Well, this was a real disappointment. I haven't read a Drizzt book in a long time, but I was eager to get back in touch with my favourite dark elf and his friends.

Unfortunately, I felt lost from the very beginning. Not having read the preceding few books in the series, I thought I'd be able to jump right in since this was billed as the first in a new trilogy. Uhhh... not so much. Salvatore spent heaps of time rehashing the previous books and yet still managed to leave me utterly confused. I found myself struggling to follow the story, which was a shame.

Plus, the fight sequences were just ridiculous. Maybe they always have been, and I've forgotten, but it was hard to suspend my disbelief when any of the main characters took on countless orcs at once, John Wick style. The over-the-top action felt forced and went on forever.

Moreover, the characters lacked the passion, excitement, and heroism I expected from Salvatore's writing. Instead of the old band of adventurers, I was met by stand-ins that seemed more like political manipulators than anything else. I really missed the old gang. It was hard for me to care about any of the characters, let alone what was happening to them. The lack of depth made the book feel flat and unengaging.

So... yeah. I really wanted to re-immerse myself in this series, but I won't be picking up any more of Salvatore's work in the future. ( )

The Orc King is a classic fantasy novel about the search for peace amid the struggle for power.

The Bad Stuff: There are some over technical explanations within the fight scenes that detract from the story. Some long and clunky sentences.

The good stuff: The characters are well rounded and interesting. I also liked the magical weapons, the creatures and locations. The story is set in a well established world.

In my opinion, this is a great fantasy novel with Orcs, Elves, Dwarves, magic and magical weapons. What more could you ask for? This one gets 4 out of 5 golden bookmarks from me. ( )

These books are becoming more and more about other characters and the world around Drizzit than focusing on him. Drizzit is starting to opine and philosophize more as well, I guess that is him becoming more of an Elf. Fun, be sure to have read the trilogy before this or you won't have any clue who the characters are.

The saga of Drizzt continues.In this volume the king of the Mithril Hall and his friends face a difficult question. Can you trust in an orc? It seems that the new orc king Obould wants something nobody expect from an orc. Peace.... ( )

King Obould is trying to solidify his position around Mithril Hall. Drizzt is trying to be with Cattie-Brie after her horrible injury, Wulfgar has chosen a new path, Bruenor begins to plan how to rid his kingdom of all the orcs, and Regis just tries to fit in wherever he can.

Another solid book by Salvatore, I really enjoy seeing how he will continue to develop these characters after almost 20 books or so. You can definitely tell Salvatore is working more on developing a story and the characters and not just his always wonderful fight descriptions. Overall a great book to add to the Forgotten Realms series. ( )