The Pirate King / R.A. Salvatore

The Pirate King

category: fantasy, action, author:

R.A. Salvatore

book 2 of Forgotten Realms: Transitions
original copyright 2009

read in March 2012

Agamedes' opinion: 6 out of 10: read to pass the time

You know how it is, the gradual build-up to the big battle at the end of the book... Individual conflicts, mysterious rumours, subtle treacheries... With all matters being settled or made clear in the open war of the final chapters...

Well...

Not in The Pirate King.

By half way through the book, the major battle has been fought. Yet that battle is -- as it turns out -- just one "small" step on the way to the "transition" to the reign of the Pirate King. All my preconceived notions have been shattered!

On the other hand, this is a story of the regular heroes of Forgotten Realms, Drizzt and his minor side-kick Regis. Okay, I like them. But I'm not desperate to read about What Drizzt and Regis Did Next.

On the third hand, I am continually amazed at the ability of Forgotten Realms authors to create new and interesting adventures with a limited number of star characters. As a part of a major history -- told as a personal and entertaining story -- The Pirate King does well.

Not as well, in my opinion, as The Orc King. Perhaps I just enjoy a book with a happier ending... Sure, plenty of people do survive The Pirate King. The ending is mostly satisfactory. The book's role as a part of a very long history, however, means that a lot of potential conflict will be left unresolved. At least, unresolved in this book.

The Orc King ended with a new status quo which could encourage peace. The Pirate King ends with a new status quo which will encourage fighting and war. Life -- and conflict -- goes on, in the world of Forgotten Realms.

Drizzt and Regis are just two of a small group of heroes who regularly adventure together. One other member of the group appears for a few chapters... Apparently, he is on his way to becoming a super-hero. Apart from that, the plot maintains a tight focus. People do appear from earlier books but only as part of the main plot. The series of books may form a grand and broad saga; each book is a self-contained story.

If you are a fan of the Forgotten Realms then Pirate is essential reading. If you are not familiar with these realms, well, it's still an enjoyable book to read.

---

Really, I have to mention the fighting styles...

Not the actual fight descriptions, which Salvatore does quite well. But the style...

Pirate is a Dungeons and Dragons novel; it says so on the back cover. World of Warcraft is a dungeons and dragons computer game. And yes, the fighting styles are so very similar... Fireballs, ice cones, elementals, mage shields, it's all there.

Not surprising, really, this similarity.

Still, it makes me smile :-)

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your processes, problems or documents, email nickleth at gmail dot com.

PissWeakly: the Index

The Orc King / R.A. Salvatore

The Orc King

category: fantasy, author:

R.A. Salvatore

book 1 of Transitions, in the Forgotten Realms
original copyright 2007

read in January 2012

Agamedes' opinion: 7 out of 10: well worth reading

As I started reading I thought, Good grief! Who are all these characters?!

If I understand the chronology of the Forgotten Realms books, The Orc King begins with a flash-forward. Just to show that yes, there will be an orc king. Then we jump almost back. Then back again.

Followed by a lot of activity by people who are well known -- if you have already read every other book of the Forgotten Realms...

Plenty of well-established characters. At least I could remember Drizzt, from a book I read a few years ago. Most of the others, I did not know.

You can tell that all of these characters are continuing characters. They suffer guilt from the earlier deaths of friends. Or they are dead but still an essential part of the story. Or they apparently were dead but are now alive...

All too complicated for me!

And surprisingly little action involving the eponymous orc king!

As I read the first few chapters, I was worried.

And then it all improved.

I'm used to not recognising characters as I read a book. If there are too many characters, I only remember the main ones, and only if the author does a good job of making them memorable. Salvatore does a good job of making his characters memorable.

Okay, it's "memorable" as in "cartoonish", "exaggerated", "extreme"... Which is all part of the dungeons & dragons fantasy adventure!

I began to know the key characters. And accepted that others will come and go as they please. If they do anything really important then, perhaps, I will remember them on their next appearance.

So there are characters coming and going, talking, fighting, exploring. Having extreme adventures. But...

It all ties together!

Well, okay, except for the character who takes his adopted child back to the child's real mother. As far as I can tell, his sub-plot is there so that he will be placed for his own -- independent -- adventures in a later book.

There is a lot of fighting. Bloody, extreme fighting.

There is also a moral dilemma.

Yes, a moral dilemma. And this dilemma lifts the book above its game-play simplicity.

Some of the orcs... well, one of the orcs... is hoping to establish a long-lasting peace for his people. Can he be trusted? Can he convince his people?

More importantly, can the non-orcs set aside their orc-hatred long enough to give peace a chance? After all, orcs have been killing non-orcs for many a long book. The Orc King itself includes orcs killing several good friends of the heroes.

The good guy characters have to decide. Should they accept the risks associated with a possible peace with the orcs? Or should they continue their long-standing approach of, the only good orc is a dead orc...

It is this moral dilemma which lifts the book above the ordinary.

The Orc King is one book in a long series of adventures. Can this book break the standard of who is "good" and who is "bad"?

This is more than just a grand fantasy adventure.

It is, also... a grand fantasy adventure.

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your processes, problems or documents, email nickleth at gmail dot com.

PissWeakly: the Index

Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones / R.A. Salvatore

Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones

(category: FanSci... My own category: pure fantasy dressed up as science fiction)
a book of the Star Wars franchise by

R.A. Salvatore

published by Century in 2002, read in November 2009

Agamedes' opinion: 2 out of 10

Well, I managed to get about one third of the way through this awful book. I wonder if Salvatore is embarrassed by it? First, there's the assassin: How did she plant a bomb on the landing pad? No explanation. Why did she send a killer drone -- then get it to return directly to her, leading the heroes? Stupidity, I guess. Why was a big thing made of her shape-changing when it did nothing for her? Essential use of CGI, I guess. Then there's the Jedi knights: At least one of them can leap into a lift well and use the Force to stop himself falling. So why is his Jedi master so afraid of falling? Obiwan can detect an attack from behind in a crowded bar. So why does he not notice an armoured assassin in the empty street? Forget the awful appearance of Jar Jar Binks, that was mercifully brief, just enough to rekindle sales of Binks stuffed toys. What stopped me reading any further was the car chase... It was pure Mickey Mouse: ridiculous overuse of near misses, special effects and just-missing-the-heroes explosions. It's all the penalty an author pays, for writing a novel based on a very childish movie.

..o0o..

This blog is supported by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your own documents, email nick leth at gmail dot com.

The Ancient / R. A. Salvatore

The Ancient

by

R. A. Salvatore

published by Tor / Tom Doherty, New York in 2008
read in May 2009
fantasy
book 2 of Saga of the First King

Sword & sorcery with plenty of detailed, hand to hand fighting. Quite a few separate threads -- but they all came together at the end. It did take a while to feel sympathy for some of the main characters. Several characters were introduced -- just to be killed, presumably to demonstrate the evilness of the villain. But a mostly happy ending for the main characters -- with obvious leads into the next story.

Agamedes' rating: 6 out of 10