R.A. Salvatore - Promise of the Witch King

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Promise of the Witch King, R.A. Salvatore

Book II of the Sellswords trilogy

Star rating: **** (4, of a possible 5)

The Review
I remember when I first cracked open Servant of the Shard and blazed through the first chapter, immediately I knew I had made a good choice, and suffice to say I finished the book in a matter of days.

R.A. Salvatore's writing has always struck me as very movie-like, especially his later work, with trilogy's like the Hunter's Blades drawing obvious parallel's to fantasy movie epics like Lord of the Rings. This isn't the case so much with Promise of the Witch King.

Drizzt has always been Salvatore's primary protagonist, but here we see the emergence of another in the form of Artemis Entreri, and to an extent his drow companion Jarlaxle. In this novel the focus is shifted to them and their perilous, daring escapades throughout the lands of Damara and Vaasa.

The book is split into sections throughout chapters, one being Jarlaxle coyly manipulating anyone who he deals with, doing the talking and representing in whole himself and Artemis alike, these sections are often humorous and filled with clever dialogue. The second involves Entreri, who is usually stalking or fighting something, or musing to himself. That being said there are a healthy amount of side-characters, most of which are poorly developed save a select few, and even then some of the more important characters, like Arrayan, just seem to fade off somewhere near the end.

The main point of intrigue here is the relationship between Artemis and Jarlaxle. With Jarlaxle playing like a jester towards Entreri, who tries to remain stoic and unfeeling, but eventually gives in with a little action from his drow companion. Getting a look into the head of someone besides Drizzt is refreshing, and certainly Artemis offers a stark contrast to the goody-two-shoes drow. In the first half of the novel however, Artemis certainly feels as if he is 'along for the ride', with Jarlaxle being the key man and making all the important choices and decisions. I could help but feel a little saddened by Entreri's lessened role in the grand scheme of things.

The fights, which are something Salvatore is known for, are up to par this time around. Both Artemis Entreri and Jarlaxle seem unstoppable with their innumerable trinkets and powers, but it is a lot more fun reading how Artemis stabs a man and begins draining his soul while whispering promises of a much more horrible death into his ears if the man doesn't tell the assassin where so-and-so is located.

Promise of the Witch King is notch above Salvatore's usual work, if only because it, along with the others in the Sellsword trilogy, focus on a different and in many cases more human protagonist.