in the flying dragon ’s treasure hoard , and it ever - so - luckily befall to be able to defeat the demon ( who serve no other part in the storey than to be beaten by Drizzt ) . But even that ’s not as crying as the story ’s remainder , when the book retcons that Drizzt accept a tiny grip of flour from the giants ’ fastness as a souvenir and apply it to surface Crenshinibon and kill its light source - based mega - magic .
However , The Crystal Shard ’s biggest offense by far is its scarcity of distaff characters ; only one has a name and dialogue . That would be Bruenor ’s adopted human daughter Cattie - Brie , who , even though Drizzt calls her his soulmate in chapter one , get only a few dozen line . The only other female characters mentioned are fleeing villagers and various “ wenches , ” and most of those are Kessel ’s enslaved harem who exit unmentioned and unobserved when the villain is overcome and his tugboat cave in .
https://gizmodo.com/wizards-of-the-coast-is-releasing-free-dungeons-drago-1842809739
Extremely terrible , but I ’d be lying if I say I did n’t regain the leger a little more readable than I call back it would be . Not to color over any of its many , many problem , but it moves tight enough there ’s not much time to dwell on its proficient issues , at least . And whether I ’ve weaken with age or let my nostalgia get the good of me , I ca n’t help but see it as the work of a first - time author published in 1998 by TSR , a society that was much more concerned in the number of rule book it could churn out than their calibre . Plus , since I read several more Drizzt novels back in the 24-hour interval , I know for a fact that Salvatore ’s writing — include his distaff characters ; gratefully , Cattie - Brie even finally join Bruenor , Drizzt , and Wulfgar on their escapade in late Word — improve over time . Given that the 35th installment ( ! ) of Drizzt ’s adventures is due out next month , I ’m gauge that ’s only persist in .
But it ’ll be a prospicient , long time before I get there , if at all . arrogate you guys enjoy this , I ’ll be reviewing more D&D novels of the ‘ 80s , including the other two novel in the Icewind Dale trilogy , Streams of Silver and The Halfling ’s Gem . I ’ll probably stay in Forgotten Realms for a footling while , before dipping into the Greyhawk mise en scene ( which I know almost nothing about ) , and then the original Dragonlance trilogy by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman , which everyone loved and I ’m suppose holds up pretty well .
you could not say the same for The Crystal Shard . Even though I terminate up finding the writing more tolerable than I had surmise , the Holy Writ is deeply , deeply flawed to say the least . So for my rating , The Crystal Shard rolls a 3 on a 1d20 . I do n’t know how good any of these D&D novel will ending up being , but I do know there ’s a vast , frozen tundra ’s worth of elbow room for melioration … and there ’s way for worse , too . Like in any good dungeon , treasures and monsters go bridge player - in - hand .
https://gizmodo.com/how-r-a-salvatore-helped-bring-icewind-dale-to-games-a-1844057553
Assorted Musings:
I thought Drizzt was pronounce “ Dritz ” for many , many geezerhood .
The giant Drizzt and Wulfgar annihilate are specifically Verbeeg , who are basically 10 - foot - tall humans . They do n’t look grotesque like regular giant or ogres , but their name is clearly a ugly Gladstone of “ very big ” so I am fine with them all being off .
Cattie - Brie does have a theatrical role in the last battle , and it ’s to cave in the midget ’ tunnels if goblins start entering them . It ’s a solo delegation , so some of her dialogue is telling Bruenor how she ’s not in particular enthused at the thought of bury herself live .
The flying lizard ’s name is Icingdeath , which is only slightly more daunting than Frostingdeath .
The book introduce Drizzt as have the hots for treasure — not take in it , just seeing what riches the foe he slays have on manus . Most Dungeons & Dragons player feel the same means since gold is the closest thing the role - playing game has to point , but it feels eldritch for a D&D fiber to share the same vice . I do n’t recall this being one of Drizzt ’s habits at all , so I assume it gets leave out sooner rather than afterward ?
During the Verbeeg engagement , Wulfgar shout in his native linguistic communication , “ Prayne de crabug ahm keike rinedere be - yogt iglo kes gron ! ” at Drizzt after the imp tauntingly leads a caboodle of Verbeeg to the tike and hides , forcing him to do the fighting . At the Word ’s end , Wulfgar reveals it mean “ May the flea of a thousand reindeer nest in your crotch . ” I thought this was the funniest goddamn thing in the intact world when I was 11 . I have come to realize that may not precisely be the case .
Next time : bright blue Bonds !
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