An Orc on the Wild Side by Tom Holt

“Being the Dark Lord and Prince of Evil is not as much fun as it sounds, particularly if you re basically a decent person. King Mordak is more goblin than person, but the point is that he’s really keen to be a lot less despicable than his predecessors.

Not the that othe goblins appreciate Mordak’s attempts to redefine the role.

Why should they when new healthcare program seems designed to actually extend the life expectancy, and his efforts to end a perfectly reasonable war with the dwarves appear to have become an obsession.

With confidence in his leadership crumbling, what Mordak desperately needs is a distraction. Perhaps some of the humans moving to the Realm in search of great homes at affordable prices…will be able to help.”

An Orc on The Wild Side by Tom Holt is a satirical romp through fantasy land with tons of energy and an original voice. Mordak is a decent goblin doing a tough job in a traditionally evil land. He is the Dark Lord but it involves much more settling of petty disputes than actually taking over and ruling the land with an iron fist and on top of that he must interact with humans who have begun moving to the dark realm and bringing their strange technological wonders with them.

This book is light and fun. It's full of jokes for people who have been through and done a few things but at the same time it feels written for a younger audience. This may be why for me it was just good and not one that blew me away.

I would highly recommend this one to readers who enjoyed Orconomics by J. Zachery Pike, the winner of the highly competitive SPFBO. It has a very similar feel although it is a little more based in the D&D world.