About this title: Drizzt is back in action again, and bringing more changes to the Forgotten Realms setting. This new adventure will keep Drizzt fans guessing the whole way, with edge-of-the-seat action and plot twists that even the most casual reader of the Forgotten Realms series can't afford to miss.
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Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
Date Published: 2008-10-07
ISBN-13:9780786949649ISBN:0786949643
Description: Like New. May be shiny, in some instances dust jackets are not included, no missing pages, no damage to binding, may have a remainder mark. read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9780786951444ISBN:0786951443
Description: New. Items ship once payments have cleared. Media mail 5-8 days Priority 2-3 days and international orders may be subject to customs clearance procedures which can cause delays. Seasonal delays can occur in postal system. All items ship within 24 hours of receiving payment. read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9780786951444ISBN:0786951443
Description: New. Brand New! Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
Date Published: 2008-10-07
ISBN-13:9780786949649ISBN:0786949643
Description: Like New. Excellent-condition NEVER-READ copy. May have small remainder mark. SUPER-FAST shipping! BUY EXTRA copies! EXPEDITED ship available. *Real-person* customer service. 100% satisfaction guaranteed. read more
"This book was far more interesting because it gave us an over-due brake from the battling orcs and dwarves. On their way to Icewind Dale, to see how their dear friend Wulfgar is doing, Drizzt and Regis pass through Luskan, and try to save the City of Sails from the inevitable coming war. But, the five high captains have a different idea in their power struggle for the ruling control of Luskan. The beginnings of war lead to Deadurmont and his men of Sea Sprite overthrowing the mages of the Hosttower and, Arklem Greeth, who is the head mage and a lich! With that victory, Drizzt and Regis continue their journey on to Icewind Dale, leaving the people of Luskan in the uncertain hands of Governor Deudermont.
The winter is too hard for the crippled port and its starving people. With the aid of the mysterious voice in the shadows, High Captain Kensidan is able to keep his men fed through the winter, causing everyone to fight amongst themselves, instead of preparing fields and hunting for food as Governor Deudermont tried to get them to do. So, they witness the heart-wrenching scene of starving children dying in their parent’s arms.
Arklem Greeth confesses to Valindra, the elf mage next to command the Hostower of the Arcane, about the erinyes, (Furies), and their slave devils that he sent to the Silver Marches, to King Obould Many-Arrows, as he wonders about that ambush. Is it the strength of the treaty between the orcs and dwarves, or just a temporary and strange alliance, like many believe it to truly be?
In the spring, on their way home from Icewind Dale, Drizzt and Regis return to Luskan. They find that Governor Deudermont is in need of their help to maintain order and to control the warring high captains. But, is Arklem Greeth’s final role been played through? And if not, what plans has he laid in store for after his passing?
To make matters worse, Morik the Rogue is freed to make trouble for Drizzt and Regis. The entertaining and rhyming dwarf warrior, Anthrogate, gets his one on one fight against Drizzt. Who will prevail, and can Luskan survive, as the Pirate King is unveiled?"
"The Pirate King is the Second novel of the Transitions series by R.A. Salvatore. The hardcover edition was released in the US on July 2009 (reprint edition).
As many know, the Forgotten Realms is changing. With the advent of Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition the FR timeline is being advanced approximately 100 years. The various "Drizzt Novels" so far have been set earlier in the timeline (corresponding with 2nd Edition AD&D and D&D 3rd Edition/ 3.5). The "Transitions Series" is an attempt to reconcile the two converging timelines, bridging the gap between the setting we all know (and love) and the new setting which has MANY stark differences.
"When we last left off" Drizzt and Regis were heading to Luskan on the way North to Icewind Dale to visit Wulfgar, who had left some months prior.
Arriving in Luskan they find strange plots afoot. Captain Deudermont was in Luskan with a small army to topple the Host Tower of the Arcane.
Ironically when I started reading this I had just started running a Luskan-centric campaign so I was anxious to get the nitty-gritty on the Who's Who of Luskan. This book as absolutely essential for this. It breaks down how the city really works: alliances, attitudes, who controls what amongst the Five High Captains as well as all the major players in the Host Tower as well as Mirabar etc. You can easily see which Captains are stronger/ weaker which ones are allied, which ones are back-stabbing the others. Overall it's a complicated web of deceit, but the novel breaks it all down. If you were even considering running a campaign set in Luskan prior to the Spellplague, this novel is absolutely essential.
The Pirate King is an interesting story in a number of ways. Aside from really illustrating how an important city in Faerun is changed it is good because you see major characters get in to trouble that they cannot get out of.
Now, you may be asking whether I hate the Forgotten Realms or its characters since I like to see them in helpless situations. I would answer no. I actually love the setting as well as the characters, but I do like drama and when I read a book, I want to have my heart-strings pulled by the author. To that, often I believe the author needs to respect his characters enough to give them depth and sometimes to hurt (or even kill) them if the story requires it.
R.A. Salvatore usually does a good job of this with tertiary characters: build them up, get you to like them...then do horrible things to them. With the primary characters...not as much. They get depth on occasion, and with every story the author has done a wonderful job in really giving Drizzt, Regis, Enteri, Jarlaxle etc. additional bits of depth. However I have to admit that they rarely seem in REAL danger. Occasionally they are, but in most cases the protagonists tend to far outclass the antagonists; whether by skill, luck, the will of the gods or magical trinkets.
In the last several novels R. A. Salvatore has produced though the stakes have gotten higher in many ways. This novel: The Pirate King is an excellent example of that. I would recommend The Sellswords Series as well.
Without giving away the whole story, the author weaves a fine tale about how Luskan is changed. The protagonists are faced with a very complicated situation and in my opinion they handle it in the expected manner yet that method is insufficient. The result is a very good tale of how good intentions can go very wrong.
There were only a couple sections that I found implausible or didn't understand what happened and had to re-read it. I was greatly amused at how easily Greeth, the Lich deals with Drizzt. Absolutely priceless.
Some parts of the overall plot are drawn out in a manner to make it a surprise in the end. Regular readers should easily see the end coming but it was still done very well. It was good to see characters like Morik the Rogue make a return. God I feel bad for that poor fool: he is a tool of powers far greater than him and he'll likely never escape.
Overall, I think this "Drizzt Story" does a very find job of putting every character in peril. Protagonists and Antagonists alike, making judgmental mistakes occasionally being easily turned out or defeated due to poor planning, error and bad luck.
I like my "heroes" fallible. I like them to learn from mistakes and have to dust them off after taking a fall. I think in many cases Drizzt and his band of super-heroes haven't done this but have Forrest Gump'd their way through adversity to success. I also think that the author is getting better and better with each novel in delivering deeper characters and stories and allowing the prize characters to get a little dirty...which I applaud!
I'm now really looking forward to The Ghost King: Transitions Book III!"
"If I could give this book 3.5 stars, I would. There are sections of the book that I found touching and special (Regis and Drizzt returning to Icewind Dale, and the conversation and introspection they share), and sections that were discouraging (just about everything else). More importantly, I don't like reading fantasy novels that are thinly-veiled versions of current political events and issues, and the majority of this book is certainly that. It destroys the immersion feeling of the fantasy world when it's obvious that Luskan = Iraq, and that the events there play out like a post-Iraqi Freedom nightmare scenario. In fact, even as I finish typing this I'm changing my rating from 4 stars to 3 stars."
I honestly expected much more from this author and this current series. It was long, drawn-out, and much of the time, just plain tedious. Nearly all your favorite character make a cameo appearance, yet it just seems as if they were written in simply to show that they all still exist in this universe. Salvatore does nothing to further the 'Transitions' series with this one.
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