Queen of the Orcs: King's Property (Queen of the Orcs)

published	July 31st 2007 by Del Rey
binding	Mass Market Paperback
isbn	0345496507 (isbn13: 9780345496508)
description	Born into hardship, Dar learns to rely on herself alone. When her family betrays her, Dar is conscripted into King Kregant’s army and its brutal...more [close] Born into hardship, Dar learns to rely on herself alone. When her family betrays her, Dar is conscripted into King Kregant’s army and its brutal campaign to conquer a neighboring country. Now she is bound as a slave to a dreaded regiment of orcs, creatures legendary for their savagery and battle prowess. Rather than cower, Dar rises to the challenge. She learns the unique culture and language of the orcs, survives treachery from both allies and enemies, and struggles to understand a mystical gift that brings her dark, prophetic visions. As the war escalates–amid nightmarish combat and shattering loss–Dar must seize a single chance at freedom. “Original and vivid. I was captivated.” –Nancy Kress, author of Beggars in Spain Look for Books II and III in the Queen of the Orcs trilogy, [close]
date added	08-26-07 edit book

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Ben added it

11/23/07

Read in November, 2007

King's Property is the first in a series of three books by Morgan Howell. Set in a somewhat generic fantasy setting, the trilogy centers on the character of Dar, a resourceful (human) peasant woman who is conscripted into the king's army to serve in a orcish regiment.

I read this novel as I have been floating for a couple years now the idea of writing something similar, a sort of reinterpretation of the idea of orcs, which coincidentally also had a human woman as the main character (fantasy l...more King's Property is the first in a series of three books by Morgan Howell. Set in a somewhat generic fantasy setting, the trilogy centers on the character of Dar, a resourceful (human) peasant woman who is conscripted into the king's army to serve in a orcish regiment.

I read this novel as I have been floating for a couple years now the idea of writing something similar, a sort of reinterpretation of the idea of orcs, which coincidentally also had a human woman as the main character (fantasy literature is not a very original field). Thus, I felt the need to examine the competition.

Howell takes a slightly different direction than I might have expected. Some things are as I guessed: Dar lives in a dark, gritty, "realistic" place where pragmatism is by far the dominant ethos. I was surprised, however, by the orcs. They share little more in common with Tolkien's orcs (the light by which all orcs must be interpreted, for better or for worse) than being large, "ugly," and fierce. But even the fierceness is not as one might expect: These orcs are not always violent on their own (though they sometimes are) but rather at the behest of their human leaders, whom they serve for the sake of their queen who is in some way allied with Dar's king (many of these particulars are omitted in the volume and are presumably dealt with later). The orcs, rather than being a disorganized, violent mob, are the most disciplined of all the troops Dar encounters, up to and including the king's own guard. There are some more surprises I don't want to give away to those that haven't read the book, but the orcs eventually deviate even more from the Tolkienesque archetype. On top of all this, I could see definite hints of "noble savage" myths mixed in the orcish behaviors, which makes me somewhat uneasy. While I was somewhat disappointed that the orcs were not what I might have guessed, that is not a fault of the book.

The main character, Dar, shows elements of nineteenth century adventure novel heroines and the women of Greek epics and tragedies (she shares some things in common with Cassandra), though I don't know that she could have existed prior to the advent of modern feminism. She is not Buffy, though (at least not yet). She survives on courage, genius, and audacity, not on her ability with the sword. One of the weaknesses of this novel is that Dar seems to display too much courage, genius, and audacity. In fairness, though, Dar is clearly depicted as exceptional; I just sometimes balked at how exceptional.

The other characters, at least the humans, tend to go the other direction. I can't accuse them of being one-dimensional, most aren't, but rather of being dull, in both senses: stupid and boring. Development is admittedly not a high priority for many of these characters though, as few live long enough for us to care what happens to them. Thus, this is not as large a fault as it might at first seem.

On the whole, though, I found this to be an intriguing book. There were enough surprises, but not too many, to keep me curious about what would happen. Dar is interesting and sympathetic (if not always wholly believable). I'm curious to see where Howell takes this all in the next two books.

A word of warning: This is definitely a book for "mature readers" as they say. It is so in a way that is appropriate to the subject matter - this isn't an exploitation novel - but some elements may still be disturbing. Specifically, besides the usual decapitations and such, there is a constant threat of sexual violence (none of it graphic, but still...) in the book. Furthermore, Dar, it turns out, comes from an abusive past, and some references to that may also be disturbing to some, I imagine....less

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Queen of the Orcs: King's Property (Queen of the Orcs)

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