Book I, The Orc King: Transitions

For those who are familiar with Drizzt and company, this book doesn't disappoint. There are major changes to the characters, and even the world, but the descriptive action sequences we've come to expect are there in abundance. A must read for fans of the Forgotten Realms.

hightly recommend...as always great depth and thought provacation by Salvator in his story line. If you liked his previous this one adds to the rich story line and moves you in a very unexpected direction.

Since the publication of the bestselling Crystal Shard, R.A. Salvatore has launched on a dynamic Swords&Sorcery career, mostly centering around the adventures of rogue dark elf Drizzt Do'Urden. Earliest in the series were mostly slash 'n smash page-turners, but lately, as he matures as a writer, R.A. Salvatore had merged his black and white rhetoric into a startling shade of gray.
In his ongoing battle with the foul orcs, Drizzt, a drow elf who has rejected the vile ways of his kin, learns to see past the dark deeds of the porcine race and looks to see the good in orcs.
Filled to the brim with excellent stylized action scenes, this newest novel in the Legend of Drizzt delves deeper into the emotional chaos in our favorite drow warrior's soul, and finds good in even the most evil of beings.

Since the publication of the bestselling Crystal Shard, R.A. Salvatore has launched on a dynamic Swords&Sorcery career, mostly centering around the adventures of rogue dark elf Drizzt Do'Urden. Earliest in the series were mostly slash 'n smash page-turners, but lately, as he matures as a writer, R.A. Salvatore had merged his black and white rhetoric into a startling shade of gray.
In his ongoing battle with the foul orcs, Drizzt, a drow elf who has rejected the vile ways of his kin, learns to see past the dark deeds of the porcine race and looks to see the good in orcs.
Filled to the brim with excellent stylized action scenes, this newest novel in the Legend of Drizzt delves deeper into the emotional chaos in our favorite drow warrior's soul, and finds good in even the most evil of beings.

Most of RA salvatore's books in this series leave much to be desired. Maybe it is that they feel barren and formulaic, too much like the preceding novels with not enough substance of their own. For whatever reason, this one has that thing that the other books lack - a certain je ne c'est quoi - it is a breath of fresh air the aforementioned series badly needed, especially after reading so many of its vaguely disappointing or repetitive prequels. In my opinion, this is the best book in the series (up to its point - i haven't yet read those that follow it) since Sojourn. Longtime fans of the series will find enough of the things they loved about the previous books to enjoy this installment, and i'd argue that they'll find enough in the way of newer, fresher themes to keep them hooked in ways the immediately preceding books failed to do.
if i could have given the book a 4.5, i would have. It is by no means perfect - many of the most interesting plot lines suggested by the novel are abandoned part-way through. However, i am at least glad that those plot lines were presented in the first place; I would never have thought to see them in the previous books. ultimately, i give the book a high rating not because it is perfect, but because it so exceeded the low expectations i have come to ask of the series and the genre. I left the book satisfied and unmistakably impressed, despite my initial expectation to dislike it.

Like many of Salvatore's recent novels, I had mixed feelings about this book. He has created an interesting story and certainly has the characters facing situations and developments that are far outside their comfort zones. I like the internal struggle they are forced to deal with in the face of reality. The plot is outside the norm for a usual Forgotten Realm novel, and for that Salvatore should receive some praise.

However, interesting plot strands aside, these pros cannot overcome the halting writing style and awkward dialogue that has become typical of Salvatore's novels. I haven't seen any real growth is the craft of his writing since he started the Drizzt novels 20 years ago. The ideas flow but are obstructed by a rather utilitarian prose. In addition, I've grown tired of his portrayal of the shield dwarves. They sound like idiots and I cannot find myself really caring one way or another about how they come out of this new stalemate with the orcs.

In the end, I wish that Salvatore could write like Kemp or Baker, FR authors who have a real talent of weaving interesting stories with solid writing. I doubt Salvatore is going to change and I'm not sure I'll be picking up his books as soon as they hit the market anymore.

Let me discuss something that happens in the very beginning.

Drizzt encounters these "vigilantes", for lack of a better word, who kill orcs (you know know, those monsters that kill/rape). Except apparently they do it when orcs are sleeping or whatever, but they don't kill children or women. What Drizzt does about it is shocking. He attacks these guys, which results in of them dying (which Drizzt doesn't feel bad about) and the others captured by elves.

When I read this passage, I was so disturbed that I actually felt pain in my heart and had to put the book down for a while. I mean come on. Here you have these characters doing exactly what Drizzt does (kill orcs), but they do it in a way that isn't "honorable"? Since when is Drizzt about honor? He even calls them "murderers." Oh, Drizzt, you mean like the way that the orcs they were killing were butchers of the innocent? The whole situation is utterly ridiculous.

Its as if RA Salvatore forgot his own character. Drizzt is supposed to be chaotic good. Basically, DRIZZT was always the vigilante. He's supposed to not care about honor or order, just doing what is right no matter what. What happened to the old Drizzt who said "And when did I say I would every fight fair?" or something like that. Since Drizzt is pretty much acting chaotic evil (for defending chaotic evil orcs), this whole debacle is a betrayal of the character. The whole reason I can think that RA Salvatore would do this is to make the book "edgy" and "controversial."

But it doesn't end there. The fight sequences have become utterly ridiculous. For example, the text says things like "Drizzt rolled his scimitars over each other in circles." First of all, what does that mean? I tried to visualize it and couldn't, as I don't even know what that is or how it would look. I tried to draw it in multi-step comic slides, and I couldn't do that either. Secondly, I'm 100% sure that no swordsmen would ever actually do that. I think RA Salvatore has no clue as to how real sword fighting would work. The other possibility is that he knows SO much about real sword fighting that the audience has to be experts to understand it, but I suppose that is pretty dumb as well. The book shouldn't be written in a away that you have to be an expert to understand the swordplay, it should just be entertaining without being too complicated. There are so many examples of this that I had to skim/skip fight scenes because I got bored.

Lastly, is RA Salvatore running out of ideas? He can't kill off characters except for very minor side characters. Heck, he can't even kill off villains.The main villain in this book is Obould's Kingdom of Many Arrows. First of all, how are they still around? Secondly, MOVE ON. We're sick of orcs. Let that "villain" be over and done with, and get a new one. It seems like RA is ran out of creativity and so he just let them stick around to create conflict, instead of making new conflict.

Don't buy it. You don't want to, trust me.

This is definitely not what you would expect for Salvatore, but then again, he has been waxing philosophical in recent years. I, like most readers, always skipped over those philosophical journal entries in italics, but this book adds the philosophy to the plot as well... you can't escape it. I felt like I was getting a lesson in tolerance and morality. How annoying! I miss the suspense and action of the Dark Elf Trilogy and Crystal Shard. I didn't care for the fact that Drizzt got married; he is supposed to be a loner and the other small plot lines were very.. soap operish... There were no characters that I became emotionally attached too... except maybe that other drow, but his part was small. The evil gnome (Jack) was also interesting but he did not appear prominently enough to keep my attention. Ultimately, the only redeeming quality was a few lines at the beginning and end of the novel that hinted towards future events. It almost seemed like Salvatore was setting up a merger of the other forgotten realms novels.. Lirial and the Dark Maiden followers.. maybe even Jarlaxle and Entreri will enter the picture to struggle with the wars, disease, deity issues and conflict in the next books. That sounds like an interesting saga.

When I heard that my favorite dark elf was back, I couldn't wait to get my hands on the book. To my great dissappointment, this is not the crew I fell in love with. The characters are devoid of the passion, excitement and heroism of the past and these new... stand-ins seem more like political manipulators than adventurers. I miss the band the old band of heroes.

Why a "3"? Well, perhaps that's because parts of this latest "Drizzt" story merit a solid "4", while others barely earn a "2".

The fact of the matter is that it's painfully obvious that R.A. Salvatore long ago stoped caring as much about certain characters and elements within his greater storyline. With the "Orc King" , Mr. Salvatore has taken the opportunity to wrap them up as well as possible.

An example of this is Wulfgar, who has been bounced about in so many different directions ever since his return in "Passage to Dawn"--and mostly unsuccessfully. After turns as a hell-haunted wreck, a self-loathing alcoholic, a hard-bitten hero and a reluctant father, the once majestic barbarian finally seems to have been put out to pasture... and in a rather mediocre way, in my humble opinion. I say mediocre because, looking back at the Icewind Dale Trilogy and "The Legacy", I never imagined that Wulfgar's primary contribution prior to being shown the door would be to ENSURE US that Delly Curtie was, in fact, MUCH MORE than people assumed that poor barmaid was. Add to that a series of painfully forced scenes of the adorable adopted daughter cooing "Da" to him as he continues to lament his lack of legacy, and you have one of your "Transitions", wrapped up.

Catti-Brie seems to be taking a new direction as well, which is probably for the best seeing as how the Companions needed an additional fighter like I need another ear--and seeing as how Mr. Salvatore has been struggling for some time to make her a part of the action (most notably, in coming up with places from which she could shoot her bow). It remains to be seen how well this will work out... and how much time is alloted to her for this to happen. After all, Mr. Salvatore has dropped many more hints regarding her mortality and, ahem, biological clock, than he did for Wulfgar.

Finally, the motivations behind the political endstate seems somewhat contrived and illogical--the product of a need to follow an established game world's direction rather than sensible story-telling. Ultimately, that's the problem with writing novels based on a gaming world. The greater metaplot will force contrived, ill-fitting concepts on stories that largely were intended for different directions. It's either that, or Salvatore undertook an almost schizophrenic change of direction with the relations between Dwarf and Orc.

Having said all that... The action sequences are very well written. The villains, especially those new ones (and some of the established ones), work very well. "Transitions" is a theme that also applies to characters outside of the Companions... and I think one of those will be a pleasant surprise to the readers.

Established fans of the series will obviously enjoy this book, but those of us who were spoiled by the far superior Sellsword novels and the earlier Drizzt yarns will likely be somewhat ho-hum about this one. Sit back, enjoy, but don't expect anything mind-blowing.

(edited on 25 May, for clarification and grammar)

"The Orc King" is an excellent first novel in the "Transitions" series of Forgotten Realms books by R.A. Salvatore.

Salvatore examines how a people can set aside their racial prejudices for the greater good. I have to admit that the way Salvatore goes about it is a bit cliched. Bruenor has the deep-seated hatred of all things Orc that stems from way back, and he's very reluctant to trust Obould at all. He's firmly convinced that Obould's orcs that are camped a short march from Mithral Hall are there for a lot more than farming. So isn't it convenient that there is a force of orcs who are dead-set against Obould's plan to peacefully coexist with the Dwarves, thus illustrating to Bruenor that these are Obould's true intentions. That being said, Salvatore's handling of the whole situation is quite mature. It's nice that there is still plenty of distrust there, even though Bruenor is willing to finally accept the peace that Obould's offering. It's something that could be shattered at any moment, and it threatens to fall apart very easily.

Salvatore takes the "Transitions" name of this series to heart, making changes in all of the major characters that have been with us since the beginning. Wulfgar, the barbarian who has loved Catti-brie for many years, finally has some decisions to make as he has come to accept that she loves Drizzt. Events of previous novels (I'm assuming, anyway) have shown him that he must do what is right for his adopted daughter and then make his own way in the world. Catti-brie, the human woman who is also Bruenor's adopted daughter, was injured in the previous novel, which brings about changes in her life and her profession that she never saw coming. Regis, the halfling, doesn't change as much, but he's much more mature than I remember, and events from past novels are weighing on him. Drizzt himself doesn't change much, but he brings a sense of stability that helps anchor the book.

Salvatore writes the action scenes just as well as I remember, though occasionally they are a bit too detailed. The reader gets a feel for the flow of the action, but sometimes it gets so detailed that it's almost like he's choreographing it for the reader rather than letting the reader just get a sense of what's going on. It did help me see the action step by step in my mind, but it also felt very mechanical at times. It's a question of style, though, and obviously this style has a lot of fans. I like it, but it begins to grate on me after a while.

Just a couple of minor notes before I close. The type in my copy of this book is almost microscopic, supposedly to keep a reasonable page count despite the huge number of words. Don't try to read this in bad light. Secondly, the "map" at the beginning of the book is almost totally useless for following any events in the story. You see where Mithral Hall is in relation to the Orc kingdoms, but other than that, you're on your own. I couldn't even follow our heroes' expedition to the lost Dwarven city on this map, which really annoyed me.

"The Orc King" is a great first book in the Transitions series, though it probably would mean even more if I was familiar with the last 6-9 novels. There is a lot of backstory, though Salvatore rarely loses the reader in the retelling of it. It does feel like you've missed a lot, but you won't be at a loss to follow the events in this book. What more can you ask of an author who has written so many books previously in the series? It's worth checking out if you like this sort of thing. Don't let the Forgotten Realms tag turn you off.

David Roy

The Orc King by R.A. Salvatore is the first book in the Transitions trilogy. The second book is The Pirate King followed by The Ghost King. Other works in the Forgotten Realms by R.A. Salvatore include: The Legend of Drizzt series, The Sellswords trilogy, The Hunter's Blades trilogy, and The Cleric Quintet.

The Orc King (TOK) picks up a few months after the events from The Two Swords in The Hunter's Blades trilogy. Winter is waning and the stand-off between Mithril Hall and King Obould Manyarrows is about to come to a head... The main plot, to me, was split into a couple of different ones. There is the continued guessing of what is to happen between the two kingdoms and then there is another dealing with some of King Obould's followers looking to create an alliance with another tribe of half orcs/half ogres. A couple of subplots are dropped here and there, such as, Wulfgar's search and then his final decision which wraps up a couple of previous subplots from books long ago and the creation of a new subplot I can see happening in the near future. Then there's Catti-brie, who may have to look into some changes to help her continue fighting against the enemy. Also, King Bruenor's search for an ancient city turns up more than he can possible come to grips with.

While the story is typical Salvatore fare, you can expect pretty much the same thing as previous books. Great story telling, flow, and multiple points of view from different characters. He continues to have great characters that help to draw the reader into the story. His descriptions of landscapes, action, and everything is top notch. The drawback to being typical Salvatore fare is that the majority of the book was predictable. I would like to go into detail, however, it would result in spoilers, so I will refrain. Now, not everything was predictable, but the vast majority was. The good thing about it being predictable is if you are a die hard Salvatore fan and like things remaining that way, then you will not be disappointed. This book does jump around a lot, but in short enough bursts that the reader doesn't get lost or forget what is going on in the other parts. Everything comes together nicely in the end and flows to a good conclusion.

Some Criticisms:

1. While it is nice to get acquainted with old characters and look to reading a favorite author's works, this book was a bit off on keeping me mesmerized and turning the pages. Usually i can sit down with a whole Drizzt trilogy and move right through all three. This book just didn't have that appeal to me. I did enjoy it, no doubt, but the novel felt slightly lacking.

2. Sometimes I like being able to guess what may happen and seeing a writer choose that path. The predictability with this one was too much and caused the story to miss out on being great.

Some Positives:

1. Usually when writer continues long sagas with the same characters over and over, the characters, though well loved, become just the same old hat. While there are a lot of sameness to the original cast, Drizzt, King Bruenor, Catti-brie, Wulfgar, and Regis, there is also some new character developments going on that is starting to refresh them and give them new life.

2. The caveat to the predictability criticism is I was able to get the same level out of the book that I have come to expect with reading Mr. Salvatore. I'm talking about great fight scenes and detailed depictions of the battles. Also the way he paints the landscape in the background without over detailing and bogging the story down.

3. Mr. Salvatore seems to have taking away the characters immortality. In the other books, most of the time it just seemed that no matter the danger, the companions will always triumph. no need to worry about them. This book has taken a bit of that away and now the danger feel more real.

Overall, this was an excellent novel and a solid continuation to the Drizzt saga. Fans of the realms and Mr. Salvatore will no doubt enjoy this one. I recommend this to fans of the Forgotten Realms and fans of fantasy as well. If you've just started this series, I would recommend going back and treating yourself to The Legend of Drizzt series and continue through the series. The only series not directly connected to Drizzt is The Cleric's Quintet, but you may also want to read that one as well. More great characters and great fun to be had there and they pop up at unexpected times.
Happy Reading.

-Dimndbangr

(Spoiler Free Review)

This book begins with a Prelude that spoils parts of the book. But it really has nothing to do with the actual events in the story, so you should SKIP IT! I wish someone told me to SKIP THE PRELUDE. I would have enjoyed the book a lot more. If you really want, you can read the Prelude after you finish the book.

Chapter 1 picks up, right where The Hunter's Blades Trilogy ended. Obould is camped right outside of Mithril Hall. Tensions are high as Buenor, Drizzt, and Company search for answers in the ancient city of Gauntlgrym. The dark elf Tos'un Armgo is still on the loose. The story progresses from there.

I have to admit, the last trilogy felt repetitive. Part of me actually started rooting for the orcs to kill one of the heroes to shake things up a bit. Well, this book shakes things up... quite a bit. The characters develop more in this book than any of the preceeding books; and it's a great change of pace.

I'm really looking forward to the next book, Pirate King.

The action ranges from overly complex to very good in this book. By overly complex, R.A. Salvatore describes some of the attacks in too much detail and it bogs down the action. In other parts, the action is what you'd come to expect in a Drizzt Novel: Very Good.

The book is well written and well paced. I'd say it's one of the better Drizzt novels. If you're a fan of Drizzt and you've been keeping up, then you'll really like this book. If you stopped reading Drizzt a while back, this book is a good reason to catch up again.

I've enjoyed all of the 19 Drizzt Books and I've got to say that R.A. Salvatore hasn't written a bad one yet. Some are better than others, but none of them are bad. That's pretty amazing.

THE ORC KING is the best novel in a long time in this long-running series of series. Execution is solid, with everything you expect from RAS. It brings apparent resolution to a number of subplots, perhaps most notably the Drizzt/Catti-Brie/Wulfgar triangle (and in a satisfying way, unlike the previous 3 or 4 attempts at resolving it). As the trilogy's title suggests, it appears RAS is changing the focus from the five friends to... well, that's still to be seen.

Unfortunately, though, it suffers from a number of flaws. The first chapter is, by far, the most interesting and almost renders the rest of the novel an afterthought. The theme (basically summarized as "stability over defeating evil") runs contrary to much of the back story and seems a clumsy Israeli/Palestinian allegory - or worse, yet another leftist Iraq War analogy. Likewise, the thinly-veiled KKK analogue early on in the book boots the reader out of the story. Heavy-handed political parallels are better left to the Turtledoves of the fantasy world.

All in all, it's worth having in hardback for RAS completists and/or sword-and-sorcery fans like myself. The rest of you may want to wait for paperback.

The orc king Obould, has been slowed, but now he seems to have adopted other tactics. Is he waiting, hoping to lull the dwarves, humans and elves to complacency, or does he really envision a world where orcs can live as other sentient beings, existing in their own kingdom, ruled by members of their own race, and trading with, rather than raiding their traditional enemies? Of course, even if Obould does want peace, that doesn't mean he'll get it. Many within the elf, and especially dwarf kingdoms steam for revenge. And more and more orcs, emerging from dark caves where they've long hidden, want war no matter what their king may claim.

Dark Elf Drizzt Do'Urden sees the potential for peace, but he sees its costs as well. With both orc and dwarf crying for war, and with virtually nobody trusting a drow, it doesn't seem likely he'll have any say over the future--especially when his own wife is one of the loudest in calling for revenge.

Author R. A. Salvatore (see more BooksForABuck.com reviews of novels by Salvatore) spins his continuing fantasy series in a direction that's been foreshadowed in the past few novels, but that nevertheless offers an exciting change in pace. Rather than seeing orcs as convenient fodder for more beautiful heroes, Salvatore conceives them as sapient entities, driven by the same motives that drive all other sapients. Obould represents a possible new direction, but Salvatore is careful to give us hints that there was a time before, in the forgotten past, where orcs and dwarves worked together. Was that time undone by treason, or could it come again? Those of us who have been calling for something a bit more thoughtful than the usual mindless killing will certainly welcome this direction.

Although THE ORC KING is about the potential for peace, Salvatore gives us plenty of violence and individual heroics to keep us turning the pages. Epic battles between Drizzt and fellow Drow Tos'un, between Drizzt and Jack the Gnome, between the dwarf-king and the orc chieftain, and many others are intricately choreographed and exciting.

Although Salvatore is writing epic fantasy, it's hard not to see how his story is influenced by the destructive forces of war in our own world. The hope for peace, not with those we love but those we itch to battle with, is the great challenge of the day. Salvatore suggests that easy answers may not exist, but that there is room to hope. I certainly hope he's right.

I have to admit that I have not truly enjoyed a Drizzt adventure for a very long time. Probably since Sojourn was published. I thought The Legacy and everything after that was just okay and nothing special. I actually enjoyed Spine of the World a lot and all of the Sellsword books. Those were amazing reads. But they were not about Drizzt. The Artemis and Jarlaxle "triliogy" was a classic. But the Drizzt books were getting really boring...until now.

This book was great. I like where RA is going with Wulfgar. I always liked him and now he is being given more depth and feeling.

And the storyline is great. Orcs living among the goodly races was something I was not expecting.

The 1,000 orcs trilogy was just bad. Drizzt and Co. are basically unstoppable and having them battle boring orcs for 3 books was lame. But this new take on things is very interesting and a good read. I also loved the 100 years later introduction. So you know some pretty major events are going to take place but you just don't know how. A very clever and original idea.

I eagerly await the next book in the trilogy.

Well, the last time I picked up this book, it went flying through the air in a fit of pique and I didn't pick it up again until recently. This time I managed to finish it.

This book definitely read like the end of the Hunter's Blades books rather than a start to something new. There are many things that I really don't like about The Orc King though and I might as well get my peeve out of the way. I warn you now, gentle reader, I may start to rant for a few paragraphs. Please forgive me the momentary short coming.

I like the minor characters in Mr. Salvatore's books more than the main characters. I fully recognize that my preferences results in the characters that I like having the narrative life expectancy of a mayfly. For the most part, I'm okay with that. What I dislike is for characters to get killed off strictly because it threatens the love triangle that has dragged on through at least six books. The body count for female side characters who challenged or usurped Catti-Brie's status as "Object of Desire" for Drizzt and Wulfgar now numbers two.The first happened in the Hunter's Blades trilogy and was at least understandable, albeit somewhat silly. This second blow was pointless and really, really felt like an excuse for a sacrifice to the Drizzt /Catti-Brie shippers. Also, I felt that some of the reactions to this character's death were done in extremely poor taste. I think I will leave it at that and get on with the rest of the review. Yes, this is the reason the book went briefly airborne the last time I tried reading it. Thank you, gentle reader, for your forbearance with my ramblings.

Speaking of the "Wulfgar loves Catti-Brie loves Drizzt" melodrama, that mess takes up an overly large portion of the book. It feels like it takes up a majority of the book as Wulfgar sorts out his feelings for Colson and the now deceased Delly and Catti-Brie continues waxing philosophical about it. I am somewhat comforted that marriage frequently seems to result in the female character fading into the background. I can only hope that this will be the case with Catti-Brie as well. Also, it's about freaking time that overdone romance was closed.

There was a glaring, obvious glitch in the events line of this story. Alustriel refuses to aid Bruenor in his bid to defend his realm against the invading orcs. Odd, she sent help to one of the nearby human towns similarly beset... and she starts counseling against he dwarves of Mithril Hall fighting the orcs and giving peace a chance. While the reader at this point knows that there is a great deal of unrest in the Many-Arrows ranks concerning King Obloud's decision not to continue on a summer campaign, Alustriel and Bruenor had not gotten the memo in their narrative lines yet. I did not find Alustriel's reasoning sound and took great pleasure in a scene where Bruenor chews her out over this very issue. While the idea of warily coexisting with orcs is not a new one in the Realms, I found it to be shoddily presented here. There simply wasn't enough time taken to present the idea and exactly how dire Bruenor's situation was never emphasized from his perspective.

There were sections of this book that I liked a lot. Remember what I said about liking mostly minor characters? Tos'un Del Armgo's side of this sorry tale was unexpectedly convincing, endearing and well written. I particularly liked the scene where he waves Sinnafain towards a means of escape before her friends are overrun by an orc ambush. He was thoroughly confused as to why he did it at all... but he did it anyway. It was lovely. Tos'un's role in the last part of the book was also well done and felt sincere.

I felt that the ending to this book was incredibly rushed. I don't know if there is a word count limit in effect, but if there is I think that a lot of the love triangle stuff could have been cut in favor of the larger political picture of the book, particularly as it was from Bruenor's point of view. All in all, what this book needed was less focus on Catti-Brie, Drizzt and Wulfgar and more attention on Bruenor, Alustriel and the political end of the tale.

Overall, The Orc King left me grouchy because if it had been done slightly differently, I might have liked it a lot.

After reading the Hunter's Blades Trilogy, I took a few years break from Mr. Salvatore's writings as I felt the characters were under the `god-mode' protection of the author and nothing would ever happen to them. The fear of will they/won't they survive was gone, followed quickly by the any care.

After reading the Orc King, I determined nothing has changed, except justification I didn't miss anything by not reading Spine of the World. The character Wulfgar was dead to me long ago as well as anything that happened after his fall.

I hoped I would read more about Drizzt, which I always pronounce with two syllables (Drizz-it) and found out it was just one. I felt like I was watching a blockbuster movie on TV with a few minutes of Drizzt, then ten minutes of commercials, which I like to the other characters. There were too many characters being following in the novel, which none left much of an impression. However, Jack the Gnome was interesting, but never went anywhere like the thought into his unimpressive name.

I feel like Drizzt has outgrown the companions of the hall and needs to move on for the character to grow. While they may need Drizzt, he doesn't need them. The romance between Drizzt and Catte-Brie seemed more convenient, like at the end of the Harry Potter series where the author just paired everyone up, rather than a believable relationship.

I hope Mr. Salvator allows Drizzt to grow in the next series of books and explores the world outside Bruenor's Kingdom, but dials back the Neo-like invulnerability he currently has for this and the other characters.

(Spoiler Free Review)

This book begins with a Prelude that spoils parts of the book. But it really has nothing to do with the actual events in the story, so you should SKIP IT! I wish someone told me to SKIP THE PRELUDE. I would have enjoyed the book a lot more. If you really want, you can read the Prelude after you finish the book.

Chapter 1 picks up, right where The Hunter's Blades Trilogy ended. Obould is camped right outside of Mithril Hall. Tensions are high as Buenor, Drizzt, and Company search for answers in the ancient city of Gauntlgrym. The dark elf Tos'un Armgo is still on the loose. The story progresses from there.

I have to admit, the last trilogy felt repetitive. Part of me actually started rooting for the orcs to kill one of the heroes to shake things up a bit. Well, this book shakes things up... quite a bit. The characters develop more in this book than any of the preceeding books; and it's a great change of pace.

I'm really looking forward to the next book, Pirate King.

The action ranges from overly complex to very good in this book. By overly complex, R.A. Salvatore describes some of the attacks in too much detail and it bogs down the action. In other parts, the action is what you'd come to expect in a Drizzt Novel: Very Good.

The book is well written and well paced. I'd say it's one of the better Drizzt novels. If you're a fan of Drizzt and you've been keeping up, then you'll really like this book. If you stopped reading Drizzt a while back, this book is a good reason to catch up again.

I've enjoyed all of the 19 Drizzt Books and I've got to say that R.A. Salvatore hasn't written a bad one yet. Some are better than others, but none of them are bad. That's pretty amazing.

THE ORC KING is the best novel in a long time in this long-running series of series. Execution is solid, with everything you expect from RAS. It brings apparent resolution to a number of subplots, perhaps most notably the Drizzt/Catti-Brie/Wulfgar triangle (and in a satisfying way, unlike the previous 3 or 4 attempts at resolving it). As the trilogy's title suggests, it appears RAS is changing the focus from the five friends to... well, that's still to be seen.

Unfortunately, though, it suffers from a number of flaws. The first chapter is, by far, the most interesting and almost renders the rest of the novel an afterthought. The theme (basically summarized as "stability over defeating evil") runs contrary to much of the back story and seems a clumsy Israeli/Palestinian allegory - or worse, yet another leftist Iraq War analogy. Likewise, the thinly-veiled KKK analogue early on in the book boots the reader out of the story. Heavy-handed political parallels are better left to the Turtledoves of the fantasy world.

All in all, it's worth having in hardback for RAS completists and/or sword-and-sorcery fans like myself. The rest of you may want to wait for paperback.

The orc king Obould, has been slowed, but now he seems to have adopted other tactics. Is he waiting, hoping to lull the dwarves, humans and elves to complacency, or does he really envision a world where orcs can live as other sentient beings, existing in their own kingdom, ruled by members of their own race, and trading with, rather than raiding their traditional enemies? Of course, even if Obould does want peace, that doesn't mean he'll get it. Many within the elf, and especially dwarf kingdoms steam for revenge. And more and more orcs, emerging from dark caves where they've long hidden, want war no matter what their king may claim.

Dark Elf Drizzt Do'Urden sees the potential for peace, but he sees its costs as well. With both orc and dwarf crying for war, and with virtually nobody trusting a drow, it doesn't seem likely he'll have any say over the future--especially when his own wife is one of the loudest in calling for revenge.

Author R. A. Salvatore (see more BooksForABuck.com reviews of novels by Salvatore) spins his continuing fantasy series in a direction that's been foreshadowed in the past few novels, but that nevertheless offers an exciting change in pace. Rather than seeing orcs as convenient fodder for more beautiful heroes, Salvatore conceives them as sapient entities, driven by the same motives that drive all other sapients. Obould represents a possible new direction, but Salvatore is careful to give us hints that there was a time before, in the forgotten past, where orcs and dwarves worked together. Was that time undone by treason, or could it come again? Those of us who have been calling for something a bit more thoughtful than the usual mindless killing will certainly welcome this direction.

Although THE ORC KING is about the potential for peace, Salvatore gives us plenty of violence and individual heroics to keep us turning the pages. Epic battles between Drizzt and fellow Drow Tos'un, between Drizzt and Jack the Gnome, between the dwarf-king and the orc chieftain, and many others are intricately choreographed and exciting.

Although Salvatore is writing epic fantasy, it's hard not to see how his story is influenced by the destructive forces of war in our own world. The hope for peace, not with those we love but those we itch to battle with, is the great challenge of the day. Salvatore suggests that easy answers may not exist, but that there is room to hope. I certainly hope he's right.

I have to admit that I have not truly enjoyed a Drizzt adventure for a very long time. Probably since Sojourn was published. I thought The Legacy and everything after that was just okay and nothing special. I actually enjoyed Spine of the World a lot and all of the Sellsword books. Those were amazing reads. But they were not about Drizzt. The Artemis and Jarlaxle "triliogy" was a classic. But the Drizzt books were getting really boring...until now.

This book was great. I like where RA is going with Wulfgar. I always liked him and now he is being given more depth and feeling.

And the storyline is great. Orcs living among the goodly races was something I was not expecting.

The 1,000 orcs trilogy was just bad. Drizzt and Co. are basically unstoppable and having them battle boring orcs for 3 books was lame. But this new take on things is very interesting and a good read. I also loved the 100 years later introduction. So you know some pretty major events are going to take place but you just don't know how. A very clever and original idea.

I eagerly await the next book in the trilogy.

Well, the last time I picked up this book, it went flying through the air in a fit of pique and I didn't pick it up again until recently. This time I managed to finish it.

This book definitely read like the end of the Hunter's Blades books rather than a start to something new. There are many things that I really don't like about The Orc King though and I might as well get my peeve out of the way. I warn you now, gentle reader, I may start to rant for a few paragraphs. Please forgive me the momentary short coming.

I like the minor characters in Mr. Salvatore's books more than the main characters. I fully recognize that my preferences results in the characters that I like having the narrative life expectancy of a mayfly. For the most part, I'm okay with that. What I dislike is for characters to get killed off strictly because it threatens the love triangle that has dragged on through at least six books. The body count for female side characters who challenged or usurped Catti-Brie's status as "Object of Desire" for Drizzt and Wulfgar now numbers two.The first happened in the Hunter's Blades trilogy and was at least understandable, albeit somewhat silly. This second blow was pointless and really, really felt like an excuse for a sacrifice to the Drizzt /Catti-Brie shippers. Also, I felt that some of the reactions to this character's death were done in extremely poor taste. I think I will leave it at that and get on with the rest of the review. Yes, this is the reason the book went briefly airborne the last time I tried reading it. Thank you, gentle reader, for your forbearance with my ramblings.

Speaking of the "Wulfgar loves Catti-Brie loves Drizzt" melodrama, that mess takes up an overly large portion of the book. It feels like it takes up a majority of the book as Wulfgar sorts out his feelings for Colson and the now deceased Delly and Catti-Brie continues waxing philosophical about it. I am somewhat comforted that marriage frequently seems to result in the female character fading into the background. I can only hope that this will be the case with Catti-Brie as well. Also, it's about freaking time that overdone romance was closed.

There was a glaring, obvious glitch in the events line of this story. Alustriel refuses to aid Bruenor in his bid to defend his realm against the invading orcs. Odd, she sent help to one of the nearby human towns similarly beset... and she starts counseling against he dwarves of Mithril Hall fighting the orcs and giving peace a chance. While the reader at this point knows that there is a great deal of unrest in the Many-Arrows ranks concerning King Obloud's decision not to continue on a summer campaign, Alustriel and Bruenor had not gotten the memo in their narrative lines yet. I did not find Alustriel's reasoning sound and took great pleasure in a scene where Bruenor chews her out over this very issue. While the idea of warily coexisting with orcs is not a new one in the Realms, I found it to be shoddily presented here. There simply wasn't enough time taken to present the idea and exactly how dire Bruenor's situation was never emphasized from his perspective.

There were sections of this book that I liked a lot. Remember what I said about liking mostly minor characters? Tos'un Del Armgo's side of this sorry tale was unexpectedly convincing, endearing and well written. I particularly liked the scene where he waves Sinnafain towards a means of escape before her friends are overrun by an orc ambush. He was thoroughly confused as to why he did it at all... but he did it anyway. It was lovely. Tos'un's role in the last part of the book was also well done and felt sincere.

I felt that the ending to this book was incredibly rushed. I don't know if there is a word count limit in effect, but if there is I think that a lot of the love triangle stuff could have been cut in favor of the larger political picture of the book, particularly as it was from Bruenor's point of view. All in all, what this book needed was less focus on Catti-Brie, Drizzt and Wulfgar and more attention on Bruenor, Alustriel and the political end of the tale.

Overall, The Orc King left me grouchy because if it had been done slightly differently, I might have liked it a lot.

After reading the Hunter's Blades Trilogy, I took a few years break from Mr. Salvatore's writings as I felt the characters were under the `god-mode' protection of the author and nothing would ever happen to them. The fear of will they/won't they survive was gone, followed quickly by the any care.

After reading the Orc King, I determined nothing has changed, except justification I didn't miss anything by not reading Spine of the World. The character Wulfgar was dead to me long ago as well as anything that happened after his fall.

I hoped I would read more about Drizzt, which I always pronounce with two syllables (Drizz-it) and found out it was just one. I felt like I was watching a blockbuster movie on TV with a few minutes of Drizzt, then ten minutes of commercials, which I like to the other characters. There were too many characters being following in the novel, which none left much of an impression. However, Jack the Gnome was interesting, but never went anywhere like the thought into his unimpressive name.

I feel like Drizzt has outgrown the companions of the hall and needs to move on for the character to grow. While they may need Drizzt, he doesn't need them. The romance between Drizzt and Catte-Brie seemed more convenient, like at the end of the Harry Potter series where the author just paired everyone up, rather than a believable relationship.

I hope Mr. Salvator allows Drizzt to grow in the next series of books and explores the world outside Bruenor's Kingdom, but dials back the Neo-like invulnerability he currently has for this and the other characters.

I've now gotten rid of all my Drizzt books with the exception of the Icewind Dale trilogy. The series actually started going downhill with Legacy with the drastic change in Cattie-Brea and the way she viewed Wulfgar. (I could have tolerated her getting together with Drizzt if it had not been so obviously telegraphed - "Drizzt is now the hero, so we've got to bump off Wulfgar so HE can get the girl". Why couldn't he get his own girl?)

Anyway, though the series always lacked the greatness of the first trilogy (these are larger than life characters - dragging them down to the ground does not suit them), I still kept reading, hoping to get back to the group dynamic that made them so popular in the first place. It never came.

Now, worse, is this latest change to the story dynamic. I don't know if these changes are Salvatore's own idea, or thrust upon him by Wizards of the Coast, but it does not work. The change is - an orc kingdom living in peace with its neighbors while the elves, humans, and dwarves are the cause of most of the strife (referring, of course, to the glimpses of the future).

This is problomatic for two reasons.
1. It has already been established that goblinkin are EVIL. They are not the type of creature you can live peacefully next too. In fact, Sourjorn even took a look at this when Drizzt realized that humans were basically good, while orcs, goblins, knolls, etc were basically evil, by observing the behavior of the young. Orc young were violent and vicious while human young were viewed as innocents.

2. Reading about Obould's conquest and Drizzt's decission to see if this Orc King might bring something better to the orcs and the region in general made me think of Europe's initial response to Hitler's first conquest. "Hey, there's no reason to believe he'll invade anyone else. Let's talk to him." What about punishing Obould for his crimes?

Another problem for me is the lack of direction the series has taken. The Icewind Dale Trilogy had a goal - showing the formation of this unusual group of heroes, finding Mithril Hall, and freeing Reagis from his past. It neatly tied up all loose ends and issues the characters had and went out on a positive note.

The Dark Elf Trilogy showed Drizzt's journey from the Underdark to Icewind Dale. It clearly showed the story of the hero overcoming the circumstances of his birth to find acceptance and something better.

What has the series done since then? It has just meandered along with no goal or objective in sight. There is STILL no visible objective for the characters. The Hunter's Blades Trilogy looked like the objective was going to be the defeat of an Orc army. Wrong. Now what is the goal? Where is the story going? What are the main characters trying to achieve? It does not look like anything except getting along day to day. That just can no longer hold my attention.

It is deeply refreshing to read such a good fantasy novel which interrogates the unexamined dualism at the heart of most fantasy novels. Part of the impetus behind the Transitions trilogy, of which The Orc King is the first book, is to 1) explore the moral complexity of warfare and 2) present the "villains" like the Orcs' king Obould as fully developed characters capable of ethical reasoning. Salvatore thus addresses one of the great philosophical weaknesses of fantasy--the charge that it relies on simplistic dichotomies between good and evil. The Orc King is worth reading and re-reading.

The Orc King is, for all its faults, still a great read. Drizzt Do'Urden is a hero of righteousness and truth, and no reader can help but root for he and his team. Salvatore's novels are always exciting. This novel being the first in a trilogy called Transitions, the reader can expect (I hope) to see some significant changes to the Silver Marches and to the way that orcs at least are characterized in future novels...Don't read this novel for your first foray into the Forgotten Realms, but fans will enjoy, though probably not love this one. It is no Sojourn or The Crystal Shard, but it is fun to read and is a welcome return to the Drizzt legend for all Salvatore's readers.

[...]

I picked up this book randomly. I enjoyed it enough to where I now want to read all of the books that follow Drizzt Do'Urden. I am about thirty books behind, so there is a lot of story to look forward to.

Orc King was disappointing. A big fan since Crystal Shard but this book had no flow, no rhythm very awkward writing like a white man dancing.
Plot lines were all over the place and i didn't connect with any of them.
Jaraxle and Artemis Entreri save me!

The winter that put a stop to Obould has lifted and the peopels of the Silver Marches must deal with him...atleast one of them wants to. Bruenor is dead set to kil Obould, Drizzt is hoping to find another way to deal with Obould and Catti-brie and Wulfgar struggle to find how and if they can help in a new Mithral Hall. This book clearly marks a new chapter in the lives of many characters, but the style of wrtting that we all know and love some much remains true to the previous books. Characters, through their troubles, remian real and comforting. The action scenes are still fluid and balenced, even the increased political talk, from both sides, is bearable. The prelude and the epilogue act as bookends that give a brief glimps of the future of Mithral Hall that has me worried, scared, nervous but excited about the charactors and what happens during the next two books that leads to that point. After reading other Drizzt series it was possible to guess what would occur in the next book in that series, however, after reading this book I can't see what will happen next, which has left me the most excited about the next book then any other one.

Overall it was a good book, Salvatore did not disappoint. The Orc King brings the familar characters of Wulfgar, Bruenor, Cattie-brie, Regis and of course, Drizzt, for yet another adventure.

The book picks up where the Two Swords left off. Obould, the leader of the orcs, has halted his brutal attack on the dwarves of Mithrall Hall. For no apparent reason, and much to the other orcs dismay, Obould seems to have lost his thirst for dwarf blood. This leads to political unrest within the orc ranks.

This, I feel is the book's only drawback, the Orc King spends a bit too much time focusing on polictical manuevering that the story tends to drag at certain points.

At the same time Drizzt, Regis, Bruneor and others set out to find another ancient dwarven stronghold. Bruenor is convinced he will find the answers to halt the orc advances. However the answers that they find will not exactly sit all that well with Bruenor...

As I said before, overall a good read, and a definite must for die-hard Drizzt fans.

This book is part of a transitional period in Drizzt's life and the realm where he lives. Although I must admit that I don't like the Prelude that it really the only part of the book that gives anything away about his distant future...I must say that I enjoyed the rest of the book. It doesn't end the way you'd expect, and it keeps you guessing along the way. Salvatore shows his mastering of characters and their interactions with others when not focused on Drizzt. A must read for any...but this Transitions series is also bittersweet in that it is leading us to say goodbye to The Companions of the Hall as we now know them.

Ok, let's start by saying that to call myself a fan of R A Salvatore would be a huge understatement. I have read just about every book he has written and my favorites by far are the books involving Drizzt and The Companions of the Hall. But my review really is to review the whiners reviewing The Orc King. And yes I know we are each entitled to our own opinion, so here's mine. First let me say after reading all of the negative and a few of the positive aswell that I am surprised that anyone that wrote a negative review can even read to begin with. Grab a dictionary or go back to school and learn how to spell and phrase a sentence correctly. Second on the list is for those individuals whinning that they couldn't tell where the story was going and what the point was. The fact that all of the main characters had changed and that by some weird chance Drizzt is not the fighter that he used to be. Well ladies and gents, that's story telling. Things change, Mr Salvatore has done a fine job of detailing the changing of everyones lives in his books. It's not a Simpsons cartoon that has been on for God knows how long and Bart is still the same age now that he was back when the show started. Drizzt and his friends have aged, they've grown and they have all had life changing experiences affect them and those around them.

I have loved the Drizzt stories for so long, but the last 3 books have really let me down. The characters are not who we fell in love with.

"Spoiler Alert"

Cattie-Brie can't fight anymore alongside Drizzt, in fact the whole Drizzt & Cattie-Brie relationship build up was an entire let down (Salvatore can write about swords slashes and shoulder slams but has no ability to write about love). Wulfgar's character has been completely ruined, he should have stayed dead and not brought back to just torture him. Broenor isn't his reasonable self anymore, granted he's always been brash and quick tempered but in this novel and the previous few he simply refuses to listen to advice and it gets rather annoying. Even Regis who has become a favorite character since he now enjoys adventure isn't himself. Everyone knows that a good story needs a great character surrounded by a great cast. Salvatore's latest installments in this storyline seem to be tearing this stellar cast apart. He introduces great new characters just to kill them off. The more I read his works, the more I seem to get annoyed by the predictability, as an aspiring author myself I know that stories need a good conflict to draw interest, but Salvatore's conflict is always the same. Grossly out numbered, Enemies always have better magic, and the odds are always astronomical and unbelievable. This book finally concludes the last 4-5 books main plot, the orc war, and its rather an unremarkable ending. It did not bring any kind of satisfaction. I bought this audio book and the latest two of this series from Audible and I couldn't even finish listening to the last two cause the characters have been ruined. I understand that all authors seem to lose interest in their characters after awhile, I would have rather seen this story just have a simple conclusion then to see it just become a terrible storyline. This is actually my first book series that I have begun loving and later began to hate and not even enjoy reading/listening to. Many obviously disagree and I wish I could have enjoyed this series as much as I loved the earlier books. I truly believe this is the Transition to the end for Drizzt and his companions. It makes me sad. It has caused me to write my first ever book review on the store.

To sum it up The Orc King is by far one of Salvatore's best works. This novel not only enthralls the reader with an epic struggle between kingdoms, but it also poses many philosophical questions. Through his characters Salvatore gives several different perspectives and ideals that the reader can emphasize with, and through these rich and diverse group of individuals he tells an amazing story. Salvatore's ability to create dynamic and deep characters with such unique personalities is, in my opinion, one of his greatest talents.
As with almost all of Salvatore's novels there is an astonishing amount of intrigue, and Salvatore has proven once again that he excels at creating a complex web of lies and deceit that always keeps the reader guessing. Though the intrigue is not on the level of some of his previous works, such as the Demon Wars Saga, it still captivates the reader, and leaves them holding their breath as the character's well laid plans fall to pieces.
The level of action is on par with all of Salvatore's writing, and the battles both on a large and small scale are perfectly choreographed through each blade thrust. The classic Drizzt sword fights of previous Salvatore novels are present and they are as exciting as ever.
This book is a fantastic read, though I would recommend reading its predecessors first, and further reinforces that Salvatore is the master of his genre.

Excellent by all standards. This is on of the best series I've ever read. Ghost king is the breathtaking book for this series but all are awesome. I read all 3 books in 3 days. I literally couldn't put them down However I read book 3 Ghost king in 10 hours. I will definitely reread this.

The New book from Salvatore the Orc King is based on Hunters blade trilogy and starts where Two swords are ending.I was expecting quite a lot from the first book of new series Transitions because the ending of two swords brought an emotional charge and hope of great new series on horizon.Let me explain: The hole story and plot were below Salvatore`s artistic creation.Great plot and story where the best things from Salvatore and nobody could illustrate the world of Forgotten Realms like he did!The book begins with prelude which has to be skipped in order to enjoy the rest of the series because it tells you in advance how the book is going to end,so skip it(wish I had someone to tell me that)!The whole band is here,they are searching for ancient dwarf city and special weapon that could beat the encamped Orcs!I still have much to say but I m not going to do that because it could reveal the plot!Thing that bothers me the most is the ending which is unreal and mellow, but R A Salvatore is and always will be in my opinion the best SF writer!Greetings from Croatia

Why a "3"? Well, perhaps that's because parts of this latest "Drizzt" story merit a solid "4", while others barely earn a "2".

The fact of the matter is that it's painfully obvious that R.A. Salvatore long ago stoped caring as much about certain characters and elements within his greater storyline. With the "Orc King" , Mr. Salvatore has taken the opportunity to wrap them up as well as possible.

An example of this is Wulfgar, who has been bounced about in so many different directions ever since his return in "Passage to Dawn"--and mostly unsuccessfully. After turns as a hell-haunted wreck, a self-loathing alcoholic, a hard-bitten hero and a reluctant father, the once majestic barbarian finally seems to have been put out to pasture... and in a rather mediocre way, in my humble opinion. I say mediocre because, looking back at the Icewind Dale Trilogy and "The Legacy", I never imagined that Wulfgar's primary contribution prior to being shown the door would be to ENSURE US that Delly Curtie was, in fact, MUCH MORE than people assumed that poor barmaid was. Add to that a series of painfully forced scenes of the adorable adopted daughter cooing "Da" to him as he continues to lament his lack of legacy, and you have one of your "Transitions", wrapped up.

Catti-Brie seems to be taking a new direction as well, which is probably for the best seeing as how the Companions needed an additional fighter like I need another ear--and seeing as how Mr. Salvatore has been struggling for some time to make her a part of the action (most notably, in coming up with places from which she could shoot her bow). It remains to be seen how well this will work out... and how much time is alloted to her for this to happen. After all, Mr. Salvatore has dropped many more hints regarding her mortality and, ahem, biological clock, than he did for Wulfgar.

Finally, the motivations behind the political endstate seems somewhat contrived and illogical--the product of a need to follow an established game world's direction rather than sensible story-telling. Ultimately, that's the problem with writing novels based on a gaming world. The greater metaplot will force contrived, ill-fitting concepts on stories that largely were intended for different directions. It's either that, or Salvatore undertook an almost schizophrenic change of direction with the relations between Dwarf and Orc.

Having said all that... The action sequences are very well written. The villains, especially those new ones (and some of the established ones), work very well. "Transitions" is a theme that also applies to characters outside of the Companions... and I think one of those will be a pleasant surprise to the readers.

Established fans of the series will obviously enjoy this book, but those of us who were spoiled by the far superior Sellsword novels and the earlier Drizzt yarns will likely be somewhat ho-hum about this one. Sit back, enjoy, but don't expect anything mind-blowing.

(edited on 25 May, for clarification and grammar)

I've been a fan of R.A. Salvatore's for years and have always looked forward to a new Drizzt book. This book time is was no different. However it took me a lot longer than usual to read through this book. Don't get me wrong it was a decent book but just not as gripping as previous books. I wish the Bouldershoulder brothers had stuck around after the last series to live at Mithril Hall. They are my favorite Salvatore characters. Anyway if your a fan of Drizzt buy and read this book. If you haven't read this series start at the begining and enjoy the ride.

All I Can say is wow. Transitions is a wonderfull title for this seris and I cannot wait to see how it all unfolds. For those of you not familar this seris about about The companions of the hall a Fantasy Group created by R. A. Salvatore set within the Forgottwn Realms. Salvatore is known for both his dynamic characters and his amazing descriptions of battle scenes within his novels. Like all of Bob's other works this book is amazing. The Orc King deals with some deeper issues than most fanatsy books such as built in racial hatred and what the steps to overcome generations of hate may or may not be. Some may feel this book disapoints becase it is defintly setting a tone for major changes within our oh so familar characters but I say a fresh change is exatly what these characters need and look forward to the rest of this seris with open arms.
This book deals alot with the aftermatch of the Thousand Orcs Trilogy and opens wiht the quetsion if you had 10 of thousands of orcs camped outside your door what do you do? This book also brings to light some sense of closesure with The Characters To'Sun and Wulfgar. Everyones favorite grumbling dwarf has some tough choices to make and may have to put aside his persoanl hatred for the betterment of all people. The only fault I can find with this book si Regis seemed to be a side thought and had a very small role which I felt could have been expanded a bit.

Scimitars High!

If you have read the Drizzt series, this is a weak entry and not worth the read. The journey of Drizzt is not progressed in this book. If you have never read any of the Drizzt related books, don't start with this one, go back to the beginning.

***SPOILER in the stores Publishers Weekly Editorial Review****

"...Recently widowed barbarian Wulfgar" umm yea im in the middle of the book before this one and delly curtie is still alive so thanks for that. the store plz fix?

R. A. Salvatore continues his great writing in this new series. Despite other opinions this book keeps true to the characters' natures and continues to develope them. The people who rate these books badly are illiterate or D&D gamers who are sick of people who want to play as drows with a good nature.

Once again Bob Salvatore wrties a compelling and thrilling book, I read it in 2 weeks, but the final 3 chapters of the book are just incredible, I literaly couldn't stop reading.

The story does go in a direction that at first got me worried, I was thinking that there is a huge gap of time since the hunters trilogy, but in a very Salvatore way it tells you every detail you need.

The only downside to this book is that the next installment is a year away!!

Salvatore has done it again!! This book is a faster read then some of his previous books that were a little too detailed in my opinion. His fighting scene descriptions are epic in "The Orc King." He leaves you hanging for the next installment yet gives you a lot more closer in the end of this book. I highly recommend you buy this book.

I just finished this book. Salvatore has written another winner. The choices the characters have to make, the emotion that is in the book, the life struggles are simply awesome. The love story between Drizzt and Cattie are shown and talked about but it doesnt turn the book into a seedy romance novel, its just enough to know its there and plays in the back of your mind. Salvatore didnt let me down in his description of the battle scenes in the book, again I felt like I was right there watching the flashing metal, the sound of sword on sword.

I cant wait to get my hands on the next one. I only wish Salvatore could write as fast as I read, but it keeps me coming back for more.

Great book, even if alittle slow at times. But definitely worth th the way the book startede read. if you tell your readers at the main characters live at the main characters live well 100 years later reading a reading a book because you know he's going to live.

I love this book it was my first introduction to the World R A Salvatore has created and it amazed me. The action he paints and carecters he creates are astonishing. The relationship he builds with the characters is deep and it only makes me want to go back and read his books from the begining of the series.

I am quite the Salvatore fan. He just keeps coming out with more amazing books, and whenever I read one, I find myself having to read them all. Repeatedly. His Drizzt books are incredibly hard to put down, and I highly recommend to avid fantasy readers!

I've been following pretty much all of Salvatore's books and I'd have to say that this one certainly didn't hold me spell bound. It had it's high points and low points. And in all honesty I don't know if I'm going to finish out this series. I think he's gone as far as he can go with all of these characters. It's time to put the pen down on this series and start something fresh and new with other characters.

Old R.A. has done it again. I am on page 120 and this book is so good I cannot put it down. I do not want to give anything away for people who are looking to buy this book, so I will say just a little. In the begging this book gives the outlook of the area 100 years in the future and it sounds very cool. Then the book goes right into where the last one left off. All the old favorite characters are back and they have a grudge. So far the orcs are getting smarter and seem able to be a real problem for the people of the world. I hope one will buy this book and truly enjoy it.

Once again, Drizzt is back and just as kicka@$$ as ever. Great book and i had been waiting for it for a long time now, and it did not disappoint, recommended to anyone who likes Drizzt(who doesnt?) or the Forgotten Realms world in general.

At the moment I am re-reading the entire series and am now in the middle of Legacy. While reading Exile I realized what was missing from The Orc King, along with the entire Hunter's Blade Trilogy, and that is the magnificent swordplay of our favorite dark elf. In the first 8 or so books Drizzt was unequalled, save for Artemis Entreri, and could kill pretty much any adversary within seconds. In the last four books his fights go on forever. I mean, his fight with Obould? Are you kidding me? He's fought much tougher monsters than Obould and it didn't take him 9 pages to have a draw. Bob Salvatore is certainly my favorite writer, but he seriously needs to take a look into the past and see why we all love Drizzt in the first place, because we wish that we could fight like him. I hope the next book in the series features that graceful "dance of death" that we read about before.

I am quite the Salvatore fan. He just keeps coming out with more amazing books, and whenever I read one, I find myself having to read them all. Repeatedly. His Drizzt books are incredibly hard to put down, and I highly recommend to avid fantasy readers!

I've been following pretty much all of Salvatore's books and I'd have to say that this one certainly didn't hold me spell bound. It had it's high points and low points. And in all honesty I don't know if I'm going to finish out this series. I think he's gone as far as he can go with all of these characters. It's time to put the pen down on this series and start something fresh and new with other characters.

Old R.A. has done it again. I am on page 120 and this book is so good I cannot put it down. I do not want to give anything away for people who are looking to buy this book, so I will say just a little. In the begging this book gives the outlook of the area 100 years in the future and it sounds very cool. Then the book goes right into where the last one left off. All the old favorite characters are back and they have a grudge. So far the orcs are getting smarter and seem able to be a real problem for the people of the world. I hope one will buy this book and truly enjoy it.

Once again, Drizzt is back and just as kicka@$$ as ever. Great book and i had been waiting for it for a long time now, and it did not disappoint, recommended to anyone who likes Drizzt(who doesnt?) or the Forgotten Realms world in general.

At the moment I am re-reading the entire series and am now in the middle of Legacy. While reading Exile I realized what was missing from The Orc King, along with the entire Hunter's Blade Trilogy, and that is the magnificent swordplay of our favorite dark elf. In the first 8 or so books Drizzt was unequalled, save for Artemis Entreri, and could kill pretty much any adversary within seconds. In the last four books his fights go on forever. I mean, his fight with Obould? Are you kidding me? He's fought much tougher monsters than Obould and it didn't take him 9 pages to have a draw. Bob Salvatore is certainly my favorite writer, but he seriously needs to take a look into the past and see why we all love Drizzt in the first place, because we wish that we could fight like him. I hope the next book in the series features that graceful "dance of death" that we read about before.

I enjoyed this book greatly. It got away from the past standard of straight orc slaughtering in the previous 3 books and kind of threw in some new things. All i can say is I can't wait a year for the next book!

Ok, so i've read alot of the drizzt stuff in my early teens, mainly because i had no access to a whole heap of good fantasy fiction, but i recently inherited The Orc King.

How does one go about reviewing this book? This book was poorly written & a perfect example of omnivore fiction formula writing. Its the same old, same old dull writing, with little to no actual change in the Drizzt character. Salvatore once again gives us another novel where there is a lot of lips service given to "change" but its all essentially a rewriting of the status quo, made to sound like change. I got about half way through this book before i realized that nothing the writer would do now was worth the headache of trying to care for a group of essentially unlovable characters, with little to no actual motivations. There is a point in the life span of any campaign settings book series where the writers need to say "ok i'm done writing about this character, lets do something brand new" & i personally think it is long overdue for Drizzt & for that fact Salvatore too.

So yeah if you are one of those die-hard fans who have Drizzt or Salvatore in your the store name, or if you feel the need to comment on this review because i'm calling drizzt out on being a MAry Sue, or if you think Drizzt is the deepest character ever, or if your idea of an original character in a D&D game is an obvious drizzt-clone (yet you swear up and down that he's completely original), then yes this book is for you.

If however you want your novels to have some resolved plots, decent pacing, snappy dialogue, interesting plot (you didn't see coming from page 2), evolving interesting characters, i suggest you look somewhere else (i would suggest The Briar King, by Gregory Keyes).

-M

p.s Justicar could kick Drizzts purple backside. ;)

I have been reading about Drizzt for 16 of the 20 years he has been around and I think that it is time for him to retire. Sadly, I think that R.A. Salvatore has jumped the shark and it makes me sad because the earlier books are so much better. This book is too choppy and it makes little to no sense.