The Pirate King: The Legend of Drizzt

By R. A. Salvatore

Drawn into a battle against nefarious pirates, Drizzt questions if ‘the greater good’ is worth the cost of innocent lives

A shadowy organization of mages and pirates known as the Arcane Brotherhood has long held the city of Luskan in their power, but corruption now eats away at their ranks. Seeing this as an opportunity to finally defeat their leader, Arklem Greeth, legendary pirate hunter Captain Deudermont hatches a plot that will free the city of the Brotherhood’s iron grip.

Elsewhere, Drizzt and Regis depart for Icewind Dale, where they suspect Wulfgar—having returned his adopted daughter to her biological mother—now lives in isolation. When they cross paths with Captain Deudermont on their journey, the pirate hunter reveals his plans and recruits the duo to fight against the Arcane Brotherhood. But rescuing Luskan from itself proves more difficult—and more violent—than anyone anticipated, leaving all to question if they will destroy the city before they can actually save it.

The Pirate King is the second book in the Transitions trilogy and the twenty-first installment in the Legend of Drizzt series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Oct 7, 2008
• ISBN: 9780786952656

R. A. Salvatore

Over three decades ago, R. A. Salvatore created the character of Drizzt Do’Urden, the dark elf who has withstood the test of time to stand today as an icon in the fantasy genre. With his work in the Forgotten Realms, the Crimson Shadow, the DemonWars Saga, and other series, Salvatore has sold more than thirty million books worldwide and has appeared on the New York Times bestseller list more than two dozen times. He considers writing to be his personal journey, but still, he’s quite pleased that so many are walking the road beside him! R.A. lives in Massachusetts with his wife, Diane, and their two dogs, Dexter and Pikel. He still plays softball for his team, Clan Battlehammer, and enjoys his weekly DemonWars: Reformation RPG and Dungeons & Dragons 5e games. 

Reviews for The Pirate King

[xicanti_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

THE PIRATE KING picks up about four years after THE ORC KING left off, and follows two separate storylines. On the one hand, we've got Drizzt and Regis searching for Wulfgar, at Bruenor's request. On the other, Captain Deudermont stages a revolt against the rulers of Luskan after he learns that they've been protecting the pirates he's sworn to fight. Drizzt and Regis arrive in the city just in time for his coup, unaware that Deudermont has been carefully steered by those who hold the true power in Luskan.I'd say that Salvatore's best books are those in which his characters have a definite stake in the game. He's achieved a good balance of political stuff and personal turmoil in past books, but this one doesn't really make the cut. It's reasonably entertaining, but Deudermont's revolution is the driving force behind the plot. Neither Drizzt nor Regis has much at stake. They're concerned for their friend and for the city of Luskan, but they're not personally invested in the outcome. To be honest, they're kind of extraneous to the main plot. The book suffers for it.It is nice, though, to see Salvatore moving away from the black and white morality that characterized his earlier books. These days, the monsters aren't necessarily the ones you want to be fighting, and the good guys don't always have a positive impact on the world. It makes for a more complex, not entirely comfortable read, and that's all to the good. I just wish the moralizing were a bit less in-your-face; Salvatore does tend towards the obvious.It's also nice to see Regis taking centre stage. I like the little dude well enough, but he does tend to fade into the background. To be honest, I sometimes forget he even exists. Extraneous though he may have been, I appreciated the chance to see more of him this time around. We see very little of Cattie-Brie and even less of Bruenor or Wulfgar, but we've got absolutely scads of Regis.Overall, this was a good read but not a spectacular one. It seems to me that Salvatore didn't aim to advance his characters so much as their setting. I'm sure readers with more of an investment in the Forgotten Realms series as a whole will get tons out of it, but since I'm really only interested in Drizzt and his cronies... well. I'm not exactly disappointed, (I mean, I still got to spend some time Drizzt and Regis), but I hope Salvatore focuses in on his characters in the next book.(A slightly different version of this review originally appeared on my blog, Stella Matutina).

[jscape2000 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I always enjoyed Salvatore's books, but this is the first one that I really had to force myself to finish. A winding and unrewarding plot, too many heavy handed tie ins to the changes in the table top game, and a preachy sentimentality combine to make this book a bore.

[thecrow2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The follow up to the Orc king deals with two different story line. Of course it's always good to read about Drizzt again, but the other half.... The problem is that while usually I enjoy politics and intrigue in books this one simply bored me.

[loucypher_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another great story by R. A. Salvatore. I really enjoyed the characters getting away from the whole orc problem they have been dealing with the last 4 books and going in a new direction for a bit anyway. Also get to see a bit of some older characters we have not seen in a while. Overall I give it four stars for a very good storyline and plot and as always breathtaking battle and individual fight scenes.

[narilka · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Life in Mithrall Hall is settling down to an uneasy peace with the Orc Kingdom. Drizzt and Regis decide to head off to Icewind Dale to discover what happened to their friend Wulfgar. On their way they arrive in Luskan and find strange events in the works: Drizzt's old friend Captain Dudermont is in town with a small army to free the city from the Arcane Brotherhood. At least that's how it appears initially. Things are definitely more complicated than they seem.The Pirate King is the second in the Transitions series by Salvatore. From what I've read, this was written during the transition from D&D 3.5 to 4 and is supposed to help bring Salvatore's Forgotten Realms books to the same timeline as the new game edition. It certainly reads like the middle book in a series. The beginning portions jerk back and forth between Drizzt and Regis' trek to find their friend and events happening between the "Ships" of Luskan. In fact, up until the last third of the book you could easily have cut the Drizzt line out of the book entirely and the story would have worked fine. Salvatore gave this one an surprise ending that was enjoyable enough for me to give this one three stars instead of two.