"The Orc King finds Drizzt's whirling scimitar blades tackling both familiar foes and refreshingly ambiguous moral challenges . . . The story line marks the continuation of Salvatore's maturation as a writer, introducing more complex themes into a frequently black-and-white fantasy landscape."

--Kirkus

Drizzt knows all too well that the tenuous peace between the orcs of the Kingdom of Many-Arrows and the dwarves of Mithral Hall is a fragile thing. And that's made all the more fragile by one of the dark elf renegade's most trusted companions: the irritable dwarf king Bruenor.

A shadowy conspiracy of wizards from the Arcane Brotherhood, drow from Menzoberranzan, and disgruntled orcs weary of the reign of King Obould gather along the edges of an already nervous Spine of the World.

In the Forgotten Realms world, trust doesn't come easy, and old prejudices trump new alliances. When war comes to the North once again, Drizzt and Bruenor won't just have to outfight their enemies, they'll have to outlive lifetimes of hatred between orcs and dwarves. But wasn't it Drizzt who proved that even if someone is born to a society of evil, he can carry some seed of goodness? If a drow could do it, why not an orc?

The first installment in the epic Transitions trilogy, The Orc King establishes new kingdoms, new ways of thinking, and new danger to the ever-evolving Forgotten Realms setting. This is just the start of a series of sweeping changes that continue in The Pirate King, and on to the latest Drizzt best seller The Ghost King. And Drizzt's world will never be the same again.