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Orcs: First Blood #1
Bodyguard of Lightning
When humans arrived on Maras Mantia, home of dwarves, elves, and all the other old races, they raped the land of its soul and magic. And, now the Orcs, whom Earthlings hunted down and slaughtered like beasts of the field, may be the chosen creatures destined to win peace for all...
298 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
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824 people want to read
About the author
Stan Nicholls
67 books191 followersStan Nicholls (born 1949) is a British author and journalist, working full-time since 1981. He is the author of many novels and short stories but is best known for the internationally acclaimed Orcs: First Blood series.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 103 reviews
February 25, 2013
This is one of those first books in a trilogy that ends with a cliff hanger, in hopes (I guess) that you will rush right out and buy the second book. My best friend gave me the complete, compendium edition of the whole First Blood trilogy, so that wasn't such a problem for me. What was a problem? Sloppy writing, poor world building, boring characters, boring plot... I just did not care enough about the story, characters, or the themes to go on. Hugely disappointing.
After seeing The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and loving the goblins more than (ok, not as much as the badass rabbits) any other characters, I had turned to my friend and said, "I want a fantasy story from the ugly characters' point of view. How come no one's done that?" Stan Nicholls and his Orcs series were standing by, ready to present her with (what appeared to be) the perfect Christmas gift.
Except that it's a bloody mess.
The first chapter, filled with battle rage and self-aware orcs, was encouraging. Then I reached the second chapter, and suddenly I was reading sword-and-sorcery as written by the guys from American Pie. Look, you can include recreational drugs, sex-and-dismemberment rituals, and leather-clad dommes in your sword and sorcery fantasy, that's fine. But you also need a plot that's more than an RPG video game (travel to this location, locate this object, fight this boss). And you need characters who are, sort of, you know, characterized. Here, the characters largely exist as tropes: the wizened veteran, the malcontent upstart, the outsider who has to prove his loyalty (and don't forget!) the girl. And that's just the central band of orcs. The antagonists and supporting characters don't fare much better.
The world-building is also paper thin. It involves a typical fantasy realm, populated by races like the orcs, goblins, dwarves, etc. Humans have shown up only lately, and their influence is, in a clumsy ecological metaphor, draining magic from the land. There's also some pseudo pagan-Christian conflict among the humans, who include polytheistic "Manis" and monotheistic "Unis," who act like fundamentalists and want to scourge the land not only of Manis, but all the other races. What little plot there is involves the hero-orcs collecting "instrumentalities," significant objects that resemble jacks. Somehow, when all five of these objects are collected, something really important will either happen or be revealed. Every other major character wants these instrumentalities, too. But let me be clear: we only know they are important because the characters want them, and from one of those helpful supporting characters who pops up in RPGs to dispense information and then promptly exits the story--in this case a gremlin scholar who read a scroll that said, basically, these are important. Really, that's about all the detail we get. I really can't sit through another five hundred pages on the off chance that something interesting may actually happen once those objects are assembled.
But the biggest failure was the book's only unique angle: the orcs are the protagonists. That's the book's hook. Yet, with the exception of the first chapter and the fact that the author occasionally reminds us that they are orcs by calling them "orcs," I never felt like I was reading the POV of a creature different from myself. The culture, language, and attitude attributed to the orc characters differs in no significant way from ordinary humans--they barely pass for DnD-style barbarians. There's no physical description, passing little to say about their social structure (a few tantalizing hints about "hatchlings" and what happens to the family of a coward), or how they fit into this larger, multi-species society. It's a shame, because the idea is ripe. It's just waiting for a different author to attempt it.
After seeing The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and loving the goblins more than (ok, not as much as the badass rabbits) any other characters, I had turned to my friend and said, "I want a fantasy story from the ugly characters' point of view. How come no one's done that?" Stan Nicholls and his Orcs series were standing by, ready to present her with (what appeared to be) the perfect Christmas gift.
Except that it's a bloody mess.
The first chapter, filled with battle rage and self-aware orcs, was encouraging. Then I reached the second chapter, and suddenly I was reading sword-and-sorcery as written by the guys from American Pie. Look, you can include recreational drugs, sex-and-dismemberment rituals, and leather-clad dommes in your sword and sorcery fantasy, that's fine. But you also need a plot that's more than an RPG video game (travel to this location, locate this object, fight this boss). And you need characters who are, sort of, you know, characterized. Here, the characters largely exist as tropes: the wizened veteran, the malcontent upstart, the outsider who has to prove his loyalty (and don't forget!) the girl. And that's just the central band of orcs. The antagonists and supporting characters don't fare much better.
The world-building is also paper thin. It involves a typical fantasy realm, populated by races like the orcs, goblins, dwarves, etc. Humans have shown up only lately, and their influence is, in a clumsy ecological metaphor, draining magic from the land. There's also some pseudo pagan-Christian conflict among the humans, who include polytheistic "Manis" and monotheistic "Unis," who act like fundamentalists and want to scourge the land not only of Manis, but all the other races. What little plot there is involves the hero-orcs collecting "instrumentalities," significant objects that resemble jacks. Somehow, when all five of these objects are collected, something really important will either happen or be revealed. Every other major character wants these instrumentalities, too. But let me be clear: we only know they are important because the characters want them, and from one of those helpful supporting characters who pops up in RPGs to dispense information and then promptly exits the story--in this case a gremlin scholar who read a scroll that said, basically, these are important. Really, that's about all the detail we get. I really can't sit through another five hundred pages on the off chance that something interesting may actually happen once those objects are assembled.
But the biggest failure was the book's only unique angle: the orcs are the protagonists. That's the book's hook. Yet, with the exception of the first chapter and the fact that the author occasionally reminds us that they are orcs by calling them "orcs," I never felt like I was reading the POV of a creature different from myself. The culture, language, and attitude attributed to the orc characters differs in no significant way from ordinary humans--they barely pass for DnD-style barbarians. There's no physical description, passing little to say about their social structure (a few tantalizing hints about "hatchlings" and what happens to the family of a coward), or how they fit into this larger, multi-species society. It's a shame, because the idea is ripe. It's just waiting for a different author to attempt it.
June 22, 2016
I read this many years ago, but it was the first book I read where Orcs weren't mindless monsters and could even be the good guys.
I also love how many other races Nicholls incorporated into the Orcs series. The way he writes battles are superb too.
I also love how many other races Nicholls incorporated into the Orcs series. The way he writes battles are superb too.
June 25, 2016
A lot of mindless action and very little else.
The premise is great, but the execution is quite lackluster. It was good seeing the humans as the bad guys for once, but we don't get to know much about orcs. I would have liked the main characters to have a bit more personality.
Nothing is clearly explained ("you should reunite all the relics that will, probably, do... something... that possibly could be, somehow, perhaps, the salvation of your race...") or resolved (the book just ends on a big cliffhanger).
It was good seeing that those who were presented, at the beginning, as the members of the elite squad of the Evil Queen's army, were actually able to hold their own in multiple fights where clearly outnumbered or at a disadvantage without suffering heavy injuries or losses. A bit unrealistic, maybe, but there's nothing worse than have your alleged "elite squad" lose 50% of their members to some nameless foes in the first half of the first book.
June 1, 2022
4 sterren - Nederlandse paperback
Naar een van mijn dochters. Recensie zit in het boek. Zal dus even moeten wachten met het plaatsen ervan.
Naar een van mijn dochters. Recensie zit in het boek. Zal dus even moeten wachten met het plaatsen ervan.
September 26, 2009
I'm generally not a fan of your epic style fantasy books. Often times it's the same story over and over again, and usually that story is "Lord of the Rings". So I was happy to discover that "Bodyguard of Lightning", the first book in Stan Nicholl's "Orcs" series, was not your typical fantasy story.
The whole idea of this book is that you follow things from ther perpspective of a war band of orcs, the powerfully built warrior race that generally serve as villainous grunts in most fantasy novels. Here things are much more complex. In the beginning of the book the tiular orcs are in the service of your typical evil magic user style villain, but they're not happy about it. They kill and steal from humans but you like them anyway.
Then as things start to progress the band of Orc soldiers discover that the conflict they've been drafted into makes no sense and they go rogue. Basically they're roaming free in a world that fears and hates them. Everyone is out to get them and trying to find a spot where they fit in.
This leads to them undertaking a quest which leads to some fun, action style set pieces and the cliffhanger ending of the novel.
I found "Bodyguard of Lightning" to be a pretty quick and fun read. Here's hoping the second book in the series is just as enjoyable
The whole idea of this book is that you follow things from ther perpspective of a war band of orcs, the powerfully built warrior race that generally serve as villainous grunts in most fantasy novels. Here things are much more complex. In the beginning of the book the tiular orcs are in the service of your typical evil magic user style villain, but they're not happy about it. They kill and steal from humans but you like them anyway.
Then as things start to progress the band of Orc soldiers discover that the conflict they've been drafted into makes no sense and they go rogue. Basically they're roaming free in a world that fears and hates them. Everyone is out to get them and trying to find a spot where they fit in.
This leads to them undertaking a quest which leads to some fun, action style set pieces and the cliffhanger ending of the novel.
I found "Bodyguard of Lightning" to be a pretty quick and fun read. Here's hoping the second book in the series is just as enjoyable
August 28, 2017
This is a raucous and fun book. I read it awhile ago and am in the process of reading book three in the series. This entails a warband of Orcs serving an evil dominating Sorceress Queen, called Jennesta. She is half Human and half Nayad.
Stryke and his pals, including a Dwarf mercenary named Jup, a foul tempered rival Orc named Hazeem and other form this band. Stryke has visions seemingly fired up by a lost Orc friend and scholar, Mobbs. The make reference to these things called instrumentalities, which are ancient magic relics. The Orcs refer to them as Stars, and they break with Jennesta's army after a series of unfortunate events to go after the first Star.
All in all I really liked this book and am glad to get back to these. I love the Orc characters and the battles they have, of which there are many. Many fantasy races are portrayed here, and I really find it interesting that the Human, of which there are Unis (worship one god) and Manis (worshiping many gods) are depicted as dangerous, destructive and seeping the magic from the world. Some are just plain crazy and even the Orcs don't understand them.
This book was fun and I really enjoyed pouring back through it as I refreshed myself to read the third novel in the series. Great read!
Danny
Stryke and his pals, including a Dwarf mercenary named Jup, a foul tempered rival Orc named Hazeem and other form this band. Stryke has visions seemingly fired up by a lost Orc friend and scholar, Mobbs. The make reference to these things called instrumentalities, which are ancient magic relics. The Orcs refer to them as Stars, and they break with Jennesta's army after a series of unfortunate events to go after the first Star.
All in all I really liked this book and am glad to get back to these. I love the Orc characters and the battles they have, of which there are many. Many fantasy races are portrayed here, and I really find it interesting that the Human, of which there are Unis (worship one god) and Manis (worshiping many gods) are depicted as dangerous, destructive and seeping the magic from the world. Some are just plain crazy and even the Orcs don't understand them.
This book was fun and I really enjoyed pouring back through it as I refreshed myself to read the third novel in the series. Great read!
Danny
August 3, 2017
Mi è piaciuto molto poco, anzi, non mi è piaciuto per niente. Pur essendo (sulla carta) originale e stimolante l'idea di utilizzare gli orchi come protagonisti, ho tuttavia trovato i personaggi fin troppo umanizzati. L'aspetto guerriero e spietato degli orchi è completamente trascurato: dove sono le cruente scene di battaglia? Dove sono gli orchi che combattono per il solo gusto di farlo? Dove sono le scene di gratuita e sanguinosa crudeltà? Se per politically scorrect si intende usare come protagonisti personaggi che di solito sono antagonisti, allora invito tutti a leggere il racconto "Sentinella" di Frederic Brown (contenuto nella raccolta "Le meraviglie del possibile")!
Mi sarei francamente aspettato qualcosa di meglio. Invece cosa mi son trovato davanti!? Dei perfetti soldatini dotati anche di una moralità impeccabile e di un'elevata profondità d'animo! Ma via! La scena in cui gli orchi catturano il bambino umano avrebbe potuto essere promettente, se non fosse che alla fine si comportano come un compito gruppetto di boy scout (ci mancava solo la raccomandazione "...fai il bravo..." per completare il quadro!)! Forse solo Jennesta - la regina metà orco e metà umana - si salva, ma alcuni tratti - sottolineati più volte giusto per portare volutamente lì l'attenzione - la fanno apparire solo come una ninfomane omicida.
Passando poi all'ambientazione, trovo piuttosto deludenti i lievi (o dovrei dire "assenti"?) accenni alla situazione del mondo in cui è ambientata la storia: geografia, cultura, ecc...tutto molto vago...ma è un difetto che trovo piuttosto comune in questi nuovi romanzi fantasy.
Banale il collegamento obbligato con i due sequel: la ricerca di un artefatto magico importantissimo e situato in una terra lontana è un elemento inflazionato quanto il marco tedesco degli anni '20.
In conclusione, le aspettative promesse nella quarta di copertina sono del tutto disattese.
Non ho sentito il bisogno di acquistare i successivi due libri, neppure per la mera curiosità di "vedere come va a finire".
Mi sarei francamente aspettato qualcosa di meglio. Invece cosa mi son trovato davanti!? Dei perfetti soldatini dotati anche di una moralità impeccabile e di un'elevata profondità d'animo! Ma via! La scena in cui gli orchi catturano il bambino umano avrebbe potuto essere promettente, se non fosse che alla fine si comportano come un compito gruppetto di boy scout (ci mancava solo la raccomandazione "...fai il bravo..." per completare il quadro!)! Forse solo Jennesta - la regina metà orco e metà umana - si salva, ma alcuni tratti - sottolineati più volte giusto per portare volutamente lì l'attenzione - la fanno apparire solo come una ninfomane omicida.
Passando poi all'ambientazione, trovo piuttosto deludenti i lievi (o dovrei dire "assenti"?) accenni alla situazione del mondo in cui è ambientata la storia: geografia, cultura, ecc...tutto molto vago...ma è un difetto che trovo piuttosto comune in questi nuovi romanzi fantasy.
Banale il collegamento obbligato con i due sequel: la ricerca di un artefatto magico importantissimo e situato in una terra lontana è un elemento inflazionato quanto il marco tedesco degli anni '20.
In conclusione, le aspettative promesse nella quarta di copertina sono del tutto disattese.
Non ho sentito il bisogno di acquistare i successivi due libri, neppure per la mera curiosità di "vedere come va a finire".
November 22, 2017
If ever there was a rushed job, this must be it. IT’s an ok series, but… The world feels tiny… Inhabitants very… underdeveloped… It’s all just a blur of going here, doing this, fighting, and so on.
having said that? meh, not bad.
having said that? meh, not bad.
April 29, 2022
Un fantasy barbarico, viene definito, un nuovo genere inventato da Stan Nicholls.
Ora, che l’autore abbia inventato un sottogenere del fantasy non posso affermarlo, ma non avevo mai letto nulla di simile prima e ne sono rimasta entusiasta.
Direi che la violenza qui non manca, a partire da un incipit super sanguinario.
Stryke è il capo dei Figli del Lupo, un clan di orchi che è stato messo al servizio di Jennesta (una regina fuori di testa che sc0pa come una mantide religiosa per compiere dei rituali) e che ha il compito di recuperare un oggetto molto importante in una chiesa degli umani.
La particolarità sta nel fatto che qui gli orchi sarebbero “i buoni”.
La terra di Maras-Dantia, infatti, è stata invasa dal popolo degli umani, che si dividono in monoteisti (Uni) e politeisti (Mani) e che hanno ribattezzato la terra usurpata Centrasia. Hanno fatto strage delle creature delle terre antiche: orchi, elfi, nani, troll, ecc e vivono come i nuovi padroni del mondo.
I Figli del Lupo però sono in ritardo e Jennesta pretenderà le loro teste per questo. Cosa fare, allora? Tornare a palazzo o proseguire, consapevoli di diventare dei disertori?
Gli orchi decidono di aprire l’oggetto misterioso e tutto cambia. Ora hanno l’opportunità di conoscere di più sulle terre antiche e come la storia si è svolta davvero.
Inoltre hanno con loro un bel carico di cristalli del lampo, una droga chiamata Pellucida.
Io pazza per i villain non potevo non amare la regina Jennesta.
Nutro però una forte simpatia per il clan degli orchi, in particolare per Stryke e per Coilla, l’unica femmina orco del gruppo che non ha nulla da invidiare agli altri.
⠀
Ora, che l’autore abbia inventato un sottogenere del fantasy non posso affermarlo, ma non avevo mai letto nulla di simile prima e ne sono rimasta entusiasta.
Direi che la violenza qui non manca, a partire da un incipit super sanguinario.
Stryke è il capo dei Figli del Lupo, un clan di orchi che è stato messo al servizio di Jennesta (una regina fuori di testa che sc0pa come una mantide religiosa per compiere dei rituali) e che ha il compito di recuperare un oggetto molto importante in una chiesa degli umani.
La particolarità sta nel fatto che qui gli orchi sarebbero “i buoni”.
La terra di Maras-Dantia, infatti, è stata invasa dal popolo degli umani, che si dividono in monoteisti (Uni) e politeisti (Mani) e che hanno ribattezzato la terra usurpata Centrasia. Hanno fatto strage delle creature delle terre antiche: orchi, elfi, nani, troll, ecc e vivono come i nuovi padroni del mondo.
I Figli del Lupo però sono in ritardo e Jennesta pretenderà le loro teste per questo. Cosa fare, allora? Tornare a palazzo o proseguire, consapevoli di diventare dei disertori?
Gli orchi decidono di aprire l’oggetto misterioso e tutto cambia. Ora hanno l’opportunità di conoscere di più sulle terre antiche e come la storia si è svolta davvero.
Inoltre hanno con loro un bel carico di cristalli del lampo, una droga chiamata Pellucida.
Io pazza per i villain non potevo non amare la regina Jennesta.
Nutro però una forte simpatia per il clan degli orchi, in particolare per Stryke e per Coilla, l’unica femmina orco del gruppo che non ha nulla da invidiare agli altri.
⠀
August 30, 2025
Exciting and near constant action, solid storyline. I enjoyed Nichols’ brutal and immersive descriptions of battle. A refreshing POV as orcs being the main characters (and not always the bad guys) fighting against humans, kobolds, dragons, trolls etc. Ended on such a cliffhanger - NEXT PLS!
January 24, 2025
3.5 ⭐️
January 25, 2026
Starts out bad but becomes somewhat enjoyable around the halfway point of the novel. The evil queen remains the most intriguing character.
January 2, 2014
Questo romanzo fantasy imho è una grande occasione sprecata. L'idea di base non sarebbe male... peccato che poi l'autore l'abbia sviluppata come se stesse scrivendo il manuale di un gioco di ruolo o la trama di un videogioco. Nicholls affronta ogni tematica in maniera estremamente blanda o scontata... ci sono gli orchi, e una storia raccontata dal loro punto di vista aprirebbe un sacco di possibilità, peccato che si comportino in tutto e per tutto come degli esseri umani, e in pochissimi casi si intravede a malapena una realtà aliena e diversa; c'è un arcinemico, così cattivo da essere in effetti un avversario stupido e prevedibile, come peraltro sono tutti gli avversari o le sfide affrontate da questi “orchi”, che infatti massacrano tutti senza grossi problemi; c'è una tematica (pseudo) anticlericale ed ecologista, ma sviluppata nel modo più scontato e banale possibile, con i soliti maschi bianchi cristian(eggiant)i che quando non inquinano, anzi: “stuprano”, la Madre Terra sono impegnati in genocidi, e chissà come ci riescono, visto che prendono sonore sconfitte ogni volta che si scontrano con gli orchi. Perlomeno però c'è molta azione, e anche se è difficile liberarsi dalla sensazione di leggere un GdR, come lettura veloce e poco impegnativa non è neanche tanto male, anche se alla fine ti rimane veramente poco; tutto sommato sarei disposto a leggere il secondo volume della saga, peccato solo che dopo questa prima esperienza non esattamente entusiasmante, non sia affatto disposto a spenderci i quasi 7 € che Mondadori mi chiede.
April 30, 2023
When i read the synopsis of this book, i was immediately intrigued. It had so much potential, but the execution fell flat for me on many levels.
First and foremost, the book was too plot-driven for my taste. I care more about the characters, the world and the themes; plot only comes in fourth place for me. Here, the characters where about as 2D as they could be, with a cartoon villain who likes to kick puppies in her spare time. The world was your basic b*tch medieval inspired setting, except an underdeveloped version of that. The themes were extremely on the nose and i feel that nothing new was being said. The only thing that this book has to offer is plot. If that's your thing, i'm happy for you. It isn't mine.
But even the execution of the plot, i had problems with. To begin with, the synopsis is very misleading. Orcs saving their land from the humans may be what the entire trilogy is about, but it wasn't really there in this first installment. Secondly, the book suffered from its fast pacing. There is no time to breath, get a deeper look into the action or truly reflect on the consequences of certain actions or events. It felt like a first draft with all the plot points, without the meat of the story to connect them. That made it hard to connect or care.
This certainly is not a bad book. If this is something you like, go for it. I don't have any active hatred for it (hence the two stars instead of one), it's just not something i personally care about.
First and foremost, the book was too plot-driven for my taste. I care more about the characters, the world and the themes; plot only comes in fourth place for me. Here, the characters where about as 2D as they could be, with a cartoon villain who likes to kick puppies in her spare time. The world was your basic b*tch medieval inspired setting, except an underdeveloped version of that. The themes were extremely on the nose and i feel that nothing new was being said. The only thing that this book has to offer is plot. If that's your thing, i'm happy for you. It isn't mine.
But even the execution of the plot, i had problems with. To begin with, the synopsis is very misleading. Orcs saving their land from the humans may be what the entire trilogy is about, but it wasn't really there in this first installment. Secondly, the book suffered from its fast pacing. There is no time to breath, get a deeper look into the action or truly reflect on the consequences of certain actions or events. It felt like a first draft with all the plot points, without the meat of the story to connect them. That made it hard to connect or care.
This certainly is not a bad book. If this is something you like, go for it. I don't have any active hatred for it (hence the two stars instead of one), it's just not something i personally care about.
July 10, 2008
The worst book I have never read. I don't suggest this to nobody
July 27, 2012
AWFUL! DO NOT READ! Interesting premise and I looked forward to reading it, but this was just crappy adventures of generic warriors. Shamed to even review this. Can I give a 0 rating?!
January 31, 2024
This was not an enjoyable read. I quite liked Nicholls' Quicksilver trilogy when I read it a number of years ago, so I decided to give this one a go as well. There are some similarities across the two series but none of it made me like Bodyguard of Lightning - also, speaking of the title... it has practically nothing to do with the story. Using orcs as the central figures is clumsy and cheap as the book relies on the reader to have a strong idea of what an orc is and doesn't construct any sort of interesting cultural or ethnological aspects of the orcs - they are simply humans with badly written (tedious and repetitive) dialogue. Jannesta is a very poor villain, clearly there to mainly provide over-sexualised content that has traditionally been used to sell pulp science fiction and fantasy.
Everything in this book is a cliché or fantasy stereotype and the writing is exceedingly poor in large parts of the book. The battle scenes and fights are boring and formulaic with a lot of passives clogging up the action. Nothing takes you out of a battle scene like the dagger was sent flying and imbedded itself in a floor plank, why do I care about a random dagger? Especially when humans and orcs are fighting to the death? There was also a lot of clumsy use of pronouns for the humans; the book is from the perspective of the orcs so obviously Nicholls is trying to "other" the humans by using inanimate pronouns (it), however, this is not consistent sentence to sentence and ends up in some strange ambiguities about who is actually stabbing/killing whom. I won't spoil the end in case you still want to read the book after reading this review, but it was extraordinarily cliffhangery - almost as if all attempts had been made to leave as many possible plot points unresolved, which left me with an even more unsatisfactory feeling after reading it and certainly didn't achieve its aim of trying to get me to buy the next book in the series.
In short, everything about this book screams marketing strategies with almost no attention to the actual content of the novel. There are plenty of ways to sell books by writing good content, even in the pulp fiction sphere, but this is definitely not it.
Everything in this book is a cliché or fantasy stereotype and the writing is exceedingly poor in large parts of the book. The battle scenes and fights are boring and formulaic with a lot of passives clogging up the action. Nothing takes you out of a battle scene like the dagger was sent flying and imbedded itself in a floor plank, why do I care about a random dagger? Especially when humans and orcs are fighting to the death? There was also a lot of clumsy use of pronouns for the humans; the book is from the perspective of the orcs so obviously Nicholls is trying to "other" the humans by using inanimate pronouns (it), however, this is not consistent sentence to sentence and ends up in some strange ambiguities about who is actually stabbing/killing whom. I won't spoil the end in case you still want to read the book after reading this review, but it was extraordinarily cliffhangery - almost as if all attempts had been made to leave as many possible plot points unresolved, which left me with an even more unsatisfactory feeling after reading it and certainly didn't achieve its aim of trying to get me to buy the next book in the series.
In short, everything about this book screams marketing strategies with almost no attention to the actual content of the novel. There are plenty of ways to sell books by writing good content, even in the pulp fiction sphere, but this is definitely not it.
October 24, 2022
As I may have mentioned before, I tend to shy away from reviews of books I'm reading – partly to help form my own views and opinions, and partly because I rarely give a toss what anyone else thinks.
But in splitting down the Orcs trilogy for ease of recording my reading habits on here, I couldn't help but see a few.
Boy people are not fans.
The lack of rounded characters (guys, they're orcs - not a multi-tiered family in Game Of Thrones), violence, lack of a believable world (again, guys...) - the great and the good took against the first book in the trilogy when it was published.
And don't get them started on the ending.
But what a lot of people seem to have missed is – this book is a romp. It's a race between battles as our brave band of heroes (yes, the orcs are the good guys, get on board) tear about the place trying to stay alive and get hold of The Thing.
The bad guys in this world are the humans. They've rocked up, wrecked the place, and are now setting about polluting it because they don't care about the world around them and just want to claim it all for themselves.
Now, the sharp-eyed amongst you might guess at something of a subtext at play. And you'd be right.
Buried - barely, it has to be said - among the sex, swearing and slashing of swords is a message about the environment. An important message. A not subtle message. That some – OK, a lot – of people seemed to miss.
And that's the beauty of this first volume. Stan Nicholls has something to say, but he is also having a lot of fun saying it. This book is a riot, it's a complete romp.
Is it high art? No. Is it ground-breaking literature? No. Is it trying to be either of those things? Also no. It's meant to be fun. And it succeeds at that.
And the ending? A cracking cliffhanger that will have you reaching for Vol 2 almost immediately.
The fact it annoyed so many people just makes it all the better.
But in splitting down the Orcs trilogy for ease of recording my reading habits on here, I couldn't help but see a few.
Boy people are not fans.
The lack of rounded characters (guys, they're orcs - not a multi-tiered family in Game Of Thrones), violence, lack of a believable world (again, guys...) - the great and the good took against the first book in the trilogy when it was published.
And don't get them started on the ending.
But what a lot of people seem to have missed is – this book is a romp. It's a race between battles as our brave band of heroes (yes, the orcs are the good guys, get on board) tear about the place trying to stay alive and get hold of The Thing.
The bad guys in this world are the humans. They've rocked up, wrecked the place, and are now setting about polluting it because they don't care about the world around them and just want to claim it all for themselves.
Now, the sharp-eyed amongst you might guess at something of a subtext at play. And you'd be right.
Buried - barely, it has to be said - among the sex, swearing and slashing of swords is a message about the environment. An important message. A not subtle message. That some – OK, a lot – of people seemed to miss.
And that's the beauty of this first volume. Stan Nicholls has something to say, but he is also having a lot of fun saying it. This book is a riot, it's a complete romp.
Is it high art? No. Is it ground-breaking literature? No. Is it trying to be either of those things? Also no. It's meant to be fun. And it succeeds at that.
And the ending? A cracking cliffhanger that will have you reaching for Vol 2 almost immediately.
The fact it annoyed so many people just makes it all the better.
January 2, 2026
“Bodyguard of Lightning”, first in the 'Orcs: First Blood' series, is at its best when the swords are flashing, it's not so great at world-creation.
Human have come to Manis Unis in two waves, they fight each other and they fight the original inhabitants (dwarves, goblins, centaurs, Orcs, etc.)
They have disrupted the world system, most particularly in the case of magic which was once omni-present but is becoming increasingly rare.
An Orc unit, forced/indentured to serve the sorceress Queen Jennesta (half human, half something very nasty indeed), flee when they fail to complete a mission on time.
To return is to die, and not pleasantly, to move forward is really the point of the book.
It has certain similarities to the film 'The Warriors' in which a street gang fights their way back from the Bronx to the, relative, safety of their turf in Coney Island. It's mostly a case of fight or flight where everyone around them has to be considered an enemy until proven otherwise.
The leader of the Orcs (though to all intents and purposes they seem remarkably human), Stryke, has obtained a small object about which he knows nearly nothing other than that it is important and part of a set of six.
He decides to lead his war band on a trek to discover the remaining five (a process which is going to take several books).
The author doesn't really try to create a believable world, each different race (and there seem to be a lot of them) seems to occupy spaces on a map which are remarkably close to each other - never more than a couple of days away.
The battle descriptions are suitably gory but the actions of Queen Jennestra are overly barbaric and gruesomely over the top.
I've just recently finished the first 'Witcher' book and it does a far better job.
It's a solid 3 Stars, but only just.
Human have come to Manis Unis in two waves, they fight each other and they fight the original inhabitants (dwarves, goblins, centaurs, Orcs, etc.)
They have disrupted the world system, most particularly in the case of magic which was once omni-present but is becoming increasingly rare.
An Orc unit, forced/indentured to serve the sorceress Queen Jennesta (half human, half something very nasty indeed), flee when they fail to complete a mission on time.
To return is to die, and not pleasantly, to move forward is really the point of the book.
It has certain similarities to the film 'The Warriors' in which a street gang fights their way back from the Bronx to the, relative, safety of their turf in Coney Island. It's mostly a case of fight or flight where everyone around them has to be considered an enemy until proven otherwise.
The leader of the Orcs (though to all intents and purposes they seem remarkably human), Stryke, has obtained a small object about which he knows nearly nothing other than that it is important and part of a set of six.
He decides to lead his war band on a trek to discover the remaining five (a process which is going to take several books).
The author doesn't really try to create a believable world, each different race (and there seem to be a lot of them) seems to occupy spaces on a map which are remarkably close to each other - never more than a couple of days away.
The battle descriptions are suitably gory but the actions of Queen Jennestra are overly barbaric and gruesomely over the top.
I've just recently finished the first 'Witcher' book and it does a far better job.
It's a solid 3 Stars, but only just.
September 13, 2022
Una lettura piacevole che va presa per quei che è: una storia di soldati che lotta per sopravvivere. Ciò non significa che non ci sia profondità nella creazione dei personaggi, ma non va paragonato a un romanzo di formazione; il suo obiettivo è semplicemente un altro.
La scrittura è veloce, non si perde in inutili fronzoli e cerca di non essere ripetitiva (compito difficile visti i numerosi combattimenti).
Vi sono chiari riferimenti a questioni sociali attuali, come le conseguenze dell'inquinamento antropico o il ruolo della donna in contesti prettamente maschili. Possono dare fastidio o possono essere presi per quelli che sono, elementi di realtà in una storia fantastica.
Perde invece qualche punto per due motivi non banali:
1) il finale-non-finale con una situazione aperta che necessita la lettura del secondo libro. Praticamente l'arco di trasformazione non si chiude e il conflitto non trova soluzione. Lo si può dividere in due libri fisicamente diversi, ma la storia è a tutti gli effetti incompleta.
2) la storia si chiama "Orchi" ma se fossero stati degli umani sarebbe cambiato davvero poco. A parte l'idea dell'orco guerriero, manca un qualcosa che faccia dire "questi sono orchi e nient'altro". Tuttavia, si potrebbe vedere la questi al contrario dicendo che in ambito fantasy le varie "razze" fantastiche sono il riflesso di culture umane diverse. In questo senso, l'orco è una cultura comunque umana (che non ha di per sé eccezione negativa) ed è quindi normale vederli come potenziali uomini.
La scrittura è veloce, non si perde in inutili fronzoli e cerca di non essere ripetitiva (compito difficile visti i numerosi combattimenti).
Vi sono chiari riferimenti a questioni sociali attuali, come le conseguenze dell'inquinamento antropico o il ruolo della donna in contesti prettamente maschili. Possono dare fastidio o possono essere presi per quelli che sono, elementi di realtà in una storia fantastica.
Perde invece qualche punto per due motivi non banali:
1) il finale-non-finale con una situazione aperta che necessita la lettura del secondo libro. Praticamente l'arco di trasformazione non si chiude e il conflitto non trova soluzione. Lo si può dividere in due libri fisicamente diversi, ma la storia è a tutti gli effetti incompleta.
2) la storia si chiama "Orchi" ma se fossero stati degli umani sarebbe cambiato davvero poco. A parte l'idea dell'orco guerriero, manca un qualcosa che faccia dire "questi sono orchi e nient'altro". Tuttavia, si potrebbe vedere la questi al contrario dicendo che in ambito fantasy le varie "razze" fantastiche sono il riflesso di culture umane diverse. In questo senso, l'orco è una cultura comunque umana (che non ha di per sé eccezione negativa) ed è quindi normale vederli come potenziali uomini.
November 14, 2016
I debated giving this 3 stars but ultimately thought that was too harsh, it is probably more like a 3.5 than a 4, but such is the imperfect system by which we are forced to live our lives.
The Good.
I enjoyed the character building, there are some pretty decent and interesting characters.
There is some great tension building in the final act with a lot of unresolved peril.
The combat is decently described.
There are a lot of threads to keep people reading, like Strike's unresolved dreams.
The Bad.
The plot sort of meanders from one thing to the next. Like oh they're going here, but not this happened so they're going here. Oh wait, this new thing came up. You're never left with a clear sense of purpose. Perhaps this was intentional to give the readers the same sense of disorientation the Orc's feel.
Also there are a lot of coincidences. Chance meetings with single people or whole groups multiple times, random armies showing up at just the right/wrong time, happening to check the exact place for the exact thing.
Overall the series showed promise, I will carry on and see if Nicholls finds his voice more in subsequent work. As the first book in a series, it is a decent read. Like I said, about 3.5
The Good.
I enjoyed the character building, there are some pretty decent and interesting characters.
There is some great tension building in the final act with a lot of unresolved peril.
The combat is decently described.
There are a lot of threads to keep people reading, like Strike's unresolved dreams.
The Bad.
The plot sort of meanders from one thing to the next. Like oh they're going here, but not this happened so they're going here. Oh wait, this new thing came up. You're never left with a clear sense of purpose. Perhaps this was intentional to give the readers the same sense of disorientation the Orc's feel.
Also there are a lot of coincidences. Chance meetings with single people or whole groups multiple times, random armies showing up at just the right/wrong time, happening to check the exact place for the exact thing.
Overall the series showed promise, I will carry on and see if Nicholls finds his voice more in subsequent work. As the first book in a series, it is a decent read. Like I said, about 3.5
July 14, 2020
This review is for the Orcs First Blood Trilogy, Stan Nicholls. featuring Bodyguard of Lightning, Legion of Thunder, Warriors of the Tempest.
Read back to back, these books seem oddly poignant in today’s climate being that the not so subliminal subtext is one of racism and the environment. The author has tried to turn classical fantasy tropes on their head by making the orcs the protagonists. To an extent, he succeeds, although I’m left feeling these books could have been far deeper than they are. For the most part, they are a light, entertaining read. In other spots they are possibly overly violent, though in a world populated by magical beasts and humans perhaps the brutality is not so surprising. I’ve few problems with the author trying to get down and dirty, but I’m not so sure the lighter passages aren’t at odds with the darkness of the story, the writing akin to Young Adult novels in places. Still, I liked this not-so-merry band of orcs; sadly, they’re too humanised, and I often forgot they ‘were’ orcs, with the pacing uneven and the ending a little anticlimactic. Still, I enjoyed the read.
Read back to back, these books seem oddly poignant in today’s climate being that the not so subliminal subtext is one of racism and the environment. The author has tried to turn classical fantasy tropes on their head by making the orcs the protagonists. To an extent, he succeeds, although I’m left feeling these books could have been far deeper than they are. For the most part, they are a light, entertaining read. In other spots they are possibly overly violent, though in a world populated by magical beasts and humans perhaps the brutality is not so surprising. I’ve few problems with the author trying to get down and dirty, but I’m not so sure the lighter passages aren’t at odds with the darkness of the story, the writing akin to Young Adult novels in places. Still, I liked this not-so-merry band of orcs; sadly, they’re too humanised, and I often forgot they ‘were’ orcs, with the pacing uneven and the ending a little anticlimactic. Still, I enjoyed the read.
January 28, 2018
Interesting concept for a book. The whole story evolves around an orc war-clan in the service of a Queen sorceress. During an excursion to retrieve a mysterious artifact, the plan goes awry and the clan is faced with the option of returning to the Queen and facing her wrath, or turning rogue to unravel the mystery of the artifact.
If you are interested in fantasy, I think the book is worth the read. While the story easily kept my attention, there are some flaws. The setting of the story (a world called Maras-Dantia) doesn't seem very lively to me (like Westeros in Game of Thrones, or Middle-Earth in The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings). I also think character development is lacking, but I am hoping the next two books will solve that issue. With all that said, the book was intriguing to me. Stan Nicholls utilizes multiple fantasy creatures, and they blend together nicely. It also interests me with Orcs as the main character, and humans as the bad guys. I will definitely continue with the series, and have already added Stan Nicholls to my list of authors.
If you are interested in fantasy, I think the book is worth the read. While the story easily kept my attention, there are some flaws. The setting of the story (a world called Maras-Dantia) doesn't seem very lively to me (like Westeros in Game of Thrones, or Middle-Earth in The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings). I also think character development is lacking, but I am hoping the next two books will solve that issue. With all that said, the book was intriguing to me. Stan Nicholls utilizes multiple fantasy creatures, and they blend together nicely. It also interests me with Orcs as the main character, and humans as the bad guys. I will definitely continue with the series, and have already added Stan Nicholls to my list of authors.
September 9, 2022
Storia senza fronzoli e senza troppe pretese, che racconta la solita avventura D&D style, dal punto dei vista degli Orchi, il che è interessante, dal momento che da sempre patteggio per la razza nanica manco fosse quella di mia appartenenza.
La storia parla di un gruppo di trenta persone, prevalentemente orchi (c'è un nano v.v), guidato dal capitano Stryke. Il gruppo che trova nella perfida regina Jennesta il suo datore di lavoro, deve trovare un antico manufatto dall'inestimabile valore ...
Come dicevo la storia non è niente di che, una lettura piacevole, che non apporta nulla di nuovo a ciò che si conosce, tuttavia è un libro che fila via dolcemente ... un libro da leggere in un passivo pomeriggio domenicale aspettando l'avanzare dell'autunno.
Ah dimenticavo! Il cliffhanger si ha esattamente nell'ultimo capitolo - che furbone questo Nicholls - e quindi mi sa che ne leggerò anche il seguito.
P.S. Ma perché si chiama "I Guardiani dei Lampi"? Speriamo di scoprilo nella prossima puntata!
La storia parla di un gruppo di trenta persone, prevalentemente orchi (c'è un nano v.v), guidato dal capitano Stryke. Il gruppo che trova nella perfida regina Jennesta il suo datore di lavoro, deve trovare un antico manufatto dall'inestimabile valore ...
Come dicevo la storia non è niente di che, una lettura piacevole, che non apporta nulla di nuovo a ciò che si conosce, tuttavia è un libro che fila via dolcemente ... un libro da leggere in un passivo pomeriggio domenicale aspettando l'avanzare dell'autunno.
Ah dimenticavo! Il cliffhanger si ha esattamente nell'ultimo capitolo - che furbone questo Nicholls - e quindi mi sa che ne leggerò anche il seguito.
P.S. Ma perché si chiama "I Guardiani dei Lampi"? Speriamo di scoprilo nella prossima puntata!
October 3, 2021
Slightly conflicted with this. There's a lot of interesting take on it, but also a lot more annoying language that breaks me out of my suspension of disbelief. So much so that even though I've got a two book volume and I read this really easily I didn't read the second book.
For example, all through it talks of firing bows. None of the examples involved flaming arrows. There was also the business of rank by tattoo, but the description of the tattoos doesn't work if you promote someone.
Overall there's a brilliant five star story in the making, but it needs a good development edit to get it there. No idea why the publisher didn't bother with that.
NB if anyone ever has a go at why self-published books lack quality I'd suggest referring them to this as a counterpoint that traditional publishing sometimes also lacks quality.
For example, all through it talks of firing bows. None of the examples involved flaming arrows. There was also the business of rank by tattoo, but the description of the tattoos doesn't work if you promote someone.
Overall there's a brilliant five star story in the making, but it needs a good development edit to get it there. No idea why the publisher didn't bother with that.
NB if anyone ever has a go at why self-published books lack quality I'd suggest referring them to this as a counterpoint that traditional publishing sometimes also lacks quality.
January 7, 2020
As much as I wanted to like it based on premise alone, I bounced off of this book hard. I gave a lot of thought to powering through, but decided if I wasnt enjoying it I should put it down.
For me it was a combination of the capricious nature of Jennesta, the rape/disembowelment scene, and the exposition in chapter 6 (combined with world specific terms that gave me no real clue as to the geography or world itself,) that really killed my desire to read this book in the first 75 pages.
I'm going to put this one down and file it to my Did Not Finish shelf, Stan Nichols' ORCS just isnt for me.
For me it was a combination of the capricious nature of Jennesta, the rape/disembowelment scene, and the exposition in chapter 6 (combined with world specific terms that gave me no real clue as to the geography or world itself,) that really killed my desire to read this book in the first 75 pages.
I'm going to put this one down and file it to my Did Not Finish shelf, Stan Nichols' ORCS just isnt for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 18, 2018
"È proprio quando credete di sapere qualcosa che dovete guardarla da un'altra prospettiva." - L'attimo fuggente
Un libro che stravolge le prospettive, mantenendo le razze invariate (orchi aggressivi e non troppo intelligenti, troll ancora più stupidi e nel sottosuolo, nani un pò voltagabbana) riesce a proporre una storia diversa, mettendosi per la prima volta dalla parte dei "cattivi" classici. Belle anche le prese di posizione contro le religioni in generali. Consigliato a tutti gli amanti del fantasy che vogliono provare qualcosa di nuovo!
Un libro che stravolge le prospettive, mantenendo le razze invariate (orchi aggressivi e non troppo intelligenti, troll ancora più stupidi e nel sottosuolo, nani un pò voltagabbana) riesce a proporre una storia diversa, mettendosi per la prima volta dalla parte dei "cattivi" classici. Belle anche le prese di posizione contro le religioni in generali. Consigliato a tutti gli amanti del fantasy che vogliono provare qualcosa di nuovo!
January 17, 2020
#00 paginas de fantasia heroica, donde nos encontramos con peleas con acero, valentia, traiciones, creaturas magicas...y todo muy MUY entretenido, con un grupo carismatico, con unos Orcos que pasan de ser un escuadron de elite de soldados a rebeldes a los que todos quieren matar, con una misión extraña y cuasimposible, con unos malos muy malos que te dan repelus y con un Cliffhanger que te cagas, aunque en momentos es muyyyyy predecible, pero ya me subi este tren y seguire en esta trilogia.
March 15, 2024
Lettura scorrevole con alcuni punti di curiosità. Sicuramente l'aspetto più interessante è l'idea di narrare la storia dal punto di vista degli orchi, anche se a volte sembrano più umani loro dei veri umani nella storia. Una storia che si lascia leggere piacevolmente, senza troppi fronzoli, anche se sembra andare avanti più a colpi di fortuna dei protagonisti che altro. Magari un maggior approfondimento di alcune tematiche e personaggi proposti non sarebbe stato male.
April 9, 2019
An unusual and surprisingly engrossing fantasy that sees orcs take centre stage; full of action and fast paced, this is an interesting world, full of interesting characters. As soon as I finished the first book in the trilogy, I had to start reading the second. 4 / 5
Read the full review, and others, on Sammi Loves Books: https://sammicox.wordpress.com/
Read the full review, and others, on Sammi Loves Books: https://sammicox.wordpress.com/
Displaying 1 - 30 of 103 reviews