An Orc Like Balrek
Amazon.com
My review -
I
absolutely loved An Orc Not Like Others, author Darren Humphries’ first Orc
book, and I’m delighted to see this sequel. Balrek was created as a fighting
monster – cannon fodder, you might say – but he has more about him than most
humans or elves. He is married to a human woman, a spirited creature named
Elynore, and together they are City-king and City-queen in a successful and prosperous
kingdom. Many of their subjects are also orcs. Balrek is different from the
others in that he is super-intelligent and can out-think most of his fellow
city rulers – and the elves. In a botched attempt by elves to assassinate him,
his beloved Elynore is struck by a dagger. It’s a superficial wound, but the
blade delivered a poison. A quartet of characters embark on a classic quest for
the antidote – assuming one even exists.
This
book is full of humour, dark at times, and lots of great characters. Balrek
himself is still fully orc and when it’s necessary to kill, he does so brutally
and quickly. Although he is a superior being in many ways, he is still true to
his own nature. His wife, Elynore, is brave, feisty and besottedly in love with
him, as he is with her. Some of the minor characters are really well drawn too,
and I loved the banter, antipathy and later mutual appreciation displayed by
gambler and womaniser Dahl and the healer Adriana. Some of the other city
rulers face their prejudices about the orc king and there’s plenty of plotting
and fighting here. It’s a thought-provoking read. Shrek it ain’t!
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