Book Review: The Orc King by R.A. Salvatore

Every Monday, I'll be doing spoiler-free book reviews.


When I read a Forgotten Realms novel, I tend to analyze it on many levels: as a reader, a writer, and as a gamer. That's one of the disadvantage (or advantage, depending on how you look at it) of being a fan of the RPG. Anyway, many RPG fans got a glimpse of the prologue of the novel, reflecting one of the new changes that's going to happen in the RPG. Let me clear things up: this book isn't about Dungeons & Dragons 4E. I don't know why Salvatore included that prologue (and epilogue) in there--whether he was ordered to do so by editorial or by marketing--but for the most part, he managed to make it work. The prologue was easily a foreshadowing of the things to come (decades after the current timeline) and the rest of the book begins where the last Drizzt novel left off. Admittedly, there was some trepidation on my part when I first began to read it. Rather than standard D&D fare morality, Salvatore tries something new (in the setting, not in the genre in general) and attempts to redeem the orcs instead of you know, wantonly slaughtering them. In fact, one of the themes of the book is redemption and interestingly enough, Salvatore successfully manages to tie all of it together on many levels. Existing Salvatore fans who are looking for action won't find much of them here but there are vital combat scenes where it matters. Most of the narrative is spent on characterization and development. Was I bored reading it? No. In fact, it kept me hooked for quite some time. As usual, Salvatore's strength is the ease of reading, descriptive battle scenes, and Drizzt's monologue/essays that mark the start of each section. I was sorely disappointed with Salvatore's last novel, The Road of the Patriarch, but The Orc King redeems the author. Since this is the first book in a series, it's a good gateway book to learning more about Drizzt although I recommend the earlier novels. Existing fans will want to read this novel--or if you're on a budget, wait for the paperback release while those looking for something deeper and more "literary" should probably skip this as it's your standard D&D fare (albeit good D&D fare).

Rating: 3/5.

Writing Theory

In one of the rare moments when the house actually has Internet (it's going on/off every few seconds), here's a PodCast with author R.A. Salvatore, known for his Drizz't series in Forgotten Realms. What's particularly interesting about the interview is that Salvatore has a different approach to writing. I'd say a more "modern" approach that breaks some of the old rules of writing. Listen to it for yourself to see what I mean.

Promise of the Witch-King by R.A. Salvatore

The latest paperback release by Forgotten Realms author R.A. Salvatore, Promise of the Witch-King is the second book in his Sellswords series, a spin-off/repackaging of his famous Drizz't series. While the title may sound like a rip-off from Tolkien (and indeed, Dungeons & Dragons does name Lord of the Rings as one of its influences), Salvatore is actually paying homage to a different classical fantasy author: Fritz Leiber.

The novel follows the anti-hero adventures of Artemis Entreri, a mellowed-down assassin, and the dark elf Jarlaxle, an ambitious and enigmatic figure. Strangely enough, the series reminds me so much of the adventures of Fafhrd and The Gray Mouser, and Entreri even has his own versions of Scalpel and Cat's Claw, albeit a more sinister version. Of course the book seems like a modernized version of the pair as Entreri and Jarlaxle seem as anti-heroish as Leiber's charactes were during their era.

Salvatore takes his characters for a different ride as he tries his hand at a different area of Faerun, way different from his Icewind Dale stories. The novel also has elements of an "all-evil" party, despite their seemingly virtuous ends. As expected, lots of back-stabbing happens, and the friendship of the pair (which isn't big to begin with) gets tested numerous times.

Much like the sword and sorcery fare of Leiber, Promise of the Witch-King is action-packed and adventurous. If you're looking for depth, this isn't the place to look for it. Fans of Salvatore will be glad to know he hasn't lost his edge, and the adventures of these two anti-heroes is a refreshing breath of fresh air from his Drizz't series.