Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Promises much but just doesn't deliver, 22 Jun 2007
The concept of the book is wonderfully innovative - "want to know the truth about the orc? Then why not look at the world through their eyes and discover the honorable creature that lies beneath that monstrous exterior".
Well, that's the idea but unfortunately Stan Nicholls has made one terrible error - he's not writing about orcs. The creatures he writes about are intelligent, emotional, articulate, jovial, happy, fearful, desiring and so on. Point of fact is that these orcs are so un-orclike that they're indistinguishable from humans. There are hardly any physical references to the differences we would expect with orcs (what about their great strength, toughness, skin colour, etc?), there is no mention of any reasonable contrasts between the social structure enjoyed by orcs and humans (sure these orcs are warlike but they're far from WWWWWAAAAAAARRRRR-like), and as for any mental disparities separating human and orc, well good luck in finding any (any you do find will be tenuous at the very best).
Okay, Stan is obviously writing about a different kind of orc from the one I'm thinking about but hold on a second. My mental picture of orcs is created from books such as Lord of the Rings, computer games like Warcraft, board games like Warhammer and an entire shed load of RPG games. I can safely say that my understanding of orcs is pretty broad. Ultimately, the orcs that Stan writes about are so far removed from anything orc-like that it destroys the entire concept of the book, which is a terrible shame.
I could go on about the predictable plot, the growing sense of monotony one has with each new battle, the (oft times) truly awful dialogue and horribly contrived ending. But I won't.
All in all, the book shows great promise but just fails to deliver on almost every single level - you'd do a heck of a lot better reading one of the many orcish Warhammer novels that must be out there.
Avert your eyes my orcish brethren and move on swiftly - the true glory of the orcish hoard will not be found within these pages!
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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not too bad, 18 April 2007
The book starts good, Orcs fighting in a human settlement, but it soon drags. The first problem is the battle sequences which are pretty much all the same, and each ends agonisingly with "casualties?" Jup: "Only minor injuries, we were lucky". It occurs so much that you will get vexed at the end of each battle scene praying, hoping, there will be a realistic casualty list after they have been outnumbered 5 to 1 against elite corps of the armies of men. In fact halfway through the book, you get pretty cheery when 200 or so orcs latch on to the band, just so the author can finally kill some of the good guys off without it being a main character. This shouldn't be needed though as the band has a good 20 "Grunts" (a word which appears about 4-5 times a page)which have no character whatsoever, no lines personality or actions other than follow the lead orc "Stryke". In fact he only seems to refer to them by name when in a list(in battle tactics, proclamations etc), just so you don't get too close if(heaven forbid)one of them dies.
Another problem about the book is the story...I know this seems quite a big point, but it still struggles on without a good one. The problem with the story is that its like playing an early final fantasy game. Going to each location one by one collecting crystals, not only that but the worlds so small, you could cross the map in 3 days, which makes it difficult to picture how many of the characters in the book seem mystified by many of the locations presented(I mean if you could explore the whole world in a month, you would do it right? You wouldn't stay under a rock, like some of the "explorers" and "veterans" must have done and been lying through their teeth), and also how some battles contain 20,000 plus troops, which takes the edge off realism. These faults shows the authors ability to keep you reading despite the fact you know you shouldn't. The main reason for this is their great portrayal of the evil characters which make the book worthwhile. The portrayal of the 5 main orcs also gives the book a sense of meaning, as you want them to complete their quest.(though id prefer them to be a lot less human, and a lot more orc-like and vulnerable).
All in all a good read, drags in some places and makes you want to see orc blood, but it should keep your attention to the end.
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8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fast paced and fun, 20 Feb 2006
This book puts the whole fantasy world into a spin and places orcs - the deadly foe as the good guys.A story that twists and turns and provides an enjoyable read with lots of deatailed battles and in my opinion some really good character development. to sum it up in a sentence, - Orcs is a fast paced thrilling ride with blood and gore and twists and turns, very enjoyable read.
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