We've heard it all before. Orcs are petty, coarse and savage. Great green brutes with feral tusks, devoid of culture and of reason. It's been said they have no souls and that the gods themselves disdain them. At least, that's how the campfire tales would have it. But what if there were more? Another side to all-things-green. A birthright yet to find a claimant, lying undiscovered in the bedrock of their ancient hollowed mountain? WARS AND RUMORS OF WARS takes up the tale of one beleaguered hybrid, sired against all wishes and kept against all odds, and of the mess that swirls around him as he tries to find his place between his human and orcish halves. If only anything were simple! Larger games are already in progress on the board he wanders onto. Angels, gods both real and false, imperial trade cartels, a foreign Fae-elf spy, and other mortal leaders all have stakes in whose pawns these Orcs turn out to be. Turning conventions of Epic Fantasy gleefully on-end, the BLACKMOUNT series takes an entirely fresh approach to what the genre can be about. In the words of one Orc who knows the Halfbreed Warchief first-hand: "Dis iz not just a buk about Orcs. Dis a buk about Destiney too. An' angels, an' spy elfs, an' a magic stick, an' spaceships, an' sum cryin'. Also politickz, an' godz an' stuff... But mostlee itz a buk about Thon an' da mountain, an' lurnin' ta be better at not hittin' bafore we talk. Dere's sum bits wid me in 'em, too. Doze are da best parts." Tiny, holder of Blackmount's furniture-breaking record, and unofficial competitive eating champion It's hard to argue with an Orc. Mostly because of the way they tend to react when you do. Best to take him at his word and grab a copy. Fans of Bradbury, Adams, Clarke and Pratchett will find themselves right at home in this introspective political thriller cleverly disguised as epic fantasy.
