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

~ (Author) "Oh, well ye got to be pullin' harder than that!..." (more)
Key Phrases: yer cat, orc king, second orc, Mithral Hall, King Bruenor, Drizzt Do'Urden (more...)

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 (October 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786928042
• ISBN-13: 978-0786928040
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (163 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #415,736 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 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 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 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Yes, We DO Need Another Trilogy..., October 16, 2002

By	K Gallagher (Staten Island, New york United States) - See all my reviews

Rarely has any author, in any genre, created a series of such consistent quality as the Dark Elf books of R. A. Salvatore.

Even so, that The Thousand Orcs (the fifteenth full-length novel in roughly as many years to feature characters introduced in the Icewind Dale trilogy!) stands as one of the finest installments in the series is nothing short of breathtaking.

I write this review for the purpose of assuring any follower of the series who doubts that it can possibly go on for much longer that not only is this tale not showing its wear and tear, but, incredibly, taking full advantage of the ground gained (and, more importantly,loose ends tied up!) in Sea of Swords to
begin weaving something very new... at a truly remarkable pace.

This is the tightest, fastest presentation since Starless Night, yet its attempt to cover a broad scope of intrigue, action, and personal relationships is the most ambitious since Siege of Darkness.

The result is a nearly flawless creation that should set the heart of any true fan beating at life-threatening speeds.

What do you know?

We did need another trilogy after all.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Somewhat slow start but a great finish, October 28, 2002

By	G. Swift "97jedi" (Southwestern Missouri) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Whenever an author has written an extended series of books about the same characters, there is always inclusion of a period of introduction (or reminders) of significant events. This is mainly for new readers of the series. For those who have read the previous works, this can be tedious. Such is the case for this book. However, without being cumbersome, Salvatore managed to hit the major events in the characters' lives to illuminate some of their motivations. The problem is that there are a good many characters that require this, so it seems to take a while.

As with all of the books in this series, there are great combat action sequences. The gist of the story is that there are numerous orcs and giants uniting in the north to menace the goodly races (human, dwarf, elf). This happens as the companions are returning to Mithral Hall for Bruenor to reclaim his crown. They are diverted from this course to avenge the deaths of those early victims of the orc/giant alliance. This diversion leads the companions into significant danger, with Wulfgar acting as counselor to Catti-Brie at one point. This and the event that precipitated it give some conflict and depth to her character which persists the rest of the novel. Regis continues acting contrary to his early ways, and his inner reasons for this are discussed. Drizzt, meanwhile, is Drizzt, narrating the book through section introductions. He does not play any larger a part than the other characters, though he does shine as per his usual.

There is significant inclusion of previous Salvatore characters, not only those originally from this series, as the Dwarven brothers from the Cleric Quintet appear. New characters are also introduced, on both sides of the conflict. Salvatore manages to weave political intrigue into the mix, again on both sides, to great effect.

The climactic battle of this novel occurs in the defense of a remote village against the evil hordes. This takes a good portion of the end of the novel, but it flies past. Facing insurmountable odds, the companions battle on. Humor even finds its way into the mix before all is done.

As the title of this review indicates, I thought that the book started slow, but this was mostly due to the introductory process I noted earlier. The several segregated storylines are united in the end to a satisfying conclusion. I truly think that this book will appeal to both new and established readers of the series. And trust me, you, like me, will be dismayed that another year will pass before the next book in the series is released.