The Highwayman by RA Salvatore (Saga of the First King: Book 1)

7/10

The first thing that comes to mind about this book is that it was entertaining. The plot is all right, the characters are all right, if not a bit two dimensional. Honestly the whole book is all right, for a certain reader.

I believe that this story is for those of us that love superhero stories, kind of the American superhero-comics except in a typical fantasy setting, having homicidal bloody-beret-dwarves and all.

This book is mainly about the struggles of a physically malformed boy. The first part of the book is the introduction to the parents and the main ‘world-building-ingredients’ for the later story. The boy gets born, shortly after being born becomes orphan and then gets raised by a compassionate friend. The thing is, the boy is incapable of normal movement or fluent speech. A kind of spasm disease, one could say.

Another part of the book is about the war between two religions, the struggle between the poor and the ruler of the domain.

Things change, and like Spiderman getting bitten by a radio-active spider, Bransen gets his superhero upgrade into a kind of ninja-Robin Hood. Which of course results in some brilliant fighting scenes.

R.A. Salvatore is known for his Forgotten Realm series, which have provided him with a large fan base. If you’re a fan of Salvatore’s you are certainly going to like this book.

If this is the first book you’re reading from Salvatore I’d recommend his first book, the Crystal Shard and the following series. In my opinion those are his best.