This review will be short and sweet, just like one of these collected stories! Okay…they’re short…but not sweet.  I mean, they’re perfectly good stories, but anything by Salvatore is pretty action packed with little time for what I would call “sweet.”

I’ve never read R.A. Salvatore before this, but I’ve seen his name and books all over the place.  He’s pretty much a standard in the fantasy writing world, especially for anyone who may play Dungeons & Dragons. He pretty much invented the Dark Elf hero (aka Drizzt).  If you’ve ever played a game of D&D or World of Warcraft, these books might be up your alley.

The collected stories are probably better suited for anyone who has read the series since these pieces follow main characters or link to big plot lines.  However, I picked it up as a free Audible deal thinking it might be a good intro to the series without too much of a commitment on my part. PLUS, the audiobook is read by various celebrities: Felicia Day, David Duchovney, Weird Al, Danny Pudi, Wil Wheaton, etc.

It certainly served as a good introduction, and it was a lighthearted change from my normal fair; a good break in between the longer texts where I usually live.  The readers were great for the most part, though sometimes celebrities just shouldn’t read audio books (I’m talking to you Ice-T…seriously).  Wil Wheaton was phenomenal as a reader, and he certainly had one of the BEST stories to display is range.  Having played D&D myself, I also really felt like one of our late night campaigns had come to life in Salavatore’s work. In that regard he succeeds!

On the other hand, it’s really just not my type of book.  No real depth or character development, and yes, I realize these are short stories so that happens.  But the battles, monsters, action tales, while good for a late night role playing campaign with a bunch of friends and some D20s aren’t really what I consider my ideal reading. I like more “uumph” more “meat” more…”MORE.”  I definitely recommend these books for a certain audience. They are fun, well written, and extremely detailed.  However, the introduction is probably enough for me.

Though I kind of miss playing D&D now…