GoblinQuest

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Summary: Goblins and dwarves and dragons...
Review: A great twist on the traditional sword-and-sourcery dungeon crawl. This will bring a smile to the face of anyone who's ever roleplayed a wizard or warrior, and to those who never gave it a try.

The noble heroes bicker, backstab and fight each other so much that even a lowly goblin stands half a chance of making it out in one piece and might even be able to save the adventurers in the process. Of course, that's assuming that the hobgoblins, carrion worms, zombies, necromancer, dragonchildren, or the adventurers themselves don't do him in. A fun read, and well worth the price of admission!

Rating:
Summary: fine fantasy
Review: In the lairs and hiding places of the mountain, various mythological and legendary creatures live. Goblins live here in an uneasy peace with the hobgoblins while avoiding other denizen of the mountain. Jig the Goblin is on military duty, an occupation usually reserved for the toughest but he is no warrior; instead he is a runt picked on by other Goblins. While Jig is on patrol, he meets his worst enemies, adventurers including two princes, a dwarf, and an elf determined to find the Rod of Creation.

Jig knows that Straum the Dragon guards the Rod, but the Goblin has no idea where. Prince Barius, the expedition leader, forces Jig to take him to the lower levels of the mountain. On the trek, they repel a hobgoblin attack, defeat dangerous worms, and triumph over a necromancer and his minions. However, when they reach the dragon's lair, they learn the hard way that the other prince, the magician Ryslind is under the control of Straum. If they want to live, Straum tells them to find the Rod that he does not possess.

Goblins are thought to be weak cowards, but Jig proves his worth as the equal in courage to those on the quest with him as he gets his teammates out of trouble. He learns to be more than just a member of the most scorned base species on the mountain. This exciting adult fairy tale is filled with adventure and action, but the keys to the fantasy are Jig and the belief that the mythological creatures are real in the realm of Jim C. Hines.

Harriet Klausner


Rating:
Summary: A goblin hero? Who'da thunk it?
Review: In the tradition of SHREK and other humorous fantasy stories, Jim C. Hines brings us the story of Jig -- the weakest, most cowardly goblin, who is forced to accompany a group of humans on a quest deep into the caves to gain an ancient relic of god-like power. Through the journey, he begins to learn things from the humans (though they learn nothing from him, it seems). In a zen-like manner that is reminiscient of Forest Gump or Winnie the Pooh, Jig leads the group out of numerous dangerous situations, often so subtly that neither the group nor Jig himself actually realize what he's doing when it happens.

Though this story does, occasionally, fall prey to the cliches that torment this genre of literature, it does so rarely. Most of the time, the story is close to the cliche, the characters are close to the stereotypes, but they are just enough off to remain engaging and entertaining. The story is paced well enough that the reader is swiftly pulled through these times and on to the next adventure.

In the end, we are brought to a resolution that is dead on the mark. The adventure ends staying true to Jig's character: he is both noble and petty, merciful and vendictive, ... both a hero and a goblin.

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Summary: Midwest Book Review, February 2005 Issue
Review: Jig is a goblin with little social status. He has been assigned to the lowliest muck duty far longer than others his age, and he can't help but feel shame. He also can't help that he is a clumsy, near-sighted runt, and his cousin Porak and his buddies never let him forget it. Only in his fantasies is Jig a brave and respected warrior, and he longs for the chance to prove himself.

Finally Jig is given the opportunity to guard the mountain tunnels from intruders, which is a scary proposition since so many of the tunnel guards wind up dead. He resolves to do what needs to be done in order to stay alive. Imagine his surprise when he is accosted by a party of treasure hunters made up of two humans, a dwarf, and an elf who are searching for the Rod of Creation thought to be guarded by a dragon named Straum.

Jig is forced to join them for the hunt-or die. "Jig knew what a real hero would do. A hero would scream something defiant, wrestle Darnak's club away and use it against the dwarf and the human. A hero might even slay them both before making his escape. Of course, Jig knew all the goblin songs, so he knew what happened to goblin heroes.... He had not desire to be a hero. He only wanted to go home, curl up with a hot bowl of lizard-egg soup, and feed dead cockroaches to Smudge" (p. 25).

The prospect of making such a journey successfully with his captors doesn't look good to Jig. He doesn't even know where Straum's lair is, but instead of mounting what would be a suicide attack, Jig reluctantly agrees to help the adventurers find their way around the tunnels. What follows is a series of action-filled, entertaining, and often funny adventures as they battle hobgoblins, worms, a necromancer, and various other foes.

This book will appeal to both adults and young adults. Teens will very much enjoy Jig's quest and his attempt to define himself in a world that doesn't necessarily value his skills. Adults will also enjoy the humor and the upending of various aspects of the fantasy/quest genre. Prepare to be entertained throughout and completely satisfied with Jig's journey by the time you reach the end. ~Lori L. Lake, reviewer for Midwest Book Review and author of the "Gun" series


Rating:
Summary: Gamers and Non-Gamers Will Enjoy
Review: Whether you have participated in a dungeon crawl through role-playing games or just by watching the silver screen, you must have noticed that the minor monsters don't seem to have much of a life--guarding treasure that they can't use and don't understand and slaughtered with impunity by whatever adventuring party comes their way. Jim Hines has written a dungeon crawl from the point of view of one of these critters--Jig, the lowliest goblin of all, who is bullied, hungry, scared, and lonely most of the time and running away the rest of the time. When Jig gets pressed into service guiding an adventuring party despite the fact that he doesn't know where he is going, he learns some lessons and the reader gets a rollicking good time. Plenty of humor for all and a number of subtle spoofs of gaming staples to provide extra punch for the non-mundanes out there. As the author of another Five Star book released on the same day, Forced Conversion, I guess I'm in competition with Jim, but we did different things with our gaming backgrounds. He tuned into the beer and pretzel silliness that is part of many home campaigns to tell the ultimate gaming story, where I used my past as a player, writer, and runner of roleplaying games to fuel the action sequences, characterization, and plot-twists of a serious military and speculative fiction thriller. I recommend you read both.