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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
3.5 stars. An irreverent play on typical RPG cliches. Runty underdog goblin Jig gets dragged into an adventurer-band's quest to rob a dragon and struggles to stay alive despite their weird ideas (bravery?! honor?! not to mention *robbing a dragon*?!). Though the general plot and adventurer-characters were fairly predictable (maybe they had to be, to poke fun at all the RPG cliches like the spoiled 'hero'-prince, sneaky sorcerer, loyal dwarf, and token elf thief), I found Jig's observations entertaining and often funny, and he did grow as a character.
Though Dungeons and Dragons players might get a special kick out of it, the story is accessible to non-players, too, since our narrator Jig is an outsider looking in. If you've heard a little about fantasy-type games or stories, you should have enough of a general idea to comfortably get your head around the setting. The story also touches on themes of racism, prejudice and invasion as we see Jig's goblin point of view of the typical 'heroes'.
My favourite character: Smudge the inexplicably adorable pet fire-spider (LOVE that little spider! XD)
Though Dungeons and Dragons players might get a special kick out of it, the story is accessible to non-players, too, since our narrator Jig is an outsider looking in. If you've heard a little about fantasy-type games or stories, you should have enough of a general idea to comfortably get your head around the setting. The story also touches on themes of racism, prejudice and invasion as we see Jig's goblin point of view of the typical 'heroes'.
My favourite character: Smudge the inexplicably adorable pet fire-spider (LOVE that little spider! XD)
Fun story, though it reminded me a bit of sitting in the lounge listening to a badly DM'd D&D game. I'm sure that was the point but it got tedious. Still it was fun and the characters are OK.
Good ending to the series. Nice light, funny read. Not great literature, but hey it's fun.
Hm... *Like* the first few Discworld books, although not set in a Discworld. A sendup of gamer stereotypes, with extra heart to it. Slightly better than the first Discworld books; you never sense the sharks with the lasers on their heads, or Fonzi on his waterskis, the way you do in Color of Magic. Clever, solid, satisfying. Wondering where the next two in this series are going.
This book is perfect in its execution: Tabletop FRPG readers will love it, people who enjoy comedy will love it, and just generally enjoyable. Which I never thought was a sentence I'd write about a book with a Goblin as the protagonist.
It's Jig, not goblin.
Actually, it's Jig the goblin in the role of fairy tale Simpleton.
I've broken with D&D tradition and rounded up, in case anyone is keeping track, after all one review rounded down.
Goblin Quest isn't as polished as Hines' [b:The Stepsister Scheme|3598195|The Stepsister Scheme (Princess Novels, #1)|Jim C. Hines|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1277696343s/3598195.jpg|3640889] and it seems that Hines hadn't fully developed his style as of yet. In truth, some areas could use a tighter editor.
There, that's the bad stuff out of the way.
Hines is brillant. He's wonderful. He's cool. He's a D&D geek. The amount of in jokes that reference D&D as well as the various tie in novels such as [b:Dragons of Autumn Twilight|259836|Dragons of Autumn Twilight (Dragonlance Chronicles, #1)|Margaret Weis|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173218661s/259836.jpg|251833] and the other Dragonlance novels totally rocked!
I mean, c'mon, I can't be the only person who figured out who Ryslind was really suppose to be.
Like in his later work, Hines makes wonderful use of cliche conventions (in this case, D&D gaming ones). You have the thief, the wizard, the brawn, the dwarf, the elf, and the dragon. Hines, however, subverts these. For instance, when the elf reveals her true age, Jig is shocked. Her comeback is awesome (I'm not going to spoil it for you). It also is no surprise that those characters who would be second tier in a gaming novel are the most pracitical and able ones here.
There are also a couple references to LOTR.
But the best has to be the Necromancer.
Actually, it's Jig the goblin in the role of fairy tale Simpleton.
I've broken with D&D tradition and rounded up, in case anyone is keeping track, after all one review rounded down.
Goblin Quest isn't as polished as Hines' [b:The Stepsister Scheme|3598195|The Stepsister Scheme (Princess Novels, #1)|Jim C. Hines|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1277696343s/3598195.jpg|3640889] and it seems that Hines hadn't fully developed his style as of yet. In truth, some areas could use a tighter editor.
There, that's the bad stuff out of the way.
Hines is brillant. He's wonderful. He's cool. He's a D&D geek. The amount of in jokes that reference D&D as well as the various tie in novels such as [b:Dragons of Autumn Twilight|259836|Dragons of Autumn Twilight (Dragonlance Chronicles, #1)|Margaret Weis|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173218661s/259836.jpg|251833] and the other Dragonlance novels totally rocked!
I mean, c'mon, I can't be the only person who figured out who Ryslind was really suppose to be.
Like in his later work, Hines makes wonderful use of cliche conventions (in this case, D&D gaming ones). You have the thief, the wizard, the brawn, the dwarf, the elf, and the dragon. Hines, however, subverts these. For instance, when the elf reveals her true age, Jig is shocked. Her comeback is awesome (I'm not going to spoil it for you). It also is no surprise that those characters who would be second tier in a gaming novel are the most pracitical and able ones here.
There are also a couple references to LOTR.
But the best has to be the Necromancer.
This was a pretty fun little romp. Questing, dragons, a necromancer, and an unlikely hero. I do like Hines' take on the goblins and thier culture but the focus wasn't on that. Jig makes a good hero and is fun to root for along the way.
I liked the idea of seeing what happens to adventurers from the point of view of a goblin...which is not your average goblin.
This was a great book. Great story, great action, a bit generic, but I think ironically so (you'll understand what I mean when you read it). I loved reading a swords and sorcery fantasy book through the eyes of a goblin, albeit an extraordinarily forward-thinking goblin. There was no point in the story that was tedious or boring, and I greatly enjoyed every word of it.
What can I say? I heart Jig, the runtiest goblin of the goblins. I loved hearing a story from the side of a 'dark race' and somehow Jig endeared himself to me. I've seen others say the story is one-sided because you don't get background on the characters - Tsk, it's JIG's story, not theirs and frankly I didn't feel cheated at all. [return][return][return]I can't wait to read more of his adventures.