The Thousand Orcs by R.A. Salvatore
Book One of The Hunter's Blades Trilogy
A return to the world of the Forgotten Realms, the story brings us back to the life of Drizzt Do'Urden a renegade Dark Elf that has turned his back on his evil heritage and walks the path of a hero.
The Orc king Obould Many Arrows has bounced back from his previous defeat at the hands of the Dwarves. Under the manipulation of the Drow (Dark Elves), Obould has allied with the Queen of the Frost Giants, Gerti. They have started mounting small scale raids against the Dwarves, killing several small bands.
At the same time Bruenor, the new Dwarven King of Mithral Hall, is travelling home with Drizzt and his heroic companions. They stop by the rival city of Mirabar and are rebuffed by the human leaders. This is an affront to Mirabar's Dwarven population and sows the seed of rebellion which will lead to further strife.
King Bruenor continues his travels home, to find the last two survivors of the Orcs raid on a dwarven trade caravan. Bruenor quickly gives them shelter and orders an all out search for the raiding Orcs. The battle that insues is very one sided, even with the Orc's Giant allies.
Queen Gerti orders that the killers of her Giant kin must be destroyed, a command that leads to the momentous events of the climax. The Orc King leads his people in an overwhelming attack against the Dwarven host.
The Dwarves are eventually driven to the small human outpost of Shallows. Shallows is ruled by a wizard who has built its walls high and strong, but they were not designed to take on an army of Orcs and Giants. The battle brings Elves, Dwarves, and Men together to defend Shallows from the forces of evil.
A return to the world of the Forgotten Realms, the story brings us back to the life of Drizzt Do'Urden a renegade Dark Elf that has turned his back on his evil heritage and walks the path of a hero.
The Orc king Obould Many Arrows has bounced back from his previous defeat at the hands of the Dwarves. Under the manipulation of the Drow (Dark Elves), Obould has allied with the Queen of the Frost Giants, Gerti. They have started mounting small scale raids against the Dwarves, killing several small bands.
At the same time Bruenor, the new Dwarven King of Mithral Hall, is travelling home with Drizzt and his heroic companions. They stop by the rival city of Mirabar and are rebuffed by the human leaders. This is an affront to Mirabar's Dwarven population and sows the seed of rebellion which will lead to further strife.
King Bruenor continues his travels home, to find the last two survivors of the Orcs raid on a dwarven trade caravan. Bruenor quickly gives them shelter and orders an all out search for the raiding Orcs. The battle that insues is very one sided, even with the Orc's Giant allies.
Queen Gerti orders that the killers of her Giant kin must be destroyed, a command that leads to the momentous events of the climax. The Orc King leads his people in an overwhelming attack against the Dwarven host.
The Dwarves are eventually driven to the small human outpost of Shallows. Shallows is ruled by a wizard who has built its walls high and strong, but they were not designed to take on an army of Orcs and Giants. The battle brings Elves, Dwarves, and Men together to defend Shallows from the forces of evil.
The story and characters are well written. Even though it is the first book in the trilogy, the characters have a long background in the other books that the author has written in this world, so I would not recommend reading this book out of order with the rest. It is a fast, gritty and entrancing tale of swords, sorcery and intrigue. The action and adventure is very good. For fans of the fantasy genre it is a must read.
1 comment:
R.A. Salvatore is the best author ever! I started reading his books and have read nothing else since.
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