Goblins vs Dwarves

Goblins #2

by Philip Reeve, Dave Semple (Illustrator)

An army of short, fat, hairy dwarves is tunnelling into goblin territory. They are digging under Clovenstone castle to steal its precious treasure.

Goblins love fighting, but Skarper and Henwyn's rowdy tribe is no match for the giant armoured moles of the enemy. They must seek the help of heroes, trolls and ghosts for a battle that will decide the fate of the goblins forever.

Genres: Fantasy, Childrens

334 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2013

About the author

Philip Reeve was born and raised in Brighton, where he worked in a bookshop for a number of years while also co-writing, producing and directing a number of no-budget theatre projects.

Philip then began illustrating and has since provided cartoons for around forty children's books, including the best-selling Horrible Histories, Murderous Maths and Dead Famous series.

Railhead, published by Oxford University Press, will be published in the UK in October 2015

Pugs of the Frozen North, written with Sarah McIntyre, is out now.

Reviews

[Karl Orbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

So, the tricky second album, or sequel even... Goblins, was a wonderful book, funny and clever, plenty of mischief and action. Ideal for it's target audience, around the age of ten, or thirty odd in my case. Not that this is Philip Reeve's first sequel, his books are generally magnificent. For an author I had never read five years ago, he is definitely in my top three now, along with Tolkien and Pratchett.

Was it any good then? Of course it was.

Henwyn and Scarper are back at Clovenstone, after the fall of the keep and many goblins. Princess Ned now rules Clovenstone, well, looks after it, she is a lot more socialist than monastic. She is trying to get the goblins to stop banging each other over the head and act more civilly; she has her work cut out for her. Alas, as with all good novels, scarcely have you slain one evil worthy of a story and another flies up in your face, just in time for a new story. Dwarves are coming, they want what the goblins have and they're good organisers, the goblins are definitely screwed.

But something will turn up, it usually does, Scarper is good at falling on his feet, or a cloud, or at least something soft that will cushion his head. Plus, his met a nice girl dwarf that he likes, but her father is after him with an axe. Oh bumcakes.

[Julie Pike · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Goblins, the first in the series...so much so when I heard there was a sequel I hot footed to my local bumwipe shop to pre-order an early copy.
The story smoothly picks up where book one concluded, and the reader is right back in the heart of Clovenstone (which in my view is an absorbingly fresh take on a fantasy realm).
Henwyn and Scarper are literally thrown straight away into a new adventure, with all the previous book's characters in support....plus a host of interesting new ones. This time they are trying to defeat the dastardly dwarves who are out to steal their lake of Slowsilver.
I don't want to give away any plot spoilers, so suffice to say, if you enjoyed Goblins, you are in for some delicous second helpings with Goblins vs Dwarves! And if you haven't read book one, give that a go first, as this story relies on the reader having some in-knowledge.
Enjoy!

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, I'm not sure why I'm surprised but this book wound up being sadder than I thought. It is a ghost story with a bit of prophecy, which I didn't know when I started it. There was little to no magic as far as the sorcerers were concerned in this one, which I was happy about. Overall, it was a very cute read, just like the first book and I look forward to reading the final installment.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating 3.5
Wow, what a great tension/suspense filled book! All of our favorite characters are back along with some new surprising allies. The Dwarfs, on the orders of their mechanical brass Head, have ordered them to tunnel all the way to Clovenstone to drain the slowsilver from the great lake underneath. Since this is where the eggs come from that hatch into goblins, the removal of the slowsilver would mean the end of the goblins. How can the goblins fight this? As everyone knows, they are disorganized and mainly fight among themselves. The suspense as unbearable the dwarfs press onward and seem completely unstoppable. Everyone brings their special talents to bear and all characters get spotlighted to show their character and contributions. The battle is brutal and not without losses and great change for Clovenstone. The ending is very dramatic and made me want to dash to the library for the next book. I think kids will love this, perhaps even more than the first. I love the way that this story and the series as a whole highlights each race's prejudices and misunderstanding about each other and the benefits of talking and sharing across boundaries. Lots of great messages subtly blended into a splendid adventure.

[Cheriee Weichel · Rating 5 out of 5]

So if you are wondering what book or series to read to your younger children, (6 to 10ish?) check out Goblins by Philip Reeve. I just finished this one. Skarper, the goblin, is a character I adore. Reeve wrote this series for his son, so they are already kid tested. They are hilarious, cheeky, and filled with important lessons on how to live a satisfying life and get along with all kinds of individuals. This one deals with how a group of people (the dwarves) get seduced into following an empty headed leader. (Sounds familiar doesn't it?) I was both suprised and impressed by how it backfired. Apparently the books are filled with illustrations, but I listened to them. David Thorpe's narration was perfect. I've enjoyed Goblins, and Goblin Quest, but this is the best of the series!

[JHG Hendriks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marvelous story with many interesting characters.

[Graham M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant, loved it, cute clever & fun. Why should kids get all the good stuff?

[Edoardo Albert · Rating 4 out of 5]

More goblin fun with Skarper and his human friends. As good as 'Goblins'. My son and I are eagerly looking forward to the final volume in the trilogy, 'Goblin Quest'.

[Tricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great fun!

[Saskia_madding · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would normally have given this book 2 stars, because I did think it was only okay, but the writer did as good a job with the execution as in the first book, so I had to up it to 3 stars. The problem is just that the content in this book is nowhere near as strong as the first book.

I appreciated revisiting the characters, and the world, and meeting new friends. I loved the delivery and the adventure and the comedy. I really enjoyed the ride.

[Kasia (kasikowykurz) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Naprawdę spoko! Podejrzewam, że gdybym była młodsza od nie zasmakowała jeszcze w bardziej rozwiniętej fantastyce podobałaby mi się o wiele bardziej. Teraz - owszem, fajna, zabawna, a postacie da się lubić i jestem ciekawa, co będzie dalej, ale poza tym nic. O wiele bardziej lubię gobliny, krasnoludy i drzewnego olbrzyma, aniżeli jakichkolwiek pojawiających się tu ludzi :).

[Marta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Książka znaleziona w koszu nad morzem, stała się bardzo pozytywnym zaskoczeniem. Moją historię z czytaniem fantastyki zaczynałam od Trylogii Goblina Jim. C. Hinesa i od tej pory uwielbiam historie z goblinami w roli głównej. Ta książka przypominała mi nieco tamtą serię i przywróciła stare wspomnienia. Jest dobrze napisana i zredagowana, ma wartko płynącą akcję, satyryczne fragmenty. Idealne light fantasy do rozpoczęcia swojej historii z fantastyką. Raczej dla starszej młodzieży i dorosłych, bo ma kilka niespodziewanych brutalnych fragmentów - gobliny są w niej trochę jak mięso armatnie. Podsumowując, naprawdę przyjemnie spędziłam czas i chyba zakupię pozostałe tomy. (Czytanie od drugiego jest możliwe, ale nieco się trzeba połapać.) Może nie jest wybitna, ale dziwię się, że jest tak mało popularna. Ja polecam.

[Tim Robinson · Rating 2 out of 5]

The dwarves are extraordinarily colourless. However dangerous they may be, they lack the charisma to be really menacing. I lost interest.