The Goblin Corps

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And the goblins did plenty of slap-sticky beating up on each other - usually the larger orc and troll kicking, throwing, or pummeling the littler kobold and gremlin around - but that got tiring to read after the fourth or fifth occasion. So while none of the goblins ever emerged as anything but drab, two-dimensional caricatures of monsters-turned-player-characters, King Morthûl really stands out out in my mind at the end of the book - and he was centerstage in the novel only a tiny fraction of the time. The threadbare layer of carpeting over the floor was worn as full of holes as an old sock, and whatever color it might once have boasted had long been trampled into an unassuming, colorless gray. I think I have a copy of the first Orcs book somewhere, so maybe I'll get to it someday :) Thanks for the heads up regarding The Last Ring! Even as Cræosh raised the horse haunch to his lips for a second bite, another orc—this one black-skinned and boasting a ragged, scarred hole where his left eye once sat—dashed from the concealing shadows of the trees.

The rag-tag bunch of adventurers on a desperate mission for their ‘boss’ is a common trope in all of fiction. Much like he’s given the characters of Cræosh, Katim, Belrotha a unique and believable perspective from their side of the great struggle (in as much as I was rooting for them), Marmell doesn’t really play the whole good v. Any time the characters get too sympathetic, the author reminds us that they are thieves, murderers and villians. The overall story is really a series of Demon Squad adventures, tied loosely together by the pending "final" showdown between good and evil.There’s also the inconsistent PoV switching, which is usually the result of Marmell attempting to cram as many gags as he can into one scene. Craeosh the Orc is the leader in all but name, and the rest of his band include an ogre, a bugbear, troll, doppelganger, Kobold and a gremlin.

An orcish stronghold, that sprawling settlement—like its twin, Tarahk Grond, so many leagues nearer the Iron Keep—was one of the largest nonhuman cities within the Dark Lord's kingdom. When the squad gets into fights, the text really shines as we get to see what tactics and strategy (or lack thereof) a squad of evil humanoids with little in common with each other would actually use. Unfortunately, the introduction of each member of the Demon Squad was the least cohesive aspect of the novel. More than anything, the underlaying sardonic tone of his writing is closer to Sam Sykes' style as are the band of bickering characters. Put them all together in their various levels of stupidity and prejudices, mix up a few stereotypes, drop them in the middle of a fabricated training mission with no defined leadership, and out pops a big, crazy mess.His right elbow rested upon the arm of the great chair, and his chin was propped on one skeletal fist. As though that sob had carried with it the last of his strength, the fleeing creature toppled forward. Narration is in the third-person omniscient via numerous characters including the seven members of the Demon Squad, the Charnel King Morthûl, his lieutenant Vigo Havarren, Ananias DuMark, King Dororam, etc. Damit machte er sein Hobby zum Beruf, denn Marmell bekam sein erstes Dungeons and Dragons – Set im Alter von 9 Jahren geschenkt und verfasste später häufig selbst Kampagnen.