Wherever Jarlaxle and Entreri go, trouble follows!
Artemis Entreri thinks he killed Drizzt, and his new friend Jarlaxle isn't about to set him straight. Jarlaxle has plans of his own for Entreri, but even a dark elf as wily as Jarlaxle can't predict what will happen when the Crystal Shard sinks its psychic teeth into his soul, a pair of dragon sisters start to push them to their own ends, and the ghost of a power-mad lich returns from the grave for one more grab at power.
This new gift set collects the three volumes of the Sellswords trilogy: Servant of the Shard, Promise of the Witch-King, and Road of the Patriarch in a handsome slipcase just in time for the holidays. All three of these New York Times best sellers feature all the action, adventure, and vivid characterization that Salvatore fans worldwide just can't get enough of.
As one of the fantasy genre’s most successful authors, R.A. Salvatore enjoys an ever-expanding and tremendously loyal following. His books regularly appear on The New York Times best-seller lists and have sold more than 10,000,000 copies. Salvatore’s original hardcover, The Two Swords, Book III of The Hunter’s Blade Trilogy (October 2004) debuted at # 1 on The Wall Street Journal best-seller list and at # 4 on The New York Times best-seller list. His books have been translated into numerous foreign languages including German, Italian, Finnish, Greek, Hungarian, Turkish, Croatian, Bulgarian, Yiddish, Spanish, Russian, Polish, Portuguese, Czech, and French.
Salvatore’s first published novel, The Crystal Shard from TSR in 1988, became the first volume of the acclaimed Icewind Dale Trilogy and introduced an enormously popular character, the dark elf Drizzt Do’Urden. Since that time, Salvatore has published numerous novels for each of his signature multi-volume series including The Dark Elf Trilogy, Paths of Darkness, The Hunter’s Blades Trilogy, and The Cleric Quintet.
His love affair with fantasy, and with literature in general, began during his sophomore year of college when he was given a copy of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings as a Christmas gift. He promptly changed his major from computerscience to journalism. He received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Communications from Fitchburg State College in 1981, then returned for the degree he always cherished, the Bachelor of Arts in English. He began writing seriously in 1982, penning the manuscript that would become Echoes of the Fourth Magic. Salvatore held many jobs during those first years as a writer, finally settling in (much to our delight) to write full time in 1990.
The R.A. Salvatore Collection has been established at his alma mater, Fitchburg State College in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, containing the writer’s letters, manuscripts, and other professional papers. He is in good company, as The Salvatore Collection is situated alongside The Robert Cormier Library, which celebrates the writing career of the co-alum and esteemed author of young adult books.
Salvatore is an active member of his community and is on the board of trustees at the local library in Leominster, Massachusetts. He has participated in several American Library Association regional conferences, giving talks on themes including “Adventure fantasy” and “Why young adults read fantasy.” Salvatore himself enjoys a broad range of literary writers including James Joyce, Mark Twain, Geoffrey Chaucer, Shakespeare, Dante, and Sartre. He counts among his favorite genre literary influences Ian Fleming, Arthur Conan Doyle, Fritz Leiber, and of course, J.R.R. Tolkien.
Born in 1959, Salvatore is a native of Massachusetts and resides there with his wife Diane, and their three children, Bryan, Geno, and Caitlin. The family pets include three Japanese Chins, Oliver, Artemis and Ivan, and four cats including Guenhwyvar.
When he isn't writing, Salvatore chases after his three Japanese Chins, takes long walks, hits the gym, and coaches/plays on a fun-league softball team that includes most of his family. His gaming group still meets on Sundays to play.
This spin-off trilogy of the main “Legend of Drizzt” series takes place around book nine in the main series. It follows two of the villainous characters from the main series: Artemis Entreri, and Jarlaxle Baenre.
Both Entreri and Jarlaxle have been cornerstones of the main series as they appear in a large amount of the main instalments (I’ve read thirteen novels in the main series so far). It was fascinating to explore the story of these companions, and their relationship, in their own right, aside from what we know of them from the main series up to the point in which this spin-off trilogy takes place.
The story of “Servant of the Shard” felt bogged down with picking up the story from where Entreri and Jarlaxle left off in the main series. I wasn’t very compelled when reading about the various mercenary organizations within the city of Calimport, however; the story shifts perspective and around the mid-point the story really picks up and I enjoyed the ending.
In the second book, “Promise of the Witch-King,” Jarlaxle and Entreri journey to a section of the map that is not commonly ventured by Drizzt and his companions in the main series; the Bloodstone Lands. The beginning of this novel is explosive and was compelling for a great deal of the book and I felt that the ending was a bit weak but still enjoyable.
The final novel in the trilogy, “Road of the Patriarch” picks up pretty much right where the second one left off. Like “Servant of the Shard,” I felt that I wasn’t very engaged with the beginning, but around the mid-point it was greatly captivating for the remainder of the story. Not to mention Entreri’s great back-story that is explored in this instalment.
This trilogy felt slightly disjointed as the story of the second and third instalments are greatly connected and made it seem as if the first novel wasn’t really part of the trilogy, but served more as an endpoint for Jarlaxle and Entreri’s story with the Crystal Shard (as it is heavily involved in the main Drizzt series).
That being said, Salvatore always has well-structured combat sequences within his works. Although not overly lyrical, his prose always flows nicely and offers a great combination of descriptions and dialogue that keep the story rolling.
There are also some special guest appearances of characters in this trilogy that are from the main series and other works by Salvatore.
Overall, I enjoyed this trilogy and felt that although it’s not Salvatore’s strongest work, it is still enjoyable and worth reading, as I believe the events in this trilogy will undoubtedly come into play as one reads the Drizzt series beyond the events of this trilogy. I felt that each book was a 4/5 rating, and I have rated the trilogy 4/5 accordingly. Salvatore fans will enjoy this trilogy.
Drizzt Do'Urden's nemesis, assassin Artemis Entreri, and the Underdark's most cunning drow Jarlaxle, leader of the enterprising Bregan D'Aerthe, prove to be one unlikely, uncomfortable, but ultimately entertaining duo. There is visceral, constant action throughout, as expected by Salvatore, with the underlying themes of redemption and friendship.
In the end, one is left pining for further tales of this curious pair and the ever-present chaos that travels with them, and the odd Athrogate, throughout the Forgotten Realms.
[Book 1 is included as part of the Paths of Darkness Collector's Edition; I purchased books 2-3 separately for less than the price of the giftset selected.:]
I discovered the works or R.A. Salvatore, not through his various books, and I have never played a "Tabletop RPG" in my life (Yea I know, I should hand in my nerd card, between that and not caring if an actor in a comic book movie is the "right" skin color); but through an impulse buy of a game called Demon Stone. I remember being confused why in the middle of a game I had to play as a "new" character and not the three I had been playing, then a friend of mine (the infamous Chicken Lover) told me that a) I had unknowingly played a D&D game but the character I had been confused about was a main character in the mythology of the "Forgotten Realms" series. So he had me buy some of the books, and they were not bad, a little too "black and white" with morality, but they were fun reads back when I still worked those long as overnights on The Cape. I had seen this particular trilogy collected, and had always wanted to read it because it focused on to the the antagonists from the books I did read; but I held off until recently...about ten years later more or less. I had started to play Neverwinter the MMO on my PS4 (it is free!!!!) and ran into one of the two main characters, so I ordered the collected edition (which had a different cover from what is seen here) and read them.
Really this review is a review of three books and should count as such on my Goodreads goals, but whatever.
The First book, "Servant of the Shard" was long, drawn out and fairly boring, Too often I had to stop, and search my long term memory to see if I could recall any of what was being said, and sadly a decade plus makes things fuzzy. While there is action and intrigue the pace is slow and unsure of itself...
Then you star the second book "Promise of the Witch King" which was the antithesis of the first book, it started with action, was filled with humor and likable characters. You could feel the author becoming more confidant with exploring the characters and their perceived amorality; while dealing with grand warriors and the failings of legacy.
The this and final part of the trilogy "Road of the Patriarch" is more akin to three separate novels; that flow beautifully as we see things come to ahead between the mismatched pair ; all their lies, deceptions and misgivings for one another come to ahead, but not in the traditional "Hollywood" way, instead we are given closure and yet nothing is really resolved. Just like life.
All in all the stories were a fun read, I hope that the author returns to the pair and sets them off again, as there are still unanswered questions by the bucketful.
The trilogy is not without faults, like I said above, the first story s rather bland; but also apparently there were short stories published elsewhere which get referenced a shit ton, even good ol' C. F. didn't know answers, so I had to google them and get spoiled at times.
Such is life.
Still a fun read for those who like fantasy, and character's who have complex morals.