- Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages
- Publisher: Gollancz; New edition edition (14 Oct 1999)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1857985583
- ISBN-13: 978-1857985580
- Product Dimensions: 17.2 x 11 x 2.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 856,937 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Bodyguard Of Lightning: Orcs: First Blood Book One: 1
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
The constant recycling which is an inevitable part of genre in general, and fantasy in particular, means that, if things are to be made new, standard assumptions have perpetually to be up for grabs. For years now, we have had sensitive anguished vampires and dragons so cultured that it is a privilege to be eaten by them; and in recent years, it has been the turn of orcs, those villainous spear carriers who have gibbered and strutted through every fantasy epic since Tolkien. Nicholls' orcs, warband leader Stryke, his corporal Coilla and the rest, are misunderstood infantry, whose ruthlessness and bad domestic habits have been overstated by racist humans; at their worst, they are only obeying orders. The plot of this first volume of a lengthy series is a standard gathering of plot tokens; once Stryke and the others have offended their owner, the enchantress Jenesta, they have no alternative but to collect a series of magic objects in the hope that they will know what to do when they have a full set. Nicholls' tongue is intermittently in his cheek, but his action sequences are seriously exciting and Stryke's drug dreams of a better Orcdom are touching. --Roz Kaveney
Product Description
A fast moving, action packed epic that for the first time tells the story of fantasy's traditional enemy, giving orcs their own motives, heroes and destiny. An epic quest that takes orc warband leader Stryke and his warriors on a journey to secure five artifacts of power with which they hope the can buy their freedom but which actually hold the key to everything and the explanation for the sudden incursion of mankind into the world of the elder races, an incursion that is leeching the magic out of the land of Maras-Dantia.
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First Sentence
Stryke couldn't see the ground for corpses. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Stryke couldn't see the ground for corpses. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I picked up the first volume of this three book series at the American Bookstore while on holiday in Amsterdam. After finishing the first, I had to go back and purchase the other two.This is so quirky, unique and interesting it astounds me that no one has reviewed this yet.It is an absolutely unique series of stories told from the unique viewpoint of the much maligned orcs. Their take on humans is often enlightening as is their take of the other "older races".Please buy these books.They deserve a VERY WIDE audience.And no....I am not related to the author.
Format:Paperback
Nicholls compares the Elder Races (Orcs, Elves and Dwarves) to the American Indians: A new race invades their homelands with machines, farming and new unknown and deadly diseases. But the humans are no unity but divided into two groups, similar to France and England who fight each other and even abuse the Elder Races, like in North-America.
Format:Paperback
Bodyguard of Lightning is the first of new fantasy series that just for once has a new slant of who the main protagonists are - Orcs! These creatures are by far and away portrayed as cannon fodder, as hordes of evil minions and are killed to increase body counts etc in a wide range of fantasy novels from Middle Earth to Faerun. Nicholls here changes this angle and present orcs as being one of a number of 'Elder' races that all co-exist, not always peacefully, and in general terms try to come to terms with the ever increasing hordes of human who it seems are destined to supplant them in Maras-Dantia.
This book is a typical, if lesser in subtlety and actual plot story line, of the many fantasy books that seem to be flooding the market at the minute. You get a good insight into Stryke, the leader of an orc warband that is forced to go renegade through a combination of actions that are not wholly his fault. The book is essentially the story of how his troop of orcs go from zeroes to potentially heroes. The plot lines are very linear and you cannot fail to see how ultimately they will prevail against all odds arrayed against them and you never at any time feel that they will not gain the 'stars' of their quest.
Reading Bodyguard of Lightning is an easy way to spend an afternoon. If you want a simple story with enough swordplay to fill gaping plot holes with a modicum of magic thrown in then this book is for you. If you are looking for a complex fantasy novel full of glory and great deeds then look elsewhere. The first book ends on a cliff-hanger note with the main characters all facing 'certain doom' and I have to admit I will read the next book just to see what happens next - just as if you were watching an old Flash Gordon serial! Good wholesome bloodletting fun!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
So stereotyped I could not finish it
This book is so full of stereotypes that I could guess what it was going to happen ten pages before. Psycology of the bad guys is less than cartoonish. Read more
Published on 26 Mar 2010 by Ivan Rouge
Interesting angle
This is a fast paced book that comes from the angle of the orcs. Its got lots of action so David Gemmell fans would definitely enjoy this book. Read more
Published on 14 July 2004 by Justin Coyne
A fantasy adventure from the evil Orc's point of view
This tale of savagery, sorcery and general mayhem introduces a disciplined, cohesive, group of Orc soldiers. Read more
Published on 10 July 1999
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