Within the scale of issues fantasy, goblins for the reason that age of Tolkien (and earlier than truly) have tended to have a little bit of a nasty popularity. Seen as smelly, violent, grasping, egocentric, grumpy, lazy and properly, a bit dim, they’re not the primary selection for literary inspiration.
To this we then have T. Kingfisher’s newest novella – though it’s truly the primary printing by a mainstream writer of Kingfisher’s first (and self-published) work. (Kingfisher’s latest slew of Award nominations and wins could have prompted this.)
To a point, it tries to make goblins appear good – or no less than bearable. They do have some redeeming options, and Kingfisher writes of them in such a approach that you must assume higher of them by the top of this novella.
The story is fairly simple. A gaggle of 9 goblins are taken from their battlefield within the Goblin Conflict with people by way of a portal to a wooden deep behind enemy traces the place issues appear fairly too quiet. In addition to assembly wayward elf Sings-to-Bushes, they uncover the reason for this mysterious silence and discover that they should put issues again to normality.
Inside this story we now have numerous the type of humour that Kingfisher has extra just lately change into identified for. One of many goblins retains sticking his finger the place he shouldn’t, one other will solely discuss to the opposite goblins by way of his battered teddy bear… it’s a rag-tag bunch loosely stored collectively by their taciturn but benevolent (comparatively talking, for a goblin) Sergeant Nessilka. It has a usually pleasant prose that may rapidly endear the troop to you.
There’s a good bit of gore in locations as properly – one other Kingfisher trademark, maybe. These goblins are not these present in youngsters’s fairy tales.
However total, it is a nicely-done story, completely fashioned and fairly agreeable. Though it might be seen as an early work, it has lots of the traits common readers could recognise from Kingfisher’s different works, and that could be all readers should know. It’s a very good introduction to Kingfisher’s work and one which can move an hour or so very properly. I’m fairly positive that should you like this, you’ll wish to learn extra of Kingfisher’s work.
I’d additionally recommend Mary Mild’s Grunts! and Stan Nicholl’s Orcs trilogy if you wish to learn extra tales in an analogous vein.
© 2026 Mark Yon
Hardback | Titan Books (e-book additionally out there)
NINE GOBLINS by T. Kingfisher
January 2026 | 160 pages
ISBN: 978-183 541 655
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