Rating: 
Summary: Salvatore regains his form
Review: Finally, a new book with a real refreshing and new feel by R.A. Salvatore that is based on his previously created characters in Forgotten Realms. His previous works in the realms, apart from the Cleric Quintet, focused too much on Drizzt Do'Urden. Even Spine of the World, considered a radical departure by fans, dealt with Wulfgar, a character which many readers are already familiar.In comparison, Servant of the Shard continued where Silent Blade left off, and finally, two very interesting but under-developed characters, human assassin Enteris Artemis and drow mercenary company Bregan D'aerthe' enigmatic yet brilliant and astute leader Jarlaxle, took the centre stage. Readers would already be familiar some of Enteri's philosophy through earlier novels, but that had at most been a sideshow and a less significant contemplation to act as a comparison to Drizzt's own private reflections. In this book, Salvatore presented a new yet old Enteri - a man who walks carrying his past, his past life, his old motivations and thoughts, along with new ones which came from his experiences in Menzoberanzan and from finally surviving his duel-to-death against Drizzt. The fact that Enteri had been forced to work for the Bregan D'aerthe in the latter's foray into the surface world served as a catalyst to Enteri decide what kind of an existence he really would want. Readers did not really get to see the inside of Jarlaxle because he was clearly, though not definitively, influenced by the Crystal Shard. As the Shard urged to expand its influence, the inevitable conflict leads to more-than-cursory role-playing of secondary characters who were often under-utilised in other novels. Jarlaxle's top lieutenants from the Underdark, along with Enteri's subordinates running the guild which Enteri took over in Silent Blade, had their work cut out for them. It is refreshing to see such supporting cast do more than come, go, obey, betray, kill and die, these characters actually affected the development of the events. The plot of the book is a little of a typical gangland turf-war, with more devious plottings and intricate intrigue rather than outright brute force (compared to less flattering depiction of sterotype gangsters in most novels), motivated by the possession of an ultimate weapon (isn't it nice that such a weapon is used in turf wars instead of the run-of-the-mill take over the world, it is so less damaging). Jarlaxle, having completed his goal of establishing indirect but definite influence and network on the surface, brought danger to his mercenary group when goaded by the Shard, sought to expand that dominance aggressively, threatening to expose the drows' presence on the surface. His lieutenants, justifiably worried, and none-too-kind on Enteri, had to decide the steps to take to protect themselves. Thus set the background stage for one of the best books on underworld intrigues in a fantasy setting where in the foreground really was the internal conflict within Enteri as he fought to keep alive. This is one book where any loopholes are not really discernable nor distracting, worth keeping if you have the money. The actions are fast and furious, but not too detailed with swashbuckling details as Salvatore's previous books. Salvatore finally came up with something fresh, thankfully. For sometime, he had been exhausting the potential of Drizzt until his novels became weak. Consider this a new beginning, returning to the excitement generated for the original drow trilogy.
Rating:
Summary: Artemis Entreri & Jarlaxle fans rejoice!
Review: Salvatore has performed a hat trick (bonus points for me for a hockey reference) in what is now known as the Paths of Darkness series of novels which are The Silent Blade, The Spine of the World, Servant of the Shard, and the forthcoming Sea of Swords. Some fans grumbled about the novel Passage to Dawn, complaining that Salvatore appeared to have lost his magic and that the story itself was redundant and mediocre. Critics! Can't live with 'em, can't deport 'em! Salvatore has come back to the Forgotten Realms with a vengeance with this latest series of novels and should have put to rest any doubters out there that he has lost his style. Silent Blade and Spine of the World were fantastic and Servant of the Shard might have even surpassed those two in my opinion. People were skeptical about Spine of the World since it focused on Wulfgar, and Drizzt wasn't making an appearance, but it definately earned its place on my book shelf. I loved it. If we need a break from Drizzt every once in a while, why not take a closer look at the other characters for a change? Now Salvatore has done it again with Servant of the Shard. Now we get a wonderful adventure that explores the current exploits of Jarlaxle, the flamboyant Drow mercenary band leader, and Artemis Entreri, master assassin. With sword fights, psionics, drow, illithids, powerful sentient weapons and artifacts, conspiracy & intrigue, demons, the Bouldershoulder brothers, and more, it's a very enjoyable novel even without Drizzt. I definately recommend this volume for Drizzt and Forgotten Realms fans out there and look forward to the 4th volume next year.
Rating:
Summary: Entreri and Jarlaxle, those sexy beasts... ;-)
Review: This is seriously one of my favorite books in all the Forgotten Realms books I have read. It's great. I really like how the Paths of Darkness series is divided among the characters, and it was a completely brilliant move on RAS's part to devote an entire book to the dynamic duo of Entreri and Jarlaxle. After reading this (and discovering his short story "Empty Joys" in The Best of the Realms Volume 1), I have definitely come to appreciate Entreri and Jarlaxle more. They work so well together. I'm happy since I found out RAS will probably continue writing about their escapades, and he has acknowledged the fact that the two could easily carry several more books. I can't wait! Especially after Jarlaxle's new "brilliant" plan (read "Empty Joys" to know what the heck I mean). :-D The most interesting and attractive part of this book was the interaction between Entreri and his friends. Yes, he actually has friends. Strange considering his line of work, but it's great that Entreri's finally mellowing in his "old" age. His relationship with Dwahvel is so enlightening. We see the human side of the assassin that was lacking before because of his obsession with Drizzt. And, of course, Entreri and Jarlaxle together are just a couple of goofballs. Loveable, charming, but deadly goofballs. I love 'em. :-D I can't wait for more books in the adventures of Entreri and Jarlaxle.
Rating:
Summary: Complex and Intruiging
Review: I'd have to say that out of all Salvatore's books I have read so far, this is his best. I too was a bit hesitent when I learned that Drizzt would not be starring in this novel, but I was interested in what would happen to the Crystal Shard, Artemis Entreri, and Jarlaxle. The complex web of lies and deception was spun so well into the plot line I could not put the book down. This has to be the best example of the drow way of life I have ever seen. It is displayed and described through Salvatore's exellent writing even better than in the Dark Elf Trilogy when you are in the midst of Menzoberranzan. Entreri's rival is gone but not truly beaten, and the inner turmoil Entreri endures at seeing his empty shell of a life for what it truly is, is most intruiging. Jarlaxle, the ever pragmatic drow, is faced with his own great rival, the Crystal Shard. The perfect leader of a male dark elf mercenary band can only survive if he is far superior in fighting skill and intelligence. He must keep his allies close and his enemies even closer, and he must think of every possibility, every deception, and every avenue of escape. He is boggled and decieved by the constant perfected mind games of the centries old shard. The character development is wonderful and brings the story to life. However, if you have not read any of Salvatore's previous Drizzt books this will not be as much of a thrill for you, but still wonderful. For those readers, you will probably rank it with four stars. The plot developments have tight ties with the past that make it even more intruiging. This truly is an intense read, and I recommend it to all Drizzt fans and those facinated by the life and culture of the drow.
Rating: 
Summary: The magic is back
Review: Once again, Salvatore has achieved greatness. As with many authors involved in multiple projects, Salvatore's Forgotten Realms works have been declining in quality as he must be spread too thin. This is very evident considering what we have come to expect after the Icewind Dale and Dark Elf Trilogies. Every book since those six has been worse than the previous. This newest effort continues his work at fleshing out the other characters of the series, reversing the downward trend, and being of high quality again. Here we see Jarlaxle and Entreri struggling against the machinations of the Drow and the Crystal Shard, with new incites provided into their pasts and motivations. This book was a vast improvement over the last few novels, and I recommend it highly. However, as you might read in all the other reviews, Drizzt is once again absent, but it's still an excellent read. No one can bring to life a combat scene as well as Salvatore, and he shows it many times here.
Rating:
Summary: MY FAVORITE BOOK
Review: Ihave read every Drizzt book and this is, byfar, my favorite. While others delve into the Drow Sociaty lightly, this one is all about the Drow. This is the first book to feature my three favorite charactors (Cadderly, Entreri, and Jarlaxle) in one book. While you are looking at the Drow there will be new things you discover every time you read it. Also if you read closly it greatly reveals what happend to Artemis Entreri to make him "The Most Vile of Assasins" (see pages 107, 145, and 315/316) all and all, if you do not have this book, buy it right now. I can promis you that you will not regret it.
Rating:
Summary: Worthy of Hardcover
Review: Triumphant conclusion of Paths of Darkness. As the last in this series was much better than its predecessor, so is this. Arguably RAS best work. For a single book, I think it is. But as always, an existing appreciation for the characters will go a long way. I highly recommend this to NOT be your first RAS book. Go read the Legacy series first. And certainly read the first two books in Paths of Darkness before this one. Hold off on this as long as you can. I heard so much about this book, I savored it by reading no more than 1 section a night. It was very hard to fight the temptation to read more. This is an extremely compelling book that is fast paced and still manages to provide quality character time. Jarlaxle is at his finest, and a new side of him is shown. Also a starteling revelation about Jarlaxle at the end of this book. main characters are; Jarlaxle, Artemis Entreri, Dhwavel Tiggerwillies
Rating:
Summary: My favorite book in the world.
Review: I hesitated about picking up this book especially because I'm so busy and I thought "Well this is just another Drizzt book." It turned out that this is the best book I've ever read in my life. (Just for some background, I'm a college student who read every single Drizzt book.) See, I didn't know that this would be all about Artemis Entreri. You thought he was cool, but he really shows off his power in this book. Forget Drizzt, bad guys are in. It turns out, the book will completely surpass your expectations. Dont miss this no matter what. Pick it up, it'll take only a week to finish but just like me, you'll be thanking yourself you did it. Cheap too hey?
Rating:
Summary: Better than the Last One
Review: I was rather disapointed with The Spine of the World, and this book started off a bit slow. But after I got fifty pages into it, and I was wrapped up in all the intringue, lies, and deceit, I could not put the book down. It definately lives up to the series standards, and is just another reason why a producer should pick up this series to make movies out of. Read it!
Rating:
Summary: A Book About Entreri and Jarlaxle, Need I Say More.
Review: I've said it before and I'll say it again. In my mind, the word villian ends and begins with Artemis Entreri. Who could not like the evils of a man with no soul that can kill on a whim? Come on, you know you love him. Just as a bonus, we get Jarlaxle, the king of all mercenarys, as a second main character in the book.
Now, before I go rambling on about how great the story and all that jazz in this book is, I need to express that I am a supporter of all that is good in this world and the imaginary ones we create. True to that, I had a little trouble reading a book purely about liars, assassins, thieves, and heartless mercenarys. At least in the beginnning. The wicked complexity of the book caught me very quickly and soon I was a die hard fan of both main characters.
Back to my main point, the book is about Jarlaxle coming into possession of the crystal shard. On a sub-level, it's about Entreri coming to terms with the fact that he is human, and he is getting older. Worried that the world will pass him by and he will end up in the gutter of Calimshan because he could not protect himself, Entreri makes moves to regain his position in the ring of street lords. Whilest his plans advance smoothly, Jarlaxle hits a few snags and runs into some problems with the Shard(much as Alkar Kessell did). It falls ultimately to Entreri to play as a balancer and not the self absorbed bad guy in the latter parts of the tale.
Combat in the book is thrilling, as usual, jeweled daggers and throwing knives abound and the assassin acquires a few new toys that are very amusing. Hopefully,(at least in my opinion) this is the beginning of more books about the assassin or maybe the eccentric Jarlaxle. Who knows but Mr. Salvatore himself? I've got my fingers crossed. Regardless, this is a great book and plays in well with some of the other books that are near it in the series. A little treasure to keep close to the darker corners of your mind from the world of Faerun.
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