An Orc on the Wild Side
by Tom Holt (Orbit, 2019); audiobook read by Ray Sawyer (Isis, 2019)
The satirical fantasy setting and plethora of characters (none them especially purposeful) constitute an ambitious attempt at osmotic, jigsaw-puzzle storytelling. The execution no doubt comes off better in written form, where Holt’s non-stop, at times throwaway drollery isn’t subjected to read-aloud precision.