The Pirate King: The Legend of Drizzt

As a long-time fan of Salvatore, having been hooked by "The Crystal Shard" when it was first published, I picked up "The Pirate King" with high hopes, but fairly quickly became bored and disinterested. To the point where even though I am now most of the way through the book, every time I think of picking it up to finish it, I can not find a compelling reason to actually do so. Then I go play video games instead.

There are numerous issues with the story that contribute to my intense disinterest: much -- if not most -- of the novel seems to focus on the antagonists and their interminable mysterious plotting that, really, who cares? Done well, it might have worked. Unfortunately, it only gives the whole story an unfinished, jumpy feeling, as though we are reading two or three entirely different novels mashed up together and with a number of important chapters removed.

Similarly, much of the novel focuses on characters who are not the main protagonists of the series, but secondary characters from previous novels or entirely new characters, all of whom suffer from terminal under-development. Indeed, the main focus seems to be on characters we barely know and do not care much about either, who have not been (and are not) fleshed out enough /for/ us to care about, most of whom receive what I can only describe as a "series of cameos" instead of fully realized development, as though these barren slices will somehow make us care about them, what they are doing, or what happens to them. In short, readers are treated to little more than prose-laden descriptions of a series of events happening around pieces of cardboard with faces painted on them.

It seems like, and feels so obvious I can not imagine this not being the case, Salvatore is being forced to follow along a particular script and tell about various world events in the Realms, rather than having free reign to continue to develop the usual protagonists and tell their stories.

I say that as he finds these interesting plot points he could go places with, then abandons them to limbo in order to tell a story that is not about the main characters, in a city the main protagonists do not really have any reason to care about (nor are they given any compelling one), and a war they are only barely involved with and interact with in a limited way (and even that seems circumstantial and so comes off as forced...a sort of "What should we do today? I know, let's go fight in a war!" feeling). This results in book about a war and its after-effects, but not really (in a bad way, not in a clever "symbolism" way), and so the war and evil plotting ends up being just a thing that is happening readers are not given a real reason to care about one-way-or-another.

All told, it is poor storytelling, even for a D&D novel (heck, it's on par with the usual "storytelling" found in a /game/ of D&D, and that's saying something), especially from Salvatore, who actually is better than that.

I have felt for a while that Salvatore is burning out on writing the Drizzt characters. Yet those plot points I mention him abandoning to limbo tell me he is not done with them yet, that there are still stories to tell with them, if only he would DO so.

First of all, I loved the Drizzt Character up until this point.

This story was absolutely horrible. What happened to Salvatore?

Drizzt totally became an idiot here. He couldn't make a decision about anything and for someone who is always droning on about morals, he has no opinion on changing criminals to rabbits? No Regis, we can't stop this so lets just keep on walkin. What the Hell!!! Regis was annoying and by the end of the book I was happy to see Deudermont(reduced to a complete ass. I don't remember the big bad Pirate hunter being this naive) good and Dead! And by the way,what was up with the Harpells turning folks into rabbits again? Rabbits? Excuse me, was sombody on that stuff when they wrote this? Cause it sounds like an LSD trip to me.

The story was convoluted with a bunch of uninteresting people that nobody really cared about, fighting over a city that nobody cares about. In the end, the good guys don't win, the fight and the city are lost, and so it seems are my previously well loved characters. A total and complete waste of paper. I would like to say that this book had some redeeming quality about it but alas, it didn't. In the end, the only thing I can't seem to forget are those damned rabbits? Everything else, gone with the wind.

On the plus side, the cover art was pretty cool though.

Fans of Salvatore will find plenty of sword-and-sorcery battles and action to enjoy in this book. Drizzt is still the philosopher-warrior par excellence. It's well-written, but deeply cynical and bleak. The novel details the tragic fall of Captain Deudermont, a virtuous, optimistic man who wants to change the world, in this case the pirate city of Luskan, for the better. However, the forces of good are not just overwhelmed by the bad guys -- they are foolish puppets manipulated from the very beginning towards the puppet-masters' dark ends. The drow mercenary band leading from the shadows seemed invincible and hyper-competent. Perhaps Salvatore intends some metaphor towards the perils of nation-building in the real world's politics; I don't know. In any case, I did not enjoy the book; it has killed my desire to continue reading future additions to the Drizzt series. Tread lightly here or you might become as disenchanted with Drizzt and Salvatore as this book made me.

Well, after the disappointing debacle that was the Orc King, I pressed on and plowed into the Pirate King, second in the Transitions series set in the Forgotten Realms. For those of you wondering "Why are you continuing to read the series if you hate the characters so much?" I am a glutton for punishment and I am doing this on a dare.

Fortunately for my minor character obsession, Drizzt is not the central figure in this book and thank goodness for it. The story centers around Captain Deudermont and his wizard friend Robillard, who are pirate hunters based out of Waterdeep. Deudermont decides to help Lord Brambleberry, a would be hero (also from Waterdeep), sail to Luskan (a rival port city) and clean up the pirate problem that emanates from there. They intend to eliminate one Arklem Greeth, undead and archmage, and take over in order to fulfill this cause.

Those who pick this up expecting a Drizzt centered book, you will be rather disappointed. Drizzt functions as a minor character in this novel and the parts where he isn't around the main action read like barely related short stories. While for some this may seem like a point against the book, For me this was actually a point in favor. For the most part I didn't get unduly annoyed by heavy handed moralizing and the book did not go flying across the room like most of the preceding Drizzt books have done in my house. Drizzt's part was also helped by an absence of Catti-Brie in the narrative line. Apparently my previous guess was correct and after marriage, we won't be seeing her do anything of major import from now on. This also suits me just fine. I find her obnoxious.

Regis plays the role of Drizzt's sounding board and item to be rescued, which I enjoy and find dull respectively. I just wish that Regis were given at least some good luck to avoid getting near fights he has no hope of winning. The "halfling in distress" trope has become old and boring and seems to be occurring on a more regular basis.

Anyway, back to the actual meat of the story...

Sad to say, there is a very strong possibility that anyone just jumping into the series at this point may well be confused by some of the minor characters, who end up doing some very important things in order to move the plot along. Yes, the plot could have been a bit more clear and better laid. There are so very many characters and a lot of the names are pretty similar, so it gets a little muddled who is plotting against who amongst the High Captains of Luskan. And then there are the mysterious shadow partners, who really aren't all that mysterious depending on how familiar you are with the series.

There is so much plotting around that none of the antagonists get much motive exposition or really, much characterization at all. I could barely tell Kensidan from Kurth half the time (Kensidan is the one that can change into a giant crow). Of all of the opponents Deudermont faced, Arklem Greeth was the best presented. There were the makings to a halfway likable antagonist there. Kensidan too! It's a little frustrating when you're pretty sure that there could have been something epically awesome if more time was taken to present and reveal it. Now I'm really wondering if there's a page count limit in force for anyone publishing with Wizards...

So things I liked about this book... Actually there were more than a few this time around, which surprised me in and of itself. Usually my head hurts so much from being clubbed about the noggin with Drizzt's moralizing that there's a good chance that I'll overlook anything that wasn't so bad.

I am very happy to say that wasn't the case this time. Any scene with Deudermont and Robillard bickering was actually enjoyable to read. The two of them are different enough that it made for a nice intellectual contrast between Deudermont's unceasing optimism and Robillard's pragmatism. What made it better was that one would concede to the other now and then. The whole "you're right but I hope..." dynamic seemed to be frequently missing or underplayed in the previous books for my tastes.

As I mentioned before, Arklem Greeth seemed almost likable for an undead wizard. He seemed to treat his underlings pretty well overall, which is a great trait in an antagonist. I would have liked to see more of him and Valindra (his assistant and one of the Overwizards of Luskan) and their role in how Luskan was kept under control.

And one more thing, which had me giggling like the Monty Python nerd that I am, they make mention of a "vorpal bunny." I might forget the entirety of the book in a week, but I will always remember the vorpal bunny. That it was set up to explain how the Harpells (a wizarding family that are briefly visited in Longsaddle by Drizzt and Regis) dealt with the neighbors who did bad things (like burn houses with the occupants inside). Drizzt and Regis are uncomfortable with the whole idea, but I found it amusing, feasible with the possibility of being considered forgiven of the crime later and ironic that Malarites who did bad things around Longsaddle were turned into rabbits (you'd probably have to be familiar with the Realms to catch that last one).

All in all, I didn't think it was an atrocious book. I just didn't think it was a great one.

It is important to understand that this book has little to do with Drizzt. Oh, he is a big part of the story, but he acts as the glue to hold the timeline together. It is largely based in Luskan, and is obstensibly about the 'Pirate King'. I guess they had to figure out who is trying to be a king for sake of the title, so in this case, the struggle revolves around Luskan and fight for power. The transitions series is about the shuffling political lines and upheavals in the Realms; in this particular story, Drizzt becomes a glorified spectator to the larger story. The main story line is Captain Deudermont's struggle to cut off the head of the Sword Coast pirates' operations. He determines that throwing down the Hosttower in Luskan and leading the City of Sails into a new era of Waterdhavian-like prosperity is the way to go. What he doesn't understand is that his methods may in fact have the exact opposite effect that he desires.

Naturally, pirates both active and retired have a claustrophobic outlook on such a lawful arrangement, wishing instead that Luskan become a true Free City. So even if Deudermont wins the day, his vision of a black and white world holds no shades of gray, causing fracture between his vision and the city's middle-management, the High-Captains.

And, that's really it. Drizzt and Regis go on a nostalgic tour to try and find out how Wulfgar is doing, which has nothing to do with the main story other than to pass some time, and Drizzt manages to get in a nifty duel with a very nasty, very tough dwarf, Arthrogate (would love to see the Gutbusters and Arthrogate go at it!) that passes as a climax. The book ends with an unsurprising reveal. There is a bit of Menzoberranzan-type intrigue.

It is easy to read but has a disjointed timeline and is full of ancillary characters. One of the villians is interesting, and things are definitely set up for interesting conflicts in the future, but overall the book does little but shuffle a part of the Forgotten Realms deck and throws in some gratuitous Drizzt action.

I've read every book by salvatore, The Orc King is one of the best fantasy novels I've ever read but this.....Its like he knew that people would buy it even if it did suck so he just slapped it together in a week.
He fake kills off Regis and Drizzt several times even though he told us that in 100 years they would be alive and well.

I was looking forward to this book, hoping it would have more Sea Sprite adventures and battles at sea. What I found was a bit more about city politics and power struggles. Don't get me wrong...there are still great battles and everything that makes a good Drizzt book, but The Pirate King was actually one of my least favorite in the series. Yes, I even liked [[ASIN:0786951079 The Spine of the World: The Legend of Drizzt, Book XII]] better, believe it or not :-)

-Ed Caggiani, Translator of [[ASIN:145378537X Tracks and Horizons: 26 Countries on a Motorcycle]]

Overall a good Salvatore, but man, this series is tough to get through for my aging eyes. For the money, the publisher could spring for a slightly larger font, maybe pushing the margins, and a higher quality ink that is BLACK instead of grey. I would rather be spending my effort trying to remember all the names and who is who, rather than just straining my eyes to see the words... Would have been 4 stars but for this flaw...

R.A. Salvatore at his best. Highly recommended.

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