The Icewind Dale Trilogy

Last updated
Icewind Dale Trilogy
Author R. A. Salvatore
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genre Epic fantasy
Publisher
Published1988–1990
Media typePrint (paperback)
No. of books3
Preceded by The Dark Elf Trilogy
Followed by Legacy of the Drow

The Icewind Dale Trilogy is a trilogy of epic fantasy novels by the American writer R.A. Salvatore. The books are The Crystal Shard , Streams of Silver and The Halfling's Gem . They tell the tale of ranger Drizzt Do'Urden the drow (or dark elf), Wulfgar the barbarian warrior, Regis the halfling, dwarf king Bruenor, and Bruenor's adopted human daughter Catti-brie. It is the first of Salvatore's Forgotten Realms novels which introduces some of the best-known characters in that world. The final book of this series, The Halfling's Gem, appeared in The New York Times Best Seller list. [1]

Contents

A prequel trilogy, The Dark Elf Trilogy , followed, as did several subsequent sequel series such as Legacy of the Drow and Paths of Darkness .

Works included

In later years, these and other books featuring the character Drizzt Do'Urden have been rebranded as installments of The Legend of Drizzt , and such publications of the Icewind Dale Trilogy are identified on their covers as books IV, V, and VI of that series.

Characters

Comic adaptation

Crystal Shard

Following from the comic adaptation of The Dark Elf Trilogy , Devil's Due Publishing continued with the adaptation of Crystal Shard. The second issue (October 2006) earned 20th [2] place and the third issue (December 2006) earned 18th place in the list of top 100 Independent comics for their respective months. [3]

Streams of Silver

Devil's Due Publishing announced the individual issues for this series would be collected into a trade paperback with Tyler Walpole serving as the cover artist. The series was adapted by Andrew Dabb and pencilled by Val Semeiks. [4] The trade paperback for Streams of Silver was ranked 34 in the top 100 Graphic Novels for August 2007, with an estimated pre-order sale quantity of 2,524. [5]

Halfling's Gem

The final issue of Halfling's Gem was announced on 18 September 2007 and was shipped in December 2007. [6] The final issue #3 completes the adaptation of Dark Elf Trilogy and Icewind Dale Trilogy.

Reception

The entire trilogy was ranked 9th in Banophernalia's top 10 books for 2000. [7] In the same site, the series was given 3 stars for Crystal Shard and 3.5 stars for Streams of Silver and The Halfling's Gem. It was considered standard enjoyable fantasy fare, although clichéd. [8]

Ian Strelec, staff reviewer for d20zines.com, awarded Streams of Silver a B+ rating. He praised the vivid descriptions and good characterizations in the novel, but was critical of unrealistic situations as well as an overemphasis on combat scenarios. [9]

The last volume of the trilogy, The Halfling's Gem, was ranked 14th in the New York Times paperback best sellers' list on 11 March 1990. [1]

Paul Hughes, in an editorial review of the trilogy on Amazon's website, wrote that, while the book is not Tolkien, it has "brought legions of enthusiastic fans to the genre". The reviewer also stated that it is essential for any "Drizzt true believer". [10]

Reviews

Related Research Articles

Forgotten Realms is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a setting for his childhood stories. Several years later, it was published for the D&D game as a series of magazine articles, and the first Realms game products were released in 1987. Role-playing game products have been produced for the setting ever since, in addition to novels, role-playing video game adaptations, comic books, and the film Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drizzt Do'Urden</span> Fictional character from Dungeons & Dragons

Drizzt Do'Urden is a fictional character appearing in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Drizzt was created by author R. A. Salvatore as a supporting character in the Icewind Dale Trilogy. Salvatore created him on a whim when his publisher needed him to replace one of the characters in an early version of the first book, The Crystal Shard. Drizzt has since become a popular heroic character of the Forgotten Realms setting, and has been featured as the main character of a long series of books, starting chronologically with The Dark Elf Trilogy. As an atypical drow, Drizzt has forsaken both the evil ways of his people and their home in the Underdark, in the drow city of Menzoberranzan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Menzoberranzan</span> Fictional setting in Dungeons & Dragons

Menzoberranzan, the "City of Spiders", is a fictional city-state in the world of the Forgotten Realms, a Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting. The city is located in the Upper Northdark, about two miles below the Surbrin Vale, between the Moonwood and the Frost Hills. It is famed as the birthplace of Drizzt Do'Urden, the protagonist of several series of best-selling novels by noted fantasy author R. A. Salvatore. Menzoberranzan has been developed into a video game and a tabletop RPG setting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R. A. Salvatore</span> American writer

Robert Anthony Salvatore is an American author best known for The Legend of Drizzt, a series of fantasy novels set in the Forgotten Realms and starring the character Drizzt Do'Urden. He has also written The DemonWars Saga, a series of high fantasy novels; several other Forgotten Realms novels; and Vector Prime, the first novel in the Star Wars: The New Jedi Order series. He has sold more than 15 million copies of his books in the United States alone, and 22 of his titles have been New York Times best-sellers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catti-brie</span> Fictional character from Dungeons & Dragons

Catti-brie is a fictional character in the Forgotten Realms setting, based on the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. The creation of American author R.A. Salvatore, she is primarily known as the love interest of the drow ranger Drizzt Do'Urden and has appeared in multiple media alongside Drizzt.

<i>The Dark Elf Trilogy</i> 1990–91 book trilogy by R. A. Salvatore

The Dark Elf Trilogy is a prequel to the Icewind Dale Trilogy by R. A. Salvatore. Drizzt Do'Urden, a drow, or dark elf, was originally written as a supporting character in the Icewind Dale Trilogy to Wulfgar the barbarian. However, the author soon realized how popular the character was, and Drizzt became the main character. The final book Sojourn made The New York Times Best Seller list.

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The Hunter's Blades Trilogy is a fantasy trilogy by American writer R.A. Salvatore. It follows the Paths of Darkness series and is composed of three books: The Thousand Orcs, The Lone Drow, and The Two Swords. The Two Swords was Salvatore's 17th work concerning one of his most famous characters, Drizzt Do'Urden. In this series, Drizzt tries to stop an orc king from spreading chaos and war. The series reached the New York Times bestseller list and is followed by the installments of the Transitions series.

<i>Streams of Silver</i> 1989 novel by R. A. Salvatore

Streams of Silver is a fantasy novel by American writer R. A. Salvatore. It is the second book in his The Icewind Dale Trilogy.

<i>The Halflings Gem</i> 1990 novel by R. A. Salvatore

The Halfling's Gem is a 1990 fantasy novel by American writer by R. A. Salvatore, the third book in The Icewind Dale Trilogy.

<i>The Crystal Shard</i> 1988 novel by R. A. Salvatore

The Crystal Shard is a 1988 fantasy novel by American writer R. A. Salvatore. The first book in The Icewind Dale Trilogy, it was his first published novel.

<i>Homeland</i> (Forgotten Realms novel) 1990 novel by R. A. Salvatore

Homeland is a fantasy novel by American writer R. A. Salvatore, the first book in The Dark Elf Trilogy, a prequel to The Icewind Dale Trilogy. It follows the story of Drizzt Do'Urden from the time and circumstances of his birth and his upbringing amongst the drow.

<i>Sojourn</i> (novel) 1991 novel by R. A. Salvatore

Sojourn is a fantasy novel by American writer R. A. Salvatore, the third book in The Dark Elf Trilogy. It was published in 1991.

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Transitions is a series of fantasy novels by R. A. Salvatore, the famous science fiction and fantasy author, consisting of three novels: The Orc King, The Pirate King, and The Ghost King. It continues the tale of the famous renegade drow Drizzt Do'Urden and his friends. This series is a follow-up to The Hunter's Blades Trilogy. Like the rest of the saga, it is set in the Forgotten Realms, a popular Dungeons & Dragons role-playing setting.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wulfgar (Forgotten Realms)</span> Fictional character

Wulfgar, son of Beornegar, is the barbarian hero of Icewind Dale in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting, and one of the Companions of the Hall along with Drizzt Do'Urden, Catti-brie, Regis the halfling, and Bruenor Battlehammer. He is the creation of R.A. Salvatore.

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References

  1. 1 2 "PAPERBACK BEST SELLERS: March 11, 1990". NY Times. 11 March 1990. Retrieved 3 March 2008.
  2. ↑ Albert, Aaron. "Top 100 Indy Comics for October 2006". About.com. Archived from the original on 30 November 2007. Retrieved 3 March 2008.
  3. ↑ Albert, Aaron. "Top 100 Indy Comics for December 2006". About.com. Archived from the original on 18 March 2008. Retrieved 3 March 2008.
  4. ↑ "Devil's Due Comics for August, 2007". comicsnewsi. Retrieved 4 March 2008.
  5. ↑ "Top 100 Graphic Novels Actual--August 2007". icv2.com. Retrieved 4 March 2008.
  6. ↑ "December 07 Solicits — Tuesday, 18 September 2007". Devil's Due. Archived from the original on 25 February 2008. Retrieved 5 March 2008.
  7. ↑ "Best books of 2000". Banophernalia. Retrieved 3 March 2008.
  8. ↑ "R.A. Salvatore". Banophernalia. Retrieved 3 March 2008.
  9. ↑ Strelec, Ian. "Streams of Silver Review". d20zines.com. Retrieved 8 March 2008.
  10. ↑ Hughes, Paul (2000-01-01). The Icewind Dale Collector's Edition: (World: Forgotten Realms) (Forgotten Realms) (Hardcover). ISBN   978-0786915576.
  11. ↑ "Science Fiction Chronicle June-July 2000: Vol 21 Iss 3". DNA Publications. June 2000.
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