Monday, June 30, 2008

Book Review: Goblin War by Jim C. Hines

Every Monday, I'll be doing spoiler-free, bite-sized book reviews.


Hines continues his fantasy satire/underdog story with Goblin War where our protagonist Jig unwillingly finds himself in a less-than-enviable position. I didn't read the previous book, Goblin Hero, but I pretty much got the gist of the previous events and had no problems engaging the story. Fans who read the first book, Goblin Quest, will find resolution to the events that transpired there as an integral character makes a return appearance. Hines's tone and writing has remained consistent and carries the same flavor as the first novel. Practicality and common sense is still the way the author approaches his humor and his writing is quite functional. As for the characters in the book, Goblin War still relies on fantasy stereotypes (and the subversion of them) and that's either a boon for high fantasy readers or a bane for people entering the field blind. Overall nothing really striking, either for or against this novel. Pay-off in my opinion goes to the readers who followed the preceding books but that's not really a requirement to enjoy this book. If you're familiar with fantasy D&D-isms, you might want to check out this series as that's where much of the humor stems from.

Rating: 2.5/5.

Rating System:

1 - There are better ways to spend your time.
2 - Ho hum books, usually typical of its genre. Probably only recommendable to die-hard fans.
3 - A cut above the rest, usually with one or more elements that sets it apart from the norm.
4 - Highly recommended and is easily a pioneer of the genre.
5 - A classic or it will be.

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