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• The Thousand Orcs
Retail Price: $25.95
Amazon Price: $18.17
Description
The Thousand Orcs opens a new trilogy starring R.A. Salvatore's popular dark elf Drizzt Do'Urden and his loyal friends Wulfgar, Catti-Brie, Bruenor, and Regis. The band returns from Icewind Dale in the company of the dwarves of Mithril Hall, who are escorting King Bruenor back to reluctantly assume his throne. But, as always, old enemies and new emerge from the shadows to threaten our heroes. Emboldened by a dark alliance with the deadly frost giants, an orcish horde is massing quietly, waiting with uncharacteristic patience to move against dwarves, elves, and humans alike. Meanwhile, Bruenor, sensing that his adventures will come to an end once he takes the throne, coaxes his friends back onto the road, all the while unaware of the powerful forces gathering strength by the roadside.
Salvatore is obviously in his comfort zone with his favorite characters, and fans of the series will no doubt enjoy another bloody romp into danger with Drizzt and company. He even throws in a few mind-blowing surprises for the faithful. However, newcomers to the Forgotten Realms shouldn't start here, as familiarity with Salvatore's brave companions is a necessity despite Salvatore's attempt to provide a skeletal backstory for the uninitiated. Start with The Icewind Dale Trilogy and get to know the gang. --Jeremy Pugh (Amazon.com)
Release date : 10/15/2002
Reviews: 2
Total Rating:   (8 of 10 stars)
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Reviewed by muhcashin on 01/31/2003
Rating:  (8 of 10 stars)
A review of R.A. Salvatore’s 'The Thousand Orcs'
By Lawrence Hum (muhcashin)
**attention, spoilers ahead**
The latest of the Drizzt Do'Urden series starts with orcs. King Obould Many Arrows is trying to parley with Gerti Orelsdttr the soon to be queen of the frost giants who dwell in the Spine of the World. As the title and the cover art suggest, the orcs will go to war with their enormous allies and it's obvious who will save the day.
'The Thousand Orcs', as curious as it sounds, is novel about dwarves. As the orcs pour through the Spine of the World, the stout race will have to fend off the coming invasion with all the might they can muster. Among them is Bruenor Battlehammer, the new king of Mithril Hall. Gandalug has finally passed and it’s up to our beloved bearded gnome to lead his people to victory. However Bruenor no longer sees kingship in the same light. He heads back reluctantly to the halls he claimed back from the duergar. The prospect of being chained to his throne and having to deal with the every day annoyances of ruling a country, while his friends are off on some exciting adventure does not appeal to him.
On his way to reclaim his crown, he and his followers stop in Mirabar, Mithril Hall's economic rival. Ever since the reopening of the lost dwarven halls, Mirabar economy has suffered greatly, mainly because of the greater quality of the metal mined in Mithril Hall. Elastul, Mirabar's marchion has tried all sorts of ways to enhance his city's products but so far nothing has improved. It is needless to say that our red-bearded gnome's stay caused much unrest among the Mirabarrans, especially among the dwarves who inhabit the mining city. Many of them greeted their rival with open arms which the marchion views as an act of treason. The citizens and most of all the dwarves are divided on this hot subject, and fist fights and tavern brawls erupted every night in the undercity. The dwarf who started all the commotion, Torgar Hammerstriker, is forced to choose between whom he owes his allegiance: to his kin or to his city. The city's officials try to stem the in fighting between the dwarves. Their efforts are constantly thwarted by the stout folk's stubborness and that of the marchion.
But where is Drizzt in all of this? He's around, but he certainly isn't the focal point of the story. Here and there we get glimpses into his heart, which are usually doubtful thoughts about his relationship with Cattie-Brie. Of course, the return of Wulfgar has dramatically changed things. The Companions, although back together just like in the old days, are no longer as close as they used to be. Bruenor is caught up with his duties as king, Wulfgar as a father, which leaves Cattie-Brie and Drizzt to think if they would ever settle down. This in turn bubbles up many doubtful thoughts. Cattie-Brie thinks about children, whether childbearing is even possible with the union of human and drow. Our dark skinned ranger ponders about whether is it even worth it, considering that he will outlive Cattie-Brie and even his children. All this inner turmoil is shaped during their fight against the orcs.
The Bad
As you've noticed the story has three elemental parts: the orcs, the dwarves and the Companions. Add some drow plotting amongst the orcs and the Bouldershoulder brothers, then you get so much scene jumping that it'll you dizzy. There are simply too many characters and sub plots. Drizzt, Cattie-Brie, Wulfgar, Bruenor, Regis, Ivan and Pikel Bouldershoulder, Torgar Hammerstriker, Agrathan Hardhammer, Shoudra Stargleam, Nanfoodle the alchemist. I haven't even mentioned the secondary ones such as Pwent Thibbledorf and his Gutbusters, Dagnabbit, Shingles McRuff, Gerti Orelsdttr, King Obould Many-Arrows, the drow who plot to gain from the impending orcish invasion. That makes for a whole lot to write about and, in truth, the mere 300 pages aren't enough. Too much is like no enough.
Thus much of the topics discussed in the book seemed really superficial. The only way the story would work with such a large ensemble of characters is to skim from one to the next. I had the feeling that the inner turmoil of the Companions were plastered in after the story was done. None of it has any real impact, because neither Drizzt nor his friends really acted on what they felt. Except perhaps for Regis, who runs to get help when the orcs are on the verge of winning. Finally, the halfling has realized that he wasn’t a great hero like his friends, but rather a nuisance to them. In the end, the reader feels that some kind of stagnation in the group dynamics. It seems that most of the time Salvatore takes the easy way out of difficult situations. The tension is clearly present, but there isn't any progress. It's a bit frustrating for the reader, when a huge emotional challenge surfaces it is trivially washed away by few conforting words from a friend. That happens too often in a book that is filled with emotional problems. I know that 'A Thousand Orcs' is gaming novel at its core, but nonetheless, if you going talk about interpersonal relationships please go the whole nine yards.
The second gripe I have is the amount of loose ends. Salvatore introduces a host of new elements that seem to be important in beginning but in the end are merely forgotten or just cast aside for the next two installments of the Hunter Blades trilogy: a gang of drow renegades playing with the giant-orc politics, Bruenor's new quest to find the legendary Gauntlgrym. At the end of it all, I had completely forgotten about those two.
The Good
Despite all these flaws, ‘The Thousand Orcs’ remains a thoroughly enjoyable read. In fact, I wasn’t able to put it down until I reached the end. You’ll find a lot of ‘ye’s with the number of dwarves here. Everything I’ve come to love from the Drizzt series is present. The epic battles, Drizzt’s incredible swordplay and the excitement. I must also add that the pacing is even enough considering the extreme amount hopping around. The writing is obviously top notch, without being all bogged down in details.
There being too much content doesn’t necessarily mean that most of it is bad. The Mirabar story was truly interesting. Politics and intrigue are refreshing. It’s good to see that the intricacies of politics aren’t limited to Menzoberranzan. Can’t wait to see what happens there!
Final Assessment
Read it, you’ll love it. During you’re the reading though, don’t think too much, or you might end up frustrated at why the characters personal problems are never dealt with. You’ll also be cursing because the second book of the trilogy won’t be out until next year. How cruel.
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Reviewed by Denlavar on 07/09/2004
Rating: (8 of 10 stars)
What a surprising twist in the relationship of the group from when we were first introduced. Things seem to happen quickly in the novel, although there are some slow spots.
Overall, this novel was a good read, even without reading any of the novels that preceded it. |
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