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Orcs

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Orcs

By: Stan Nicholls
Narrated by: John Lee
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About this listen

Combining the acclaimed trilogy of books, Bodyguard of Lightning, Legion of Thunder, and Warriors of the Tempest, plus a new short story previously only available in a small press anthology, this is the entire story of Struke and his band of Orcs. Fantasy's bad guys finally their own say in this fast moving, action packed, tongue-in-cheek tale of Orc valor and human treachery.

©2011 Stan Nicholls (P)2011 Orion Publishing Group Ltd Action & Adventure Anthologies & Short Stories Fantasy Fiction

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All stars
Most relevant  
Narrator was fantastic..the story was brilliant. just as I remember when reading it. a great take on the Orcs! please hurry with the next in the series!

Orcs

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Is there anything you would change about this book?

I would plug the holes in the story. Some parts of it just make no sense at all / just couldn't work out the way the author describes. The first two thirds everything is far too easy for the Orcs. It may be said 'perhaps this is their destiny' but it makes it unrealistic. Then there's totally unexplained things, like old enemies turning up out the blue with no explanation of how they got where they were / knew to find the Orcs there.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I would have liked the story to start with Orcs developing from youngsters. Know more about them and their culture. This story being based on Orcs had very little affect on the story.

Which character – as performed by John Lee – was your favourite?

I didn't really like any of the characters. They were all flawed or too over the top.

Do you think Orcs needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Yes, if you enjoyed it but I wouldn't be interested in one.

Any additional comments?

As far as fantasy goes there are much better out there.

Good ideas but didn't fill potential

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i read this book a very long time ago, im glad i decided to give it another listen. i had forgotten how much i enjoyed it

great book

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Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I really enjoyed the battles in this book. It was nice to have a book that didn't skimp or gloss over the battles.
While that was certainly the main plus on the book it also has some negatives. I did find it a bit tedious and a bit simple. I think maybe if I had listened to this when I was 15 I would of loved it. I now like something with a bit more substance. A story line with a bit more character growth. There is a huge horde of Orcs yet we only ever really know 5 of them.
If you wants nice easy listen that is full of battles and people being hit over the head with there severed arm then this is the book for you.
If your looking for great character development with many twists and turns then probably not.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Strike is probably my favourite character simply for the reason he is the only one with any real character development through out the book.

Do you think Orcs needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No. It is a good stand alone book and wraps up most questions.

Great Battles

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The narrator was good if not perhaps a little too well spoken for my liking as I found it hard to get into the battles sometimes when he sounded like he was reading a textbook lol which was actually the whole time in my opinion. Liked it though. Wish there had been orcish romance!

overall good story but no romance!

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If you are looking for lots of detailed fight scenes in a world of orcs, goblins, centaurs pixies and religious nutjobs look no further. Although the plot itself is largely easy enough to predict this book is more about the gritty fight scenes and self indulgent warfare. Enjoyable and easy listening, the voice acting continues to interest until the end.

Gory high fantasy.

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Hugely existing sense of battle and a struggle for independence in a race we only ever read about being evil. Welcome to the orc side.

Highly entertaining

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The narrator for this audio book is very good and he does good work with the characters' voices and trying to give them each a distinct voice and accent and is overall pleasant to listen to. Biggest criticism I'd have regarding the narrator is that he has a tendency to over pronounce his 'H's, eg in words like while ( pronouncing it more like w-Hile rather than wile), but that's only something minor really.

As for the actual story, it was okay. There was nothing special about it and it didn't wow me. If anything kept me listening it was probably more down to the narrator's voice talent and his ability to give the characters a semblance of life.

I personally was also disappointed that the orcs didn't seem very orcy to me; I found them too honourable and more like a romanticised warrior race than orcs, but that's more to do with personal taste than anything so I can't really fault the author. That said, considering in this book they're reptilian, it does make you wonder why the author didn't just make up his own lizardman race rather than use the fantasy staple or orcs.

Great narrator, decent story

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I owned this book several years ago , lent it out and never got it back. Really good book and a different view on orcs which is refreshing. Quality is good but the narrators accents can be a little overdramatic.

so glad I redisovered this book

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Would you listen to Orcs again? Why?

YES, YES, YES. OVER AND OVER AGAIN.

What other book might you compare Orcs to, and why?

I'M NOT SURE THAT THERE IS ANOTHER TO COMPARE IT WITH.

What does John Lee bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

John Lee is the perfect narrator for this gender of book he really reads with feeling and imagination.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

its not possible to listen to in one sitting as the need for sleep at some point in the story, (not because the book is boring), but because we are human and need to sleep we would eventually succumb and lose the thread and have to go back to the point in the story that we could remember listening to before falling asleep.

Any additional comments?

I'm currently listening to this book the second time around and enjoying every second of it.

Exciting to the end

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