Orc King
The first book in the Transitions series, marking the 20th anniversary of the character Drizzt Do'Urden.
The Orc King is a fantasy novel by American writer R. A. Salvatore, the first book in the Transitions series. The story begins a century after the events of The Two Swords. Drizzt Do'Urden still wields Twinkle and Icingdeath and he now wields Taulmaril, Cattie-Brie's magical bow. Drizzt defeats a group of bandits calling themselves Casin Cu Calas, a group that wears black and travels through the Orcish Kingdom of Many-Arrows and slays Orcs in their sleep. He is angered when one of them mentions Bruenor Battlehammer's past weakness by allying with the Orcs.
Quick Facts
- Author
- R. A. Salvatore
- Cover artist
- Todd Lockwood
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
- Series
- Transitions
- Genre
- Fantasy
- Publisher
- Wizards of the Coast
- Released
- September 25, 2007
Lore & Background
The novel is set a century after the events of The Two Swords. The Orcish Kingdom of Many-Arrows is ruled by Obould the Sixth, the sixth heir to its throne. A powerful Gnomish wizard named Jaculi, trained by Illithids and other powerful creatures, has been secretly controlling Clan Karuck's different Shaman for centuries. The book reveals that Dwarves and Orcs had lived together for centuries, with relations continuing to improve, according to scrolls written in a mixture of Dwarven and Orcish alphabets. The only reason the city fell was because something melted the permafrost beneath it, sucking the entire town and its population under.
Reader's Guide
The Orc King reached 13 on The New York Times bestseller list on November 4, 2007. It was No. 8 on the fiction hardcover bestseller list as reported by The Buffalo News in October 2007. The novel made it to #7 on the list, as well as #9 on the Wall Street Journal list, #6 on the Publishers Weekly bestseller list, and #36 on the USA Today list of top sellers. The book marked the 20th anniversary of the character Drizzt Do'Urden.
More in Heroes & Monsters
Elsewhere in Goblin Slayer
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced