Orconomics

A Satire

Paperback, 408 pages

Published Nov. 22, 2014 by Gnomish Press LLC.

ISBN:
978-0-9908596-2-8
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4 stars (5 reviews)

2 editions

Top rated self-publishing here.

4 stars

I picked this up based on a review by Mark Lawrence which actually made me roll my eyes. He was banging on about how he needed his fantasy to be heroic in scope and full of big battles etc. Basically the same old, same old that has put me off in recent years. Which is why he never got into Pratchett. You can see where the eye rolling came in. He did, however, give this a grudging thumbs up so I thought I should have a look. I am glad I did as this was very good. I am not entirely sure the resemblance to Pratchett is anything more than this book has a humourous layer over some of the harder stuff. If anything, when the writer is doing humour he reminds me more of early Tom Holt than Pterry but there are indeed giggles to be had within these …

Review of 'Orconomics' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

This isn't the most sophisticated read - "What would a world with an economy that's a mashup of D&D and capitalist-dystopia be like?" is the premise, with some The Boys style ideas of "heroes" doing it purely for the loot. There's some unsurprising feeble puns and backronyms. The plot start tortuously obviously. The people who are misfits need to be taught one 30s lesson and then now they're almost an unbeatable team the likes of which etc etc.

But it's a very easy read. And then towards the end, the plot progressed in a cheesy but much more interesting way than I would have expected. The geo-political commentary is slightly more subtle, but that's not saying much.

And I really liked it.

Review of 'Orconomics' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Wow, I really enjoyed this. An interesting way to start the book, I mean after the prologue but before we meet Gorm, who as our central character and de facto leader. The whole work seethes with cleverness and humour, and I must confess to being allowed to laugh loudly at certain bits (the Stone Drake is a good example).

There's a lot of social commentary beneath the adventuring, and not a little playful poking at more typical adventurous work, and just a sprinkling of solemnity in spots to make you feel that things do actually matter, humour aside. So yes, a book that makes me laugh in spite of myself, whilst tearing up typical hack and slash tropes and dishing out poignant asides on all sorts of issues has to go far with me, and this one certainly failed to disappoint.

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4 stars
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2 stars