In the Company of Ogres by A. Lee Martinez

From the back: An uproarious new novel in the tradition of Robert Asprin and Terry Pratchett!For someone who's immortal, Never Dead Ned manages to die with alarming frequency--he just has the annoying habit of rising from the grave. But this soldier might be better dead than face his latest assignment. Ogre Company is the legion's dumping ground--a motley, undisciplined group of monsters whose leaders tend to die under somewhat questionable circumstances. That's where Ned's rather unique talents come in. As Ogre Company's newly appointed commander, Ned finds himself in charge of such fine examples of military prowess as a moonstruck Amazon, a very big (and very polite) two-headed ogre, a seductively scaly siren, a blind oracle who can hear (and smell) the future, a suicidal goblin daredevil pilot, a walking tree with a chip on its shoulder, and a suspiciously goblinesque orc.Ned has only six months to whip the Ogre Company into shape or face an even more hideous assignment, but that's not the worst of his problems. Because now that Ned has found out why he keeps returning from dead, he has to do everything he can to stay alive. . . .

My thoughts: What a hoot! This book was quite well written, with witty dialogue, and parts that make you laugh out loud. It was a quick entertaining read that I found to be right up my reading alley. In this book , Never Dead Ned, an accountant, is put in charge of a military company of misfits lifted from all your favorite fantasies, ogres, goblins, an Amazon, a Siren, a walking tree that refuses to be called an "Ent" but prefers Treefolk, etc. Ned is a unique character to me in that he is so inept, such a poor leader, yet he wins the heart of his new command. I loved that Martinez named a pair of twin ogres Martin and Lewis. I guess I'm old enough to remember that particular pair of comedians. Pick this up, read it and see if you can spot all the fantasy and pop-culture references included. If you like Terry Pratchett's books (and I do) I think you'll like this.

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Challenges:

100+ Reading Challenge

RYOB Challenge