this post was submitted on 21 Feb 2024
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Fiction Books
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I've been flying through the Dark Profit Saga. I went into it knowing nothing other than the title of book 1, Orconomics. I thought the gimmick would get old but it turns out it isn't relying on the gimmick at all, it's just a good book. The end in particular is very strong, and really successfully elevates the story.
I'm almost done with book 2, Son of a Lich. It takes the strong ending of the first one and builds on it. It's been great the whole way through. I'm almost reluctant to finish it because book 3 isn't out in audiobook form yet.
Overall, it builds an interesting world with good satire, surprisingly interesting lore, fun characters, and a compelling story. It reminds me a lot of Terry Pratchett, and I would definitely recommend it to any fans of Discworld.
What did you think the gimmick was...? Going off the title I can only imagine something to do with poking fun at orcs being bad at economics...?
The gimmick that becomes apparent at the beginning of the first book is that it takes place in a world that mirrors a role-playing game, but without actually being one. For example, there's a heroes guild which regulates quests and the distribution of loot, heroes earn points on their hero license for killing enemies, and when they get enough points they go up a rank. It' not actually experience points and character levels, but it's representative of those concepts.
That seems like something that could get very old very quickly, but it doesn't lean so heavily on that premise that it ever wears out it's welcome. While it does use that premise to poke fun at the foibles of role-playing games, it also builds the world out and uses the elements of that concept to tell a serious story that also satirizes capitalism and the financial sector (they have a loot driven economy, and despite diminishing returns on quests, they continue to repackage and sell stakes in the plunder that is due to come in, driving up a speculation bubble with inflated guesses about the value of the loot that will be recovered).
I was expecting that premise to get old, but it really just fades into the background as the story goes on. It's always there, and it is important to the plot, but the game-like elements aren't actually the focus of the story.