Reading order
Orcs: First Blood — reading order
- Bodyguard of Lightning (1999)
- Legion of Thunder (1999)
- Warriors of the Tempest (2000)
- 3 volumes
- Volumes
- 1999–2000
- Published
- Completed
- Status
Quick answer
Start withBodyguard of Lightning
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Publication order
3 volumes1999–2000Completed
- Three books published within a year and written as one novel — most editions now sell them as a single volume called Orcs, which is the honest form.
- Read straight through.
- The conceit is the whole appeal: the orcs are the protagonists and the humans are the fanatics hunting them, and Nicholls plays it straight rather than for irony.
- There are later Orcs books, a second trilogy and a prequel, and they are a step down; the first three are the ones worth the shelf.
Every volume in order
Read: 0 of 3
No volume in this series has enough ratings to enter a ranking yet, so the list carries no scores — the order and the volumes are still complete.
- 1999
- 1999
- 2000
Order checked by hand · Order and years: Wikidata (CC0). Spotted an error? Tell us. · Data updated October 21, 2026