Road of the Patriarch (Forgotten Realms: The Sellswords, Book 3) (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

After aiding King Gareth Dragonsbane by heroically defeating the Witch-King in bestseller Salvatore's Promise of the Witch-King (2005), the human assassin Artemis Entreri and his elven partner in vengeance, Jarlaxle Baenre, face challenges from the evil wizard Knellict, Knellict's Citadel of Assassins and the Dragon sisters in this bloody, brooding sequel. Reluctant to return to his homeland of Menzoberranzan and his netherworld armies, Jarlaxle angles to establish his own kingdom with Artemis in the Bloodstone Land. Meanwhile, Artemis struggles with traumatic childhood memories, feelings awakened by the magical powers of Idalia's flute and his love for the half-elf Lady Calihye, who holds him responsible for the death of her beloved fighting companion, Parissis. King Gareth retaliates against Artemis and Jarlaxle, forcing their exile to Artemis's birthplace, the arid city of Memnon, and precipitating a startling denouement.
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Product Description

To her, to her dying breath, you were the untouchable one, the one whose flesh her dagger could not penetrate.

THE ASSASSIN

A cold and emotionless killer for whom every soul has a price, even his own, embarks on a path to find out just how high that price can be.

THE MERCENARY

A dark elf of limitless guile dares to challenge a king, and carve for himself a place in the inhospitable World Above.

ILNEZHARA and TAZMIKELLA are ancient dragons of great power, accustomed to easily manipulating the humans around them. But not all humans are so easily led. When they pushed Entreri and Jarlaxle into the heart of the Bloodstone Lands, not even they could have imagined the strength of the human assassin’s resolve, or the limitless expanse of the drow mercenary’s ambition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Wizards of the Coast (October 24, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786940751
• ISBN-13: 978-0786940752
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #197,756 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Gritty, deep, and unpredictable - Classic Salvatore, November 1, 2006

By	Andrew Gray "Beezer Review" (Minnesota) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Road to the Patriarch by R.A. Salvatore is the third, and final, book in the Sellswords Trilogy. The first being Servant of the Shard and the Second being Promise of the Witch-King. This book takes place right after the events of Promise of the Witch-King and continues the tale of Jarlaxle and Artemis and their journey together as Artemis seeks to come to grips with his past.

As with most Salvatore books this one has a decent mix of characters and plot, however, no matter how well constructed this plot is - this book is largely about character development. Fans of Salvatore have watched both Jarlaxle and Artemis grow as characters through several books, aside from the Drizzt books, the growth of Artemis in this book may be the single biggest development in a character in one book I have read in a long time. We learn a little about Jarlaxle's past, but this book focuses mainly on Artemis. Jarlaxle is merely along for the ride. There are some things in this book that are not usually found in Forgotten Realms books, some of the content - but to say more about that would be giving spoilers. I will say that the journey that Artemis undertakes in the second half of this book is gritty and filled with heartache.

The plot of this book can really be divided into two parts. The first part focuses on Jarlaxle and Artemis' time dealing with Grandmaster Kane and the Citadel of Assassins in the Bloodstone Lands, while the second half focuses quite a bit of Artemis' individual journey that leads to some shocking moments. I will say that the second half of the book seemed, at times, slightly rushed. Mostly because Salvatore knew what he wanted to happen and needed to fit it all in. I am guessing this book could have been 400+ pages easily. The plot is well laid out and everything that happens makes perfect sense. Salvatore obviously invested a great deal of time making sure the story stayed true to the characters and their situation. This allows the reader to care that much more about what is going on in the story.

Salvatore has a knack for weaving a believable story with characters that seem so real. We all know Artemis is a very skilled assassin, yet, while reading this book you can't help but care deeply for his story and his past and how that played a part in who he is. If you are looking for large scale battles, this book may be a disappointment to you. If you are looking for wizard battles and lots of magic, this book may be a disappointment to you. However, if you are looking for an excellently crafted character driven story, I am pretty you will enjoy this. This is classic Salvatore and fans will surely find something in this book to enjoy.

Fans of the Forgotten Realms and Salvatore will find this book and enjoy it. New fans would be encouraged to go back and read the rest of Salvatore's Forgotten Realms books before reading this one, that way all the events and discussions will make more sense. However, picking up the Sellsword Trilogy should be ok as well. I will continue to recommend Salvatore as an author I enjoy a great deal. This was a ride well worth taking.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars First to review this book? I am honored...., October 27, 2006

By	Jase Webb (Chicago, Illinois United States) - See all my reviews

I bought this book the day it came out, just as I have bought every other book R.A. Salvatore has ever published the day it came out...including the first of course. However, never have I been privaledged with being the first person to review any of his books on this website, and for that I am grateful. Not only that, but to write the first review of one of his BEST books...

However, I didn't come here to write an in-depth review of the book, go over everything I liked and disliked, or accidentaly reveal and therefore spoil anything for you. I will however tell you this, I have loved most of R.A. Salvatore's books, and even hated a few. I am also a minority in the fact that I kind of disliked the book before this one, the second book in the trilogy. That being said....

Not a single one of the books in this long and ongoing Forgotten Realms series made me laugh out loud so often, almost bring a tear to my eye several times, nor made my jaw hit the floor in amazement so frequently as this book has. This book was simply brilliant, a masterpiece. And what person reading this book out of the millions, would NOT want to learn who, why, and what Artemis Entreri really is?....because his early childhood was FINALLY answered! The beginning of this book was fun, the middle was confusing at first, the ending was one of the best endings to any book I've ever read. 5 out of 5 stars, more easily than any book I've read has earned it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars another solid book from Salvatore, February 12, 2007

By	J. Givens "There are many here among us who b... (Iowa, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Salvatore has the unfortunate fate of being a writer of some really great fantasy novels, and now each subsequent work will, no doubt, be compared to them. That said, this book is good, but not as good as "Servant of the Shard." R. A. Salvatore is one of my favorite fantasy writers, and I enjoy reading his books about Drizzt and Entreri. Reading this series of books with Jarlaxle and Entreri gives me a break from the other novels featuring Drizzt because these novels tend to be a bit darker, more chaotic, less moral, to some extent, considering the two characters around whom the stories take place.

The plot in this book was a bit weak. Firstly, there is an investigation into the events of the preceding novel, in which a number of notable characters are killed. After this, Jarlaxle manipulates an artifact and entices a king to enter a war against him to basically unite two realms into one kingdom. It's a stretch of manipulation, even for a drow like Jarlaxle. And there is this whole philosophical thread in the novel (voiced by Entreri) about the right to rule and such.

When the book should really end, there is a subplot at the end of the book, where we see a culmination in Entreri's reconciliation of his inner turmoil. It seems like the end of the novel should have been after their forced exit from the Bloodstone lands. The subsequent part could have been the start of another novel altogether.

There is a lot of serious to the book, particularly with Jarlaxle's manipulation of Entreri's feelings about his past (and, of a lesser extent, Athrogate's, as well). There is also a betrayal that Entreri has to face. But there is humor in the book, too, mainly between Jarlaxle's bantering back and forth with Entreri. The character of Anthrogate is a great addition to the novel. I love how he was developed, and I hope Salvatore brings him back in future books.

There are a variety of well developed characters in the novel that really give it a sense of being alive. It gives the characters a robust world in which they play out their parts. I particularly liked the powerful players with which Jarlaxle and Entreri have to deal. The dragon sisters were great (the bit where Athrogate tries unsuccessfully to attack one of them in a bar, not knowing they are dragons, is really funny!).

All things considered, it was a good read, an enjoyable escape into Salvatore's fantasy world, and I hope to read more books starring Jarlaxle, Entreri, and Athrogate. Don't skip this book!