Goblin War

Goblin War by Jim Hines is the third book in the Jig the Goblin series—and it’s a very good finish to a satisfying series. All the goblin books are bubblegum reads; excellent beach books— lovely, easy-to-read distractions. Jig is still the underdog in Goblin War, and I enjoyed his bumbling through his latest crisis, knowing full-well that he wouldn’t be able to avoid trouble. Poor thing, he was forced in a very ungoblinlike manner to *think* his way out of trouble. Jig is still reminiscent of your younger brother, but in book three, he’s starting to grow up and maybe take a few goblins along for the ride—not all of them actually gaining a new, mature outlook, of course.

Goblin War managed to be more than just a Jig adventure. Clever of Hines to throw in the story of the Forgotten Gods, told mostly through the viewpoint of Jig’s forgotten god, T. Autumnstar. I don’t generally enjoy stories about gods, because they are complex, overdone and lack any sympathetic characters. True to Hine’s usual sense of humor, Autumnstar’s story is ironic, full of ridiculous and often funny scenes and “human” enough that I found myself quite enjoying Autumnstar and his predicaments. Autumnstar is a tad like Jig; an underdog god and one that is a bit down on his luck. His story is quite funny and very necessary in making the book come together. Hines did a great job weaving the two stories, and at times it was a race to see whether Jig would out-survive the god or the other way around.

There were a couple of spots where I did wonder if Hines had gone off on a tangent path never to get his Goblin back on track, but the occasional meandering always made sense in the end—sometimes quite cleverly too. The setting he chose for Goblin War—outside the Goblin mountain--also added greatly to the story. The new terrain, characters and creatures kept the story interesting and helped move it forward. This was a faster-paced book than book two.

My favorite character, Smudge (the fire spider), put in several appearances again. Even when Smudge’s role was expected, it always put a smile on my face when the spider came out of hiding. Hines knows how to tug at heart-strings, even if the pet is a spider.

While Jig’s character has grown in the series, Hines was masterful at always keeping Jig and the others true to Goblin nature. From the food the Goblins ate, their reactions to humans and the human traditions--Hines never forgot to pick a goblin nose in public, grow an extra fungus between their disgusting toes or have his goblins react with the typical juvenile goblin "maturity." It’s always a good read when the characters can grow—but remain what makes them unique. Part of what made the god versus goblin scenes work so well was the very different viewpoint and goals.

And the ending…how does an author manage to make you feel nostalgic before you’ve even finished the last page? With a goblin, I’m not sure you can have a perfectly *happy* ending, but with Hines, you can definitely have a perfect ending.

Like the other books in the series, this is a good read for young adults and adults, and I highly recommend it when you want to sit back and not take life too seriously. Let the goblin find all the trouble and enjoy the ride.

Other Reviews of works by Jim C. Hines

Goblinquest - May 3, 2005

Interview with Jim C. Hines

On The Spot At FantasyBookSpot: Jim C. Hines - Mar 5, 2008

On the Spot at Fantasybookspot: Jim C Hines - Jun 27, 2005