From Publishers Weekly
Jarlaxle Baenre, the drow elf, is once again on the trail to rollicking adventure in bestseller Salvatore's follow-up to Servant of the Shard (2000). At the behest of the dragon sisters Ilnezhara and Tazmikella, Jarlaxle and his assassin companion, Artemis Entreri, travel to far-off Vaasa in search of an unknown artifact belonging to the Witch-King Zhengyi. The intrepid pair infiltrate the Army of Bloodstone at the Vaasan Gate, becoming part of the elite group of seasoned fighters who defend the gate from goblins, ogres, bugbears and other monsters. Salvatore keeps the action hopping as the duo use every trick in their repertoire to achieve their goalβfinding magical treasure hidden by the long-dead Witch-King. Lovers of all things elvish, especially those who like butt-kicking swordplay, dastardly intrigues and ingenious hocus-pocus, will relish this fantasy.
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From
Jarlaxle is a drow , or dark elf , Artemis Entreri a human. Both are involved in a quest for some magical books that will give godlike powers to a monarch. Right now the monarch connected with the search is King Gareth, and his friends and foes swarm, literally up hill and down dale, over the land in which Jarlaxle and Entreri meet and become allies and even uneasy friends. Also encountered are a royal army captain who has to be rescued before she can befriend Jarlaxle and Entreri as much as she would like to, an assassin who makes one think of Han Solo had he turned bounty hunter, a gruff dwarf (are there any suave ones?), and, altogether, a cast too large for this book were it not one volume in a series. Since Salvatore is the best series writer working in the Forgotten Realms, this volume is good news for loyal Realms readers. Roland Green
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