The very first time I read a T. Kingfisher book, I knew I wanted to read all of them. Now, any time I see a title from her that I don’t already have on my shelf, I grab it instantly. Nine Goblins is actually her first book published under that pen name. The novella had been sitting in my TBR pile for many months from one of my indie bookstore adventures. When I recently flew all the way from Massachusetts to Vancouver with a layover, I knew I’d have lots of reading time. Nine Goblins was one of the books I brought with me and I tore through the whole thing between the second plane’s takeoff and landing. I enjoyed it immensely.

Nine Goblins is available through all your favorite book sellers, including on Bookshop.org

Summary:

People will tell you that goblins can be pretty rough around the edges. Or they’ll say that they’re not built for polite society. Goblins will pretty much tell you the exact same thing. Everybody is largely in agreement about that. What they can’t agree on is how the whole “Goblin War” thing started. At this point, that doesn’t really matter so much. Goblin sergeant Nessilka and her chaotic band of soldiers are in it now.

Or at least… they were. After charging toward an enemy wizard during battle, they suddenly found themselves very far away and deep behind enemy lines. She’s going to have to lead the lot of them home somehow, past all kinds of dangers. They can expect to encounter wild animals, elves, monsters, and worst of all, humans.

My Thoughts:

A large part of what draws me to T. Kingfisher’s voice is her ability to blend darkness and light. Humor mixes with horror, and whimsy dances with the macabre. Nine Goblins is a fantastic example of this. There is a lot of absurdist and slapstick comedy present. Still, the characters are fighting in a war, and the reminders readers get of this are often violent.

The book overall is very reminiscent of Terry Pratchett’s work. That is a high compliment. In the acknowledgements we find out that was an intentional decision, but the ability to pull that off is an extremely rare gift. These are authors who can get me laughing out loud at completely off-the-wall characters and scenarios, but also describe the intrinsic truths of life and humanity in ways that have me fighting tears. Somehow they do the latter in a succinct and remarkably offhanded way before diving right back into the humor.

Nine Goblins was everything that I hoped for and more. T. Kingfisher really started her pen name off with a bang. It doesn’t approach the level of horror that some of her later books have, nor is it meant to. This would also be a great first taste of her work for readers who aren’t sure if they like horror, or younger readers making their first forays into books darker and/or more complex topics while staying fun and lighthearted. Really, it’s great for anyone who wants a good laugh with a lot of heart to it, but doesn’t mind a little gore along the way. Just a little. I had so much fun with it and was really glad to have brought it with me. I immediately passed it off to my partner, knowing he’ll like it a lot too.

Content Warnings: War, Animal Death, Graphic Depiction of Violence & Injuries, Child Death, Blood, Xenophobia

After I Finished The Cost of Runes

I finished Nine Goblins while still on the plane, but luckily my Kobo had another ARC loaded and ready to go. The one I opened next was The Nerd Fam‘s book of the month for their Early Reads Book Club. This month, it was an fantastical adventure to solve a mystery. It was complete with tomb raiding, deadly puzzles, booby traps, and an utterly fascinating magic system.

My next review will be for KOBRA by Cris G. Wells.