Orconomics: A Satire

The Dark Profit Saga, Book 1

De: J. Zachary Pike

Narrado por: Doug Tisdale Jr.

Professional heroes kill and loot deadly monsters every day, but Gorm Ingerson's latest quest will be anything but business as usual.

The adventuring industry drives the economy of Arth, a world much like our own but with more magic and fewer vowels. Monsters' hoards are claimed, bought by corporate interests, and sold off to plunder funds long before the Heroes' Guild actually kills the beasts. Of course, that's a terrible arrangement for the Shadowkin; orcs, goblins, kobolds, and their ilk must apply for to become Noncombatant Paper Carriers (or NPCs) to avoid being killed and looted by heroes.

When Gorm Ingerson, a Dwarven ex-hero with a checkered past, stands up for an undocumented goblin, he inadvertently singles himself out for recruitment by a prophet of the mad goddess to undertake a suicidal quest. But there's more to Gorm's new job than an insane prophecy: Powerful corporations and governments have shown an unusual interest in the quest. If his party of eccentric misfits can stop fighting each other long enough to recover the Elven Marbles, Gorm might be able to turn a bad deal into a golden opportunity.

©2014 John Zachary Pike (P)2016 John Zachary Pike

A fun romp

There have been a number of this humorous takes on the D&D / Warcraft type universe. Many that focus on the world as a game and others that simple borrow game mechanics but give them a logical consistency in the world of the story. This is one that keeps it own logical consistency. Characters get XP and level up but its done through membership in a guild etc. for example.

I have read quite a few of this general theme, and quite like J. Zachary Pike's take on the sub genre. The story is interesting, the humor is pleasing. There is one seen about "Aggressive sales tactics" that had me laughing loud enough to get funny looks from my wife.

Overall I quite enjoyed the book and would recommend it to anyone looking for a fun ride.

simply amazing

It's been a while since I gushed about a book like this but holy cow Zack Pike has officially won me over after listening to Orconomics.

This book tackled epic fantasy in a tongue-in-cheek manner and delved into some of the genre's tropes in both hilarious and thought provoking ways.

Listening to this book was kind of like playing DND the first time, or Baldur's Gate, or an mmo. It starts off innocently enough and you start to get swept up in the story, all the while trying to puzzle out exactly what's going on. The author manages to seemlessly blend the snark in with excellent story telling so it is both humorous and satisfying story wise.

Easily top 3 for books I have read this year and the narrator absolutely kills the delivery. I won't give anything away but towards the end I found myself prickling with goosebumps and choked up with emotions at the excellent story telling, I felt like I was right there with Gorm. I have to add the dwarf to my all time favorite dwarves along with Gotrek, the boulder shoulder brothers, Ivan, and Flint (I know elite company).

Amazingly done

This book was was a beautiful blend of modern economic worry and fantasy adventure. As a tabletop gamer I adored the inclusion of the old adventurers wisdom and tropes.

Hilarious without trying too hard.

I had requested and received audiobook version of this book for free from the author, in exchange for an unbiased review.

I am always on the lookout for any genuinely funny story, which just doesn't depend on crass humor. Satire books are a risky bet in that quest. When they work, they are fabulous. But when they fail, they bomb. Thankfully, "Orconomics: A Satire" is the former. It is full of very cleverly written story sequences and intelligent humor. The well written characters and their antiques kept me thoroughly entertained for the whole duration. It is funny without trying too hard to be funny. I was laughing out loud in my room. I had to stop listening to it during my commute, because I didn't want to grin like an idiot in public. Listen to it to know what I'm talking about.

The narration by Doug Tisdale Jr. works so very well for this book. The different voices used were marvelous and kept me engrossed in it.

Fantastic listen!

Well, this book was certainly a really fun listen!

This is the story of Gorm Ingerson, who is a dwarven berserker who has had a bit of bad luck in the past that has lead to him basically becoming a thief. However, he's been recruited to go on a quest that is almost certain death! Hooray!!! Luckily he's part of a party of adventurers who are all very experienced in the field of adventuring. This is a country where the number one gross domestic product is professional heroics. Heros for hire, arming them, armoring them, et cetera.

There was definitely some influence here from some of my favorite fantasy books, or I suppose, some of the first fantasy I ever read. The first that I noticed was a passing reference to a small statuette that summons an ethereal Puma, bringing to mind one Drizzt Do'urden, drow warrior, generally good dude, and holder of one statuette that summons one giant ethereal panther named Guenhwyvar (and I remember how to spell it off the top of my head, hooray!). The quest our heroes go on is to find some elven marbles/stones, there's a few references to Lord of the Rings and other such things. I dig it! I love passing references, or just even little nods to some of my favorite things in fantasy books. I'm silly that way.

This was a very well written book, and the prose and plot line flowed very, very well. There were twists and turns that left me flabbergasted because I never saw them coming. There were several times that I giggled out loud, and I love books that can do that.

The narrator, Doug Tisdale Jr. was absolutely amazing at telling this story. He has a very good tone for comedic fantasy. His voice for Grom was believable and not over-the-top, but my favorite was his voice of Gorm's goblin squire, Gleebek. I think that I liked this book even more than I would have had I not listened to it (but not by much because this is a great book all told!)

Characters, story, action? It's all there!

So first off I want to say that this already great book's narrator was a delight to listen to. He took a phenomenal book and gave yet more life to the already fleshed out characters.
Orconomics is a marvel - throughout the book it consistently delivers the holy trinity of good writing simultaneously: world building, character development, and engaging pacing to the story. The characters are all broken in some way or another and our MC gets to have a parallel emotional climax alongside the UNREASONABLY COOL dramatic climax of the book. Growth arcs set up for next book while giving us satisfying payoffs for this one. The world world is set up from the start as an almost dystopian take on a failing adventurers' capitalism. Banter is on point, every character is wonderful, and the relationships built between those characters is equal parts amusing and appealing. The main character is a great character to self insert onto - he's straightforward and has a refreshing insights as to the nature of the world.

All in all its a good book. I'd even go so far as to say its one of my favorite books I've read for years. The book did everything I want from a good book and fell into no trite traps of the genre. I cannot imagine an audience that would not enjoy this book, and for me, the book was a spectacular gem.

Fun read, recomended!

Fun, entertaining​ adventure story. Good character development, with likable + entertaining characters, and a reader with good character voices (esp love the party leader voice).

Refreshing fantasy

While this states satire the book a totally has a suprising amount of depth and character development.

Not what I expected - so much better

I got this book on a throw-away credit because I liked the cover and figured "why not." I figured it was a shallow comedy that might keep me amused while commuting. It definitely has its funny moments, but it was also surprisingly moving and had a depth to it that I didn't expect. In fact, there were one or two moments that were kind of heartbreaking. When I was half-way through, I knew that not only would I get every book in the series, but that I had a new "favorite author" to add to a short-list of authors where I'm willing to get a new book simply because they wrote it. J. Zachary Pike is now on that list.

I'm not great at writing reviews, but I can say that I really enjoyed this book. It is funny, moving, and has parallels with the world we all live in that are painful to observe. It deals with politics, addiction, war, economics in a fantasy setting that is somehow completely believable. The story sucked me in right away, delivered with some of the best voice acting I've ever heard in an audio-book. I highly recommend it.

Dungeons and Dragons Meets The Big Short

This is one of the most brilliant stories I've ever read, a cross between litRPG and a lesson in mortgage-backed securities. The narrator just nails it with comedic timing.