Helpful Score: 6
If you've ever played any sort of medieval role-playing game in which your intrepid adventurers has beaten up on pitiful little goblins, you're going to love this book. Our 'hero' is Jig, a pathetic goblin that pretty much is at the bottom of the goblin hierarchy. He's likable enough, at least he becomes so as you begin to understand the nuances of goblin society [as it were], and just where Jig fits in, or doesn't. He's scrawny for a goblin. He's picked on and bullied. He's nearsighted. He doesn't expect to survive long, even though he's smarter than the average goblin.
Enter the band of adventurers. Jig is swept up into a quest to find a magical rod against his will, and he suspects he won't live to see the end of the adventure. I won't give away any more about the plot, but it really opens your eyes to how your adventuring party is thought of by the denizens of the current dungeon delve.
When all is said and done, this is a coming of age story, more or less. Jig grows to become more than the sniveling little weakling that you meet at the beginning of the book. It's about the journey, not the destination. There's lots of character-driven motivation along with the action and advenure.
Bottom line: If you've ever rolled a d20 or read much fantasy, you should give this book a chance. I bet you'll be rooting for Jig the Goblin like I was, and praying that he survives to get experience!
Enter the band of adventurers. Jig is swept up into a quest to find a magical rod against his will, and he suspects he won't live to see the end of the adventure. I won't give away any more about the plot, but it really opens your eyes to how your adventuring party is thought of by the denizens of the current dungeon delve.
When all is said and done, this is a coming of age story, more or less. Jig grows to become more than the sniveling little weakling that you meet at the beginning of the book. It's about the journey, not the destination. There's lots of character-driven motivation along with the action and advenure.
Bottom line: If you've ever rolled a d20 or read much fantasy, you should give this book a chance. I bet you'll be rooting for Jig the Goblin like I was, and praying that he survives to get experience!
Helpful Score: 3
First in a series featuring Jig the Goblin, one of "the other guys" in most fantasy novels. Scrawny, nearsighted and cowardly, Jig is content to do muck duty, never really aspiring to go on adventures and be a hero. However, he is thrust into that role when Porak, leader of a pack of swaggering goblin bullies, makes Jig go on patrol and do the work while he and his cronies sit and gamble. When Jig encounters a couple of humans, a dwarf and and elf, he runs back to tell the others, but no one believes him and the rest all end up slaughtered. Jig then ends up as the unwilling guide for the 'foreigners' through the tunnels of his underground world on an expedition to find the Rod of Creation, which is guarded by a Necromancer and a ferocious dragon. Along the way, many of Jig's preconceived notions about other races fall by the wayside, and the others learn that not everything you hear about Goblins is true, either. Great light fantasy read with a wonderful main character and good supporting cast. Easy-to-read writing style, plenty of humor (some subtle and some not-so-subtle!) and an overall excellent read. Will be getting to the next in series sooner rather than later, methinks!
Helpful Score: 2
This is a great book that turns every sword and sorcery quest book on its head, without trying actually portray evil acts as good. Evil is just as scarily evil as it should be, and good is just as earnest, confused, and ultimately triumphant as it should be. The author has left room for the possibility of a sequel, and I can't wait to read it.
Helpful Score: 2
Others have already written good reviews of the content and characters. The book is humorous. The one thing I found the most humorous was that Jig generally takes the place and thoughts of people who read sword and sorcery stories and can't believe that people really like this stuff. I love swords and sorcery books, but I live with people who think I have a tenuous grip on reality because of it! Every time he has a skeptical thought or idea - I can hear my loved ones saying or thinking the same thing! Easy to read. Lots of fun.
Helpful Score: 2
This is the first book in the Jig the Goblin trilogy by Jim C. Hines. This was a humorous and entertaining classic dungeon crawl adventure.
Jig the goblin is the runt of the goblin community. When he accidentally gets tangled up on a quest with two humans, a dwarve, and an elf he finds himself having to be more courageous than ever...which is something a goblin never is. Jig will face off against a necromancer and a dragon and become the worshiper of a forgotten god, and all he wanted to do was get off of muck duty for a day...
This was a very amusing and humorous book. This book is very much a classic dungeon crawling adventure; with a lot of irony and dark humor thrown in. You got all your stereotypical characters: an elven thief, a human mage, and dwarven warrior. You got all your stereotypical villans: an evil dragon and an evil necromancer. But, all the characters and situations have some rather comical twists thrown into them. So, even though they are stereotypical (which is part of their charm) they are also rather quirky.
This was a great classic adventure novel; you don't see too many of those around these days. There weren't any huge surprises but this was an easy and amusing read. If you are into adventure quests with some satire you would like this...think Piers Anthony, Terry Prattchet, stuff like that.
There were a couple things that could have been better in this book. The book takes a bit to get going. The characters were amusing but I was never really drawn into actually caring about them. The plot was also somewhat engaging, but never really had me on the edge of my seat and never really grabbed me and made the book hard to put down. The writing style is very straight-forward and easy to read, but nothing phenomenal.
This book was very complete. The main points of the adventure were solved and the book was well wrapped up.
Overall this was a fun and amusing read. I look forward to reading the next book in the series "Goblin Hero". Hines is definitely an author to keep an eye on; especially if you enjoy humor in you classic fantasy.
Jig the goblin is the runt of the goblin community. When he accidentally gets tangled up on a quest with two humans, a dwarve, and an elf he finds himself having to be more courageous than ever...which is something a goblin never is. Jig will face off against a necromancer and a dragon and become the worshiper of a forgotten god, and all he wanted to do was get off of muck duty for a day...
This was a very amusing and humorous book. This book is very much a classic dungeon crawling adventure; with a lot of irony and dark humor thrown in. You got all your stereotypical characters: an elven thief, a human mage, and dwarven warrior. You got all your stereotypical villans: an evil dragon and an evil necromancer. But, all the characters and situations have some rather comical twists thrown into them. So, even though they are stereotypical (which is part of their charm) they are also rather quirky.
This was a great classic adventure novel; you don't see too many of those around these days. There weren't any huge surprises but this was an easy and amusing read. If you are into adventure quests with some satire you would like this...think Piers Anthony, Terry Prattchet, stuff like that.
There were a couple things that could have been better in this book. The book takes a bit to get going. The characters were amusing but I was never really drawn into actually caring about them. The plot was also somewhat engaging, but never really had me on the edge of my seat and never really grabbed me and made the book hard to put down. The writing style is very straight-forward and easy to read, but nothing phenomenal.
This book was very complete. The main points of the adventure were solved and the book was well wrapped up.
Overall this was a fun and amusing read. I look forward to reading the next book in the series "Goblin Hero". Hines is definitely an author to keep an eye on; especially if you enjoy humor in you classic fantasy.
