Some goblins just don’t have any luck. And others, like Jig “The Dragonslayer”, have way too much of the wrong sort of luck. Short, scrawny, weak, nearsighted and generally unimpressive, even for his already much-maligned (and deservedly so) race, Jig has two attributes in great abundance: cunning and cowardace, which combine to form one heck of a self-preservation instinct that’s gotten him through more in the past few years than the rest of his brethren are likely to see in their entire lives. All of this (as detailed in Goblin Quest and Goblin Hero) has saddled him with a reputation he can’t escape, a number of enemies lurking in the corners, and an ancient forgotten god in his head. And then a band of humans invade his mountain once more, looking to steal the fabled Rod of Creation. The leaders of this group turn out to be the siblings of the -last- humans to mess with Jig, and they’re out for a little revenge. Before the blood’s had time to dry, Jig and many of his fellow goblins are captured and taken as slaves, in order to perform a little hard labor for Princess Genevieve, who’s been tasked with protecting the nearby human town of Avery from… what else, goblins and other such undesirables. Her brother, Theodore, takes the Rod of Creation as his own personal spoils of war.

This being a tale about goblins, one thing leads to another, and before long, Jig’s on the run. His companions are Relka, an overenthusiastic kitchen drudge, and Trok, a goblin warrior, and of course, Tymalous Shadowstar, the god kept alive through the feeble prayers of Jig and his fellows. The unlikely bunch end up running right into an army of goblins, orcs, trolls, kobolds and worse, all led by one rather ambitious orc named Billa the Bloody. Once Jig realizes that a greater plan is afoot, one that doesn’t leave much hope for his people’s survival, he starts thinking outside the box, looking for a way to survive the war that’s about to come crashing down upon them all. Unfortuntely, little does he realize that where one god – Tymalous – is involved, there might just be others. In an epic clash of good versus not-so-good, of light versus shadow, one goblin may just make all the difference. If he doesn’t get eaten by wolves first. Or killed by his own allies. Or catapulted by an angry tree. Or… well, you get the point.

Jim Hines takes all of the usual epic fantasy tropes, and pretty much folds, spindles and multilates them, going against expectations and convention with style and panache. This is humorous fantasy, but executed in a fairly straight-forward way, with the genuinely funny moments coming when least expected. Told from the viewpoint of characters usually offered up as bait and minor obstacles for more heroic adventures, Goblin War finally gives the underdog a chance to shine. Jig’s no hero, not by a long shot. He’s physically unimpressive, morally questionable, ethically lacking at times, and primarily concerned with saving his own skin, and those of his friends, making him the most unlikely of pivotal elements in the much larger picture. And so we can honestly root for him, watching him overcome and cope with his base instincts to do what’s right … or most expedient.

Furthermore, Hines makes sure to distribute a wide range of depth and motivations to the rest of the characters. Some may be stupid, or careless, or arrogant, but they’re well-rounded for all that, with even the lowliest of kobolds displaying some useful and redeeming qualities. It’s that level of complexity in everyone from the minor supporting characters, to the main “villains” themselves that makes Goblin War such a great read. You can look at it as a comic fantasy novel, a clever satire, an epic fantasy turned inside-out, or whatever else suits, it’s all there for the taking. Jig’s adventures pretty much singlehandedly redeem the traditional monster races, the orcs and trolls and goblins and so forth, the ones who usually wander the forest waiting to shake down that level 2 fighter you rolled up last Saturday.

I loved Goblin War. It’s a breath of fresh air in the fantasy field, a wonderful change of pace from the usual bloated epics and never-ending series, a story that remembers to laugh without giving up its dignity (inasmuch as goblins can have dignity…) Whether or not Hines writes anything more in Jig’s saga, or at least in his world, I’ll be following his work with great interest.