A Short One, While He's Away

I'm not sure why it took so long to dawn on me, but the Sranc in R. Scott Bakker's fantasy are very much like Tolkien's orcs. Both have their origins in the creation of the world, both are bastardizations of another species, and both are under the power of the big bad.

Though I'm not sure Tolkien ever said anything about orcs being necrophiles. That detail's pure Bakker.