Rating: 4.5⭐️
I thought this was funny and engaging, if you can find a book about war, losses and the fallout. Maybe parts of it. It’s T Kingfisher so the story is completely a mix of all of these, the horror and the humor that can be found among the misery.
Starting with that amazing artwork on the cover,this tale of an army unit of nine goblins, who go missing in the middle of a battle is fantastic!
Every phase or paragraph sends a clear picture of the current situation and these beautifully detailed characters right into your mind and emotions.
Every single detail, every situation captures the rich range of detail and the seriousness of their lives and current situation. It incredibly sad as the race of goblins has been pushed out of all their lands by humans until they exist at the edges, on the barest minimum needed.
Eventually they pushed back and it escalated into a war that involved other races. A war goblins themselves aren’t well suited for. And they’re losing.
This grab bag of personalities of nine goblins, led by unexpectedly competent (for a goblin) Sergeant Nessilka , find themselves behind, far behind, the human enemy lines, and then must try to find their way back.
So many great elements of this story. It’s the elf who they meet, the wizard (not the wizard you are expecting) who brings them into the situation, and more Elves along the way. And a war torn teddy bear who’s very necessary here for many reasons. And a genius goblin mechanic named Murray who’s looked down upon because his creations actually worked.
And the main characters of Sarge Nessilka and the elf animal rescuer Sings-To-Trees, who has none of the prejudices of his own race towards goblins or any other race for that matter. With his interactions with the goblin troop and his own small group of injured animals, we get a glimpse of the tensions that exist between all the other species/races , the most important being over the loss of the land and how much of the land is being destroyed by humans.
There’s trolls, and elf guards and some very dark scenes here, absolute carnage, that will continue to bring up the ramifications of war and its costs.
My only regret is that we leave the goblins too soon. It feels unresolved in some ways. We know that they will be going home. But nothing much has changed,just given a little bit of hope.
But that again is pure Kingfisher.
Excellent and dark with a tiny bit of light at the end.
Buy link
Blurb
From New York Times bestselling and Hugo Award-winning author T. Kingfisher comes Nine Goblins, a tale of low fantasy and high mischief.
DELUXE EDITION―a gorgeous hardcover with endpapers illustrated by the author and a foil case stamp
No one knows exactly how the Goblin War began, but folks will tell you that goblins are stinking, slinking, filthy, sheep-stealing, henhouse-raiding, obnoxious, rude, and violent. Goblins would actually agree with all this, and might throw in “cowardly” and “lazy” too for good measure.
But goblins don’t go around killing people for fun, no matter what the propaganda posters say. And when a confrontation with an evil wizard lands a troop of nine goblins deep behind enemy lines, goblin sergeant Nessilka must figure out how to keep her hapless band together and get them home in one piece.
Unfortunately, between them and safety lies a forest full of elves, trolls, monsters, and that most terrifying of creatures…a human being.
Tordotcom
Publication date
January 20, 2026
Language
English
Print length
160 page
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 