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"Incorporating wall to wall action with undercurrents of dark humour, Bodyguard of Lightning is a gritty, fast-paced novel with a neat twist.
The heroes are orcs - though you wouldn't want to meet any of them on a dark night!"
David Gemmell

"Weirdly charming, fast-moving and freaky, Bodyguard of Lightning is the most fun you're ever likely to have with a warband of orcs.
Remember, buy now or beg for mercy later ... "
Tad Williams

BODYGUARD OF LIGHTNING
Orcs: First Blood, Volume One

Quotes from reviews of Bodyguard of Lightning -

" ... a neat idea and Stan Nicholls pulls it off with great panache ... enough weird sex to keep the tabloids outraged for weeks. You'll never feel the same about Lord of the Rings."
Jon Courtenay Grimwood, SFX magazine

"A warning: if you don't wish to become addicted to the most impressive new fantasy sequence in many a moon, you should avoid Bodyguard of Lightning."
Barry Forshaw, Genre Hotline/LineOne Science Fiction Zone

"Nicholls' tongue is intermittently in his cheek ... his action sequences are seriously exciting ... "
Roz Kaveney, amazon.com

"Stan Nicholls tries to correct the bad press authors such as Tolkien have given to orcs. Nicholls tells his tale briskly and entertainingly ... If you like lots of hacking and slashing, Bodyguard of Lightning is for you!"
Starburst

"The standard of prose is high ... and the characterisation, both of individuals and races, is excellent. ... Nicholls makes a valid attempt to show why the orcs act as they do."
Vector: The Critical Journal of the British Science Fiction Association

" ... a damn good book. ... once it hooks you, it turns into a breathless flight of adventure, and with the fresh viewpoint it is an exceptional treat. The only bad thing is that it finishes way too soon. I can't wait for the next instalment."
Prism: The British Fantasy Society Newsletter

"The pace is fast and furious, the interplay between characters is good ... "
The Newsletter of the Birmingham Science Fiction Group

"Bodyguard of Lightning is naturally full of fighting, blood-letting and double-crossing. Nicholls has created a fast-paced adventure."
The Mentor

"It's a novel twist telling the tale from the side of the Orcs. The characters are well defined and brought to life. The plot was quick and not too deep, although I have a feeling depth will appear with the next two books, which I am looking forward to reading soon."
FantasyBooksCentral.com

Orion Books/Gollancz; trade pb October 1999.
ISBN: 0-575-06871-X
Millennium mass-market pb August 2000.

Cover art: Fangorn

Quotes from reviews of Legion of Thunder -

"In the fantasy field, Stan Nicholls' Legion of Thunder demonstrates a truly coruscating imagination in its outrageous narrative."
Publishing News Books of the Year 1999

"Again, Nicholls brilliantly re-invents the Orcs, underdogs of fantasy fiction, and creates a dazzling panoply of wit, invention and violence. The humour is perfectly judged, and it's refreshing to encounter a fantasy writer clearly in possession of a fierce intelligence ... "
Barry Forshaw, Genre Hotline/LineOne Science Fiction Zone

"Fast-moving, gory fantasy adventure, with flashes of black comedy."
David Langford, amazon.com

"Second books are notoriously difficult beasts - what with having to push the plot forward
and introduce new characters - but Stan Nicholls has managed to continue the momentum in his Orcs: First Blood saga without making a false step. This is high fantasy for readers who like their heroes ugly and their wizards weird."
Jon Courtenay Grimwood, SFX magazine

"Nicholls knows how to describe a battle in gritty detail, in such a way that it grabs your interest and yet still appears as unglamorous and unromantic as it should. A strange tale of magic, fantastic creatures and mythical elder races that warps your expectations."
The SF Site

"This is a neat twist on familiar fantasy stereotypes, and quite subtle in places, but the heart of the book is adventurous and the plot never lets up for a moment. Exciting and highly original."
Waterstone's Online

"The masses will love it and there'll probably be a film. Maybe there even deserves to be, for the book is engaging, with its slick humour and determined cheering for the underdog, right or wrong."
smh.com.au

Orion Books/Gollancz; November 2000.
ISBN: 0-57507-069-2
Gollancz mass-market pb September 2001.

Cover art: Fangorn

Quotes from reviews of Warriors of the Tempest -

"The first two books in the Orcs series proved that although Nicholls' gimmick is an original one, there's more to the desperate Maras-Dantia greenskins than just a cool reversal of fantasy stereotypes. ... The action doesn't let up as Stryke and his weathered warband approach the end of their mission. ... Nicholls' talent has imbued traditionally brutal characters with a gruff nobility and the end of this novel is a fittingly bitter and convincing coda to this highly original saga."
Waterstone's Online

"Warriors of the Tempest is, above all, a wonderful piece of storytelling; fast-paced with plenty of hairpin twists, crammed with loads of juicy battles and properly bad baddies, racing towards a carefully set-up conclusion that's both exciting and genuinely moving. ... Underlying all the fun and games are a core of skilfully-drawn, fully-realised characters who engage your sympathy from the start and never let go. ... Sweet and sour orc, a feast for the most jaded fantasy-lover's palate."
Tom Holt, SFX magazine

" ... the prose flows smoothly and the story is exciting ... "
Science Fiction Chronicle

"Nicholls' prose is clear and easy to read, and his complicated plot proceeds briskly."
Starburst magazine

"Action-packed and with tongue firmly in cheek, Nicholls' epic trilogy nevertheless manages to hit home hard about religion, the way we treat the natural world, and how we see those different from us."
allen_unwin.com

"Smoothly combining oodles of fun with a sharp, dark, and occasionally erotic edge, Stan Nicholls' Orcs: First Blood series is a must for any fantasy connoisseur. In Orcs: First Blood we find a fast paced, exciting tale, full of whirlwind sword fights and cutting banter. There are challenges to overcome, frantic chases, ruthless mercenaries and magic-wielding, sadistic queens with a taste for the erotic. More than just your average quest. These books are beautifully, and deceptively, crafted. Carefully plotted, the author displays his flair as he nimbly dances between witty banter and callous heartlessness. His words are blissfully free of complicated constructions to stumble over and your eyes just flow over the pages with liquid ease. But don't think the lack of complexity implies any form of simplicity. As with all talented people, Nicholls just makes it look easy. Breathless and ruthless, menacing and fun. Easy to read and totally engaging."
The Alien Online

"With Warriors of the Tempest Nicholls is in excellent form. The prose is well-written, never obtrusive, its structure matching the pace of events, and its evocative phrases adding to the atmosphere. The characterisation is excellent. ... Warriors of the Tempest is more than just an excellent fantasy adventure; like most of the best writers, Nicholls has something to say."
Vector

"Full of action, with a pace that never lets up ... Praised by all the reviewers, and by writers as diverse as David Gemmell and Tad Williams, it is a major achievement in the genre."
amazon.com

" ... Stan Nicholls' excellent Orcs sequence ... Warriors is a welcome counterblast to the anti-orc onslaught due with the film launch of The Lord of the Rings."
The Guardian

" ... now's your chance to catch up with one of the most unusual writers in the genre. And it's particularly wonderful not to have to put your brain to bed while reading Nicholls - unlike many of his writing peers, there's a real intelligence always at work here. Not that we don't get the requisite rip-roaring action and colourful world-building - along with some cutting humour. It's rumoured that Nicholls has started another fantasy sequence - here's one reviewer who's impatient for it, whatever form it takes."
Barry Forshaw, Tiscali SF Zone