The Icewind Dale Trilogy
First Forgotten Realms trilogy introducing Drizzt Do'Urden.
The Icewind Dale Trilogy is a set of three epic fantasy novels written by American author R.A. Salvatore. The books are *The Crystal Shard* (1988), *Streams of Silver* (1989), and *The Halfling's Gem* (1990). The story follows the drow ranger Drizzt Do'Urden, the barbarian Wulfgar, the halfling Regis, the dwarf king Bruenor, and Bruenor's adopted human daughter Catti-brie. This trilogy was Salvatore's first work set in the Forgotten Realms and introduced several of that world's most iconic characters. The final volume, *The Halfling's Gem*, made *The New York Times* Best Seller list. A prequel series, *The Dark Elf Trilogy*, was released afterward, along with later sequel series like *Legacy of the Drow* and *Paths of Darkness*. In later years, these books and other Drizzt Do'Urden stories were rebranded as part of *The Legend of Drizzt* series, with the Icewind Dale Trilogy identified on covers as books IV, V, and VI of that collection.
Key characters include Akar Kessell, a former apprentice of Morkai the Red, left for dead by Dendybar the Mottled after being tricked into killing his master. Kessell finds the artifact Crenshinibon, which grants him power and lets him command an army of goblins, orcs, ogres, and giants. He allies with the balor Errtu, who also wants the crystal. Kessell is eventually defeated when Drizzt uses the crystal shard to teleport Kessell to the top of Kelvin's Cairn, where an avalanche buries him. Errtu, a powerful balor from the Abyss, seeks the Crystal Shard and becomes general of Kessell's army. Drizzt uses the crystal shard to banish Errtu back to the Abyss, though the exact duration of the banishment is not specified in the trilogy.
A comic adaptation of *The Crystal Shard* was published by Devil's Due Publishing, following their adaptation of *The Dark Elf Trilogy*. The second issue (October 2006) ranked 20th and the third issue (December 2006) ranked 18th in top 100 Independent comics lists. *Streams of Silver* was adapted by Andrew Dabb with art by Val Semeiks, and its trade paperback ranked 34th in top 100 Graphic Novels for August 2007, with an estimated 2,524 pre-orders. The final issue of *The Halfling's Gem* adaptation was announced in September 2007 and shipped in December 2007, completing the adaptation of both trilogies.
The entire trilogy ranked 9th in Banophernalia's top 10 books for
- Author
- R.A. Salvatore
- Nationality
- American
- Genre
- Epic fantasy
- First book published
- 1988
- Final book published
- 1990
- Notable achievement
- The Halfling's Gem appeared on The New York Times Best Seller list
- Series rebranded as
- Books IV, V, and VI of The Legend of Drizzt
Quick Facts
- Books
- The Crystal Shard / Streams of Silver / The Halfling's Gem
- Author
- R. A. Salvatore
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
- Genre
- Epic fantasy
- Publisher
- TSR, Inc. / Wizards of the Coast
- Pub Date
- 1988–1990
- Media Type
- Print (paperback)
- Number Of Books
- 3
- Preceded By
- The Dark Elf Trilogy
- Followed By
- Legacy of the Drow
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The trilogy follows the adventures of ranger Drizzt Do'Urden, a drow (dark elf), alongside companions Wulfgar, Regis, Bruenor, and Catti-brie. The central antagonist is Akar Kessell, former apprentice of Morkai the Red, who is left to die in Icewind Dale by Dendybar the Mottled. Kessell discovers the artifact Crenshinibon, which grants him power and allows him to command an army of goblins, orcs, ogres, and giants. He allies with the balor Errtu, who also seeks the crystal. Drizzt defeats Kessell by using the crystal shard to teleport him to the top of Kelvin's Cairn, where he is killed in an avalanche. Errtu is banished back to the Abyss by Drizzt using the crystal shard, though the terms of the banishment are not specified as exactly 100 years in the trilogy.
Reader's Guide
The Icewind Dale Trilogy holds significance as the foundational work of R.A. Salvatore's Forgotten Realms novels, introducing iconic characters that would appear in numerous subsequent series. A prequel trilogy, The Dark Elf Trilogy, followed, as did sequel series such as Legacy of the Drow and Paths of Darkness. In later years, the books were rebranded as installments of The Legend of Drizzt, with the Icewind Dale Trilogy identified as books IV, V, and VI. The trilogy received mixed to positive reception: it ranked 9th in Banophernalia's top 10 books for 2000, with ratings of 3 stars for The Crystal Shard and 3.5 stars for the other two volumes. Ian Strelec awarded Streams of Silver a B+ rating, praising vivid descriptions but criticizing unrealistic situations and overemphasis on combat. The Halfling's Gem ranked 14th on The New York Times paperback best sellers list on 11 March 1990. Paul Hughes noted the trilogy brought legions of enthusiastic fans to the genre. In 2025, Screen Rant ranked it #2 on its '10 Best Forgotten Realms Book Series' list. Comic adaptations were published by Devil's Due Publishing, with individual issues appearing in top independent comics lists.
Did You Know?
- The final book, The Halfling's Gem, appeared on The New York Times Best Seller list.
- The trilogy was later rebranded as books IV, V, and VI of The Legend of Drizzt.
- Akar Kessell is killed when he teleports himself and Drizzt to the base of a mountain and is buried in an avalanche.
- The comic adaptation of The Crystal Shard earned 20th and 18th place in top 100 Independent comics for October and December 2006.
More in Novels by R. A. Salvatore 1-24
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