Orcs

Starred review from September 8, 2008
This shelf-bending omnibus comprises the first U.S. release of Nicholls's Orcs trilogy (Bodyguard of Lightning, Legion of Thunder and Warriors of the Tempest), originally published in the U.K. in 1999 and 2000. When a warband of orcs run afoul of their tyrannical mistress on a mission to retrieve an invaluable artifact, they set in motion a series of cataclysmic events that could free their race from long-standing persecution or obliterate them from the realm forever. Pursued by an irate sorceress, ruthless bounty hunters and two vengeance-obsessed armies, Captain Stryke and his misfit band of mercenary orcs embark on a desperate quest to find a set of ancient "instrumentalities" that could save them and their magic-filled world from destruction at the hands of human interlopers. With grand scale world building, labyrinthine plotlines, extensive backstory and pedal-to-the-metal action, Nicholls captures adventure fantasy at its very best. This edition-which also includes a short story entitled "The Taking" (a prequel to the three novels), and an in-depth author interview-will be a cult classic with quest fantasy fans on both sides of the Pond.

December 20, 2010
Sent to fetch a magical relic, Stryke, the Orc captain of the Wolverines, discovers that his band is being hunted not only by his usual enemies (humans, hostile Orc tribes, etc.) but by his queen, Jennesta, the very one who had sent him on the mission. Evading enemies, fighting in foreign territories, and acquiring additional magical relics are the only means he and his fellow orcs have of surviving. The more than 20 hours of listening (this production includes the entire Orc trilogy and a bonus short story) finds a perfect vessel in John Lee's deep, rhythmic, reverberating voice with its quirky mix of Irish and English accents. The book offers eclectic characters of different age, sexes, and species, but Lee provides distinct voices for each, shifting from description to action and from character to character flawlessly. An Orbit paperback.

Starred review from August 4, 2008
This shelf-bending omnibus comprises the first U.S. release of Nicholls's Orcs trilogy (Bodyguard of Lightning, Legion of Thunder and Warriors of the Tempest), originally published in the U.K. in 1999 and 2000. When a warband of orcs run afoul of their tyrannical mistress on a mission to retrieve an invaluable artifact, they set in motion a series of cataclysmic events that could free their race from long-standing persecution or obliterate them from the realm forever. Pursued by an irate sorceress, ruthless bounty hunters and two vengeance-obsessed armies, Captain Stryke and his misfit band of mercenary orcs embark on a desperate quest to find a set of ancient "instrumentalities" that could save them and their magic-filled world from destruction at the hands of human interlopers. With grand scale world building, labyrinthine plotlines, extensive backstory and pedal-to-the-metal action, Nicholls captures adventure fantasy at its very best. This edition-which also includes a short story entitled "The Taking" (a prequel to the three novels), and an in-depth author interview-will be a cult classic with quest fantasy fans on both sides of the Pond.

Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.