The Weight of Blood (The Half-Orcs Book 1)

I just finished reading THE WEIGHT OF BLOOD. Incredible action sequences. The blossoming relationship of Harruq and Aurelia is fascinating, especially when she is taunting his every move. Qurrah's fall to darkness is an interesting one, as he thinks he must be a destructive force, falling into the stereotype of his mother, an orc. Harruq's weapons, Salvation and Condemnation, are slightly akin to Salvatore's Twinkle and Icing-death, in this writer's opinion.

I am very much interested to see where Daglish takes this story when I read the other two.

Thanks i enjoyed this. Liked the whole half Orc theme, and the differneces between the brothers. It went more than Skin deep and i liked that. Look forward to the rest of the series to see what happens next.

Having read all books from David Dalglish so far, and eagerly awaiting new installments; I must say these stories are best experienced together, as a whole. The characters, events, and plot lines are so finely interweaved with one another you easily get lost in the world of Dezrel, not merely the step by step sequence of a single time and place like so many other fantasy book series. This place truely has a life of its own, one that you will quickly become a part of whether you like it... or not.

I highly recommend not only this series, but all of David's works.

I enjoyed this book very much. The two brothers somewhat reminded me of Caramon and Raistlin from the dragonlance books. But they were more close. And more....... dark I guess. I wouldn't go as far as to call them evil though.

David Dalglish's "The Weight of Blood"(the first book in the HALF-ORCS series) is a gripping and dark fantasy about two half-orc brothers, Qurrah and Harruq. The two are despised by humans and elves alike, making them buy into the belief that they deserve to be violent in nature, even though Harruq, as much as he loves to battle and kill, questions his true nature. The two meet an evil figure who serves a god of death, and he has horrible plans for the world that involve the two brothers. Will the two end up being pawns, or will one or both of them figure out that there may be another way to go through life? It's all here in this exciting beginning to a promising series.

Be warned, this is a very dark tale. The brothers do terrible things, but again this is to reveal to you their beginnings. Not all beginnings are pleasant, and theirs is proof of that. What Dalglish gives us are complex characters where there are no clear-cut good guys. And as evil as Velixar is, he too believes that he is doing right, and for that reason he never comes off as being cartoonish or flat. The brothers, as violent as they can be, come from a world where almost everybody who has crossed paths with them have shown them nothing but hatred. This does not excuse their actions, but it does make you believe they are capable of the things they do a lot more. But as you learn about their backgrounds and past, it's not hard to believe that they could easily be swayed to be nothing more than weapons of violence and destruction.

It's an easy book to read, because Dalglish paints very vivid pictures without ever getting lost in the details. Not once does the reader feel like he's lost or overwhelmed, or at least I certainly didn't. While the book is packed with exciting action, he never lets it overtake the story. It's always about the characters.

I really enjoyed this first book in the series, and I look forward to reading more. While it is a dark and violent tale, I never once felt that Dalglish uses his violence for shock purposes. If you're in the mood a dark fantasy that's complex and character-driven, I highly recommend "The Weight of Blood." An exciting and thrilling read on all fronts!

-Michael Crane

I have read many fantasy books and although the writing isn't amazing the book follows a plot that is different then most and unpredictable at times. I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to someone who wants something different than an all mighty good guy plot.

This book was a heart stopper. The beginning was rough, but the ending is a soul wrenching tear at your heart. It's so intense that you'll be left shell shocked. I recommend older readers who can handle war gore and in depth exploration of the concept of death.

This was a great book about Half-Orc brothers Qurrah and Harruq. It took me about 20% to get into it but then it picked up really fast & I could not put my kindle down. I really liked that David (the author) wrote mainly from the Orcs point of view. I liked getting to know a different side than always reading from some brawny beautiful big hero. I also enjoyed the different flavors of characters too. I look forward to reading the rest of the series, this book was truly a great 1st start.

I thought it had potential, but the ending was flat. The characters almost had "It". The chemistry that makes a book really good. In the end though there was nothing that made me want to go find more things written by this author.

Darker and more violent than any other fantasy fiction I have read. Well written and fast paced, easy to follow and good character developement. Throughly enjoyable and refreshly different than many other books in the genre.

This book is entertaining but also makes for strange reading with the lead characters being the way they are. I found it hard to want things to work out for them when alot of the time I wanted them dead.It was a good story even if a dark one and I look forward to the next book in the series.

Very nice story, focusing on the two half-orc brothers and their adventures. While not your typical heroes, you will get to know them and understand their choices.
The universe it's set in was very well presented and it has a great depth to it.

What I did not like is how sometimes dialogues between characters seem to be very current, and not at all part of a medieval fantasy world.

I was very impressed with The Weight of Blood (The Half-Orcs, Book 1). The author's timely 'back story' filling was particularly well placed, just enough to fill the questions and left the desire for more. Exceptionally well paced, story line comes together in an effortless read. I'll be passing this one on to the other mad reader (son 13 y/o) and hope he finds another series he enjoys!

Don't pass this one up.

The idea behind the story definitely has some promise, the execution however is lacking. As I read this book I kept feeling that if only the writing had been better it would have been a great book.
But, for the price of nothing I guess you can't complain too much.

When reading a good book, I sometimes wonder how the author manages to write so entertaining, what the tricks are. Not so for this one. Very good book to learn how to set up a story, as it is easy to see through, but on an entertainment level is it unfortunately inconsistent, unrealistic and uninteresting.

This book was riveting from when I first downloaded it to reading the last lines. The story of the brothers is deep, from doing everything together to slowly becoming independent, and against one another. The descriptions of everything and what they do light up your mind with vivid images and scenes. I highly recommend this to anyone wanting to read a good series, you won't go wrong.

A very, very dark book - endless brutal, killing for little acceptable reason. Dark spells and evil intentions reign supreme. When I finished it my question was "what was that about?" It left me with no incentive to read a sequel. Sorry, but there is nothing to commend it in my view.

I think the author did a really good job, although unless you play Dungeons and Drgaons or games of that sort i don't think you'll get very into into it or find it that interesting. However, he did not really describe things as a good author did and i hope he gets better at that as the series progresses. Either way still a good book.

While this review may not tell fully the full scope of the power and enjoyment level this book deserves like others have I'll try.

I'm not a pure fantasy reader by any means but the word Orcs in the title drew me in along with a terrific sample. For being the author's first title, I was shocked that it not only held my interest but made me want to turn each page. I enjoy Lord of the Rings but can honestly say that Mr. Dalglish will now come in a close second.

He has written wonderful characters that I enjoyed, some more than others, and I look forward to seeing them grow with this series. It is powerful, exciting, thrilling and I look forward to getting the second and third books.

I recently started reading David Dalglish's books starting with the Half Orc Series. I am on book 2 and really enjoying the story and character developments. I've been a long time reader of fantasy books and highly recommend this author. Especially as he is self published and has an affordable ebook pricing Model.