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Since I'm taking a recovery weekend from the fun-fest that was Duckon, I decided to stay in last night and read. Well, that and my three-book Amazon order came in. They've got me trained to order over $25 at a shot so I get my free shipping.
So I read![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
jimhines' newest novel, Goblin Hero
. (Full disclosure - unlike a certain Caribbean-born SF writer, he's running a contest for reviews.) (Fuller disclosure - the review doesn't HAVE to be positive.)
Goblin Hero is the second outing for Jig, now called Jig Dragonslayer, a goblin. In Hines' world, goblins are the least of God's creatures, and Jig, short, weak and nearsighted, looks to be the least of the goblins. But he survived a quest and killed a dragon, thus making him a hero. A very reluctant hero who never wanted to be a hero, but a hero nonetheless.
In fact, as the book opens, Jig is using his powers granted to him by Tymalous Shadowstar, a forgotten god, to work as a healer in the goblin lair. Then an orge shows up, asking for Jig by name. Apparently trouble is brewing down in the lower levels, and a hero is needed. The goblin chief, who climbed to the top of the heap by poisoning her rivals, sends Jig and two other goblins (both of them apparently more hindrance then help) to fix the problem. (Hopefully, Jig will get killed in the process, removing a rival to her power.) Vast Veka, a plump grunt worker, tags along, hoping to become a hero too.
I have to admit, by the end of the book Jig's reluctant hero bit was wearing thin. However, the book overall was quite entertaining. It turns out that Jig is in part to blame for the problems the orges are having, a problem which if not fixed will spread to goblin-land. Veka, in many ways the exact opposite of Jig, proves to be a good counterfoil. Her tendency to rush in when Jig is backing off leads to some interesting situations.
I think this book will work as a stand-alone novel, even though the action takes place along many of the same pathways trod by Jig in Goblin Quest. It's not as strong a book as Goblin Quest but it's still an entertaining book, and I can recommend it to fans of fantasy of all ages. There is a third and final book in the series, Goblin War, coming out in 2008, which I shall be keeping my eye out for.
So I read
jimhines' newest novel, Goblin Hero. (Full disclosure - unlike a certain Caribbean-born SF writer, he's running a contest for reviews.) (Fuller disclosure - the review doesn't HAVE to be positive.)Goblin Hero is the second outing for Jig, now called Jig Dragonslayer, a goblin. In Hines' world, goblins are the least of God's creatures, and Jig, short, weak and nearsighted, looks to be the least of the goblins. But he survived a quest and killed a dragon, thus making him a hero. A very reluctant hero who never wanted to be a hero, but a hero nonetheless.
In fact, as the book opens, Jig is using his powers granted to him by Tymalous Shadowstar, a forgotten god, to work as a healer in the goblin lair. Then an orge shows up, asking for Jig by name. Apparently trouble is brewing down in the lower levels, and a hero is needed. The goblin chief, who climbed to the top of the heap by poisoning her rivals, sends Jig and two other goblins (both of them apparently more hindrance then help) to fix the problem. (Hopefully, Jig will get killed in the process, removing a rival to her power.) Vast Veka, a plump grunt worker, tags along, hoping to become a hero too.
I have to admit, by the end of the book Jig's reluctant hero bit was wearing thin. However, the book overall was quite entertaining. It turns out that Jig is in part to blame for the problems the orges are having, a problem which if not fixed will spread to goblin-land. Veka, in many ways the exact opposite of Jig, proves to be a good counterfoil. Her tendency to rush in when Jig is backing off leads to some interesting situations.
I think this book will work as a stand-alone novel, even though the action takes place along many of the same pathways trod by Jig in Goblin Quest. It's not as strong a book as Goblin Quest but it's still an entertaining book, and I can recommend it to fans of fantasy of all ages. There is a third and final book in the series, Goblin War, coming out in 2008, which I shall be keeping my eye out for.
