The Halfling's Gem Review

The Halfling’s Gem
by R. A. Salvatore

Rating: 4 out of 5

We see Drizzt grow yet again in this story. He’s confronted with the same racism as before and his internal conflict to define who he is. He acquired a magical mask to disguise his true color and learned that despite the mask, he would need to come to terms with the poor treatment from others. His other battle was with Entreri. While there were many physical fights, there was also one inside of Drizzt. He saw Entreri as his evil twin and had to prove to himself that he wasn’t as evil as Entreri was.

We also see Wulfgar and Catti-brie go from some expressions of love, to wedding plans. Regis is rescued, and then gets in trouble again after a year of leading Pook’s Thieves’ Guild. Entreri escapes to fight again another day. Rassiter, a great bad guy, meets his end. Bruenor is crowned King of Mithril Hall again. Captain Deudermont makes a great, strong boat captain.

And that about tidy’s up things with the “Companions of the Hall” as they are known.

Bob does a good job telling a good story again. I was disappointed at the end. It felt very rushed as he describes the future wedding between Wulfgar and Catti-brie and the taking of Mithril Hall in only a few pages. I really wanted to hear more about it. But he does flesh out Drizzt more and furthers the conflict with Entreri.

But the biggest disappointment I have is with the editing. Really, the lack of editing. I couldn’t read a chapter without stumbling on a misspelled word, poor grammar, or horrid punctuation. And the sad part is that it completely distracted me from reading the story. Even the original printing had better editing!

Neil@tk42one.com
© 2006 TK42ONE.com Productions