The Orc King

Transitions, Book I

By: R. A. Salvatore

Narrated by: Mark Bramhall

Length: 15 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

Drizzt is back, and facing a world changed forever!

An uneasy peace between the dwarves of Mithral Hall and the orcs of the newly established Kingdom of Many-Arrows can't last long. The orc tribes united under Obould begin to fight each other, and Bruenor is determined to finish the war that nearly killed him and almost destroyed everything he's worked to build.

But it will take more than swords and axes to bring a lasting peace to the Spine of the World. Powerful individuals on both sides may have to change the way they see each other. They may have to start to talk. And it won't be easy.

This book wasn't just the next installment in the long-running saga of the famous dark elf, but the beginning of a bold new trilogy that will help change the face of the Forgotten Realms world forever.

TM & ©2023 Wizards of the Coast LLC

Don't forget to listen to more adventures of the Forgotten Realms.

©2008 R. A. Salvatore (P)2009 Random House

Brilliant read

Would you listen to The Orc King again? Why?

I've been reading these characters for over 15 years now, but I had a lot more time to read back then, and a very long commute to work now. So the only way to continue these stories have been through their audio counterparts. Mark has captured the voices these characters had in my head and applied them to these reads. Naturally, the women in the book don't sound like I imagined, but all of the lead males characters (Drizzt, Buernor, Wulfgar, Pwent) sound amazingly-distinct and true to their character. I plan on continuing the series with Mark as my narrator, as he brings these books to life with emotive reads.

What did you like best about this story?

While the story served as a transition, it also held its own as a strong time-passage vessel that tasked the characters with accepting change that goes beyond their own comfort zone. It was an interesting thing to see, give the characters' past.

Have you listened to any of Mark Bramhall’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is the first performance I have listened to.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Absolutely

Any additional comments?

I was delighted to discover that Mark would be re-reading the older books in the series. I'd always wanted to return to those books and re-experience them, but again, with the time budget afforded to me now, I barely have enough to keep up with the new books, so this alternative will be even better read with someone who gets the characters he's reading.

a good story and a new narrator

suprised at the new narrator, kind of glad though after so many audio books I was slowly falling asleep to Victor's soothing tone.
one thing that kept getting me is how the new narrator pronounced certain terms. the one that bothered me the most was kas-eh-tae-ah and ino-ven-dale. it was weird that the continuity of how names and thing are not pronounced the same. other than that I was just struggling with a new narrator.

other than that this story is strangely good fun all the characters are apealing. for some one without a book in front of him it was hard to keep the Ork names straight with so many important names being introduced.

I enjoyed this book a lot it's another good one.

how do you mispronounce pickle?

Let me put it this way the narrator is bad he has a wet sound to his voice and has trouble with s sounds he mispronounces most of the names like pickle.

give him a try

not quite the same as Victor bevine, but this guy does a decent job if given a chance. much better than the dude who narrates The Road of the Patriarch. I couldn't do that one.

Good

The one problem I have is the narrator he killed it for me I don't think I will getting the other books he do

Narration not that bad

After reading some of the other reviews and listening to the first few minutes of the book, I was a little hesitant about finishing it. Turns out I kind of prefer Mr Bramhalls style over Mr Bivines style. Yes, he does pronounce some of the names different, but in my opinion, his voice work was much better.

I just wanted to offer my opinion about the narrator, please see other reviews for the actual story and what not. (Which I enjoyed, I just dont like writing reviews normally)

bad narrator

I don't know why they switched narrator for the series but I dont like the new one, victor should have exclusive narrative of the series

Marked for improvements

Mark Bramhall's Narration was inconsistent. I will probably purchase this book at chapters or indigo to read it. I do not think I'll be purchasing anymore audio books after this experience.

Really wish the narrator hadn't been switched

While the story is good and for the most part the narrator does a good job, his pronounciation can be maddening. There were several times it felt like he went out of his way to mispronounce things. It is very jarring considering we spent 10+ books with a different narrator.

Narration was not good

After listening to this book I've decided that the next two books in this series that are also read by the same guy I will be reading myself.