Much more affable blokes than the nasty beasties you see in Lord of the Rings. ( )

Magnificent! That pretty much sums up how I feel about this graphic novel. Its action packed, filled with tidbits of comic relief, and the characters resemble some of my favorites from television and other novels. It’s a refreshing journey through the day in the life of an Orc, a misunderstood member of the Elder Races that are a lot smarter than other creatures give them credit for. Once I started reading their story, I could not stop, consuming all 208 pages of death, blood, betrayal, and redemption. It was magical, fun, and just what I needed as a break from all my usual vampire/werewolf romance novels.

The story itself is set in a land called Maras-Dantia that is inhabited by a variety of creatures known as the Elder Races. They had all learned to coexist until a new race, the Humans, emerge and threaten to take control of their lands. The story is a bit contrived in this aspect, like other stories before it such as Avatar, humans come along and destroy the homeland of various creatures and the creatures have to defend themselves. However, the human race is also divided among itself between those who are tolerant of other races and those who only want a pure race worshiping one true God. Cliché I know, but in Orcs: Forged for War it works.

There are a few characters in the story that reminded me of characters from some of my favorite movies and/or television shows. Here’s a quick rundown so you can see what I mean:



1. The leader of the Uni (human) army General Larcher, is counseled by a preacher/fanatic who reminds me of Tim Curry as Cardinal Richelieu in The Three Musketeer. The Preacher is…umm…nuts like any religious fanatic, burning towns to the ground as he forces his daughter Mercy to watch. Psycho with a capital P.
2. The Orcs smoked something in a pipe called “Crystal Lightening”, if you recall, Merry and Pippen from the Lord of the Rings smoked something in pipes and partied, often. Even though the author wants to separate his Orcs from those of Tolkien, that one little scene made me thing of The Lord of the Rings (sorry).
3. Eegett-Qinx a goblin sorcerer is reminiscent of one of my all-time favorite villains, Skeletor from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. If you read the comic you will know exactly why I made this comparison.
4. The Orcs themselves remind me of Thundercats; actually I think the whole universe reminds me of Thundercats. But hey I am not complaining.

Overall I loved the story and I really don’t want to give too much information away because it is a graphic novel and therefore an easy read. If you enjoy fantasy elements with a bit comedy thrown in, then this is the graphic novel for you. But I must warn you, please do not read the comic if you do NOT like harsh language, slight nudity, blood, and strong violent content. I would say that the Goodreads description is very accurate as the suggestive content is on par with the movie 300 and its graphic novel counterparts. So if you hated that then you will not like this. Get it, try it, and love it because in the end, not all Orcs are created equal.

Originally Reviewed On: MotherGamerWriter.com ( )

Orcs: Forged for War gives a taste into the Orcs universe, one which I didn't know. But the prologue explained not only the reason for this graphic novel but some insight into the world – not that it would be much needed. Forged for War stands well on its own.

The universe of Orcs seems like a nice one to explore – unlike pretty much all fantasy, here this race is not evil, war-driven for sure, but their actions are not malicious. There was a lot that was backstory (that I got to know in the prologue and throughout the graphic novel) and that interested me. Well, to tell the truth, the backstory interested me more than the actual story.

Not that it was bad. It was rather straightforward, with a lot of fighting, and somewhat predictable. And more fighting. In the end, it was not really my cup of tea – I would have preferred something with more plot. The artwork was nice (after, the cover did catch my attention), but still not enough for this book to cause any kind of impact. I might give the novels a try, though.

Also at Spoilers and Nuts ( )