When their elven brethren betrayed her people, one Dark Elf Chief will do whatever it takes to save her people—even if it means trusting Orcs.

In a world where firearms and sorcery coexist, two great powers stand in opposition: the Kingdom of Orcsen—an alliance of magical races led by the so-called "savage" orcs—and Elfland, a seemingly peaceful realm of beautiful white elves. But beneath Elfland's serene facade lies a grim truth. The dark elves, once part of the elven homeland, are being systematically purged. Fleeing for her life and on the verge of death, dark elf clan leader Dinerúth is rescued by none other than Gustav, king of Orcsen.

Their fateful encounter sets off a chain of events that will shake the foundations of both nations--and rewrite the very history of their world.

History of the Kingdom of Orcsen: How the Barbarian Orcish Nation Came to Burn Down the Peaceful Elfland has a story by Kyōichirō Tarumi and illustrations by THORES Shibamoto. English translation is done by Emily Hemphill and Maria K. with an adaptation by Shelly Romero. Published by Seven Seas Entertainment (June 18, 2026).

Erica Friedman
Rating:

Are you interested in military history? How about uniform design? Or maybe you're into military strategy and tactics. How about…logistics?

History of the Kingdom of Orcsen: How the Barbarian Orcish Nation Came to Burn Down the Peaceful Elfland is 100% about the very specific details of the logistics of building, maintaining and using a massive orc army, assisted by several other races and their specific skills and needs. The logistics take up about 75% of the space of this novel. The remaining 25% is a set-up to what is going to be a well-deserved massacre, an interesting relationship between Dinerúth and Gustav…and a reveal that is not a surprise when it finally lands.

I genuinely enjoyed this book. I should say, I am probably the perfect audience for this book. The details of military logistics genuinely interests me—although even I crashed out over the list of the rations for the individual orc soldiers. And I loved the obsession with the military uniform design. By the end of the volume, I was asking myself, other than me, what old men are out there enjoying this book? Let me know if you were fascinated by mobile kitchen specs as I was.

The formation of the new brigade, and the integration of multiple magical races into one army was fun, relying on building relationships between characters of those races. Which, of course, meant developing those characters into something more than just a title. The characters here meshed well, and the end of the novel was well thought out and well-written…even if it was all just a little on the (pig) nose.