The Ghost King Fiction Review
Posted on October 9, 2009 by teampreston
Available at Amazon.com
Also available at DriveThruFantasy.com
The Ghost King: Transitions Book III, By R.A. Salvatore
(Advance Reader Copy)
Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast (October 6, 2009)
When the Spellplague ravages Faerûn, Drizzt and his companions are caught in the chaos. Seeking out the help of the priest Cadderly–the hero of the recently reissued series The Cleric Quintet–Drizzt finds himself facing his most powerful and elusive foe, the twisted Crenshinibon, the demonic crystal shard he believed had been destroyed years ago.
I think one of the coolest parts of writing reviews is not only getting to read a lot of material, but to really get in to the nuts and bolts of how that material is “assembled”. In this case I have been fortunate to read a LOT of Forgotten Realms novel by R.A. Salvatore as well as others such as Paul Kemp. Having read all the “Drizzt Novels” to date, I can say with certainty that the author has improved his craft greatly over the years.
R.A. Salvatore, like any writer clearly has a deep relationship with many of his characters. While some writers are able to outline and crank out material in a mechanical fashion more often then not they go through a sort of adventure of their own; discovering the world and characters as they write. It’s like a journey for the characters as well as the writer. In doing so the author learns to love and hate characters and tries to share it with us…the readers.
I think it is a measure of success when the author is able to manipulate the heart-strings of the reader, and R.A. Salvatore has done a masterful job at this over the years. Some times more than others, I admit it. I don’t expect a baseball player to hit a home run every time at the plate. I don’t expect a writer to write “the perfect novel” every time either. Stephen King is a good example of this.
R.A. Salvatore has been building up steam throughout this whole series. Transitions. In the Transitions series we are seeing the tale of how Faerun is going through some massive changes. Much of the face of The Forgotten Realms will be different afterward. At the heart of this are changes in direction and flavor of D&D 4th Edition and the 4e Forgotten Realms setting.
Like it or not, love it or hate it, Wizards of the Coast owns D&D and the setting that these novels reside in, and they have mandated change.
Our intrepid author is responsible for writing novels explaining how we get from the Forgotten Realms we have all known for the past 25 years…to this new setting.
What does that mean for the author? It means that in the jump in time that occurs the vast majority of humans and short-lived races will have died and left some sort of legacy (or not). Many of the characters which have been so lovingly crafted will die. That means core protagonists (and antagonists) will be no more.
R.A. Salvatore in this series has been building this up, and I have to say, he has most certainly delivered.
Without spoiling the story for you, I’ll say that all the protagonists and antagonists have a rough ride through the story. The Spellplague is up-close and personal in this novel. Actually, previous to this novel I thought the Spellplague to be a little trite. A game designer’s tool to wipe the slate clean and start fresh. Salvatore put a “human” face on it, made it personal. Now I get it. Now I understand it and accept it and in the process understand how we can leave the previous edition’s Faerun for the new future.
I can’t help to feel sorry for the author in this. You can certainly feel the pain. You know something is coming. It’s like watching a train wreck…you just can’t look away. This is a book of heroism in the face of impossible odds. Acceptance of fate as well as stoic denial of it. It’s about loss…and hope.
There is only so much I can say about it. Usually I can drone on and on about this or that in a novel. Not this time. You have to read it for yourself. It’s good. Seriously. Probably R.A. Salvatore’s best work. I cried like a baby. It took several tries to get through the last dozen pages.
Review by Jeff Preston
Tags | forgotten-realms, ra salavatore, wotc
I agree wholeheartedly with your review. I can’t put into words the emotions I felt as I read through this wonderful piece of literature. I have read Salvatore’s works since the beginning and feel that I KNOW the characters within. I can’t imagine how hard it must have been to write it. To Mr.Salvatore: Thank you for years of your hard work to create such masterful works of art for so many years. I sometimes find myself trying to live up to the Drizzt Do’ Urden standard in my day to day life (morality wise). Thanks again!
I just read this yesterday, and I feel inclined to comment on R.A. Salvatore’s Ghost King. If you are a fan of R.A. Salvatore’s work, you will be pleased with the writing when Drizzt is on the scene. Fans of his Sellswords Trilogy will be pleased to see that Jarlaxle is back to add some depth to the plot. Cadderly and Danica are back in full swing, as is Pikel and Ivan. Their children are now grown up too, and to a certain extent, the book focuses a lot on Cadderly and Crew. Fans of Guen will be a bit dissapointed, only because the 500 pound panther isn’t mentioned much at all in the book, even when the odds seemed completely stacked against Drizzt.
It should be noted that R.A. Salvatore is my favorite author, and I enjoy everything I have read by him. This is definitely not his best book, but there are touches of brilliance as he brings out the emotion of the situation/events/relationships. I really would have liked to see more about Drizzt/Catti/Bruener. The book focused a bit too much on Cadderly for my liking. Still, a worthy effort, and the last 10 pages or so were very excellently done.
It still amazes me that Drizzt fans are so thirsty for this character that they cannot pick up on the most simple and obvious failings of a terrible author. Salvatore is so lacking in his creativity that he can’t help but repeat himself constantly in his writing. Every characters reaction to every situation is “opening their eyes wide!” We have seen this before in his books with “600 pounds of panther” and “by the stones” so on and so on….A quarter of the way through the book you are hoping to not read the same lines again.
The dialogue for Bruenor is reduced to simply asking “elf?” time and time again and the majority of the book’s content consists of Cadderly and his children and nobody who is a Drizzt fan really cares about them. It’s a shame Salvatore doesn’t have the mind to create better dialogue for his characters, or to come up with a model for better story telling other than to deliver more emo garbage. The only saving grace for this book is Wulfgar is hardly mentioned. People who love this kind of cheap writing are the same ones who hunger for more Captain Kirk.
The Ghost King is weak.
Have to somewhat agree with the person above-I remember when Catti-brie was going on about something about Drizzt, after Salvatore had to say ‘Oh what a wonderful and perspective woman and beautiful woman!’ after-which really annoyed me-And I think he described Catti-brie more then made her do anything important .Shallow, really. But what do you expect? The story line is pretty much centered around Drizzt, and all the people who hate him/love him are included to add to him -_- . Its annoying for me because Drizzt, nor any of his companions/friends are my favorite character in this series. Bad for me because this series was probably made for Drizzt.
Though the thing is, the story is able to make the reader make it to the end and wish for more. Its fun to read, though Salvatore is pretty much making Drizzt his only selling point for fans. You kind of fail to realize no matter how much you rat on it, readers who have realized the ‘truth’ won’t stop reading the series at all.
The dialogue was indeed lacking, so much so that i was able to read through this book in a few days without the need to stop and contemplate what i have just read..unlike previous works by RAS..
The story line on the other hand “for me” was excellent!! with a few exceptions.
Why, Patrick, I think Jafis just called you stupid.
But then again, Jafis, so full of venom for me, has just confessed to reading them all…so, Jafis….DUH.
I’m not laughing at you, but I sure am laughing near you.
Bob
by far, it brings full circle into the new forgotten realms world. My biggest question for Mr. Salvatore is: Is this the last we have seen of Drizzt and his companions or are more works on the way. I have put so many years into your writings and eagerly anticipate every new release. Regardless of what some hack reviewers write. Your writings hit me with these characters on a deep emotional level. I cry just thinking about the ending of the story.
I read all kinds of books and give an objective opinion. Something you obviously can’t do. You are not Salvatore, you are a fanboy who is all hurt by cutting criticism. Poor child!
I should expect nothing less from those who suck on the fodder.
No, I’m actually R.A. Salvatore. Feel free to e-mail me at rasalvtore@AOL.com and I’ll be happy to respond.
And here, let me explain how this intertubey thing works to you. You can say whatever you want, of course. It’s your right, even though it really says more about you than about those you attack. And you can do it behind your internet spine, oh joy!
And I can laugh at you. And I am.
And by the way,”story telling” and “storytelling” are two different things, and you probably should learn the difference if you want to be taken seriously as someone so elevated and more sophisticated than those you sneer at down the end of your uplifted nose.
“…those who suck on the fodder”? Seriously? Good imagery there! I’m picturing a kid in farmer jeans walking barefoot down a road with a stalk of hay hanging out of his mouth. You should be a writer, really – or better yet, a critic!
Thanks for the laughs. Please, keep ’em coming!
Bob
No, it’s not the last book. I’m working on the last book currently under contract right now, but I’m in discussions with Wizards about what will come next.
Peace,
Bob
At this point I’d like to step in and politely remind everyone to “play nice.”
I just finished the book. I first read Crystal Shard in 1988. Obviously, I have been following these books for over 20 years. There are many things I would like to comment on but would refrain from spoiling any part of the plot for those that have yet to read it.
I was not disappointed with the book. As others have mentioned, there is quite a spectrum of emotions the reader goes through during this book. I was just left a tad confused, but with the underlying feeling that victory is not always joyous. I am glad to hear that there are additional books coming. I felt like there was much more to tell.
I finished The Ghost King a few days ago, and I loved everything about the book, as I have since I first started reading Mr. Salvatore’s work when I was 13. I think your books put forth a concept of morality that I have embedded in my day to day life for years. I have yet to read any book, from any author that has affected so many readers personally. I am glad to hear this is not the last book, and will truly be sad when I have read the last page of the last book.
Some people simply love everything about Mr. Salvatore’s works.
Hopefully you will learn to stop repeating yourself in your books and learn to give your characters the attention and color they are due. Maybe a few refresher courses in college might do you some good as well as learning what professionalism is.
Send your sample writings to me “Bob” and I will correct them for you.
jafis@comcast.net
At this point, I would appreciate no further comments regarding this exchange. Any further derogatory comments will be deleted. I asked for polite communication, and this is no longer “polite.”
Bob,
If it is indeed you, Mr. Salvatore-What a fantastic book. You are my favorite author.
This is easily my favorite book in the “Drizzt Sagas”. I have yet to read the Demon War books.
The book was very emotional and very well written, especially the last 20-30 pages or so. It is one of those books, stories, movies, etc. that touches you and moves you so much, you simply can NOT stop thinking about it.
Thank you, Mr. Salvatore.
First of all, Jafis stop being a ignorant prick.
And second, I would like to say that I loved every second of this book until the two chapters. I feel empty now.
Wow Jafis, enjoy that spam
–Comment Deleted
– Comment Deleted
And with that you are finished.
As the owner of the Flames Rising site I’m telling you to walk away from this one.
If you have a problem with the book or author take it somewhere else. This is no longer the place for your little rants.
i love all of your books that ive read… im actually rereading the whole sereies… but anyway is there really only one more book left?? and dont listen to that fool i never felt like i knew characters like i did after reading your books. I just dont think i was ready for what came out with that book
I’ll admit before I even read the book I was expecting a whole different story. I was thinking of a reemergence of Valindra with a resurrected Greeth seeking revenge or something along those lines… kind of makes sense considing the book title. Besides, it’s a mystery to me to have her turned into a lich and not only play no role in the Pirateking but disappear altogether…. so she has to make a reappearance right? Nope lol
I did enjoy the Ghostking but felt a little lost while reading it. I haven’t played D&D for over 10 years so the weakening weave kind of threw me. I am hoping there will be another in the series though because SO many questions… about the open rifts…. did the ghost king really escape(not sure since he flew away) and obviously about a certain 3 characters and I’ll leave it at that. Then again, any Salvatore fan has probably picked this book up the first day it was available so I don’t think I am spoiling anything lol
Anyway keep up the good work Salvy if thats really you and keep them coming. 🙂
I loved the book, i couldn’t put it down, but it leaves me with one question, will this book be that last of drizzt?
Mr. Salvatore i have read all of your books and have fallen in love with the stories along with the characters. I think your as good if not better then j.r.r Tolkien and i would like to personally thank you for stories and for giving me something to look forward too. At the end of The Ghost King i felt drizzt’s pain, i couldnt imagine how you felt after this book.
i think if you would like some answers that you should read unclean and that trilogy because it explains the open rifts in the books, even though it isnt written by R.A Salvotore
You are the reason why I started reading books.
You are a major reason behind my medical recovery.
You are a major reason behind my recovery from prescription drug abuse.
As simple and corny as the above statement(s) may seem it’s 100% truth. I own every published work of yours, as someone who at first struggled at a young age to pick up books and read them (because of ADD and other learning issues) to the countless free hours I have had while dealing with cancer recovery I would not be where I am today as a whole without you and your magnificent works! For thank I can only say Thank You! from the very bottom of my heart. You saved a life.
NOTE TO SELF: Find location / fly to your next in store appearence so I can shake your hand.
If it is Salvatore, then great job. Sure, mabe there wasn’t much dialouge, but here’s my view- if your wife (in Drizzt’s case) or your daughter (in Brienor’s) is in a magically induced coma along with a dear friend who you have shed blood, sweat, and tears with over a few decades of life and the both of them are experiencing unspeakable horrors…now is not the time for witty dialouge or introspection. Now is the time for a nuke. ‘Cept you don’t have one. You have a dark elf who can eat Rambo for breakfast. So be it.
P.S.
Not to ride in on Rj’s coattails, but do you still do book signings and, if so, will they ever take you into or near Houston, Texas? Or even just Texas?
Definitely a great book. I personally found the repetition of certain dialogue to be necessary. As Ri pointed out, sometimes situations provide a loss for words. I think that the repetition of “elf” for example just helps give insight into Bruenor’s mind, my opinion anyways. If Bruenor somehow came out with new, advanced dialogue I feel it would break with the consistency that was given throughout the entire series.
I truely hope there are many more of these books to come, currently on my re-read of the series, just finished book 10, and I must say that even though I know the story already, I find myself in as much if not more anticipation than the first time I read through the story.
i have read the every book from the crystal shard until the pirate king and i have never ever felt any tinge of disappointment from Mr. Salvatore. I have played DnD since 3rd edition and a lot of my characters have been inspired by the companions of the hall. though the ghost king has yet to reach my shores (i’m from the Philippines), i am eager to get my copy and i am confident that this last installment (for transitions)will never be a disappointment. or else bregan d’aerthe should go bankcrupt. i pray that this would not be your last work Mr. Salvatore…please continue with your stories that inspire..til our swords do part!
Hmmm..Something has been bothering me for a few months, though..will there ever be a sideseries about Zaknafein? I mean, the only reason not to do it would be either Salvatore isn’t in the mood, or that it would be pretty difficult. Still, i’d buy it in a hearbeat.
Also, since there will be another book apparently as it’s under contract, I look forward to reading more about Drizzt’s story…and horefully Jaraxle will continue to cause trouble.
After reading The Ghost King I want to go back and read the Demon Wars books over again. The way that the books followed the lives (and in some cases deaths) of the characters in Demon Wars made them feel so very real.
it wasn’t bad. i think folks are right, a lot of his work is relatively repetitive and the rather mundane…..but i like the story, the concept, and the characters. i’ve read them all since i was a kid. some a few times. i do wonder if drizzt is going to find another woman, lol. that one elf woman from the lone drow? and is artemis fully out of the story?
Fist I loved the book, I read it in one day, and may be rereading it soon. There are a few things that threw me. Not being a DnD player I guess I was hoping to learn more about the spell plague, and the failing weave. A more detailed description, but I know R.A didn’t really have any power over this. I was happy to finally see the characters from the sellswords saga finally reunite. Though the way the 3 came together to become the Ghost King was slightly strange for me, but still very entertaining. I’d agree the dialogue was a bit dry in this one, and Jarlaxle just doesn’t seem like the same character I grew to love during the sellswords series. I didn’t think we’d see the return of Artemis Entreri, but I still held some small amount of hope. We did get to see his name once at least. I hope to see him in the future, by then he’ll be old, but maybe he’ll be the leader of his own guild, or even training maybe a grandson or something. I wanted to learn more about Athrogate and his past. I was sad at how little we saw Guen, but I was very very happy with the friendship that was developing between Athrogate and Pwent, lol long lost father and son! Ok not really, but it’d been great. I almost feel Cadderly should have been on the cover, because I believe he was the main character of this book in place of Drizzt who almost seems to play a supporting character roll in parts of the book. But I did love the book, I couldn’t put it down. I have high hopes for the future. I’d love to see the prologue from the Orc king turned into a book. One thing I had to chuckle about, was how many times the word “catastrophe” was used.
I’d just like to add that I’ve been reading these books since the age of five when I first picked up the Crystal Shard in 1990, and ever since R.A has kept my imagination fueled, and looking forward to each new installment. His work has inspired to my own writing, and hope to see the return of the characters we’ve grown up loving soon.
I honestly think the series should keep going, and there should never be an ending…Also, do you think Wulfgar will make a return?
Haven’t yet given this one a read (waiting to see if someone already got it for me for Christmas, lol), but I’m looking forward to it. I thought Transitions started off a bit bland (or it could be that there was actually less focus on Obould, who rocked out hard in Hunter’s Blades), but it picked up pretty well.
The Pirate King was awesome, though. I think if I ever run another FR campaign I’m obliged to use Arklem Greeth (and what’s-her-face-that-also-got-lich’d, too) as an antagonist–he was just deliciously horrid.
I’m going to have to second (or probably second-millionth, ’cause I know this has come up before) the notion that, if Salvatore walks a bit off from Drizzt’s own story again, some kind of prequel-story featuring Jarlaxle and Zaknafein in their glory days in Menzoberranzan would be awesome.
Overall, it seems to me that, whatever gripes there are about Salvatore’s writing, it kind of gets lost amidst the fact that this isn’t meant to be some kind of classic literature. If it were food, it would be a cheeseburger. A really GOOD cheeseburger.
Just finished The Ghost King. Overall, I really enjoyed it. But to be honest, I felt that most of the characters felt a bit 2-dimensional this time around, especially Jarlaxle. I hope the next one really delves into the personalities we all know and love a bit more.
For me, I just found there’s been a bit too much all-out battles, and not enough personal insights into the characters in some of these past few novels.
The ending was a heart-breaker, but something tells me we haven’t seen the end of Catt and Regis.
You’re a fantastic writer Mr. Salvatore, I hope the Drizzt series continues on for many more books!
Just wondering, what is your favorite salvatore book??? I have read the entire “drizzt series” and “the highwayman” and the “sell sword series” any recommendations on where to start my next salvatore adventure??
Well this book has officially succeeded in depressing me for 48 hours after reading it and the feeling still isn’t gone.
*spoiler alert*
So unless I’m missing something critical, Catti-brie and Regis, because of their condition, didn’t advance into the afterlife, but are stuck in a state of bliss in a glen on Toril. So Drizzt isn’t going to unite with her in the afterlife…ughhhh. I was anticipating a sad ending, but dayum, this makes Gone with the Wind look like the end of Beauty and the Beast.
In my opinion I feel that though Drizzt is the hero of this series it is the depth of his rivals and companions that has really made this series shine. By far I would have to say the Icewind dale trilogy was the best book I have read of the forgotten realms where a group of characters were really though out and developed and brought together – and their depth in that series allowed them to be carried on through dozens of more books. I have thoroughly enjoyed all of the series even the offshoots about Jarlaxle and Artemis as they showed Salvatore’s unique character development and writing styles and the character growth throughout the books.
Not to be rude or come across in the wrong way but I feel that the pirate king and the ghost king have been much weaker than the rest of the series. The characters we had all come to know and enjoy reading about were hardly themselves. Bruenor and Drizzt and Regis were the only ones really mentioned throughout both books and like others had mentioned above it felt like their dialogue and personalities had just left them. Even Drizzt’s thoughts between chapters made him seem like he was kind of in a daze throughout the entire book of the ghost king. I did not mind the cleric quintet either so the presence of older companions did not bother me as much though the book turned out to be mostly about Cadderly and Jarlaxle with Drizzt being along for the ride.
I can see many possibilities for future adventures in this series though I really hope we have not seen the last of the companions of the hall. If nothing else I felt the ending was half that which was rewarded to Wulfgar back when he “died”. The ending of the Ghost King could almost have been summarized as “and all the cool characters were put in limbo, and the others cried” where I feel they each deserved a whole lot more based on the history and importance of them all on the series. Even Cadderly could have received something a little more finishing than an god walking in circles forever, some neat spell scars even might have spiced things up a bit.
Finished the book today and I loved it. It was above and beyond anything I have ever read. Never have I felt anything so profound from a book and nearly broke down in the middle of class when I finished it. With Drizzt’s new found rage, is he going to finish off Entreri? It feels like so many things are left open at the end of The Ghost King. And I wanna see Entreri one last time lol. Can’t wait for the final book. Hope it blows this one right out of the water, good luck and Godspeed.
i love all of salvatore’s work .have read all the drizzt books many times over the ghost king was the best of the transition series. also i have two boxer dogs named drizzt and catti-brie. i love the forgotten realms,but i don’t like the spell plague direction. oh well role with the punches-thanks
I agree totally on Dennis comment. I would have wrote the same. I have all the books of Drizzt + sellsword + Chaos curse + Spider Queen 6 books etc… Big fan of Forgotten realms. What I could add to Dennis comment is that this book lack of pages. Some stuff would have need more explanations. And the way those caracters….that blue lightning stuff…lack of imagination. I understand that changes were needed, and the book is full of it, but…well I’m not the author. I love R.A. Salvatore Books, but this one is not my favorite. I enjoyed it but not as much as others.
In review, I’d say the book as a whole makes an excellent story, but more so the storytelling than with immersion. It seems the goal of ‘transitions’ was to show change: change in environment, in the characters, in emotions, and in the world; but there were some things that bothered me about many of the changes.
The conflict and “peace” between the orcs and dwarves was done well: ending in a kind of half-trusted stalemate. In contrast, the seeming evolution of Jarlaxle from Chaotic Neutral to Chaotic Good does not seem viable and many of his actions in the book were contrary to his nature. Do not get me wrong: people can change, but only gradually over time and only within the confines that their nature allows. Some attempt was made to point out the selfish reasons for his decisions, but it was clear that such reasons were really just to fool himself.
Another inconsistency was the intervention of Bregen De’arthe. Such an organization will take the least costly and least noticeable approach of gaining knowledge and resources. Their greatest gain would be information about the failing weave and converegence with the shadow plane, but there was very little that they did to actually gain knowledge on either of these fronts. (In truth, their intervention to save a bunch of refugee humans seemed similar to the Jurassic Park 3 ending where the military just shows up and fixes everything)
For anyone who is not extremely familiar with Drizzt and his companions, I believe there would be a great loss of translation of Breunors grunts. The fact is that the two friends know each other so well that words are no longer necessary; but for someone reading who is only somewhat familiar with the characters, it was not nearly enough. It also seems that Bruenor took a back-seat, where if he had been acting to character he would be in an uncontrollable battle frenzy due to his daughter’s condition.
To any future purchaser: This book an is an easy green light. Fun, fantasy, fear, and future; but I would recommend at least reading Icewind Dale if you have not already done so in order to grasp the nature of the main character. There is a lot more emotion entwined in this book than many of the others in the Drizzt serieses, but much of the real story is lost if you do not have an adequate knoweledge of the characters.
To the author:
I’d say you should take a break and read someone else’s story, such The Lord of the Rings; then read your own Icewind Dale from cover to cover before continuing with any new Drizzt books. There is a certain thirst for danger and adventure that Drizzt has lost as well as wisdom, perhaps it is time for him to be reminded of it.
If you are open to thoughts: this book has left our hero more vulnerable than he has been since his birth. As with real people, he would not venture beyond the limits of his nature, but he once held a powerful alter-ego that may try to fill the void. There is also the business with the weave that above the changes taking place leave most of the world in fear: perhaps a fear much like that which was constant in Menzoberranzan, where the clever are able to manipulate the fearful.
I have read his books for so long that I can honestly say that when I bought the Ghost King that it wouldnt be the last and I will keep on reading as long as R.A. Salvatore is willing to crank them out. I find that whatever genre i read be it western or scifi or fantasy that i cannot get under the skin of a character like i can when reading the story of Drizzt. I believe that Salvatore it arguably one of the greatest authors of our time and to any and all nay-sayers…if you do not like the way he writes his books then why have you read so far into his stories im very sure that if you dont like it that there are many more authors that can give you what you want in a book
i guess to clear things up with the blue lighting stuff people would have to read the the books undead and unclean for thats were all of it started and it explains it well.
First off let me say that I am a fan of Salvatores and have been since I was 10. This book while entertaining left me strangly unfufilled, which is completely new to me. I won’t give any spoilers but I just can’t believe the ending. Granted I didn’t expect it to happen that way, but I don’t agree with it. As I stopped following the timeline in FR back when I stopped running campaigns, ie Time of Troubles, I never heard about the failing weave. I’m curious to see whats in store for Drizzt most definately, and looking forward to the return of “The Hunter,” cause I’m sure his rage will put him there.
I just finished The Ghost King, and although it was good, I also was very depressed by the ending, and have been thinking about it for several days. I am married, and cannot even think of life without my wife, whom I live for. I must say, though, that my favorite story line was the Orc King, which was pure genious in creating a brilliant, powerful Orc who wanted peace. I have not read a better story in many years.