''The Sellswords'' is a trilogy of fantasy novels written by

R. A. Salvatore Robert Anthony Salvatore (born January 20, 1959) is an American author best known for ''The Legend of Drizzt'', a series of fantasy novels set in the Forgotten Realms and starring the popular character Drizzt Do'Urden. He has also written ''The ...

, whose related works include ''

The Legend of Drizzt ''The Legend of Drizzt'' is a series of fantasy novels by R. A. Salvatore that began in 1988, and consists of 38 books as of August 9, 2022. They are based in the ''Forgotten Realms'' setting in the dimension of Abeir-Toril on the continent Fae ...

'' series and ''

The Hunter's Blades Trilogy ''The Hunter's Blades Trilogy'' is a fantasy trilogy by American writer R.A. Salvatore. It follows the ''Paths of Darkness'' series and is composed of three books: '' The Thousand Orcs'', '' The Lone Drow'', and '' The Two Swords''. ''The Two Swo ...

''. It contains three books, ''

Servant of the Shard ''Servant of the Shard'' was originally the third book in R.A. Salvatore's ''Paths of Darkness'' book series. It was also made the first book of the trilogy ''The Sellswords''. In this novel, Artemis Entreri acquires Charon's Claw. Plot summary ...

'' (also included as the third book in the ''

Paths of Darkness ''Paths of Darkness'' is an epic fantasy series of novels chronicling adventures of the renegade drow elf character Drizzt Do'Urden written by R. A. Salvatore. It is the follow-up series to ''Legacy of the Drow'' and is followed up by ''The Hunt ...

'' quartet, which books were later published as the 11th through 14th books of ''The Legend of Drizzt''), ''

Promise of the Witch-King ''Promise of the Witch-King'' is book 2 of the Forgotten Realms trilogy ''The Sellswords''. Book 1 was originally part of the Drizzt line of novels and has now been re-released with some short stories making up for the gap in time. The book deta ...

'', and ''

Road of the Patriarch ''Road of the Patriarch'' is the third book in ''The Sellswords'' trilogy from the Forgotten Realms fantasy novel collection written by R. A. Salvatore. In the final episode of this series, Jarlaxle and Entreri find themselves having to answer fo ...

''.

Plot

The trilogy continues the tale of the infamous assassin,

Artemis Entreri ''Forgotten Realms'' is a campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a ...

, previously featured in books as

Drizzt Do'Urden Drizzt Do'Urden () is a fictional character appearing in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game. Drizzt was created by author R. A. Salvatore as a supporting character in the ''Icewind Dale ...

's self-proclaimed archenemy, and the cunning

drow The drow ( or ) or dark elves are a dark-skinned and white-haired subrace of Elf (Dungeons & Dragons), elves connected to the Subterranea (geography), subterranean Underdark in the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy roleplaying game. The drow have ...

mercenary,

Jarlaxle ''Forgotten Realms'' is a campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a ...

, previously relevant as the leader of

Bregan D'aerthe Menzoberranzan, the "City of Spiders", is a fictional city-state in the world of the ''Forgotten Realms'', a ''Dungeons & Dragons'' campaign setting. The city is located in the Upper Northdark, about two miles below the Surbrin Vale, between the M ...

, an outlaw group of drow based primarily in and around Menzoberranzan, that does business mostly with the drow of Menzoberranzan. Continuing the story of Artemis and Jarlaxle told in the ''

'' series, Artemis and Jarlaxle begin an adventure that tests their skills, their minds, and their souls. While the two characters are antagonists in the Drizzt Do'Urden series, in ''The Sellswords'' trilogy they are the main characters of some of the few books in Salvatore's

Forgotten Realms ''Forgotten Realms'' is a campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a ...

novels that do not focus on the legendary drow warrior, Drizzt Do'Urden, as the hero of the novel. ''The Sellswords'' develops the two characters more deeply than was possible in the other Salvatore books, giving the reader an in depth view of the mind of the cold, calculating Artemis Entreri and the ambitious, opportunistic Jarlaxle.

Works included

# ''

'' (2000) # ''

'' (2005) # ''

'' (2006)

Reception

Pat Ferrara of mania.com comments: "The second book of arguably the coolest Forgotten Realms literary spin-off to date, Promise of the Witch-King continues the Sellswords Series without skipping a beat. Tightly knit plotlines, absurd yet memorable and engaging characters, and hellishly fast-paced storytelling culminate in a wild melee of swords and sorcery led by the master himself." The audio recording of ''Road of the Patriarch'' received a favorable review from ''California Bookwatch'', which praised all aspects of the novel, including the plot, the action, and the narration by David Colacci.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sellswords, The Book series introduced in 2000 Forgotten Realms novel series