Early Review – Goblins by Philip Reeve (5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Children’s/Middle Grade
Genre: Fantasy
Size: 352 pages
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Release Date: August 27, 2013
ISBN: 978-0545222204
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Goblins series
Source: eGalley from Netgalley.com
Rating: 5/5 stars

I got a copy of this book through Netgalley(dot)com to review. This book has a companion novel called Goblins vs. Dwarves; Goblins was originally released in the UK in 2012…I haven’t seen a US release date for Goblins vs. Dwarves yet. This was a super fun read that is appropriate for all ages; me and my family absolutely loved it.

This story is about a goblin named Skarper who doesn’t fit in with the rest of the goblins at Clovenstone; he’s just too smart to be a goblin. When he is kicked out of the tower…or uh more like catapulted out, he runs into a cheesewright named Henwyn who wants to become a hero. Skarper and Henwyn part ways but not for long. It looks like changes are coming to Clovenstone and that the Lych Lord might be ready to awaken.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I read it with my six year old son (and husband who listened in) and it was a great read. It was full of good ole fantasy adventure, battles, lots of humor, lessons in friendship and lessons in what happens when someone gets too much power.

We laughed out loud a number of times and enjoyed the irony of a little goblin being the most sensible of a bunch of heroic (or not so heroic) humans.

Skarper is an excellent character. He just wants to be left alone to read pages of paper he finds in the goblins bumwipe piles (yep, you can guess what the goblins usually use that paper for). However when he gets too smart for his own good he is catapulted into the world beyond…literally. Still determined to see what there is to see of the world he sets off, only to run into Henwyn.

Upon their meeting Henwyn is convinced that Skarper is a troll…that is until a troll attcks him and Skarper. Henwyn is a cheesewright with aspirations of becoming a hero. Henwyn is a bundle of good intentions, but isn’t so gifted in the brains department.

Both heros met unlikely princesses, giants, and sorcerers along the way. None of these characters are what they first appear to be leading to the assumption that…my dear reader…appearances can be very deceiving.

When boglins get involved things get sticky and then lots of adventures and breathtaking fights ensue. Things are looking up until we get involved with the Lich Lord and then…well…have you ever meet a good Lych Lord?

This book was absolutely tons of fun to read and has lots of great lessons. It’s a good old swords and sorcery fantasy with a lot of humor and a lot of heart; something that’s hard to find. My son loved it and looked forward to reading it with me every night. My husband would get upset if we started without him because he had to know what was going to happen next.

The story has a lot of twists and turns and is very well written. This is one of those wonderful books that assumes children are intelligent and can follow a somewhat complicated story.

Overall I absolutely loved this story and so did my 6 year old and husband. It’s a good old swords and sorcery fantasy with tons of humor, irony, heart, and even good life lessons (absolute power corrupts absolutely and don’t judge a book by its cover). I wholeheartedly recommend this book to fantasy fans of all ages. It is a fun read, never gets too scary, and has excellent action and adventure in a wonderful world. I will definitely be picking up Goblins vs Dwaves when it releases in the US (or I might even buy it from the UK).

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– 100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge
– 150+ Reading Challenge
– YA/MG Fantasy Reading Challenge