Stan Nicholls - Orcs

[kaneda]

Has anyone read this book? It's the omnibus edition of 'bodyguard of lightning', ' legion of thunder' and 'warriors of the tempest' apparently. I saw it in waterstones the other day and it had a positive review by a member of staff, but I couldn't decide whether to buy it or not. What did you make of it?

 

[Marky Lazer]

I asked myself the same with this book. It looks promising and all, but I don't know whether to go for it or not.

 

[Connavar]

I saw this ombnius in my bookshop too, i will get simply its interesting seeing the story from Orcs POV for once.

I hear only good things about it from fellow heroic fantasy fans.

 

[Werthead]

It is terrible. If you must read it, get it out of a library.

The plot is pedestrian and boring. The fact that these guys are orcs is never explored. After the first three pages and the very occasional "Hey, these guys are orcs therefore they're evil, hang on, they're okay!" spiel, you completley forget these guys are orcs. They're all very characterless. The worldbuilding is atrociously paper-thin and the prose is sleepworthy.

In a word, avoid.

 

[Fried Egg]

I agree. I read it and found it to be quite mediocre and nothing special. Definitely better books to invest your time and money in.

 

[nj1]

Well I recieved the three books a good few years ago when I was stupidly a member of a book club. The books they sent me were all a bit rubbish and the Orcs series was no exception. I think thier overrated to say the least.
In fact I found them a bit juvenile, probably aimed at young teenagers.
So in you enjoy a good fantasy read with a bit of depth = avoid like the plague. If your a teenager starting out in fantasy - maybe.

 

[Who's Wee Dug]

I must admit I really enjoyed them.

 

[Overread]

I agree with Who's Wee Dug - I really liked these books!
I also got that all in one edition and I found them fun to read.
I also found them better than his latest works - Quicksilver Rising and others.
There is also a new series of 3 books being released at some point (when he writes them) extending the story

 

[JDP]

I'll have to go with the 'nays'. The premise sounded quite interesting, so I asked someone to get me it for my birthday. Unfortunately, I thought the book(s) was(were) rubbish. I'd not bother reading it if I were you.

It seemed to me to have a very weak storyline with little thought gone into it. It just kept rehashing the 'Orcs are now good, humans are now bad' thing. Also, jaded 'fantastical' species kept popping up at random, which annoyed me.

 

[Nada]

mmhh, I stay somewhere in the middle between the yays and nays.
I would say it is "classical" fantasy (mages, dragons and such) but the theme "we are orcs therefore bloodlusty and violent" it IS explored. If you like fighting, chases, innumerable humanoid races, the "good" winning against the evil, then it may give some hours of fun.

There are a couple of themes that may be intriguing but not enough to sustain the story. All in all, i found the omnibook far too long (to finish it was a challenge), and the second and third book quite weak. Library is better than buying, definitely.

If you look for something challenging and sophisticated, avoid entirely.

 

[Connavar]

It is terrible. If you must read it, get it out of a library.

The plot is pedestrian and boring. The fact that these guys are orcs is never explored. After the first three pages and the very occasional "Hey, these guys are orcs therefore they're evil, hang on, they're okay!" spiel, you completley forget these guys are orcs. They're all very characterless. The worldbuilding is atrociously paper-thin and the prose is sleepworthy.

In a word, avoid.

You think Conn Iggulden sucks so i will take your diss with a bit of salt

But it doesnt bode well several others agree with you.