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The Ancient by R.A. Salvatore
01/07/2008 . Source: Rod MacDonald 
audio CD. pub: Audio Renaissance/PanMacmillan. 12 hours. 10 CDs. Price: $44.95 (US), $49.95 (CAN) ISBN: 978-1-4272-0278-9. Read by: Erik Singer. Buy The Ancient in the USA - or Buy The Ancient in the UK  check out website: http://us.macmillan.com/Book.aspx?isbn=9781427202789
I must confess not to being an avid reader of fantasy. In fact, I've never read R. A. Salvatore's work before, despite the fact that he is a famous author with 10 million sales. I have often looked at bookshelves in bookshops, witnessing the many titles available under his name, but declined from purchasing for one important reason.
The main reason I'm put off fantasy novels is that they usually come in a long series of four or five or even six books and I just don't have the time or inclination to read all of them. The impression is there that if all the novels aren't read, something important will be missed out and you will be left not knowing the whole story. While this is very good for the predator publisher who exploits the collector's psyche, it's not good if you've got a hundred other things to do. However, because 'The Ancient' is claimed by the author to be readable as a stand-alone novel, I was in the ideal position to put this to the test.
R. A. Salvatore, an American from Massachusetts, is a man approaching 50. During his long writing career, he's been responsible for a vast series of novels the most significant of which would probably be 'The Demon Trilogy' and the other Demon books in the collection. He is also into computer games and markets many products in this area associated with his writing.
'The Ancient' is part of 'The Saga Of The First King', a four book series set in the early days of Corona which incidentally was the setting for his Demon saga. We are introduced to a miserable character called Badden, The Ancient, who is a member of the Samhaists, a nasty group of people with over-sized egos immersed in fundamentalism and intent on doing others harm. (This wouldn't be the Persians, would it?) Anyway, Badden wakes up one morning, probably with a hangover, and discovers something called an Alpinadoran lake, just below his magical ice castle. All I can say is that hitherto, he's been very unobservant!
This lake, for some strange reason, exists in an ecological niche and its benign climate and surroundings allow a whole host of beings to profligate. Some are nice, some are unpleasant while others are just plain weird. These societies seem oblivious to the outside world but seem to exist, while not peacefully, with each other in a spirit of toleration and expediency. Badden doesn't like this! His immediate thoughts are to kill the lot of them!
Into this comes Bransen Garibond. Who's he? Well, although 'The Ancient' is the first of four books in 'The Saga Of The First King' there was a book published last year (2007) which proved to be quite successful. Entitled 'The Highwayman' it tells the tale of an enigmatic character with sword and mask who becomes a sort of Robin Hood hero in this ancient land of Corona. Bransen is the Highwayman.
Now, Bransen has lost his father, some years previously it must be said and not to the underworld but to some place far-off and he eventually decides to embark on a quest to find him. On this epic journey, he becomes caught up in the fight against Badden and his Samahaist Corona cronies. He soon emerges as the pivotal character in the entire war and all future events will be decided by his success or failure. Riveting stuff!
This is an audio book of course. It's read by Erik Singer, an accomplished actor of Shakespearean merit, and he does a very good job of the narration. One of Salvatore's great strengths is his power of description. Erik Singer is able to bring this out to explore the full effect of the scenery and battles in this epic tale. Although not overly enthusiastic to begin with when commencing this novel, it is very easy to get caught up in the story. Salvatore has lots of hooks which make you carry on from one chapter to the next or from one CD to the next as in this case.
Yes, it was a very good story and certainly one worth listening to. Does it stand alone? No, I wouldn't say so. If the story had been rubbish then I would have had no hesitation in leaving it isolated but Salvatore writes a good story and is very clever in the way he does it. The tendency is to ask for more of the same. I am now tempted to have a look at 'The Highwayman' and the other books that will follow in the series.
As with most offerings from Macmillan Audio, this is a professional work, well presented and enjoyable to listen to. I can give this one a recommendation without a doubt.
Rod MacDonald
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