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Grunts!
  
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Grunts! (Paperback)

by Mary Gentle (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 549 pages
  • Publisher: Corgi (23 Sep 1993)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0552136298
  • ISBN-13: 978-0552136297
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 306,370 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #8 in  Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Authors, A-Z > G > Gentle, Mary

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Product Description

Synopsis
A darkly humorous fantasy, by the author of "Rats and Gargoyles" and "The Architecture of Desire". The usual Last Battle of Good against Evil is about to begin. The forces of Light are outnumbered and full of headstrong heroes devoid of tactics - but the Light's still going to win.

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Customer Reviews

13 Reviews
5 star:
 (7)
4 star:
 (5)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Some very harsh scenes which may shock but a top class read, 13 Mar 2002
By bloodclaw_97@yahoo.com (Kildare, Ireland) - See all my reviews
This is an excellent take on the standard swords and sourcery genre.

It takes the happy fantasy characters and looks at them in a more "real" situation. Orcs who commit war crimes, S&M hobbits, Heros of the light who aren't as nice as they seem and bad guy's who you like even though they are brutal, nasty creatures.

Do not buy this book for the easily offended or the youner reader. It's a nasty war book wearing fantasy clothes.

Quote of the book
"Pass me another elf, this one has split"

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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The curse of modern Warfare....., 20 Oct 2002
This review is from: Grunts (Hardcover)
And believe me, in the context of this book, the review title is pretty literal.

Imagine a group of generic fantasy orcs who recover a magnificent treasure amongst a Dragon's hoard...I trove of modern firearms and military equipment. Armed with this gear, the Orcish grunts begin to fall under it's spell, gaining the trappings of our modern military, specifically Marines.

This book is a very darkly humourous tale, certainly not for the squeamish or for children. It is, however, for those who have grown tired of weak-kneed Tolkienesque fantasy. And it's not just fantasy it takes on, Science fiction and war-stories in general get a pounding, with some wonderful Aliens-esque sequences later in the book.

The book achieves some marvellous effects though, amongst the villainous (For no matter what happens, they always keep their streak of brutal aggresion) Orcs, there quickly come a number of characters who you come to like, whilst amongst the armies of light there are those who somehow seem just as brutal and misguided as the orcs.

The writing is deft and always humorous and the book never stoops to heavy moralising, it doesn't need to, you always know what's right and wrong. It's just that Gentle's writing makes it seem so.....funny.

So, particularly if you're beginning to find over-exposure to Lord of the Rings too much at the moment, pick this up. It's the perfect antidote.

Now if only we could get a sequel.....

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Brutal, Rude & Dark Fantasy Fun, 4 Mar 2005
This review is from: Grunts (Paperback)
If you like your humour brutal, rude and dark, and you know the 'standard' fantasy conventions, then there's a good chance you'll like this book.

If you know how things usually work in fantasy (Noble & Pure Heros of light, last desperate battle against overwhelming forces of darkness, etc) then you might enjoy seeing things from the bad guys point of view - The forces of darkness are nasty, but the forces of light aren't very nice either.

It gets graphic and messy, and only really works if you recognise the stereotypes its making fun of, so it won't be to everyones taste.

Don't buy it expecting a childrens book

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars The Orc is a Marine Monster - Pliny the Elder
Grunts is a great fantasy 'what if' tale.
What if some of the servants of Darkness decide they don't want to be slaughtered at the Last Battle? Read more
Published 2 months ago by J. Bagshaw

3.0 out of 5 stars Nearly Good
This was my first Mary Gentle book &, I'm guessing, probably not typical of her output. It is an attempt to write a rollicking Rabelaisian tale & I'm not entirely convinced by it... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Roger Cawkwell

4.0 out of 5 stars very funny and unpredictable
i felt that one of the best things about this book was that i had absolutely no clue what was going to happen next. Read more
Published on 4 Sep 2005 by daniel_gaudry

4.0 out of 5 stars A fun read
The premesis of Grunts, is a fantasy story with the tables turned. You got alle the clichéd fantasy stuff like the light and the evil, elves, orcs, halflings, paladins, etc. Read more
Published on 24 Nov 2003 by Jo-Herman Haugholt

4.0 out of 5 stars Grunts- an attitude
If you like traditional fantasy literature....Grunts may shock and offend you, it's a book about orcs and about what is important to orcs, and a few other incidental things, it is... Read more
Published on 13 Oct 2003

5.0 out of 5 stars FANTASTIC ALLKY FUNNY FANTASY..!!!!!!
What a laugh from start to finish!!!!!. The story of a platoon of marauding "Orcs" and their commanding officer. Very VERY funny, with a fantadtic ending... Read more
Published on 9 Oct 2003 by humulin2

5.0 out of 5 stars I love this little gem.
I didnt know anything about this book when I casually picked it up in my local library, and how pleased I was when I found what a gem I had! Read more
Published on 6 Jul 2003 by raymond hilder

5.0 out of 5 stars Refreshing read
Excellent book. A very good mixture of Fantasy and Miltary.
Well written, very funny.
Published on 2 May 2003

5.0 out of 5 stars Da Orc Boyz Rule!!
The fantasy setting with a modern day 'twist' works very well and provides fuel for what is a rarity in current mass of hefty, boring, Tolkien-clones - A fantasy novel that is... Read more
Published on 17 Feb 1999

4.0 out of 5 stars Orcs in the marines!
A very wry, and piquant blending of the ORCish myth with the US marine corps. Wickedly funny in parts. Very good indeed
Published on 12 Jan 1999

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