jmschomers's review against another edition
3.0
This book was fine. I found the writing to be disjointed and it bounced around. There were some great scenes - specifically the trial at the end. But a lot of random things in between the good parts.
pumpkinspice4ever's review against another edition
The book started out strong with an interesting take on Orcs as Marines, but I got tired of the battle scenes and juvenile humor.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism, Rape, Violence, Torture, Murder, War, Sexual violence, Gore, and Death
storytimed's review against another edition
2.0
Kind of feels like something that'd be written on an old-school forum, like on Spacebattles or something. Very much a Nerd Power Fantasy, with loving detail on the minutiae of military whatevers, a frankly disquieting glorification of the US military and the kind of what's-bad-is-good moral compass of a 16-year-old who really, really likes the idea of the Evil alignment in D&D. Worldbuilding based entirely on porting real-world concepts over to a fantasy universe. Very self-indulgent and rescued only by how much fun the author is having, plus a few rather good female characters (see: Magda Brandiman).
ofchippo's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
barnesm31's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
An amusing cross between the fantasy stories of the great war between good and evil think Lord of the Rings and the comedic beats of war novels like Catch 22 and MASH.
nerfsmith's review against another edition
5.0
Massively entertaining and fun. I'd go so far as to describe it as madcap. If you're a fan of the fantasy and/or sci-fi genres and aren't too stiff-necked, you'll love Grunts.
srreid's review against another edition
3.0
I liked the idea of this basing the story from the point of view of the orcs and there was a decent amount of humour in it too, but it felt a little disjointed being split into 3 'books' and there wasn't enough fighting in it for me. Enjoyable but it dragged a bit at times too.
emma_likes_to_read's review against another edition
1.0
Eh...
The premise of this book as I understood it - a fantasy from the perspective of the orcs who are typically used as 'cannon fodder' - sounded amazing and I was really looking forward to this.
What I got was not what I expected.
The combination of fantasy races and modern military weaponry and jargon (and there was a LOT of jargon - so much so that I very nearly put the book down before page 100 but ended up just skimming the 'military heavy' sections instead) was kind of jarring and hard to get used to, but I did get used to it. The plot was fairly fast-paced and moved along quickly enough that the boring bits never lasted too long.
The main reason I didn't really enjoy this book was that it was so... vulgar. So many mentions of characters scratching their crotches that were just not necessary in the slightest.
Plus, the use of a rape (by the main character, and played off as 'eh, he's an orc and orcs do things lie that') as a device to make what I assume was an attempt at a joke was so disturbing and unnecessary that it didn't make any sense for it to be in there. Later in the book, the character is put on trial for 'war crimes', one of which is the rape mentioned, but the way it is written is that the trial is totally unfair and he gets away scot free, which is celebrated. I love a bit of courtroom drama and manoeuvring, but all I could think of was that he actually had done all the crimes of which he was accused so I couldn't enjoy the chapter at all.
The premise of this book as I understood it - a fantasy from the perspective of the orcs who are typically used as 'cannon fodder' - sounded amazing and I was really looking forward to this.
What I got was not what I expected.
The combination of fantasy races and modern military weaponry and jargon (and there was a LOT of jargon - so much so that I very nearly put the book down before page 100 but ended up just skimming the 'military heavy' sections instead) was kind of jarring and hard to get used to, but I did get used to it. The plot was fairly fast-paced and moved along quickly enough that the boring bits never lasted too long.
The main reason I didn't really enjoy this book was that it was so... vulgar. So many mentions of characters scratching their crotches that were just not necessary in the slightest.
Plus, the use of a rape (by the main character, and played off as 'eh, he's an orc and orcs do things lie that') as a device to make what I assume was an attempt at a joke was so disturbing and unnecessary that it didn't make any sense for it to be in there. Later in the book, the character is put on trial for 'war crimes', one of which is the rape mentioned, but the way it is written is that the trial is totally unfair and he gets away scot free, which is celebrated. I love a bit of courtroom drama and manoeuvring, but all I could think of was that he actually had done all the crimes of which he was accused so I couldn't enjoy the chapter at all.
ianbanks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This one is a wild ride. Ms Gentle is a ridiculously competent storyteller and has written at least one of my all-time favourite books and this promised to be an absolute corker: a vast fantasy novel told from the perspective of the usually nameless orc infantry found in many a deathless trilogy.
The good first: there are a lot of digs at contemporary fantasy, but mostly some playful swipes at Professor Tolkien’s famous epic. There’s more than a few moments that you will recognise from other books or stories and a few cliches that get a good going-over as well. When it works, it’s wonderful fun, filled with vivid and superbly amoral or evil characters.
The bad is that it’s tremendously undisciplined. It reads like a collection of short stories, with developments added seemingly at a whim to expand the thin plot to something more substantial.
It’s also ridiculously, comically violent. It’s the sort of violence that, for me, works when more sparingly applied, but it still elicits an uneasy chuckle. It’s a lot of fun but it does require a lot of suspended disbelief on the part of the reader.
The good first: there are a lot of digs at contemporary fantasy, but mostly some playful swipes at Professor Tolkien’s famous epic. There’s more than a few moments that you will recognise from other books or stories and a few cliches that get a good going-over as well. When it works, it’s wonderful fun, filled with vivid and superbly amoral or evil characters.
The bad is that it’s tremendously undisciplined. It reads like a collection of short stories, with developments added seemingly at a whim to expand the thin plot to something more substantial.
It’s also ridiculously, comically violent. It’s the sort of violence that, for me, works when more sparingly applied, but it still elicits an uneasy chuckle. It’s a lot of fun but it does require a lot of suspended disbelief on the part of the reader.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, War, Blood, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Rape, and Violence
kt42reads's review against another edition
5.0
I’ve read and re-read this book over the years, and every time I would buy a new paperback copy, I’d end up giving it to someone who I knew would love it just as much. It turns the Tolkien-style fantasy on its ear with humour and very current social commentary. Great stuff!