Ive never read Salvatore, but I thought Wofgir's comments on Feist and Jordan were pretty close to the mark. I have always thought Magician (we get the two books on one 800 page volume in OZ) to be one of the best single stories going about. I do think the quality dropped off after the Riftwar saga was completed though - too much of a tried and true formula and not enough unpredicatbility. While Magician wins out as my favourite novel, the Assassin's books (Robin Hobb) or the Fionovar Tapestry (Guy Gavriel Kay) win out as the better series from my point of view.
Guess I better pick up some Salvatore next time to widen that perspective.
PS - can anybody claim to have read the 800 pages any quicker? I bought Magician home one afternoon, read till late that night, got up the next day for a D&D session, picked it up again in the afternoon and didn't stop reading until I finisehed it about 3 am in the morning. A very compelling read - now that I am some 16 or 17 years older I can't mantain that sort of avid attention span any more.
Cheers
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Nordom, cousin to Davros