Orconomics: A Satire (The Dark Profit Saga) Paperback – November 22, 2014

As I have confessed in previous reviews, I am shallow in my book buying habits. All it takes for me to snap up an ebook is a shiny cover and discount price (and all it takes for me not to give up on a book is having spent more than $5 on it). While it didn’t have the most eye-catching cover, J. Zachary Pike’s Orconomics: A Satire, first book in The Dark Profit Saga, had one heck of a title and was on sale for under a buck. I one-click bought it.And at the time, I had no idea what it was about.I went in with no expectations, and as a recovering Dungeons & Dragons addict and former investment bank analyst, was pleasantly surprised by the intelligence underlying the story, disguised by impeccable comedic delivery. When I’d finished laughing and the dust had cleared, I came up with this easy way to characterize Orconomics:1. An unabashed celebration of D&D character classes, races, magic, and terminology.2. Subversion of common fantasy tropes.3. A metaphorical lesson in Mortgage Backed Securities and other derivatives.4. Hilariously witty prose.5. One hell of a wonderfully crafted, insidious plot worthy of the Koch Brothers’ undermining of democracy.Taking place on Arth (like Earth, without an E) Orconomics follows a band of misfits, led by Gorm Ingerson, a disgraced dwarven berserker with a soft heart. Joining him is a memorable cast: an adorable goblin squire, an inexperienced temple scribe, a pair of squabbling mages, a taciturn warrior, a garrulous bard, and a substance-abusing elf ranger.Bribed, blackmailed, or otherwise shanghaied into the service of the Temple of the All Mother, they set out on a quest to find the Elven Marbles—which happen to be Orc-made. Along the way, they confront an equally colorful rogues’ gallery of friends and enemies, including a conniving gnome and his ogre enforcer, a two-faced paladin, a love struck troll, a purse kobold, and orcs using aggressive sales tactics.Expect unlikely friendships and unlikelier romances and bromances as tropes get turned on their head, in a narrative that intentionally reads like a D&D session where the players talk in terms of game mechanics instead of playing a role. Snappy dialog, textured character interactions, and a unique take on RPG worldbuilding make for a fast paced, enjoyable ride through a beautifully crafted plot. Throw in an E, and behind that joy ride is a brilliant lampooning of modern Earth society. Themes include corporate interests subverting public policy, war profiteering, bureaucratic red tape, immigration, outsourcing and labor exploitation, and substance abuse.As the title implies, economics plays a large part in the plot and backstory. Financing comes from such entities as Adventure Capital so that Heroes can defeat F.O.E.s (Forces of Evil, arbitrarily chosen, though these races can apply for Non-Combatant Papers, or NPCs) and recover their hoards. It’s a lesson in money velocity; and the way arbiters (the fantasy equivalent of rating agencies) evaluate plunder funds (mortgage-backed securities and other derivatives), I sat on the edge of my seat, waiting for the house of cards to tumble into a fantasy version of the Great Recession. (Recommended article: The End of Wall Street.)For me, Orconomics was my first foray into LitRPG, which gave me the bravery to check out Andrew Rowe’s Sufficiently Advanced Magic.With its witty prose, subversion of tropes, lovable characters, and ridiculously compelling plot line, I will rate it a 9.57 out of 10, or the equivalent of Moody’s bestowing a AAA rating on a subprime mortgage-backed security.

My rating: 3.95/5 (almost four, but I try to keep 4 and 5 stars to best books I read. This one was really close but it missed this little something that would make me reread it).Some reviewers on goodreads compare Orconomics to Pratchett novels. A bold statement, if you ask me. Still, as it’s listed on r/fantasy underread/underrated list and can be used in Bingo challenge, I decided to give it a go. It was a fun read, sort of fantasy satire that has a potential to make you laugh at least few times. It’s actually funny and uplifting but also serious and sad in some places, as every good satire should be.On the world of Arth, adventuring is the industry that drives the economy. Monsters and Shadowkin (Orcs, Goblins, Kobolds) are killed and their hoards are claimed. These loots are bought and sold by corporate interests, and are sold off to plunder funds long before the hero’s guild actually attacks. You’ll easily see some similarities to Goldman Sachs in Goldson Baggs operations The story follows Gorm Ingerson - a fallen dwarven hero whose hero’s license has been revoked. He was disowned by his clan and lives as a rogue. Our protagonist is forcibly recruited to undertake an impossible quest with a team of similar fallen heroes. It seems if he succeeds, he may be able to win back the fame and fortune he lost so long ago. He’s teamed with other fun characters – a goblin squire (who rocks and brings a lot of comic relief), clumsy and naïve prophet of a mad goddess, an elf warrior addicted to alcohol and drugs (healing potions in the book), two mages who are at each others throats, a thief who claims to be a bard (even though he can’t really sing) and a warrior seeking his own death. They start the quest to find Elven Marbles. As we follow the story the plot gets a little more complicated and nuanced.The story can be described as well-plotted and solid high fantasy tale that has humor woven into the plot and the world. The world building is done well and mixed seamlessly into the story. The characterization is done well - even characters that seem very archetypical turn out to be developed by the book’s end. The pacing is just right. It speeds up and slows down in all the right places. The humor actually made me laugh. Naturally it’s unfair for any author to be compared to Sir Terry Pratchett. Simply because no one stands a chance. In no way is this book on par with Pratchett’s book. It is, though, very good fantasy satire. The book is mostly uplifting and can be read to take a well deserved rest from dark books in which characters you love die, become evil or destroyed. On the other hand after finishing the book I was mourning one of characters. Every good satire needs to contain some level of tragedy and Orconomics delivers both.The ending of the book set ups for sequel that I will definitely read once it’s published,