Review of R. A. Salvatore’s “The Ghost King”

Recently I had the good fortune to receive two “Advanced Readers Copies” of soon to be released Dungeons & Dragons novels by R. A. Salvatore for review. I gave one to my wife to read, so there may be a guest (or another full-time) writer on the blog soon as she tore through her book. I, on the other hand, read a bit slower and am just finally finishing “The Ghost King”.

I have not read the second novel in the series, but “The Ghost King” holds true to my past experiences of Salvatore’s work: he gives enough back story to catch readers so that they are not clueless. I did not know who Hephaestus was, but after just two pages, I knew important events that had happened to him in the past, and how he got to be where he is now (both physically and emotionally).

As my minor in college was Philosophy and Religion, I appreciate the metaphysical questioning that happens in Part 1 before the first chapter begins. Salvatore is one of the few fiction authors whose works I have read who actually makes you ponder the meaning and purpose of life. This topic is continually dealt with – albeit in a much more subtle way – through the rest of the book.

I believe that I can safely continue without giving anything away, but if you are one of those people who does not want to know anything about a book before reading it, you may want to stop here. Although, I would question why you are reading a review in the first place.

I love D&D stories involving the undead, and Salvatore does not let me down. There are your run of the mill skeletons and zombies, incorporeal undead, and even a dracolich! The undead – especially the mindless ones – do not fatigue, do not feel pain, and do not suffer low morale; they just keep coming. This gives stories involving them a higher sense of urgency that, at least in my case, draws the reader into the story. Of course, Salvatore does that quite well with his elegant descriptions and story-telling.

The sense of urgency is increased as “The Weave” is unraveling. This seems to be a common occurrence in Faer