​Promise of the Witch-King: Forgotten Realms: The Sellswords, Book 2

Review by Paul fiander

Written by: R. A. Salvatore
Narrated by: Victor Bevine
Length: 12 hrs and 21 mins 
Series: Legend of Drizzt, Book 15
Publisher: Audible Studios

​In my mind R.A.Salvatore has a gift for creating nuanced and intriguing characters, if you have read any of these reviews to date you will know my affection for the mercenary leader of Bregan D’aerthe Jarlaxle and the Assassin Artemis Entreri. So the Sellswords series should be right up my alley and combined with Servant of the Shard it really is. The interplay between the two characters along with their skill sets makes them a road trip pairing that can rival any of their contemporaries from Lord of the Rings Frodo and Sam to Game of Thrones Brienne and Jamie.

There is so much to love in their relationship and this is certainly the high point of the book, they have a respect for each other but there is also mistrust especially on Entreri’s part and this leads to a tension that at times can be palpable through the narration by Victor Bevine. However when they get into the flow of battle they just seem to click and any enemies they come up against need to beware. There is though something more and that is the way Jarlaxle is bringing the Assassin out of his shell. In the Icewind Dale Trilogy you could easily believe that Entreri was a one dimensional character obsessed with the desire to become the perfect weapon. In many cases this was the way he was crafted by Salvatore. As time has gone on this simple building block has grown into a more intricate character. This is in no more focus than the events with a magical flute he is given within the course of this tale.

​The story itself sees our intrepid duo fighting a rather evil incarnation called a Lich, Salvatore drops us right into the action as the fighting with Herminicle (The Lich) and his minions is in full flow. There is however another story concerning a group of Half Orcs and a book with powers that rival the Crystal Shard. Unsurprisingly these two events are connected and through the course of the book our two travellers find themselves in more than one sticky situation as well as meeting up with a variety of characters. The addition of players for Jarlaxle and Entreri to bounce off of gives their relationship another edge as they look at how to deal with situations that before would have just been the Assassin using his remarkable weapons.

As always the battles contained with the story are breathless as we move from sword play to magic and back again in the blink of an eye. There are some new twists on the powers Jarlaxle employs and with each encounter we have with the Drow we learn a little more about his box of remarkable tricks. This gives Bevine his usual chance to impress us with his narration speed and clarity and for me he is the voice of the series. This may cause an issue as the next book Road of the Patriarch is narrated by David Colacci a new voice for me. I will however continue the series review and report back on his performance.

Our time with the Sellsword series is almost at an end but this has been a wonderful Sojourn form the trials and tribulations of Drizzt. Not that I do not want to get back to his life but with this more than Dynamic Duo you can not help but be entertained.