This story is about redemption. The redemption of Artemis Entreri and to a lesser extent Jarlaxle. Even Athrogate, the Dwarf has a back story that is to be told.
In previous books it is Drizzt who tries to break through Entreri's hardened exterior, but is doomed to fail. Perhaps because Drizzt is his nemesis. In the end it is Jarlaxle, his self proclaimed muse, who manages to set Entreri on the path to redemption. To purge his ghosts.

Good read for fantasy.

I'm not sure what was going on with the plot or pacing, but I had a great time.

Загалом один з цікавіших творів серії. Знову головними персонажами є зовсім не позитивні особи: темний ельф Джарлакс і найманий убивця Артемій Ентрері. Джарлакс задумав проголосити Ентрері королем у підкореному ними раніше магічному замку на території володінь короля Гарета. Цікаві міркування щодо природи влади монарха, прав інших осіб отримати владу. Задум не вдався і виявилося, що він був засобом досягнення іншої мети. Дізнаємося більше про минуле персонажів.

Jarlaxle was always one of my favorite characters. Artemis, less so. This book changed my mind.

My favorite parts of The Legend of Drizzt are when the series sheds the fantasy adventure romp for a minute (as delightful a fantasy adventure romp as it is!) and reminds you that, at core, this is a series about generational trauma and what it means to make better mistakes than your parents.
Road of the Patriarch is less action-adventure focused and deals with heavier topics than I think any of the other Drizzt books I've read thus far (not reading in order at all). Homeland and Timeless certainly have some extreme examples of messed up shit, but the trauma in Artemis' backstory is grounded and real in a way the Menzoberranzan stuff never quite is. I'm half bothering to write a review to ensure "heads up, there's evocative descriptions of CSA in this one" is among the reviews. Luckily the book really slaps you in the face with Artemis' flashbacks right out of the gate, so you know what you're getting into (I had to put the book down for a while when I first started it), but this book spends the vast majority of it's time in Artemis' head. It's not just a surface level inclusion. That's what this book is about. I'm not here to judge how "appropriate" the depictions are, as a reader's tolerance can be very personal (though my one complaint is that this series tends to be genre-typical in it's handling of sexualized violence towards women despite it's very good handling of male survivors), but personally I felt it was solid.
The rest of the plot is very drama and politics focused, and is such a strange little chestnut that it kept my attention way more than I would have thought from a summary. Once again, Salvatore does a great job of making three dimensional characters where archetypes would usually serve, and it makes relatively low-stakes political intrigue very compelling. Also once again, Salvatore continues to be fantastic at writing combat, which goes without saying to anyone already familiar with the series.
Not sure I would ever recommend Road of the Patriarch on its own, it really does need the rest of the Sellswords trilogy, but I can recommend it overall - a big pick up after Promise of the Witch King was a big of a slog.
A note on the audiobook: Yeah, I've seen other fans complain about the narrator switch between PotWK and RotP. It's pretty bad. Maybe I'm just used to the old voices but it just does not feel like Artemis and Jarlaxle, who each have such distinct, characteristic voices in Victor Bevine's narration. If I had known I might actually have just read this one instead of going for the audiobook.

The worst of the 3 books. I was very disappointed with this book. **some spoilers**

It had a slow start that got a bit better and then took a nose dive towards disaster. I read about 250 pages but I couldn't finish it.

I felt that Artemis was transitioning from powerful assassin (1st book) to ... just a bit smarter than a fool (3rd book). Perhaps I had hoped for a different direction of character development of Artemis.

The book (and really now that I think about it the whole trilogy) is more about Jarlaxle, while trying to remember to also be about Artemis. Had a weird feeling to it.

Honestly, the 2nd and 3rd books could be summed up like this: Read how Jarlaxle has to guide an idiot around.

I love this series! When I originally read the first book of the series "Servant of the Shard" I didn't understand how much I would start to enjoying the character Artemis Entreri & how much more relatable he is. Salvatore did an amazing job adding so much more depth to the character with giving a large portion of his backstory that created Artemis into the ruthless Assassin.
In this story Salvatore introduced Gareth Dragonsbane & his group of friends that had fought the Witch-King & saved the Bloodstone Lands. I would love to read more on these characters as well, but they only seem to exist in a Dungeons & Dragons module.

An excellent finish to the Sellswords series.
Wishing there were more stories about Jarlaxle and Entreri.

This, the third book in the trilogy, is not as good as the second was.
R.A. Salvatore tries to explain why Entreri is the way he is, by going all the way back to his childhood, and the town he grew up in.
Throughout the whole book, Entreri and Jarlaxle find themselves caught between Spysong and the Citadel of Assassins, but never really committing to either. Calihye and Entreri relationship is still ongoing. Entreri is for the first time opening his heart up for another, because of the aid of Idalia‘s flute. Calihye is caught between actually falling in love with Entreri, and her revenge for her friend Parissus, (lesbian lover?!).
With the help of Kimmuriel and House Bregan D’aerthe, Jarlaxle tries to establish a foothold for the drow on the World Above. Jarlaxle claims Entreri as King Artemis the First of the “unclaimed” Castle D’aerthe, formally the replica of Castle Perilous near the half-orc city of Palishchuk. This not only costs them the loyalty of Palishchuk, but forces King Gareth to raise his army against them! Deep down I hoped that Jarlaxle would prevail, but it is King Gareth who is the victor when he captures King Artemis the First. The conversations between both kings results in King Gareth becoming a better king for his kingdom. With no proof, only speculation, Jarlaxle, Entreri, and Athrogate are exiled. I’m still very fond of Athrogate. He’s a great character throughout the books!

Really awesome, It was interesting to learn of Entreri past and learn why he is the way he is. though I wish I had learned more about Jarlaxle. Perhaps Salvatore will write his story later. Either way, this book was kind of weird and confusing but overall enjoyable, and I think the Sellswords trilogy is worth the read.

A great conclusion to the trilogy. My favorite parts were the interactions with Kane and Olwen. I also loved the plot twist with Calihye and the closure for Entreri at the end.

Well done R.A. Salvatore.