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I would like to see an Novel series from the Ork perspective.

what would your idea for a novel series be ?

My idea would be a freebooter Ork Warboss hired by a human planetary governor ( it has happened before) due to the governor trying totrick and kill him they go to war only to be interupted by a Chaos incursion.

After fighting off the Chaos incursion the warboss escapes but not before doing extensive damage and earning the personal emnity of the governor who vows to hunt him down ending the first novel and setting the scene for the second novel.

It's more important, I think, to establish what exactly you want to do that makes it stay interesting. Is it a comedy? Does it emphasize the differences between Orky culture and our culture? Is it a serious (with some dark humor) character play? An epic tale of heroism (or the Orky equivalent)? Or something else?

A story about a pair of Ork "brothers" who are present during the buildup of a Waaagh! noting the changes in their personalities and behaviours while they become drenched in the psychic effect ... all the while never actually seeing the warboss from anything but a distance.

So where the main characters of the story aren't the main characters of the conflict.

Enemy wouldn't matter, something standard like guardsmen would do

Ghazghkull thraka's rise to power would make for a good read, plus other Ork characters could make a appearance (Grotsnik and such), book could end with his release of Yarrick for a the 3rd War of Armageddon.

Always wanted to know more about 40k's most infamous Ork warboss , and since he is Brilliant (by ork standards) there would be some room for decent plot turns.

On ork warbosse's rise to power would be interesting. Finding allies while avoiding a knife in the back. Amassing bigger and bigger guns. etc.

Though I think Orks would work best as a comic rather than a story. You can convey quite a bit in the images without getting too wordy in the dialogue/exposition.

 Melissia wrote:
Though I think Orks would work best as a comic rather than a story. You can convey quite a bit in the images without getting too wordy in the dialogue/exposition.

I'm actually in the planning stages of a comic centered around two overtly ambitious Boyz who leave their failing Waaagh! to become Freebootas.

I agree that comics are the orky medium.

A novel about Kaptin Badrukk seeking vengeance against a fearsome Void Whale, written in first-person in the same vein as Moby Dick, either by Badrukk himself or an onlooking Brainboy. It would detail the epic tale of Kaptin Badrukk tracking the immense beast across the Void with a fervor maddening even by Ork standards, the long periods of no conflict would anger some less loyal elements of the krew and provoke a mutiny, providing a device for character conflict and drama, and humor could be derived from the very notion of an Ork writing with human-like prose in a diary about typical nonsensical Orky happenings.

Another idea I have pondered is an Ork novel told from the perspective of a lowly Gretchin. A Gretchin would provide a more pitiable and sympathetic point of view, since Gretchin are as a rule loser fodder who suck ass. Perhaps it could be told from Makari's point of view, detailing his early years serving the Goffs and then his observance of the rise of Ghaz himself, and his eventual ascension as the Warlord's favorite Grot.

I actually am penning a fanfic about an Ork warboss and his waaagh happening upon a forgeworld fought over by the Imperials and Chaos, but then the Tyranids come in and ruin christmas for everyone.

For Orks, I don't think Tyranids incoming would ruin Christmas...

 Melissia wrote:
For Orks, I don't think Tyranids incoming would ruin Christmas...

"Oi gribbliez! Lookz like gork's day came early!"
"No dat's mork's day"

 Melissia wrote:
It's more important, I think, to establish what exactly you want to do that makes it stay interesting. Is it a comedy? Does it emphasize the differences between Orky culture and our culture? Is it a serious (with some dark humor) character play? An epic tale of heroism (or the Orky equivalent)? Or something else?

A serious with some dark humor character play something akin to the Nightlords series by ADB.

Orks are too comedic of characters to be taken seriously. They are, and always have been, the comic relief of the 40K universe. And that's the reason why there aren't very many books written from the Ork perspective. Mainly because you then have to explore the inner monolog and their cultural behaviors.

The idea of a comic book is probably much better.


Hence why the Predator comic books from the early 90s worked really well, but the novelizations of them where they explored the culture and mentality behind them were absolutely god awful bovine fecal matter.

Orks do what they do. That's all we need to know.

I actually think the three hundred pageish fanfic I'm working on is fairly okay. Not great, but passable comedy in the lieu of Ciaphas Cain.

It even has a Chaos Terminator Lord who throws hissy fits like a child.

 Veteran Sergeant wrote:
Orks are too comedic of characters to be taken seriously.

On the contrary, they can be quite easily taken seriously.

That's an amusing point of view to have, and I will allow you to have it.

 Veteran Sergeant wrote:
That's an amusing point of view to have, and I will allow you to have it.

If you're not capable of taking them seriously, that doesn't mean that no one else isn't either.

15 hours does a pretty good job at showing that Orks aren't a laughing matter when you take into account just what they do for "humor". Same goes for the space marine audiologs.

 Kain wrote:
15 hours does a pretty good job at showing that Orks aren't a laughing matter when you take into account just what they do for "humor".

15 Hours also doesn't try to go too far into what the Orks do.

Hence why I said "Orks do what they do, and that's all we need to know."


Once you start to try to break down the "why", and explore the back story to the Orks, it all falls apart. Which, again, is why they're comic relief. Though, to be fair, this requires an understand of how comic relief functions in a story. It isn't necessarily to be always funny, all the time. C3PO, for example, was comic relief. But it wasn't that he was always cracking jokes. It was just that often times, the situations he found himself in, or the way he carried himself, was used to break up tension slightly.

15 Hours, for example. The Ork threat is very real, and definitely it's no laughing matter that the Orks are an enemy. But the book doesn't really explore the Orks in depth. They are antagonists. There are a handful of scenes written from an Orky (or grot) perspective, but they are short, and don't go far into the Ork mindset or culture. Nor does it place any of its narrators into situations or thought processes where they have to do much more than talk about what they are doing. And, ultimately, the reader is supposed to find it humorous, even despite the fact that these are very real threats to the protagonists. Hence, the comic relief.

Orks have always been comic relief. Nothing about them makes sense. To the point that their rules and fluff say that their very nature serves to break the "rules" of sense. They're the last hold-over from what 40K was originally. A very silly, non-serious tabletop game of Fantasy Innnnnn Spaaaaaace. Games Workshop have tried to Grimdark them up, but ultimately they've consistently failed. Because no matter what, everything orky is silly.

And I wouldn't have it any other way. Orks are my favorite characters of the 40K universe. But they are not, never have been, and never will be, serious.

I love the moby dick idea. This needs to be done.

Or we could just go for comedy. Ciaphas Cain shows that 40k based comedy isn't out of the question.

Ciaphas Cain's stories are serious stories which have occasional bits of comedy in them, rather than pure comedies.

Certainly that style of writing could work for Orks, mind you.

I think a comic book would be a better option, such as the boom studios did with Blood and Thunder.
Showing the rise of an ork nob to warboss and its eventually his fall.

i personally would like to see a stormboy comic. Orks are silly, missiles with a payload of ork are positively hilarious (to me at least). the stormboy would see some pretty cool stuff allowing for a grander view of battles and events. His Goal? To become a fighter ace by punching planes out of the sky!

 Melissia wrote:
Ciaphas Cain's stories are serious stories which have occasional bits of comedy in them, rather than pure comedies.

Certainly that style of writing could work for Orks, mind you.

Well I am trying to shoot for some good laughs mixed with awesomeness. But the general idea is *fun*.

The thing is, the humor in Ciaphas Cain wouldn't work without the serious situations to compare it to. It's mostly serious with some humor, not the other way around.

 Melissia wrote:
The thing is, the humor in Ciaphas Cain wouldn't work without the serious situations to compare it to. It's mostly serious with some humor, not the other way around.

Well even though they are mostly serious, unlike say Dan Abnett, Alex Stewart's books are written to be fun. Which doesn't necessarily mean that they're comedic.

Exactly my point. A comedic portrayal of Orks will get dull quickly, but a serious portrayal with some fun/comedic aspects to it will be much more interesting.

I'll keep that in mind.

How does Gitbasha 'Ead 'eata sound to you as a Freeboota name?

Just read the Engine of Mork short story.

Great story from an Ork perspective

Orks can work in a novel setting.