I Read What?!

So here's the thing about the Icewind Dale Trilogy. Pretty much any fan of Drizzt Do'Urden and his adventures will tell you to skip this trilogy and instead start with the next one: the Dark Elf Trilogy, which consists of Drizzt's origin story and his eventual journey to the surface.

There's merit to that.

The Icewind Dale Trilogy is very much a first effort, and like the other Forgotten Realms books of about the same time period, it's reads like a novelization of someone's actual tabletop campaign. That can be fun, but it definitely means that the pacing suffers. Crystal Shard in particular tends to suffer from a whole mess of disconnected plot threads and modular adventures (like fighting the dragon, Icingdeath.) The later books are a bit better about that, but we still have scenes like Drizzt and Wulfgar choosing to rob a sentient creature just because she's got something they want.

Yeah, I'm still harping on that, because it's the best example of the problem with this type of storytelling. That kind of adventure is fine for a tabletop group, when a lot of folks are just playing tongue in cheek murder hobos anyway. But this is a story. Specifically, it's a story of a very honorable barbarian man and a noble and altruistic drow elf.

And the characters as they've been established over the course of the trilogy would not just attack a sentient creature for her stuff. At least not without talking to her first.

But I suppose it's rather like how Catti-brie can mow down waves of duergar without a hesitation, but then go through a talespin when she has to kill a human antagonist who abducted and terrorized her. We don't think about the former because it's part of the game, but the juxtaposition becomes quite unpleasant when we start thinking about her as a person with feelings.

The Dark Elf Trilogy, on the other hand, are novels. Most of us don't play a character from birth through childhood, so it's not a retelling of a campaign. Instead, it's a straightforward story and so we avoid those pitfalls, and a lot of the things I've been complaining about in these reviews are going to be less of an issue.

...a lot of them but not all of them.

See, Salvatore's good at character work. Drizzt, Bruenor, Wulfgar, Catti-brie and Regis are all very defined personalities. That's why things like the robbery of Agatha are so jarring. Aside from those aberrations, Salvatore is very consistent with how these folks are characterized.

Which means that I'm pretty sure that Drizzt is going to stay a preachy, judgmental bore for the next thirty some odd years. But who knows, maybe he'll surprise me. I still enjoy Drizzt sometimes, and I like a lot of the other characters, so I'm not dreading further reviews.

I do think it's good to start with Icewind Dale though because it gives us a baseline idea of these characters and their interaction before things go straight to heck. It's important for us to know Wulfgar and Regis and Bruenor. Especially since Wulfgar will be completely demoted from his position as co-lead after this point. To be fair, the focus was already shifting to Drizzt by the end of Crystal Shard. It's a shame. I like Wulfgar much better.

--

So let's talk about Halfling's Gem as a book in its own right.

It's decent. It's got the most coherent plot of the three and a decent amount of suspense. I want the companions to rescue Regis and Guenhwyvar. I want them to avoid Entreri's traps. And Drizzt, at least, gets a pretty decent self-acceptance plot. I still think the series suffers when they try to equate Drizzt's struggle with real world racism, but I think Halfling's Gem was better about that than the other two books. The focus is more on Drizzt's own personal issues and whether or not he wants to spend his life hiding from his own face.

And it is pretty compelling. I could wish the other characters got anything close to that development, but well, it is what it is.

The biggest problem with the plot is that it didn't leave much for Entreri or the other villains to do. We got a little bit of mistreatment of Regis, but Salvatore isn't really a torture porn kind of writer, and he doesn't seem terribly interested in exploring Regis as a serious character, so we were never going to get a good look at his pain and trauma. The rest is just villainous waiting. And that's pretty dull. Even with the occasional fun monologue.

It's a bit of a backslide from Streams of Silver, where we had villains actively pursuing their own goals alongside the heroes. Though I will grant that at least these villains are formidable, unlike Akar Kessel.

I also thought the climactic battles stretched on a bit too long, but that might just be an after effect of doing my reviews this way. The chapters are very short, and if I were just reading it at a standard pace, I probably would have got through it pretty swiftly. And I liked the Plane of Tartarus stuff.

Actually, as I look again, the book actually spells it Tarterus. Oops. Fuck it. I'm not changing it.

So as for the characters. They're all who they are.

I didn't like how Catti-brie ends up shoved aside for the final battle. It felt like a backslide, when Streams of Silver did so well by her. I'm also annoyed at the "romantic" plot. Wulfgar and Catti-brie are supposed to be in love, but they never actually interact. You have to do more than have two attractive young people in the same room together to make a compelling romance.

Regis's treatment was uneven. At some points, it felt like his predicament was given the focus and emotional impact it deserved. At other points, he seemed relegated to a joke again for no real reason. At least this time he actually got proper credit for his achievements, without people hinting that it was undeserved.

Wulfgar had some really great beats with Drizzt, but he's definitely the sidekick and not the star here. Bruenor, like Catti-brie, didn't have as much to do this time around. But I was glad to see him back.

So...let's talk about Drizzt.

Drizzt aggravates me. But the problem isn't even his personality. It's okay to have a character whose personality doesn't appeal to me. But I very much resent that Drizzt is the only character who ever gets to be wise or insightful. Inevitably, when something isn't what it seems, Drizzt is the ONLY one who notices. Some dude is lying to them, Drizzt spots the giveaway detail. They're walking into an ambush, Drizzt is the one who senses something's wrong. Drizzt is the experienced traveler. Drizzt is the one who knows magical items and creatures.

It's ALWAYS Drizzt.

Catti-brie at least gets a bit of emotional insight, but Bruenor and Wulfgar might well be dogs for the amount of applicable knowledge or perception that they show. And that's tedious. I'm not opposed to a little narrative shilling sometimes (see: Curse of the Mistwraith), but I'd like to see the other characters get to shine.

Streams of Silver did a bit better about that. Bruenor had the quest knowledge. Regis had the city knowledge. And Wulfgar had that indomitable spirit and enthusiasm. But Halfling's Gem put it all on Drizzt. And it's like, okay then, why are these other people even here?

So, does Halfling's Gem get a passing grade?

Eh. Not really. As much as I liked the more focused plot, and Drizzt's individual arc, the fact that the others were so useless and the tedium of the villains made it hard to maintain enthusiasm for the story. It's got a higher grade than Crystal Shard, at least, but lower than Streams of Silver.

But what about the trilogy on a whole?

Surprisingly, yes. I would give the trilogy on a whole a passing grade. It's a bit greater than the sum of its parts. I like how we follow these characters from their tiny little settlement into the broad world. I like the ending, with Regis as guildmaster (for now), Bruenor in Mithril Hall, Drizzt wandering the world, the barbarians settling into a home. I wish better for Catti-brie and Wulfgar than a marriage that doesn't seem to be based on much of anything, but that's only one complaint really.

Entreri had the strongest villain thread in the trilogy, and I think Salvatore did a good job of setting him up as a long-running thorn in Drizzt's side. The fall of the other villains were reasonably effective and enjoyable.

Even with my irritation toward Drizzt himself, I do find myself interested in seeing where the series goes from here.

Last time, our crew found themselves on the plane of Tartarus. Regis got himself sent there too in order to facilitate their escape. But unfortunately, Catti-brie has been left behind. Not really though, Drizzt, of course, is going after her while Wulfgar holds the gate open.

( So let's rescue the damsel in distress )

So last time, our heroes weren't having a great time of it. Entreri escaped, Wulfgar's injured, and Regis has been promptly re-captured.

( At least he got to have a bit of a rest first? )

So last time in the Halfling's Gem, we started the action phase of the story, as our heroes search the sewers for a way into the thieves' guild to rescue their friend.

( Action is fun to read, but dull to recap. Sorry! )

So last time, Catti-brie called Drizzt out. A much needed conversation and about time. Now Drizzt has some thinking to do.

( Which of course means that we're checking in with our villains... )

So last time, our heroes got accosted by bandits and Wulfgar punched a camel. Poor camel.

( It's Wulfgar though, so the camel probably deserved it )

So last time we had a lovely reunion between Drizzt, Wulfgar, Catti-brie and Bruenor. Drizzt and Catti-brie even managed to exchange a line of dialogue for the first time ever. The Sea Sprite crew know Drizzt's real race. And they've got some semblance of a plan.

( But there's one member of the party still missing... )

So last time we had no action at all. Hmph. We did have Bruenor and Catti-brie being hilariously incompetent with a flaming chariot and me expressing sympathy for Harkle Harpell of all people.

( Salvatore's not a bad writer, but I think the series is at its worst when it tries to be 'humorous' )

So, I DID end up meeting my deadline, so now I am free to resume my book reviews. And we're celebrating it by rejoining Drizzt and Company in the Halfling's Gem.

( And rejoin him we do! Drizzt is actually in this chapter! )

So last time, we had a very short "epilogue" of "Book One" of the Halfling's Gem. So this new chapter is the start of "Book Two".

( Let's see where it takes us )