The Sword of Bedwyr

R. A. Salvatore

Jun 2019 · The Crimson Shadow Book 1 · Open Road Media

About this ebook

The first adventure in the New York Times–bestselling fantasy trilogy from the legendary million-selling author and creator of Drizzt Do’Urden.
 
In the once-stable land of Eriador, young fighter Luthien Bedwyr is too naive to grasp the consequences of the evil new reign of Wizard-King Greensparrow—until Luthien’s best friend is slain by one of the despot’s cyclopean soldiers. Publicly vowing revenge, Luthien becomes not only the wizard’s most-wanted adversary, but also a fugitive embarking on a grand scheme to restore peace to the kingdom.
 
His mettle tested, Luthien crosses paths with highwayhalfling Oliver deBurrows. The irrepressible thief is game to join him. But at the behest of an ancient mage, Luthien must first secure two ancient weapons from a dragon’s lair: a legendary sword and a mystical blood-red cape that renders its wearer invisible.
 
Rumors soon begin to swirl of a freedom fighter preparing to strike against Greensparrow and his monstrous minions, affording a tenuous hope for liberation among Eriador’s oppressed—especially a beautiful Fairborn elf slave risking everything to support the coming insurgency of the hero they call the Crimson Shadow.
 
This first tale of the Crimson Shadow trilogy is “a fine adventure filled with memorable characters and compelling action” (Terry Brooks). New York Times–bestselling author R. A. Salvatore once again proves he “choreographs battle scenes better than any other contemporary fantasist” (Publishers Weekly).
 

Ratings and reviews

I bought this trilogy in September of 2020, and I still haven't been able to make myself finish the second book, much less start the third. I pray that they get better but I don't see any sign of it. Possibly the most frustrating part about these books for me is that I have and do love so much of what RA Salvatore has written. But these books feel painfully bad to me. On the subject of this book specifically, in between the end of the prologue and the end of the book I can only think of two or three things in the entire piece that I found interesting. And even that depends on how you count them. They are 1. the wizard and 2. the wizard's presents. That's it. Maybe some of the fight scenes were OK especially around the climax. Maybe. What's more, the blurb specifically mentions a magic sword. Guess what, I'm about halfway through book two, still no sign of any magic sword! I'm honestly surprised that this has R. A. Salvatore's name on it.

Nice

About the author

R. A. Salvatore’s first book, The Crystal Shard, was published in 1988; in 1990 his third novel, The Halfling’s Gem, hit the New York Times bestseller list. Since then he has written more than sixty novels, which have sold more than thirty million copies worldwide. In addition, Salvatore has numerous game credits, making him one of the most important figures in modern epic fantasy. Among his books are numerous titles in the saga of dark elf Drizzt Do’Urden, the Coven series, the Crimson Shadow trilogy, and many more.
 
Salvatore spends a good deal of time speaking to schools and library groups, encouraging people, particularly young people, to read. He enjoys a broad range of literary writers, from James Joyce to Dante and Chaucer, and counts among his favorite genre literary influences Ian Fleming, Arthur Conan Doyle, Fritz Leiber, and J. R. R. Tolkien. Salvatore makes his home in Massachusetts, with his wife, Diane, and their dogs. His gaming group still meets on Sunday nights.
 
He is currently working on more novels set in the Demonwars and Dark Elf series.