"This shelf-bending omnibus comprises the first U.S. release of Nicholls's Orcs trilogy (Bodyguard of Lightning, Legion of Thunder and Warriors of the Tempest), originally published in the U.K. in 1999 and 2000. When a warband of orcs run afoul of their tyrannical mistress on a mission to retrieve an invaluable artifact, they set in motion a series of cataclysmic events that could free their race from long-standing persecution or obliterate them from the realm forever. Pursued by an irate sorceress, ruthless bounty hunters and two vengeance-obsessed armies, Captain Stryke and his misfit band of mercenary orcs embark on a desperate quest to find a set of ancient 'instrumentalities' that could save them and their magic-filled world from destruction at the hands of human interlopers. With grand scale world building, labyrinthine plotlines, extensive backstory and pedal-to-the-metal action, Nicholls captures adventure fantasy at its very best. This edition-which also includes a short story entitled 'The Taking' (a prequel to the three novels), and an in-depth author interview-will be a cult classic with quest fantasy fans on both sides of the Pond." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Look at me. Look at the Orc.

There is fear and hatred in your eyes. To you I am a monster, a skulker in the shadows, a fiend to scare your children with. A creature to be hunted down and slaughtered like a beast in the fields.

It is time you pay heed to the beast. And see the beast in yourself. I have your fear. But I have earned your respect.

Hear my story. Feel the flow of blood and be thankful. Thankful that it was me, not you, who bore the sword. Thankful to the orcs; born to fight, destined to win peace for all.

This book will change the way you feel about Orcs forever.

Described as fantasy's bad guys, Orcs now speak for themselves in this new work by Stan Nicholls. "Look at me. Look at the Orc. There is fear and hatred in your eyes. To you I am a monster, a skulker in the shadows. . . Feel the flow of blood and be thankful that it was me, not you, who bore the sword. Thankful to the orcs; born to fight, destined to win peace for all."

Fantasy's bad guys finally get their due in this fast moving, action-packed tale of Orc valor and human treachery.Orbit