Queen of the Orcs: King's Property

This is a literary marvel masquerading as throwaway fantasy pulp. Morgan Howell has taken an obvious love of Native American culture (Iroquois in particular), married it with a fondness for orcs as he's seen and read of them through the years, and created one of the great alien races in literature. Really. As with all great alien or animal cultures in fiction, the carefully and realistically-drawn orc culture of Howell's books is just alien enough, just real enough, to draw us in and inform us about our own humanity. You will love Howell's orcs just as you love what is best in us. The humans in the story? Well, something has to represent the dark side, yes? I'm not going to tell you anything about the story, except that you won't be able to stop at the ends of chapters or books. Howell gets his hooks in and doesn't let go. These books are marvels and should be read widely.

This is an incredible book. The King's Property is enjoyable and easy to read:a good way to relax and pass a few hours. That is not what makes if extraordinary. It also has an inspirational message. The protagonist, Dar, is a mountain girl raised in a physically harsh, mentally barren, and emotionally hostile, environment. She is sold into slavery by her family: thrusting her into an even harsher environment. But even slaves have choices... Dar chooses to overcome her fear and prejudice of orcs learning their language and culture. She chooses to befriend a young orphan. She chooses to defend her friends and the risk of her own life.

I absolutely loved this book. The main character, Dar, has lived an extremely hard and tragic life, but that's nothing compared to what lies ahead the day she is given up by her own family to become a slave in the lowest dregs of the King's army, the Orc regiments. Once there, her strength and determination quickly makes her enemies with just about every man and woman in the army, and every day is a battle simply to remain alive. Morgan Howell has created a fascinating world where monsters are not always what they appear, and inhumanity and treachery know no limits. From the very first page, I was entranced by Dar's story and her relationship with the Orcs, but also appalled and horrified by some of the atrocities that were depicted. For that reason, it's not an easy read, but I highly recommend it, and I simply cannot wait to read the next book.

Dar knew her step-mother hated her, but Dar never expected her father to conscript her into King Kregant's army! The king is on a brutal campaign to conquer a neighboring king's land. Women are needed to cook and serve for not only the human army, but also the orc warriors. Thus Dar is branded on her forehead and immediately put to work. The brand upon the forehead is stronger than any shackle could possibly have been. Any female with the brand that is found away from her unit is decapitated; her head turned in for a bounty. The women do not live long in servitude either. Something or someone is always killing them off, forcing the king's army to recruit more female slaves. Dar always thought that orcs were nothing more than killers. However, Dar begins to learn the Orc language and soon learns that orcs respect females (a.k.a. "Mothers") highly. The other female slaves do not know this and would not believe Dar had she informed them. As Dar struggles to survive her army life, she also begins to befriend the orcs. This causes major strife between Dar and the other women, as well as, between Dar and the human men. To make matters worse, Dar has a growing gift for dark prophecy and she foresees awful events for her friends among the orcs and herself. Problem is that orcs have honor and do not understand the concept of lies and betrayals, so Dar's warnings go unheeded. ***** This is the first of the THE QUEEN OF THE ORCS trilogy. Author Morgan Howell has created an outstanding foundation for the next two books to build upon. The story grabbed me quickly and held onto me tighter than Super Glue until the very end. Thank heavens the next book will be released within the next month. Otherwise, waiting would be sheer torture for me! Be warned, you will NOT want to put down this story, so make sure you have LOTS of time before you even open the front cover. BRAVO! I want more! ***** Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

I LOVED this book and am looking forward to the next two in the series. I had never heard of this author before, but after reading the book, I googled her (found out it's a him!), and went on a search for a website.....alas he has apparently not set one up yet. Anyway, the book is a unique twist on the coming of age tale. The young protaginst has had a very hard life and is sold into slavery by her family. She becomes a cook in the king's army and befriends the orcs who are used as effective killing machines against their own sense of how the world should work because their Queen has told them to do whatever the king's men ask of them. I love how the world is built and the two very different types of culture portrayed in the novel. The two very different cultures find a common ground in the protaginst who by the end of the tale is more orc than human. Read it you won't regret it!