Although the omnibus edition of Nicholls' first 3 Orc books was only recently release Orcs: Bad Blood is the first new Orc book in many years. The covers Orbit have been doing for these books are pitch perfect for attracting the right audience. The Orc on the covers is actually a bust they photographed. I loved the first trilogy as it really gave you a different picture of the ravenous Orcs and their side of why they do what they do. What Nicolls did with developing the characters, most notable Stryke and Coilla, in the first book he almost ruins in this new extension. The characters appear as more watered down versions of what they were. The action sequences were still above par, but the story telling itself was too predictable to be enjoyable.
The story picks about 4 years after the events of the first trilogy with the Wolverines living an all too serene life on the Orc home dimension. Stryke is sought out to come to another dimension where orcs are being oppressed by humans. Predictable, the Wolverines are up for a good mission. They pick up a few new recruits and some old ones. Along the way they get involved with the orcs' resistance and battles ensue. Their goal is starting an uprising as the orcs of that dimension are docile and lost their warrior ways. All in all this was a bit of a disappointment. The high point being the introduction of a human, Jod, to the band who is an amazing fighter and seems to have hit to off oddly with Coilla. I'm intrigued by Jod's past and his true motivations join the warband. Some foreshadowing is done about this a bit, but I get the feeling Nicoholls didn't plan it out too well. Hopefully I'll be proved wrong with the later volumes and that this was just a setup for bigger and more interesting things. I give Orcs: Bad Blood 5 out of 10 hats. I'll still stick in there for the next volume Orcs: Army of Shadows due out in October.
Also, here is the cover for the next volume, which I haven't seen elsewhere yet.
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