"A Dance with Dragons" by George RR Martin (Reviewed by Liviu Suciu)

Official GRRM Website
A Song of Ice and Fire at Wikipedia
Order A Dance with Dragons HERE

INTRODUCTION: As I mentioned in other posts, there are only two authors that I regard as iconic in fantasy and one of them is George Martin since before A Game of Thrones appeared - and especially before it started taking off in the late 90's, early 00's - I found very little genre fantasy to read. I am not a Tolkien, Feist, D&D, Jordan, Erikson, etc fan since I prefer my fantasy to be with little magic and closer to historical fiction - my main problem with magic is that it suffers from the "works at one clock, but not at two a clock" syndrome as well as the authors rarely exploring the implications on societal evolution of having unambiguous, "I can kick it" proof of mind's ability to influence matter directly, not through technology and science.

Before AGoT, I knew about Mr. Martin from his awesome Sandkings novella which was one of the defining texts of my childhood that made me a lifelong sf fan, so intrigued by the blurb I bought AGoT on release and never looked back, while thinking, that, "yes, this is the fantasy I want to read". On the other hand I do not tend to agonize over unfinished series and I read the books as they come, so after A Feast for Crows and the rereads of the earlier three books in 2005, I kind of forgot about ASoIaF until this year's superb TV series put me back in a Westeros mood and I've reread the four earlier books in two languages each for good measure since I happen to have a full Romanian language set too.

So very, very high expectations for A Dance with Dragons and after the first two reads, I have to say that the book while not perfect and quite transitional and expanding the story-lines rather than starting to pull them together as one would expect in a fifth out of seventh series novel, delivered more than enough to be my top fantasy of the year so far.

In the following I will try to avoid major spoilers for the novel itself, though there will be of course major ones for the series up to AFFC and as befitting a novel of such huge scope with action taking place in many locales, lots of characters, etc, the "review" will be more of a collection of impressions and highlights, as well as some of the stuff I thought worked less well. As usual, whatever counts as spoiler for a person may not count as such for me, so if you have not read A Dance with Dragons so far, read what follows at your peril!

OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: The first thing that surprised me when reading A Dance with Dragons is that the book does not have the "each word counts" finished feel I expected after the very public six year struggle of the author with it; for the first 600 pages I felt like almost nothing happens as the big picture goes, just going back and forth to mark the time until the timeline gets to the end of A Feast for Crows and things can start happening; when things start to happen, yes the action is mostly awesome, but there is some silliness too.

Now, "almost nothing happens" would be an indictment for many authors since it would mean bloated verbosity, but in GRRM's case, the world building, the character dialogue and the nuggets of action that we see are more than enough to make the pages turn by themselves and keep one absorbed.

Yes, not all story-lines are equally absorbing and for me the North alternates between very interesting when we see the actions of various Northern lords, most notably the Boltons and lord Manderly in the new circumstances, while Stannis prepares to assert his rule and confront his enemies and the more boring parts of Jon trying to be "humane" and integrate the starving, fleeing wildlings with their historical enemies, the Night Watch whose commander he happens to be. Never a big favorite of mine, I have to say that "Lord Snow"'s arc is one of the best realized in the book and it will be a highlight for many.

Or Tyrion's wanderings where maybe because of him being still in shock after the dramatic events of A Storm of Swords, he is far from the sharp operator we got to know and love and seems more like a comic relief persona thrown there to be blown away on the wind by whatever current is stronger at the moment. This was the part I was looking forward the most and maybe because of that, it was the most disappointing thread of the novel.

The other main story of the novel, Daenerys' rule of Meereen is quite interesting though, even if it is not what what is generally assumed that happens in fantasy - where the destined one comes, conquers, snaps his/her fingers and all live happily ever after. No, here we see "reality": conquering with a strong army and better weapons is easy, but holding on what you conquer is very hard and requires sacrifices; this point of "is it worth to conquer hoping to give people a better life, only to realize that most want the lives they led before and having peace may mean compromising all you hold dear?" that we see repeated throughout history up to the present, is one that GRRM keeps making and as mentioned above there is no "out of jail card". I found this thread excellent and very realistic though I am sure that people wanting traditional fantasy will hate it the most.

Daenerys' peregrination and decisions were simple so far - she acted true to her principles and despite hardships she has won - but now that she decided to actually rule, she faces two equally unheroic choices: bath Meereen in the blood of her enemies, including the hostages from her entourage that she came to like, or compromise with the slavers and their allies and allow a more relaxed form of what came before. And the way this dilemma plays through the book was to me one of the highlights of the novel; without easy choices, the author's handling of it was as good as possible within the constraints.

Interspersed with these three main stories, there are a lot of other characters stories and those mostly work well, but here and there I was wondering at the structure of the novel and how quite a few of those (Bran and Cersei's chapters for example and maybe even Arya's) could have easily been included in A Feast for Crows since they are tangential to this book, while leaving space for expanding the intrinsic stories of A Dance with Dragons and sparing us the "unfinished feel" we get in the end, feel which the author clearly indicated was due for lack of space.

A Dance with Dragons is not short on great lines and there are quite a few scenes that hold with the best to date in the series but I will leave that for everyone to discover them. For myself, besides the obvious ones, Cersei's arc was quite memorable for example especially still having clear in mind Lena Hadley's arrogant but great performance of the queen in the TV series...

As for characters, for me the best one - in the heroic fantasy mode - was Ser Barristan who has several POV chapters and he is given ample scope to show why he is so famous after all. The most disappointing one was Tyrion as mentioned above.

Now for the things that worked less well - I think that Mr. Martin's decision to split the story geographically rather than chronologically was misguided and A Dance with Dragons shows it since until the timeline catches with AFFC, nothing major we do not know about can happen and this - what I call the prequel's bane - makes those first 600 pages or so much slower than the rousing finale.

The wrap up to most stories is another issue - here the culprit is the page count which basically forced the author to postpone lots of events to the next book - so there is a feel of incompleteness and while it bothers me less than others, I think that will be easily seen as the major shortcoming of the novel. The good news is that once The Winds of Winter will be out, this aspect will be forgotten, the bad news is that we have no idea when that book will be out...

And here we come to the last thing of concern, namely that at the current pace, I have a hard time seeing it finished in two more volumes, even of 1000 pages like this one. Now that is not a bad thing since I am happy to read at length about the wonderful characters of GRRM and their world, but one thing I hope is that the author will not try again to be over ambitious and stick with a "I said seven, seven must be" plan and then realize he simply does not have the space to tell all the stories he wants, the way he wants. When in a fifth out presumably seventh book and in 1000 pages+, the story and characters expand, sometimes quite a lot, rather than starting to get together, this is something one has to mention.

Overall I think that if you are an obsessive fan who discusses the finest points of the series in great detail in various forums, the book will be acceptable but not totally awesome for the reasons mentioned above, but if you love a grand scale epic series where the author keeps his "action have consequences and there is no get out the jail card" stance that so shocked people including myself in the earlier volumes, A Dance with Dragons (A++) will be the one novel you want to read this year indeed!

“Den of Thieves” by David Chandler (Reviewed by Robert Thompson)

Official David Chandler Website

Order “Den of Thieves” HERE (US) + HERE (UK)

AUTHOR INFORMATION: David Chandler is a pseudonym for David Wellington, critically acclaimed author of such popular horror novels as the Monster trilogy, the Vampire series and the Werewolf Tales. He was also one of the writers of the New York Times bestseller Marvel Zombies Return. Den of Thieves is his first fantasy novel.

PLOT SUMMARY: Born and raised in the squalid depths of the Free City of Ness, Malden became a thief by necessity. Now he must pay a fortune to join the criminal operation of Cutbill, lord of the underworld—and one does not refuse the master . . . and live.

The coronet of the Burgrave would fulfill Malden’s obligations, though it is guarded by hungry demons that would tear the soul from any interloper. But the desperate endeavor leads to a more terrible destiny, as Malden, an outlaw knight, and an ensorcelled lady must face the most terrifying evil in the land...

FORMAT/INFO: Den of Thieves is 480 pages long divided over a Prologue, four titled Parts, and one hundred chapters. Also includes a map of the Free City of Ness and an excerpt from A Thief in the Night, book two of The Ancient Blades Trilogy. Narration is in the third person, mostly via the thief Malden and the knight Sir Croy, while minor POVs include Cythera. Den of Thieves is self-contained, but is the first volume in The Ancient Blades Trilogy, which will be followed by A Thief in the Night in September 2011 and Honor Among Thieves in November 2011.

July 26, 2011 marks the North American Mass Market Paperback publication of Den of Thieves via Harper Voyager. The UK edition (see below) was published on July 7, 2011 via Harper Voyager UK.

ANALYSIS: When I first started reading Den of Thieves, I thought I was reading David Chandler’s debut novel. Soon after, I learned that David Chandler was actually a pen name for David Wellington, a writer of numerous horror novels including the Monster trilogy, the Vampire series and the Werewolf Tales. I’ve never actually read any of David Wellington’s books, but I do own several of the author’s novels because they sound right up my alley. Factor in comparisons to George R.R. Martin, Joe Abercrombie and Scott Lynch, and I admit I let my expectations run a little wild. So I’m partly to blame for my disappointment with Den of Thieves.

Of course, unfulfilled expectations is not the only reason David Chandler’s debut let me down. For starters, Malden is not very compelling as a protagonist, especially when compared to the likes of Locke Lamora from Scott Lynch’s Gentleman Bastard Sequence, Mildmay the Fox from Sarah Monette’s The Doctrine of Labyrinths, and Drothe from Douglas Hulick’s Among Thieves. All similar heroes/anti-heroes. The problem with Malden, besides a dry narrative voice that is devoid of personality, is the author’s failure to capture the charm and cleverness that Malden supposedly possesses. Plus, for someone who believes there is no honor among thieves, Malden is curiously honorable for a thief.

Sir Croy, the novel’s other main protagonist, is much more likable than Malden for the first three-fifths of the book, but then the knight’s naiveté takes center stage, transforming his admirable qualities—honor, chivalry, loyalty, duty—into annoyances. Then there’s Cythera. Cythera, the daughter of a witch, is an important figure in Den of Thieves because of her curse, her connection to the sorcerer Alebron Hazoth, and the fact that Malden & Sir Croy are both in love with her. As a character however, it’s hard to sympathize with Cythera. Much the way it’s hard to sympathize or care about Malden & Sir Croy. In fact, minor characters like Cutbill, the master of thieves; the card sharp Kemper, whose curse gives him a unique ability; and Murdlin, envoy of the Dwarf Kingdom, were much more interesting in my opinion, and I wish they had been featured more prominently in the novel. Especially Murdlin with his amusing manner of speech: “This way, most hurriedly, like a rabbit making love.” / “Stop standing there manipulating yourself in an erotic fashion.” / “Into the hay that itches like pubic lice.”

Secondly, Den of Thieves is oddly tame considering how much experience David Wellington possesses as a horror fiction author. Sure, there’s the Lovecraftian-inspired guardian of the Burgrave’s crown, Hazoth’s demon child, and various other atrocities, not to mention the violence and rare profanity, but overall, I was disappointed by how PG-13 the novel turned out to be. Particularly when the book is mentioned in the same breath as George R. R. Martin, Joe Abercrombie, and Scott Lynch, whose novels are known for their realism and grittiness. If only that was the case with David Chandler’s debut. Instead, Den of Thieves is much more fantastical and over-the-top, having more in common—based on what I’ve heard—with its other comparisons in R.A. Salvatore and Raymond E. Feist. Not a bad thing if you’re a fan of those authors, but not what I was expecting.

Third, the writing in Den of Thieves is disappointingly uneven. The story’s pacing may be engaging, the prose polished, and the action scenes entertaining and well-written, but I expected more from someone with ten novels under his belt. Because Den of Thieves is David Wellington’s first foray into fantasy, I can forgive the lackluster world-building, which primarily focuses on the Free City of Ness, its charter with the King of Skrae, Ancient Blades, and the Bloodgod Sadu, while including such familiar tropes as dwarves, elves and ogres. I can also overlook the lack of imagination found in the book’s magic system, which features curses, summoning demons, magic swords, paying a price to use sorcery, etc. What I cannot forgive or overlook, is the novel’s aforementioned shallow characterization and a story that suffers from predictability, weak plotting, and flimsy rationalizations. Like the whole reason the Burgrave’s crown was stolen in the first place!? Or Hazoth’s motives—If the sorcerer is so powerful, why would he even worry about the King of Skrae? Or anyone else for that matter?

Not only that, but was it really necessary for the author to spell out the novel’s various twists, especially considering how easy it was to figure things out beforehand? Also, is there any reason I should continue reading The Ancient Blades Trilogy? The first book ties things up so neatly, I have no motivation to pick up the sequel. I mean, what’s the overarching story arc? The conflict? The end goal? Worst of all, Den of Thieves could have been so much better. What if the book was darker & grittier? What if the main characters were charming and sympathetic? What if the story was cunningly plotted and full of unexpected twists & surprises? What if...

Despite my obvious disappointment with the book, Den of Thieves is not nearly as bad as I’m making it sound. David Chandler’s debut may not offer fully developed characters, indepth world-building, creative ideas, or clever plotting, but thanks to swift pacing and non-stop sword & sorcery action, Den of Thieves does provide lots of fun & thrills. Keeping expectations lowered though is the key to enjoying David Chandler’s debut. Because of the thief protagonist, the plot involving the Burgrave’s crown, and various other factors, I can see why Den of Thieves has drawn comparisons to George R.R. Martin, Joe Abercrombie, and Scott Lynch. Unfortunately, neither the book nor the author is anywhere close to that level. In fact, Den of Thieves is not even on the same level as Douglas Hulick’s Among Thieves, a similar, yet far superior fantasy debut that was released this same year. However, as long as readers understand what kind of book they’re getting with David Chandler’s debut, then Den of Thieves has plenty to offer...

"Naamah's Blessing" by Jacqueline Carey (Reviewed by Liviu Suciu)

Official Jacqueline Carey Website
Order "Naamah's Blessing" HERE
Read FBC Review of "Naamah's Kiss"
Read FBC Review of "Naamah's Curse"
Read FBC Review of "Kushiel's Justice"
Read FBC Review of "Kushiel's Mercy"


INTRODUCTION: The universe of Elua's Companions created by Jacqueline Carey is the most fascinating fantasy world for me as of today. This universe is an alt-Earth with some major changes and subtle magic and the setting of the superb Kushiel's Legacy six volume cycle - which is my number one finished fantasy series as of today.

Two years ago the author started another cycle set about a hundred years later which makes it a 16th century analog and featuring fourth generation descendants of the Kushiel's Legacy characters, this time dedicated to Naamah another of Elua's Companions. While Kushiel represents the darker side with pain and suffering as essential attributes and the original novels strongly reflect that, Naamah represents pure desire and physical love and appropriately Naamah's Kiss was an exuberant novel with an unforgettable heroine and was an A++ and a top novel of mine for 2009

The second trilogy book, Naamah's Curse became a Top 10 expected novel of 2010 and while having a bit the weakness of a transitional middle novel that moves the heroes a lot around without settling too much, it still was a pretty good novel that I could not put down once started since the voice of Moirin has remained extremely compelling. The ending of Naamah's Curse and the revelations there clearly indicated the general direction of Naamah's Blessing and in particular another major expansion of the series universe, so the book was another highly awaited one.

"Returning to Terre d'Ange, Moirin finds the royal family broken. Wracked by unrelenting grief at the loss of his wife, Queen Jehanne, King Daniel is unable to rule. Prince Thierry, leading an expedition to explore the deadly jungles of Terra Nova, is halfway across the world. And three year old Desirée is a vision of her mother: tempestuous, intelligent, and fiery, but desperately lonely, and a vulnerable pawn in a game of shifting political allegiances.

As tensions mount, King Daniel asks that Moirin become Desirée's oath-sworn protector. Navigating the intricate political landscape of the Court proves a difficult challenge, and when dire news arrives from overseas, the spirit of Queen Jehanne visits Moirin in a dream and bids her undertake an impossible quest.

Another specter from the past also haunts Moirin. Travelling with Thierry in the New World is Raphael de Mereliot, her manipulative former lover. Years ago, Raphael forced her to help him summon fallen angels in the hopes of acquiring mystical gifts and knowledge. It was a disastrous effort that nearly killed them, and Moirin must finally bear the costs of those bitter mistakes."

OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: Naamah's Blessing ends the Moirin saga and possibly the Angeline/Kushiel nine book series in great style - though the author left open the possibilities of more and I think there is great potential in a story set in another hundred years or two and dealing with technological expansion rather than the huge geographical expansion here.

The book returns to the exuberance of the first volume - though there are quite a few dark moments since no series installment is complete without them - and it was all that I expected and more; especially in retrospect, the second volume had two characteristics that made it a little less favorite than the first - it was darker and gloomier and Moirin just does not do dark the way Phedre or to a lesser extent Imriel did, while Bao's character did not tune with Moirin's narrative and the lack of chemistry between the main two leads will always drag a book down.

Happily in Naamah's Blessing none of these happens - the book is quite lush and exuberant and both the Angeline setting and the New World with the vistas of Mexico and the jungles of Central and South America are much more suited than the barren steppe or the cold of the Himalayas - while Bao has a much improved chemistry with Moirin; it helps that he is only one of the several main characters besides Morin.

As the role of Lo Feng's pupil suited him well, so does the role of Moirin' supportive husband is perfect for him letting her and the more flamboyant of the rest of the cast shine - and what a cast is, among the best from the whole series, both in Terre d'Ange with the willful 3 year old Desiree, the bereaved king, the scheming nobles as well in Terra Nova with the D'Angeline adventurers, the Mexica - Nahuatl - warriors, guides and even emperor, to the jungles and peaks of the Incas - Quechas - and the memorable people there

A lot of surprises and gasp moments, tragedy but joy, successes and exuberance too and a superb ending to a trilogy that only adds to the impressive achievement that is the whole Kushiel saga.

Overall, Naamah's Blessing (A++) is the perfect example of how to end a series - bring new elements but at the finish wrap up pretty much all the loose ends, keep the style that made the series a hit, while add enough new twists and turns to avoid predictability. If you want a lush fantasy that will entertain, move and ultimately cheer you up, try Moirin's saga starting with the memorable Naamah's Kiss and ending so well here!

NEWS: Peter F. Hamilton Short Story Art Contest!

To celebrate the October 2011 publication of Manhattan In Reverse, Peter F. Hamilton’s first short story collection in thirteen years, SFX and Pan Macmillan are delighted to announce a very special and unique artwork competition. Two lucky winners will see their jacket designs adorn special eBook editions of two stories from the collection!

Manhattan In Reverse takes readers on a journey from a murder mystery in an alternative Oxford in the 1800s to a brand new story featuring Paula Myo, Deputy Director of the Intersolar Commonwealth’s Serious Crimes Directorate. Dealing with intricate themes and topical subject matter, this top ten bestselling author is at the top of his game.

Pan Macmillan will be releasing two short stories from the collection in eBook format a month early. These will be available to buy through Apple’s iBookstore, Amazon and Waterstone and WHSmith online. SFX and Pan Macmillan are looking for jacket designs for both stories.

The two winning designs will be selected by a judging panel that includes Peter, his publishing team at Pan Macmillan and SFX staff.

Peter F Hamilton says: “There’s so much promising design talent out there and I’m excited to see how my stories are interpreted.”

SFX will be posting entries online as they come in and Peter will be dropping in to talk about his favourites and his writing more generally between now and the winning announcement in August.

HOW TO ENTER:

• Pan Macmillan has provided cover briefs for the short stories The Demon Trap and Footvote—click on the links to view the briefs. These are exactly the type of briefs that professional artists will receive when they are commissioned to create cover artwork. Read them carefully because they are essential in helping you make your creative choices.

• You can provide entries for either or both stories.

• Your entry must be supplied in its complete form as a 300 dpi high resolution Jpeg or PDF under 2MB.

• Your entry must be 240mmx156mm.

• Your entry should be submitted to artwork@macmillan.co.uk

• Only original artwork or digital artwork will be considered and all artwork must be sent with your Name, Contact Telephone Number and Email Address in the body of the email and clearly marked in the subject header “Short Story Artwork Competition”. Incomplete entries will be disqualified.

• Entries must be received by Pan Macmillan on or before the closing date of August 1, 2011 before 5.30pm GMT. Pan Macmillan may require a higher res version of the file at a later date

• Please read the Official Terms and Conditions for more details.

“The Goblin Corps” by Ari Marmell (Reviewed by Robert Thompson)

Official Ari Marmell Website

Order “The Goblin Corps” HERE

Read FBC’s Review of “The Conqueror’s Shadow”

Read FBC’s Review of “The Warlord’s Legacy”

AUTHOR INFORMATION: Ari Marmell has a BA in Creative Writing at the University of Houston. He has worked for such role-playing games as Dungeons & Dragons and the World of Darkness, while written tie-in fiction for Vampire: the Masquerade and Magic: the Gathering. His first wholly original novel was The Conqueror’s Shadow, followed by the sequel, The Warlord’s Legacy. Forthcoming releases from Pyr include the YA novels, Thief’s Covenant and Witch Hunt.

PLOT SYNOPSIS: Morthûl, the dreaded Charnel King, has failed.

Centuries of plotting from the heart of the Iron Keep, deep within the dark lands of Kirol Syrreth—all for naught. Foiled at the last by the bumbling efforts of a laughable band of so-called heroes, brainless and over-muscled cretins without sense enough to recognize a hopeless cause when they take it on. Machinations developed over generations, schemes intended to deliver the world into the Dark Lord’s hands, now devastated beyond salvation. But the so-called forces of Light have paid for their meddling with the life of Princess Amalia, only child of the royal family of Shauntille.

Now, as winter solidifies its icy grip on the passes of the Brimstone Mountains, disturbing news has reached the court of Morthûl. King Dororam, enraged by the murder of his only child—and accompanied by that same group of delusional upstart “heroes”—is assembling all the Allied Kingdoms, fielding an army unlike any seen before. The armies of Kirol Syrreth muster to meet the attack that is sure to come as soon as the snows have melted from the mountain paths, but their numbers are sorely depleted. Still, after uncounted centuries of survival, the Dark Lord isn’t about to go down without a fight, particularly in battle against a mortal! No, the Charnel King still has a few tricks up his putrid and tattered sleeves, and the only thing that can defeat him now may just be the inhuman soldiers on whom he’s pinned his last hopes.

Welcome to the Goblin Corps. May the best man lose...

FORMAT/INFO: The Goblin Corps is 552 pages long divided over a Prologue, eleven numbered/titled chapters, and an Epilogue. Narration is in the third-person omniscient via numerous characters including the seven members of the Demon Squad, the Charnel King Morthûl, his lieutenant Vigo Havarren, Ananias DuMark, King Dororam, etc. The Goblin Corps works well as a standalone novel, coming to a satisfying stopping point, but there is room for a sequel. July 2011 marks the North American Trade Paperback publication of The Goblin Corps via Pyr. Cover art is provided by Lucas Graciano.

ANALYSIS: Ari Marmell’s The Conqueror’s Shadow really took me by surprise when it came out in 2010, establishing itself as one of the year’s most entertaining fantasy novels. Unfortunately, the sequel—The Warlord’s Legacy—was a major disappointment. As a result, I was on the fence regarding the author’s new novel, The Goblin Corps, before I eventually decided to give the book a chance.

To my relief, The Goblin Corps possesses the same elements that made The Conqueror’s Shadow so much fun to read. This includes cleverly subverted fantasy tropes—villains who are more likeable than the heroes, a wolf-like troll, a war against the Dark Lord that doesn’t go quite as planned, etc.—comical David Eddings-like humor, and Joe Abercrombie’s kick-ass grittiness.

At the same time, The Goblin Corps offers a couple of improvements that makes the book even more rewarding and fun to read than The Conqueror’s Shadow. The first is Ari Marmell’s writing, which continues to show improvement, particularly the author’s prose:

“The threadbare layer of carpeting over the floor was worn as full of holes as an old sock, and whatever color it might once have boasted had long been trampled into an unassuming, colorless gray. A single chair, its cushion torn and hemorrhaging stuffing, its wooden frame bending beneath the years, sulked in the corner. The bed frame, in equal disrepair and clearly not on speaking terms with the chair, would have long since collapsed if it hadn’t been propped against the wall.”

Secondly, the author doesn’t pull any punches in The Goblin Corps. One complaint I had about The Conqueror’s Shadow was the odd clash of PG-13 sensibilities and R-rated violence. In The Goblin Corps, the Demon Squad freely curse—they are villains after all; violence is unrestrained and gruesomely explicit, venturing at times into disturbing and horrific territory; and the body count is deliciously high, even including some of the main characters. In short, apart from the novel’s PG-13 humor, The Goblin Corps embraces its dark side—and thrives because of it.

Plot-wise, The Goblin Corps revolves around a new Demon Squad assembled to serve King Morthûl in preparation for the upcoming war against the Allied Kingdoms. This new Demon Squad includes Cræosh, an orc warrior; the bugbear Jhurpess; Gork, a kobold who specializes in pickpocketing; T’chakatimlamitilnog—“Katim” for short—a troll from the House of Ru; a gremlin named Gimmol Phicereune; the doppleganger Omb Fezeill; Belrotha, an ogre and governess of Itho; and Shreckt, a 20-inch tall gargoyle who acts as the squad’s drill sergeant.

Experiencing the Squad’s interactions with one another based on their physical/racial differences and contrasting personalities—Cræosh’s belligerence and vulgarity, Gork’s short stature, Belrotha’s dimwittedness, Jhurpess speaking in the third person (“Jhurpess hungry!”), etc.—is easily a highlight of the novel. That and the incessant banter; seeing how certain relationships play out (Gork’s animosity for Fezeill, the friendship that develops between Gimmol & Belrotha, the tension between Cræosh & Katim because Katim wants to kill the orc to serve her in the afterlife), interesting subplots (Gimmol’s hidden talent, Vigo Havarren’s relationship to Morthûl, Morthûl’s secret plan) and the Demon Squad’s numerous (mis)adventures—training in the frozen Steppes, running errands for Queen Anne, uncovering a spy, fulfilling Morthûl’s mission—which forces them to face a wide variety of dangerous enemies including yetis, worm-creatures, troglodytes, nagas, undead/ghosts, murderous ambulatory trees, “a huge fu**ing hard-shelled swamptopus”, and much more.

From a negative standpoint, The Goblin Corps suffers from many of the same issues found in The Conqueror’s Shadow and The Warlord’s Legacy including shallow characterization, unexplored themes, and straightforward plotting. However, since it is the novel’s intent to entertain, not challenge intellectually, these drawbacks are hardly noticeable. Especially since the book never takes itself seriously. Regarding The Goblin Corps specifically, some of the jokes and humor starts to become tiresome in the second half of the novel, while it seemed odd that the book was called “The Goblin Corps”, even though the Demon Squad is never referred to by that title.

CONCLUSION: As much as I enjoyed reading The Conqueror’s Shadow by Ari Marmell, The Warlord’s Legacy left a bad taste in my mouth, and because of that, I almost passed on The Goblin Corps. That would have been a huge mistake. As good as The Conqueror’s Shadow was, The Goblin Corps is better. Better written, funnier, more fulfilling, and twice as entertaining. Basically, The Goblin Corps is must-read material for anyone who is a fan of Joe Abercrombie and likes seeing fantasy tropes viciously subverted. Don’t let the Abercrombie comparisons fool you either. Ari has his own style which he is perfecting, and if he can continue writing books like The Conqueror’s Shadow and The Goblin Corps, then I wouldn’t be surprised if exciting new fantasy authors were one day compared to Ari Marmell...