The Thousand Orcs (Forgotten Realms: The Hunter's Blades Trilogy, Book 1) [Hardcover]

R.A. Salvatore (Author)

Book Description

Series: The Hunter's Blades Trilogy | Publication Date: October 1, 2002

This new series features R.A. Salvatore's signature character, Drizzt Doourden, as the focal point of the entire trilogy. The popularity of this signature character has driven Salvatore's last seven hardcover titles to New York Times bestselling status.

One Dark Elf.

Two Enchanted Blades.

One Unknown Enemy.

And a Horde of Invaders.

It’s been a long time since Drizzt Do’Urden has had to fight alone. When a ravaging mob of vicious orcs overruns the North and his friends are washed away in its evil tide, he must take matters into his own deadly hands.

An all-new trilogy takes Drizzt to the edge . . . and beyond.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

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

From Publishers Weekly

Drow Elf Drizzt Do'Urden and friends return for another rousing tale of derring-do and harrowing escapes, the first volume of a new trilogy in Salvatore's bestselling Forgotten Realms series. Catastrophe is about to strike, and Drizzt and his intrepid fighters once again rush eagerly into the fray. What starts out as a quiet trip back to Mithral Hall for the crowning of King Bruenor Battlehammer turns unexpectedly into a journey far longer and more perilous than Drizzt and company could have supposed. Unbeknownst to the Drow Elf, a group of orcs, headed by King Obould, who fancies himself an especially clever orc, has decided to join forces with a group of frost giants to lay waste to the area around the dwarven hold of Mirabar. Drizzt and his group stumble into the middle of a skirmish and, thinking that it's just a small group of orcs, decide that they need to do a bit of clean up work. What Drizzt doesn't know is that these early skirmishes are the prelude to a bigger invasion that amounts to nothing less than an all-out war. The philosophical Drizzt spends his downtime pondering the frailties of humanity, which adds a bit of depth to an admittedly light-hearted sword and sorcery novel. A nifty cliffhanger promises more excitement to come in the sequel.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Wizards of the Coast; First Edition edition (October 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786928042
• ISBN-13: 978-0786928040
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (168 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #249,811 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

R.A. Salvatore has spent so many years winding himself into fantasy worlds that he's still trying to figure out how to unwind. He is the author of more than forty novels and more than a dozen New York Times best sellers, including The Two Swords, which debuted at or near the top of many best seller lists.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A New Epoch, February 17, 2003

By 

"saracoth" (Saverton, MO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Thousand Orcs (Forgotten Realms: The Hunter's Blades Trilogy, Book 1) (Hardcover)

This book is an excellent example of the skill of author R. A. Salvatore. Not only this book, but all his books which I've read have several things in common. Given that, here's what a Salvatore novel entails:

He is known for being a great author, especially of fantasy. He's especially well-known for the many novels centering around Drizzt and company, and for the novels set in his world of Corona. The Thousand Orcs falls into the former category, dealing with the latest from Drizzt and his companions.

His battle scenes are vivid, but not so weighty as to take away from the story. The characters are realistic and intrigueing, and the "action" in any given part of one of Salvatore's books might be a battle, political subterfuge, a character's emotional conflicts--in short, Salvatore isn't limited to skillful portrayel of battle. He can, and does, include a variety of gripping situations in his works. The Thousand Orcs is no exception, boasting all three of those things and more.

If you're a Salvatore fan, I shouldn't need to tell you to buy this, because you've probably already got it on your wish list. If you aren't, this book is as good a place as any to get started!

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The gang is back!!, October 12, 2003

By 

C.E. - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: The Thousand Orcs (Forgotten Realms: The Hunter's Blades Trilogy, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

R.A. Salvatore has created one of the best loved and most dynamic charachters in the entire fantasy genre. With the creation of Drizzt, he has garnered legions of loyal fans and praise from high places within the editorial world. I remember back in '97, my senior year of high school, i was sitting in english class reading "passage to dawn" i believe- my teacher walked by my desk and made an offhand comment that he could not stomach the fact that salvatore was now getting his books published in hardcover. He obviously thought that fantasy novels should be confined to paperback where they could be perused by the "common" reader. How wrong he was.
Salvatore is a master at his craft. This is the reason he is as succesfull as he is.

Drizzt and the gang are back and they are going orc hunting. An alliance has been formed and it threatens the safety of all the humans living in the region of Icewind Dale. Drizzt and Bruenor and Wulfgar and Cattie-brie and even Regis have taken it upon themselves to investigate these rumors of a large army and a threat to the surrounding villages.

The book is mostly about the journey to discover what exactly it is that those pesky orcs are up to. Most of the novel takes place on the road and gives us information about where the charachters are now in their lives and the things that weigh most heavily upon their minds. Thoughts are turned toward loved ones and the life that the companions have chosen to lead. Is it a wise one? Will they survive for much longer? Will they all be together in the years to come?

I particularly enjoy the monologues that Drizzt delivers as a preface to each part of the book. In this alter ego, Salvatore can ask and answer some pretty deep questions and explore some pretty heavy issues.

This book is written well. It is plotted well and the charachters are written in a way that makes them believable and real. They have real problems and real pains- they arent just hulking barbarians and lithe warriors riding in the save the day in the nick of time. The last third of the book is where the action happens and boy, it happens fast. When the dust settles we are left feeling a little hopeless, a little angry and more that ready to devour the next volume in this all new trilogy starring our favorite rogue drow elf.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Salvatore is so much better than this, June 26, 2004

By 

C. Bryson "RookPawnKnight" (FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The Thousand Orcs (Forgotten Realms: The Hunter's Blades Trilogy, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

The dialogue, and character names are laughable. Dagnabbit, Nanfoodle, Rockbottom, Runabout, Shingles, Withegroo, to name but a few. With names like this, I'm surprised I didn't find someone named; Goshdarnit, ohhell, or wyritethis? The only thing I can guess, is that he's under contract to write x number of books for Wizards and he's not happy about it. If you're tired of writing about Drizzt, just say no, but please don't butcher it. I've always loved Salvatore's books. Homeland was one of the best Fantasy books I've ever read; fun and inventive. The first of his stories not to borrow so heavily on Tolkien. This is by far his worst book to date. In a lot of ways I think Starless Night was the last great book in this series of characters. With the exception of Drizzt and Catti-brie, every other major player's stories in these books were finished, and finished well. The new beginnings and thoughtless banter that has grown since then, (including Wolfgar's rebirth) cheapen the story. It's like reading a comic. The X-men are good, but it gets pointless after a-while. The same group of people, year after year after year. The danger is gone when the characters become two-dimensional gods who can never die. If you've never read Salvatore, please, try the Icewind Dale Trilogy, The Dark Elf Trilogy, The Legacy, and Starless night. You will not regret it. Later books were good in one way or another, but they really lost the magic of the first few, and this new series is bad. I might have gotten somewhat into the story if it wasn't for the distain it seems this was written in. If the author reads these, please take little offense, I mean no disrespect. Salvatore is a great writer, but this was not a great book. Try his older work, when he was still hungry.