Thursday, November 3, 2011

Goblin Trilogy, by Jim C. Hines

The Goblin Trilogy, Goblin Quest, Goblin Hero, and Goblin War tell the story of Jig the Goblin and his pet fire spider Smudge. It's a humorous look at the Goblins of Middle-Earth and the world from their perspective.
Hines is an excellent storyteller, and you'll find many sly references to other Goblin / Middle Earth / Ogre / etc. stories, including Shrek and (of course) Lord of the Rings.
Jig is a reluctant adventurer, hero, and warrior who appears to more or less get dragged along by events -- and later, by expectations -- who really doesn't want to do anything except be comfortable and at home. Along the way he decides to select a mostly-forgotten god to worship (for the benefits) and somehow manages to blunder to victory.

This trilogy was an excellent read, well-told and the storyline keeps moving along. 5 of 5 bones.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

River Marked, by Patricia Briggs

The latest installment in the Mercedes Thompson series, this is another excellent book by Ms. Briggs. Mercedes and Adam finally get married (and how that happens is an entertaining romp, which I absolutely won't spoil.)

For their honeymoon, they take a huge RV (borrowed from...Uncle Mike...eeps) and go someplace recommended by another one of the fae. Huh. Of course their honeymoon doesn't go quite as planned, and they wind up taking care of another "Mythical" monster.

Along the way we get to see a lot more of Mercedes' heritage and background, which is also very interesting - and explains some things.

The thing I most liked about it -- and about this series in general -- is that Ms. Briggs continues to write interesting stories about Mercedes doing a lot of Monster Fighting without making her "Level Up" every book. It's not a treatise in "gee, what scary new power will she get this time", it's not showing us how she defeats New Scary Monster by developing New Scary Power -- she defeats them by being herself, using her brains and courage and doing her very best. Ms. Briggs is having Mercedes "Level Out" by developing a network of friends and acquaintances (yes, some of whom do have Scary Powers) that help her, but not even they are always available, and not always certain that their Scary Powers will work.

Excellent job. 5 of 5 bones.