Orcs Trilogy by Stan Nicholls - Book Review

Orcs is a fantasy series about a band of orcs. The war band called the Wolverines, led by Stryke, complete a mission to steal an object for Queen Jennesta. However, the object is stolen and Stryke decides to lead his war band in pursuit. Once they obtain the object they realise that it is a magical artifact that they call a star. Stryke decides to pursue the rest to find out the truth about his race and essentially deserts Queen Jennesta.

This book is simply a fantasy novel with lots of battles. The events of this novel take place at the same time as a religious war between humans. The Mannis believe in many gods and can be described as pagan, whereas the Unis are monotheistic and consider the elder races as an evil to be vanquished.

I like the fact that the orcs get a starring role in this series and that they are described as a race that is forced to kill others on the command of a Sorceress Queen. The dialogue between the orcs is funny and the Queen Jennesta takes pleasure in ripping out heart to absorb magic. This book is aimed at a mature audience. All in all a decent book.

On the other hand I did feel at time that the battles added little to the story and that the plot pacing was not perfect. The last few chapters were amazing with plenty of plot reveals and sword and sorcery. Read this book if you are a fan of gritty fantasy without a long complex plot.

Rating 6,9/10