The Half-Orcs

Half-Orcs #1-3

by David Dalglish

The Half-Orc Series chronicles the trials of Harruq and Qurrah Tun, brothers of mixed blood and humble beginnings. One will seek redemption and atonement for the evil he has done. One will destroy everything to deny his wrongs.Volume One contains the first three books of the series.---THE WEIGHT OF BLOOD – At his brother’s insistence, Harruq Tun pledges loyalty to the death prophet Velixar, dooming their lives to murder and bloodshed. Only an elf named Aurelia provides hope for escape…an elf on the side of the enemy. An elf Harruq is ordered to kill.THE COST OF BETRAYAL – The battle of Woodhaven behind them, Harruq hopes for a better life with Aurelia. Qurrah, however, continues his practice of the dark arts. When he falls for a girl lost to madness, he will do anything to save her – even if it means harming those his brother loves most.THE DEATH OF PROMISES - After a bloody conflict with his brother, Qurrah Tun flees west with his lover, the strange and powerful Tessanna. He seeks an ancient tome known as Darakken’s spellbook, its pages containing the secrets of the world's very creation. Only Harruq and his friends can stand against the darkness his brother might unleash.---About the Dalglish currently lives in rural Missouri with his wife Samantha, daughter Morgan, and bearded dragon. He graduated from Missouri Southern State University in 2006 with a degree in Mathematics and currently spends his free time watching PBS and Spongebob Squarepants with his daughter.

Genres: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy

850 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 2010

Reviews

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

I truly enjoyed these books. I started the series on a weekend when I was bored and finished the whole series within a span of a few days (a feat, considering it's rather lengthy and I am rather busy). In my opinion, the series gets better with each book, and though I wouldn't say it is the most stunningly crafted piece of literature I have ever read, I would certainly recommend them to anyone who likes the fantasy genre. However, the books to get very dark and graphic, and though it in no way offends me, squeamish readers who aren't appreciative of the dark side of fantasy should be wary. There was only a character or two that I really found myself getting attached to, but the story was still decent and engrossing enough.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

meh. But to elaborate. I found the series to be, so far, somewhat mediocre. I think the concepts in it are fairly standard in any fantasy archetype. What it really felt like was a D&D campaign in novel form. There were highlights but honestly I felt that the characters ran a bit flat. Comparing this to the The Shadowdance Trilogy, also by David Dalglish, it pales in comparison. I think he mentions in the books or notes that this was prior to his Shadowdance works and even comments that this was rough in comparison. I would agree. It filled some time, but with seeing his latter works I think he gets a lot better. Im hoping the next installments (these one included the first 3 volumes) will be even more refined.

[Kara Baylog · Rating 3 out of 5]

This has to be one of the most original ideas for fantasy that I have read in a very long time. What a great idea to do fantasy from the villain's perspective. It's brutal. I nearly lost my lunch with some of the descriptions, but it was well done, even if the protagonist got redeemed even though he probably didn't deserve it. It's not a trilogy for the faint of heart.

All mention of this trilogy by Daglish seems to have vanished. I never see it around. And that's a shame.

[Nat · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first book is a bit of slog to get through. It gets better with each book.

[Hollie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was not overly impressed with the first book in this series, though I did warm up to it a little towards the end. I think the difficulty I have with Dalglish's work is that it's hard to get close to the characters. I felt the same thing reading A Dance of Cloaks (my first experience with his work). His narration has the feeling of an impassive observer, so it's hard to understand the characters motivations, much less connect with them. The events in the first book seemed random and disjointed, though in retrospect they make sense, at the time my feeling was more like "what the heck?". If I thought about it more I could probably pin it down better than that, but I just don't have that much time.

That said, I really got into the series after kind of struggling through the first book. I think by then I'd had enough time with the characters to understand them a little better, and it made the story feel smoother and more momentous. Also, the conflicts were more clearly defined as the series rolled on. I hate it when people rehash the whole plot in a review, especially a fantasy novel, which are often very similar. To me it's the feel of the book and the quality of the story telling that's more important, and why would I want to know what's gonna happen, isn't that the point of reading it? Anyway, suffice to say this story has a fairly typical evil magical forces threaten to take over the world and only a few exceptional heroes stand in it's way type of plot. But it is none the less a good (not overly gloomy) read, with distinct and fairly unique characters. Not to mention a great value for the price Dalglish charges, Huzzah for self-publishing!

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent series that shifted straight to "Can not put it down" category for me. For the fantasy buffs out there, the sword and magic play in this series is as well done as most I have read. The ever-changing loyalties in this book honestly had me guessing as to where the series was headed. Although some readers may be put off by the atrocities performed by the main characters early on, I still believe the entire series is worth sticking with. My only real complaint was the fact that there are more books in the series to read!

[Julien · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gave up on this series after two books... I found myself not enjoying a single character. I think having read the prequel trilogy that was published after these books were written probably didn't help.

Characters continually made stupid painfully contrived decisions.

[Brewergnome · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent. I approve of his willingness to hurt his main characters. He works hard to give the characters understandable motivations. The magic system is a little derivative for my preferences.

[Dragovak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great books
Number one was kind of slow moving but two and three were awesome

[Steve Conway · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some interesting twists, along with a good read.

[Draven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Look to my ratings for 1-3, were read separately and not in omnibus form.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed books 1 and 2, but 3 felt unrealistic with how bad everything got.

[Andrew Paier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dark fantasy epic

The author does a marvelous job creating evil characters with depth. While they have tragic flaws you will pull for them to overcome them. Excellent writing.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

love it. the characters are deep, you love them and hate them at the same time.

[Bruno Faria · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is not the best narrative I've reeded, but something makes you read more and more.