Review: The Halfling's Gem (Contains spoilers)

The Halfling's Gem by R.A. Salvatore
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

While I usually try not to spoil anything in my reviews, I don't know if I can complain I mean, show my true feelings for this book without them. So here goes.

Now, this series hasn't become a classic because of its writing. Let's be honest, it's not fantastic. Salvatore has a lot of really weird names pop up in this series, such as The Sky Ponies, Icingdeath, Shimmergloom, Dagnabit, Pook, and (my personal 'favorite'), the mighty sword named "Twinkle". Even though I rolled my eyes a few times, I kept reminding myself that this is Forgotten Realms and it's allowed to be a little ridiculous every once in a while. Really, though, the quality of dialogue really isn't that great. I smirked a few times, but there wasn't anything too memorable.

Now let's talk about the characters for a moment. (view spoiler)[ This is book number six, so I should be used to it by now, but this group of friends is seriously lucky. "Oh, Catti-Brie got shot with a crossbow! Oh, it's only a flesh wound." I kind of stopped caring when they got injured, because it never really seemed to affect them in any way. Once, Drizzt is even able to carry Catti-Brie (who has to be at least a foot taller than him, by the way), over his shoulder, and still run and fight his way through a crowd of enemies. Sure, I get that they're supposed to be strong fighters, but there's only so much that the human (dwarf, elf, whatever) body can take, and I would have liked to see more consequence for their injuries. (hide spoiler)]

(view spoiler)[As for character development, I'm not really sure what to think. It was nice to see Catti-Brie more involved in this story, but the "romance" between her and Wulfgar seemed rather shallow. I still don't much care for Regis, though I feel bad for him because of all the crap he went through. Bruenor is as he always was. Drizzt goes through the same struggles as he has for the past while now, and it's getting kind of dull for me. Yes, he will always look the way he looks, and I kind of wish that he'd finally get some confidence and accept that. (hide spoiler)]

(view spoiler)[As an aside, was anyone else a little bothered by the hint of Catti-Brie being romantically attracted to Drizzt? I get that he's her friend and she admires him and all, but just... no. Stick with the close friend or father/daughter relationship, guys. (hide spoiler)]

Speaking of relationships, that was one thing that was actually pretty well done. The relationship between Bruenor and Catti-Brie, and the friendships between all the group, was probably the main reason why I kept reading.

Bottom line, this won't be one of my favorite books anytime soon, but it's a quick read and decent escapism. I'll pick up the next one just to see how the rest of the series will unfold.

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