The Ancient
R.A. Salvatore's masked avenger from The Highwayman ("…a story pleasingly plump with action, adventure, danger, and, most admirably, great tenderness."—SF Site) returns in The Ancient—part of the thrilling Saga of the First King, a tetralogy chronicling the early days of the world of Corona.
The son of a Jhesta Tu mystic and an Abellican priest, Bransen escapes the infirmities he was born with through the healing stone strapped to his forehead and the wisdom of the Book of Jhest. He hides his affliction from the world just as he keeps secret his identity as the masked outlaw known as the Highwayman.
Bransen is sure his long-lost father will know how to free him of his deformity forever, but as he searches for him, he realizes he’s been tricked into traveling across the treacherous Gulf of Corona to the wild lands of Vanguard. There, he is pressed into service in a desperate war against the brutal Samhaist, Ancient Badden. On the shores of an Alpinadoran lake, the various peoples of the region are caught in conflicts of their own, oblivious to Badden’s plans for their destruction. Bransen must unite them, and if he fails, all of the kingdom will fall under the shadow of the merciless Samhaists.
Hardcover : 384 pages
Publisher: Tor Books/Forge - Don't Use ( March 01, 2008 )
Item #: 12-517423
ISBN: 9780765317896
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 8.25 inches
Product Weight: 15.0 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Not bad, but slow 
January 13, 2011
Overall, at the end of the book, I did enjoy it. The last few chapters were especially interesting and made me want to keep reading.
However, the characters and plot were rather predictable and unoriginal. It had a very slow start, which lasted for at least the first half of the book. It was nowhere near as good as many of Salvatore's other books.
It's probably a good read if you really like the genre and author, but if you are just a casual fan or just not in the mood for a slow and mostly predictable book, skip it.
Reviewer: Allyson K
Slow going at times
September 30, 2008
While I found the overall story good and the characters enjoyable I almost put it down several times because it was slow reading. I managed to keep reading because everytime I almost put it down it picked up the pace again. Though I must admit I may have enjoyed it more if I'd read the book prior to this one. I have read The Dark Elf and the Icewind Dale trilogies and many other of his books and enjoyed them thouroughly so this the first one he's written one that didn't really live up to what I expected.
Reviewer: Kelly W
Can't Touch The Black Elf Books
June 26, 2008
I have all of the Black Elf series none of them were disappointing. I apparantly missed the book prior to The Ancient but I really don't care since reading The Ancient. I was terribly disappointed by the writing style, and the development of the characters. The book was a slow read and I almost quit several times but kept hoping to find something that would redeem it.
Reviewer: Bonnie S
A must read for Savatore fans
June 21, 2008
The Ancient picks up right where the highwayman left off. For me the story like the highwayman begins very slow and I must admit I thought about setting it down for good. I'm glad that I kept reading, as the story progresses it becomes much more intereting and very enjoyable. I must say the Abellican Church reminds me a lot of the catholic church.
Reviewer: John K
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