Grunts

Grunts

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Editorial Reviews

A humorous fantasy epic follows a pivotal time in the lives of the Orcs, a brawny race whose ruthless fighting abilities and lower intellectual capacities invariably place them on the front lines of battle.

Customer Reviews

Hysterically funny satire of most fantasy tales

Reviewed by Sandra W. Jaqua, 2010-01-30

This is one of those rare books that I've read so often I have to replace my copy. It's written from the perspective of the side of evil, so it's down and dirty, gritty and graphic in it's send up of "E-ville". It is a wonderful satire of all the sweetness-and-light-saccharine-good-always-wins tales where the elves, halflings, unicorns, etc. all join hands and sing "Kumbaya"when they win. If you have half a brain in your head and aren't a bleeding heart liberal READ THIS BOOK and laugh your head off.

Not as funny to me as other people seem to find it.

Reviewed by M. Vuong, 2010-01-12

I didn't find this book as funny as I was led to believe. Maybe it's just my sense of humor. Or maybe it's because I was never in the military. Or maybe because I was told it was like Terry Pratchett. Which it's definitely not.

Some of the elements feel a little over exaggerated to me. Characters in particular. The story is engaging but seems to wander around. I didn't really feel like the Orcs themselves had a mission outside of selling weapons which is unfortunate because they're the ultimate focus of the story. It tends to bog down a bit in the middle. But you do come to like the Orcs. They're very enterprising little devils and remain completely within the character type. As in, they don't turn into fluffy little bunnies, their actions still reflect the evilness you'd expect from Creatures of Darkness. Orcs with brains and the skill and discipline of the USMC, as much as you like them, you'll probably feel a touch a fear at the events at the end of the book. :D

Heavy Handed, Hard Read

Reviewed by Miz Ellen, 2008-08-21

Somewhere within this book is a great satiric fantasy waiting to be rescued from the verbose length and the author's propensity to shoot at any target even if it undercuts her brilliant premise.

The notion of a rebel orc leader somehow getting a hold of a bunch of modern weaponry and setting up shop to defy the powers of both Good and Evil was the plot line that worked best. The times when Ashnak seemed to be channeling Patton were fairly amusing and that section of the book earns both of the stars in this rating.

But the venal halflings became tiresome fast and there were too many pointless jokes about rape. Plot lines would start, sputter into nothing, then a new storyline would start, then another thing would happen. By the time I got to the Dark Lord deciding to stand for election, I was not amused. It needs more than a good marketing idea to make a novel--one also needs a story and the knowledge of how to resolve it. The characters did not drive the plot, and the plot went nowhere.

Not high art, but lots of fun

Reviewed by Keith Zabalaoui, 2008-01-24

The first thing about this book that makes me laugh is that the author uses the name Mary Gentle. No, not immediately funny, but it will be once you start reading.

The premise is that orcs have been cursed by a dragon after looting its horde. But the horde was a United States Marine Corps armory and the curse is to be Marines. Its actually a sort of blessing for them giving them an edge in the battle against the Light, but its hard for humans, let alone a gang of Orcs, to be Marines.

The story is clever but the punchline does wear thin. Some of the gags are profoundly disturbing but for the most part, its a fun read and a memorably change of pace.

You got Warhammer in my LOTR!

Reviewed by M. Meeker, 2007-05-14

Or, rather, "You got Warhammer fanwank in my LOTR!"

I liked the concept, but the execution seems lackluster. The characters don't seem to have acutal personalities; the main characters, who are supposed to be going through some radical changes in their mindsets, seem to be following scripting directions instead of actually coming to their own decisions during the course of the story.

For some reason, the three seperate "books" in Grunts all seem to be paced like they were meant to be published seperately. Note how the characters are all being introduced to the reader at the start of each of the three sections, as if the reader hadn't been paying attention for a few months between turning the pages.

The rather lurid sex scene was, I thought, out of place for what came across as an otherwise fairly light-hearted fantasy comedy.

Summary: Interesting theme, dull story.