The Crystal Shard
core novel 1988 Forgotten Realms
Record
| First published | 1988 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 4.12 (62,254 ratings, collected 2026-09-12) |
| First-edition ISBN | 0880385359 |
Synopsis
The Crystal Shard, R. A. Salvatore's 1988 debut novel and the opening book of the Icewind Dale Trilogy, is set in the frozen region of Icewind Dale, where the dark elf ranger Drizzt Do'Urden has found an uneasy home among the dwarves and settlers of Ten-Towns. Alongside the dwarf Bruenor, the halfling Regis, and the young barbarian Wulfgar, whom Bruenor has taken under his protection, Drizzt helps the towns survive an assault by barbarian tribes who see the settlers as invaders. Some years later, a failed, embittered wizard named Akar Kessel stumbles upon Crenshinibon, a sentient and corrupting magical crystal shard, and its influence begins to twist his ambitions.
Where it sits
- Universe: Forgotten Realms
- Series: The Legend of Drizzt (author line) core; position 1 of 40 in the series' recorded order
- Author: R.A. Salvatore
Notes
- The Icewind Dale Trilogy #1
- From the series record (The Legend of Drizzt (author line)): R.A. Salvatore's 40-novel line (1988-2025), incl. The Sellswords; sub-series recorded per book. Continues with Drizzt's daughter (2025-).
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.
- Publication order, within the series The Legend of Drizzt (author line): position 1 of 40: next Streams of Silver (1989)
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Forgotten_Realms_novels
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Crystal_Shard
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