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Not one Salvatore's best works, Saturday, August 07, 2010
What has interested me in the Drizzt series is Salvatore development of his characters and the complex worlds he created.
I bought this book based upon the positive reviews it received and now I am speeding through it and it is a disappointment. Salvatore siply spent to much time refreshing our minds of events that happened in previous books and you can see he is setting the stage for book 2, which I will read since I already bought that one.
Not sure what went wrong but we simply do not learn much more about any of the characters nor the wolrds they live in, except that Wolfgar does have a femine side.
Hopefully book 2 will be better.
Rating: 2 out of 5
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The War Continues, Monday, April 12, 2010
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
Rating: 4 out of 5
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