| Title | : | Goblin Hero (Jig the Goblin, #2) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0756404428 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780756404420 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Mass Market Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 343 |
| Publication | : | First published May 1, 2007 |
Goblin Hero (Jig the Goblin, #2) Reviews
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Hilarious humour and true fantasy CAN stand side by side!
Jig is a shy, retiring, runty, near-sighted goblin, anything but a fierce goblin warrior, who wishes to quietly live an ordinary goblin life - out of sight, out of mind and below everyone else's radar. But, having earned the moniker "Jig Dragonslayer" by surviving his adventure with the Necromancer and the Dragon in GOBLIN QUEST, Jig finds himself unwillingly in the spotlight and under everyone else's magnifying glass. Kralk, the current goblin chief, wants nothing more than to kill Jig because she sees him as a threat to her authority. Veka, another goblin in Jig's tribe who sees herself as a rising sorceress, follows Jig incessantly seeking his advice and guidance on how to be a hero and how to increase her abilities in the use of a hero's magic. The neighbouring ogres, usually bitter rivals of the goblins, have arrived seeking Jig's help eliminating a dangerous unknown threat that is slowly killing ogres one by one and seems capable of wiping out the entire tribe. The conniving Kralk sees this as an opportunity to rid herself of Jig once and for all so she sends him off on a quest to help the ogres - a mission she firmly believes Jig will fail and see him killed. His companions on the mission will be Grell, an aging, decrepit goblin scarcely able to hobble along with the help of a cane; Braf, a bumbling goblin warrior well known to be slightly dumber than a bag of dirt; and, of course, Smudge, Jig's pet fire spider!
Another reviewer categorized Jim Hines' GOBLIN HERO as a fractured fairy tale. It's certainly true that humour and off-the-wall cartoonish versions of typical fantasy characters form an important part of Hines' most entertaining story. But underlying the wit, the humour, the sarcasm, not to mention the hilarious antics and escapades is a true tale in the finest tradition of the fantasy genre. Hines reminds us through Jig that leadership, success and courage often derive from other simpler things - loyalty, common sense, a strong moral compass, a good heart and an instinct for survival in the face of difficult odds and adversity.
If you're a fan of fantasy literature and can see the value in a good laugh now and then, then Jim Hines' GOBLIN HERO will suit you perfectly. Don't forget to read GOBLIN QUEST first. There's a definite story line to the development of the characters and many of the references in the story will blow right over your head without being familiar with the first novel in his series.
Great humour! A great story and great fantasy! Thanks very much, Mr Hines. Highly recommended.
Paul Weiss -
These books are very meta. The premise is that Jig the Goblin is basically a non-playing character in a Dungeons and Dragons game setting. While it is true that the characters don't explicitly know that they are part of a fictional world, or that the "heroes" who arrive are humans from the real world, there are still a lot of self-aware jokes.
Last book, Jig took on the priesthood of a forgotten god, figuring that he would rather have the undivided attention of a god without any other worshipers. This gifted Jig with the god's voice in his head, as well as some healing magic. Jig's decision to take on the priesthood of a forgotten god is my favorite thing about this series. It's the exact same thing I would do if I lived in this universe.
Jig knows that goblins aren't supposed to be heroes. Shadowstar, the forgotten god, knows that goblins no longer serve a purpose since all the magical treasures of the mountain have been taken (in previous DnD campaigns), so the mountain's guardians are now superfluous and dying out.
There is a new female goblin character who wants to be both a mage and a hero. She is very aware of heroic clichés because she has a book detailing all the tropes about what a hero's journey is supposed to look like. She gleefully follows along the steps outlined in the book, even when she doesn't seem to realize that she is turning herself into a villain in the process. Still, she displays some actual magical talent of her own, without the assistance of a forgotten god. She serves as a comedic foil to Jig, and a bit of an antagonist, but she is not pure evil.
Pixies play a large role in this novel, expanding upon the necromancer pixie Jig defeated last novel. The bones of a dead dragon still manage to serve a role in the plot, despite the fact the dragon died last novel. Lots of goblins and hobgoblin characters are mentioned, some of whom even have some lines of dialogue and not-insignificant roles in the plot.
Sometimes the humor is a little too crass for me. Last novel's MacGuffin started out as basically a dick joke, based on a rhyme about a magical rod. There was a nod to that again here. Not to mention references to goblins using rat droppings for fuel, or as a weapon. Still, despite the crudity that pops up occasionally, I'm still a fan of this series. I automatically give 5 stars to any book in the more recent Libriomancer series by Jim C. Hines. This series is almost as good. -
You know that thing in books and movies, where the sequel isn't as good as the first?
Does not apply here. I wanted to stand up and cheer every time a pixie got squished. The book started out a bit slow, and I was suspicious of this Veka goblin, and was she really even necessary, but after I got to the halfway point, I had problems putting it down.
Now I have to pick up
Goblin War. -
Genre: comedic fantasy
This novel didn’t quite live up to its predecessor. I’m not sure exactly why – I think its partially because it’s a straight-forward “save-the-world” quest story rather then spoofing D&D-type quests. This time Jig’s surrounded by goblin (and a hobgoblin) companions. One of whom, Veka, has a serious case of hero-worship/rivalry going with Jig (who barely notices). Veka shares the point-of-view narration for at least a third of the book, which is the other big thing that slowed it down for me; Veka is a downtrodden goblin, but she’s also a whiny, annoying, completely self-centered bully and is generally without redeeming value. The villains of the story are a nice concept, but... not particularly interesting beyond their adversarial role. -
This early work from Jim C Hines, a follow up to Jig the Goblin, is a nice fun read. It isn't the best thing ever, it isn't Terry Pratchett, but he does get some nice moments from his Goblin Horde and manages to say a few things about human nature whilst raising a smile. Worth a look for some harmless entertainment. Should be read in order in the series.
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Jig the goblin, now known as Jig Dragonslayer from his exploits in the first novel
Goblin Quest finds himself back in the goblin caves, although now, instead of a lowly muck maker, he's a healer, gifted with that magical talent by his god, Tymalous Shadowstar. It's not as prestigious a position as it sounds, considering some of the injuries Jig is required to heal; however, he's content to hide in his cave, worship Shadowstar and play with his pet fire-spider, Smudge. However, the new goblin leader, Kralk, has other ideas for Jig's future. After all, the heroic Jig threatens Kralk's status, so when an ogre shows up to ask for Jig's help with a new enemy who's tyrannizing all ogre folk, Kralk "volunteers" Jig's assistance, seizing the opportunity to rid herself of Jig without actually having to do the dirty work of killing him outright. With the "help" of a large, profoundly stupid goblin and an elderly, ornery goblin who can barely walk, Jig sets out to defeat the force which is terrorizing the ogres and threatening to take over the entire cave system. Unbeknownst to Jig, another goblin, an aspiring wizard who is profoundly jealous of Jig's status, sets out behind him, determined to steal the spotlight and reveal herself to be the proper goblin Hero. Thus ensues fighting, backstabbing, enchantments and general mayhem as hobgoblins and invading pixies are thrown into the mix.
Man, this took me a long time to finish! Partly it was a case of bad timing, but a lot of it was the fact that I really had to push myself to keep reading because I was bored out of my gourd. The first book wasn't bad, a fairly entertaining spoof of your typical D & D adventuring story. This one...I don't know. I kept expecting it to be more enthralling, more exciting, and funnier. Especially funnier. From the reviews I've read, I expected to encounter many laugh-out-loud moments in the story, but I never even cracked a smile while reading. If I hadn't been set up to believe the novel was a humorous adventure, I probably wouldn't have been quite so disappointed with the overall story; as it is, while there were some high points, there weren't enough to keep me continuously entertained. It's not a bad book, just not as good as I was hoping. -
Gotta give this the thumbs-down, I'm afraid.
After loving Goblin Quest, I eagerly dove into this book (reading aloud to my kids). I laughed aloud at one of the first scenes where Jig has to heal a moronic goblin with a particularly humorous injury.
However, the fun for me stopped there. This book was more violent than the first one, and just seemed to me like a hack-and-chop dungeon story with none of the interesting intrigue or social commentary of the first book. Several new characters were introduced, none of whom really did much for me (as opposed to the adventurers in the first book, who had an amazing chemistry together).
Honestly, I did not finish this book, it may have gotten better, but I was reading aloud to my kids. When nothing interesting is happening and it's just blood and gore, we bail... -
Super fun book! In Jig's first adventure, he gets kidnapped by a party of adventurers. In the second episode of the trilogy, he is coerced into reprising his role as a Hero. He's saddled with slightly more helpful companions than the first time around and has a much more complicated problem to deal with than a wannabe paladin.
The Veka side-story was very well done and intertwined beautifully. Her growth through the story made sense and did a lot for the pacing of the narrative.
I really enjoyed this one and am very much looking forward to reading
Goblin War. -
This book is the second in the adventures of Jig the runty Goblin! If at all possible this book was better then the first! I loved the first book and couldn't put it down. But this book had me captivated. The story line moves quickly so you aren't stuck in a rut at all. There were cute and funny parts which is what I think makes this book such a good book. Even though the book ends with you waiting for the 3rd book. It is a great stand alone book!
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Go Goblins!
Go Common Sense!
Smash them Pixies!
Squish that Queen!
Long Live Fat Golbins! -
It was ok but I liked it. 2-1/2 stars on the bubble. Too much from supporting characters and not enough from Jig. I still want to listen to the third book so that is a good sign.
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Loved goblin quest. However, maybe it was headspace I was in at the time, but I just couldn't get into this goblin hero at all. Might try it again another day.
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A fun book, and still entertaining, but with less interesting characters.
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Review originally posted at
RabidReads.ca.
Jig’s life has gotten better since he returned from his adventure in the previous book. He is known as Jig the Dragonslayer. He is still worshipping his god, Tymalous Shadowstar, forgotten god of the Autumn Star. He talks with Shadowstar and the god helps him heal the goblins when they injure themselves. Jig still just tries to hide, but now he is hiding in his temple. He is still a runt, so he doesn’t want to tangle with larger goblins. He does have better clothes and even boots now. He got some spectacles to help with his nearsightedness. There is even a song about him. Things are going okay for him. That is until an ogre comes looking for him.
So something has been killing and terrorizing the ogres who are living near where Straum the now deceased dragon’s lair. If this thing is able to kill ogres who can the ogres turn to, well, Jig the Dragonslayer, of course. The goblin chief decides she’s going to send two goblins to help Jig. The first is Braf. He is a large goblin, but isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed. He is even known for being one of the dumbest of the goblins. The second is Grell. She is one of the oldest of all the goblins. She walks with a cane. It doesn’t take Jig long to figure out that the chief sent these two along to kill him. The chief is scared of Jig and wants him dead, but won’t challenge him herself.
There is also Veka. She is a large goblin, sometimes referred to as Vast Veka. She wants desperately to be what Jig is. He’s a hero and a wizard, at least in her eyes. She found two books The Path of the Hero and a spell book. She wants to become a hero and she plans on following The Path of the Hero to the letter to get there. Since a hero is supposed to turn down the first request to go on an adventure (as Jig did before he became the Dragonslayer), she refuses to help the ogres, but quickly follows Jig and the other two goblins.
Veka also takes up a sidekick in a hobgoblin named Slash. He was a guard that she talked into going with her. He isn’t a bad guy, but faints at the sight of blood, which isn’t a good thing for a guard.
This is another fun story of Jig’s adventures. He is nothing special, but doesn’t give up and uses his head to find a way through tough situations. He is also willing to use the strengths of those around him to the advantage of everyone. Jig, unlike most goblins, isn’t out for just himself. He really wants to see what is best for all goblins. The help of his god, Shadowstar, is always helpful, though the god seems to get him into trouble too. The god has a plan, but Jig isn’t quite sure what that is at this point.Jig rubbed his forehead. “If you’ll give us a little more time, we’d be happy to finish incapacitating ourselves, and then you can do with us whatever you’d like.”
So what aren’t you telling me?
A faint tingling of bells filled the air: the sound of Tymalous Shadowstar’s laughter. Haven’t you ever noticed? In all the songs and all the stories, adventures so often come in threes?
Jig gritted his teeth. I hate you.
More bells, then silence. Shadowstar was gone.
Jig reached up to pet Smudge. He had no doubt Shadowstar was right. Shadowstar was always right about things like that. -
GOBLIN HERO returns to the story of Jig, the runty goblin who got kidnapped by adventurers, killed a Necromancer, defeated a dragon and returned to tell about it. While Jig is useful to his fellow goblins for his healing ability, he's viewed as a threat by the goblin chief. So when an ogre shows up looking for Jig the Dragonslayer to battle a new threat to their mountain home Jig has two choices: go and face somewhat certain death, or stay and face much more certain death at the hands of his deceitful fellows. Going and getting killed will at least free him from having to watch his back, so off Jig goes.
GOBLIN HERO is an enjoyable follow up to GOBLIN QUEST. Hines has managed to create a world and characters that keep the reader guessing. Instead of heroes-with-a-capital-H his characters are just trying to stay alive and (with one exception) have no delusions of grandeur. This is a world where one could as easily be stabbed by one's companions as by the enemy (and friendly-stabbing happens more than once in the novel).
The book takes a lot of stabs at heroism-with-a-capital-H, adventurers in general, notions of fair play, and who someone is and who someone pretends to be. At one point a hobgoblin who has no compunction eating another hobgoblin, goblin or ogre (cannibalism isn't really a matter of ethics in this world as one of survival) complains about adventurers bringing their pets into the mountain only to be killed leaving their pets to fend for themselves.
The real strength of the book, however, is the gradual revealing of each character as more than just your typical fantasy monster. From the amorphous concept of goblin Hines pulls out individuals. They are cowardly and sneaky and backstabbing, to be sure, but they also have interests that involve more than just self-preservation. Over the course of the book the characters grow from roughly sketched stereotypes into finely drawn personalities. And it all takes place through the characters eyes, as they come to realize there's more to each other than meets the eye. It's a delightful realization. -
Here are some more of the adventures of Jig the goblin. This book is every bit as funny as the first book in the series – and also every bit as fiendishly clever.
This time he is joined by three other goblins who at first glance appear to be just as useless as all the other goblins of their tribe, if not more so. But during their adventure Braf, Grell, and even Veka begin to reveal hidden depths.
After his previous quest ridding the caves where the goblins live of the latest batch of invading adventurers and killing the dragon Straum, Jig has been serving as something of a high priest for the god Tymalous Shadowstar and healing his fellow goblins with the god’s help. Now, suddenly, he is being asked by an ogre from a lower level of the cave for help, and not only his own chief but also Shadowstar are urging him to do it. He is given two assistants – Braf, a particularly stupid guard, and Grell, an ancient nursemaid from the goblin nursery. Another Goblin, Veka, a female goblin who has been pestering Jig to teach her magic since his return from his first adventure, decides to follow him to see if she can solve the ogre’s problem before Jig does.
The trouble is pixies. But they prove to be a lot more dangerous than you would think. All is not exactly sweetness and light – we are dealing with goblins, hobgoblins, and ogres after all in addition to the pixies – and the general grossness is enhanced by the discovery that the garbage chute is the fastest way to get back to the goblin territory. -
2.5 stars
This one sadly didn't live up to the standards set up by book one.
POV is split between Jig for a straight-forward save the (underdark) world quest.
And a very 5-year old mentality lancer character that looked up "hero's Journey" plot points one day and decided that was her life.
I'm being literal here. The whole thing is her reading an fictional book that illustrates the hero's journey and from there deciding what should be done according to what is considered the most heroic while whining about how jig is better/not better than her.
It's the equivalent of a character wondering what superman would do... for 400 pages, with index references.
I do not find adults with a child mentality endearing. I find them annoying and badly written, more so if they are the female character while the male one is completely normal. Infantilization is not cute.
It doesn't help that the main plot here is too straightforward with not much world building, twists or character driven. It wasn't too bad but disappointing and a let down after the first book. -
Jim C. Hines' 2007 novel "Goblin Hero (Goblin Series Book 2)" is not as good as the first book in the series ("Goblin Quest (Goblin Series Book 1)"). Where that book is all about Jig and a satirical comparison of his viewpoint with the norm in these kinds of tales, this book splits itself between Jig and another goblin and is more farcical than satirical. My biggest complaint, though, is that the new goblin is far more self-centered and egoistic than Jig. So, being in her viewpoint is not anywhere near as interesting. Also, the prevalence of competent goblins and hobgoblins sort of goes against the grain of the first book. By the end, the book feels a lot better than it does in the beginning. But, it's just not as good. So, I'm going with a rating of an OK 3 stars out of 5 (possibly 3-1/2 stars).
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This book was different from GOBLIN QUEST.
HERO seems to to take itself more seriously. Book 1 established the world through a satirical lens, but in book 2, the stakes feel more intense. We see positive character development across at least 5 characters (including a hobgoblin!) instead of just Jig. (And I LOVED the hobgoblin btw. I'd read a book centering him!)
It took me a couple chapters to get hooked, but I had the positive experience of reading book 1 to propel me along.
I should have book 3 by tomorrow! I imagine I'll be diving into that one pretty soon. -
Continues the fun and unexpected adventures of Jig. The story does a great job moving things along in a way that truly makes sense! The characters all had really nice distinct personalities. A real page turner full of unexpected moments!
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This was a worthy sequel.
I love Jig and the goblins and all the other denizens.
Very funny without being tedious or feeling so absurd that it takes you out of the story.
It's a great story well told. -
I love Jig the Goblin. This is a great continuation from the first book and takes the whole Fantasy conventions and shakes them about and what comes out is highly entertaining.
I am being resolute and trying not to read the last one straight away - Thank you Jim for the Jig universe! -
Enjoyable, pretty interesting story. It is what it is, light reading.
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Light, enjoyable. No meat here, just a fun diversion.
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I loved reading this book. Jig and his god were funny the escapes were also very cool.
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An amusing and entertaining sequel to Goblin Quest.
