Der Rote Gobbo (Warhammer 40,000)

by Mike Brooks, Denny Flowers, Rhuairidh James

A Warhammer 40,000 Anthology

Da Red Gobbo – a name synonymous with seizing liberty from the iron fist of ork oppression, and one that inspires revolt and stokes the fires of rebellion in grot bellies.

READ IT BECAUSE

Join the Revolushun with this collection of short stories and novellas covering the exploits and escapades of the diminutive, yet powerfully enigmatic, grot-icon that is Da Red Gobbo.

THE STORY

Follow a collection of grots from across the galaxy that take up the mantle of Da Red Gobbo. Having put on the legendary cape, can they overcome humans, the followers of the Dark Gods, and orks to claim the loot and show everyone that you should never underestimate a grot?

CONTENTS

– Da Gobbo's Revenge (Novella), by Mike Brooks
– Da Gobbo's Demise (Novella), by Denny Flowers
– Da Wrong Type of Green (Short story), by Denny Flowers
– Da Gobbo Rides Again (Novella), by Rhuairidh James
– The Instigator (Short story), by Rhuairidh James

Genres: 40k, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Audiobook, Humor

413 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 7, 2025

About the author

Mike Brooks was born in Ipswich, Suffolk and moved to Nottingham when he was 18 to go to university. He’s stayed there ever since, and now lives with his wife, two cats, two snakes and a collection of tropical fish. When not working for a homelessness charity he plays guitar and sings in a punk band, watches football (soccer), MMA and nature/science documentaries, goes walking in the Peak District or other areas of splendid scenery, and DJs wherever anyone will tolerate him.

And, y’know, writes.

Reviews

[D. Leek]

Communist Grots. Need I say more?

In all seriousness I did not expect a book about a Grot class struggle to contain one of the most moving Warhammer stories i've read. Orcs are always a good time so a smile was plastered across my face for the entirety of this book, but "Da Gobbo Rides Again" by James might just be my new favourite novella.

[Alexandria Diaz]

Decent collection of short stories, but some dragged on. Mike Brooks and Rhuairidh James stories were great reads, Denny Flowers stories were dragging, and one mini one didn’t serve anything to the plot.

[Kai Rasmussen]

This was a collection of short stories about Da Red Gobbo. The first two main stories were pretty decent, but the real gem was Da Gobbo Rides Again. This final story tied together the whole collection and really captured the spirit of Ork Kultur and the Grots. Overall, well-written with a lot of subtle, funny moments. The last story is definitely the best and wrapped up with the true Revolushunary Spirit of Da Red Gobbo.

[Samuel Jackson]

This collection put a smile on my face early on and kept it there through the whole ride. It's a great read for any fans of the Orks, or more accurrately the Grots of 40K. The weird way they see the world is hillariously put on the page and the little guys never stop being wicked little gits even as the reader roots for them to come out on top. Give it a read if you've ever enjoyed other Ork stories, you won't be dissappointed.

[Unseen Library]

Prepare for da revolution with this collection of brilliant Warhammer 40,000 stories from three top authors, with Da Red Gobbo Collection.

Gosh this has been a great year for Warhammer 40,000 fiction, and the fun is still continuing as one of the best releases of this year just dropped with Da Red Gobbo Collection, which features five brilliant stories from awesome authors Mike Brooks, Denny Flowers and Rhuairidh James. Featuring three novellas and two short stories, Da Red Gobbo Collection focuses on the always entertaining ork faction from Warhammer 40,000 fiction, whose brutal, hooligan-inspired mindset always leads to comedic and outrageous reads.

However, rather than your typical ork novel, the stories in this anthology collection are focused on the ork sub-species known as grots, who are the 40K equivalent of the goblins from the Warhammer Fantasy universe. Small, cunning and cowardly, the grots, also known as gretchin, work as slaves, cannon fodder and scapegoats (scape-grots??) to the bigger orks, generally getting kicked around by their ork masters even if they do the right thing. However, not all grots are content to live under ork oppression, and some even have the courage to fight back thanks to the legendary figure known as Da Red Gobbo.

Da Red Gobbo is a mysterious figure in the grot mythology, who arises whenever the orks push their smaller cousins too far. Able to put aside the typical grot amnesty and selfishness, Da Red Gobbo is an icon for revolution and revolt against the orkish oppression. But who is Da Red Gobbo? Are they really a legendary figure going from ork warband to ork warband spreading the word of freedom, or can any grot put on the cape, hat and goggles and inspire his fellows? Whatever the truth may be, Da Red Gobbo is here to bring a crumping, and nobody, be they human, Chaos worshipper or even the mightiest of orks, will underestimate the grots again.

I had a blast with Da Red Gobbo Collection, especially as I was able to enjoy all five stories on audiobook for the first time. Brooks, Flowers and James have all produced exceptional stories focused on the hilarious figure of the Red Gobbo, and I like their intriguing alternative takes on this unlikely revolutionary and his origin. Thanks to the inherent humour of the ork faction, this was a particularly entertaining and comedic novel, and I frankly laughed my way through the various stories, especially as the three excellent authors created some particularly inventive reads.

To see the full review, click on the link below:
https://unseenlibrary.com/2024/12/29/...

For other exciting reviews and content, check out my blog at:
https://unseenlibrary.com/

[Set Sytes]

It gets better as it goes on - with the novella (and short story) by Rhuairidh James being the best of the collection - actually having an ork story where things aren't spelled out to the audience but left to them to read between the lines and see what is really going on. It's also the best written and most interesting and creative and lore-rich, with an ork story played for more than just stupidity (but it's also easily the funniest of the collection). It's one of the best ork/grot things I've read so far, including the work of Mike Brooks and Nate Crowley. Maybe that's also partly because I've never read an ork story where they weren't at war (waaagh); I liked reading a story set during their "downtime". I see James hasn't done stories with 40k before - I hope he gets to do more.

A small point, but I like that he doesn't overdo the ork talk. "You" really doesn't need to be rewritten as "yoo" - that's just a step too much seeing as it's pronounced the same anyway and just becomes a bit too stupid. Ork and grot dialogue should be more fun to read than annoying/distracting.

4+

[Joshua Bryant]

Look, this is a fun time, truly. These Ork novels entertain regardless of how good they are. This collection takes that humour down a notch into the self-deprecating Grot (space Goblin) humour.

The anthology read at once feels like a bit much; experienced individually around Xmas as they tend to release once a year, and I would have enjoyed each perhaps a little bit more. My overall critique is how most of the stories revolve AROUND the concept of this 'Da Red Gobbo' icon/figurehead of a revolution, but close the curtain just as the conflict of the story reaches critical mass.


Want to hear more? You can find my opinions via my podcast book club!

https://ttpfieldmanual.captivate.fm/e...

[Cristobal Lander]

Wanted to get to a couple of short stories I could only find in this collection.. While the short stories in and of themselves aren't that much, the main stories are fantastic! Loved seeing how the mind of Orks and Grots work, how they are organised, their sort of symbiotic relationship, and more than anything, how they see "humies"!

[Dave]

Collects three novellas with Grots (space goblins) taking center stage. Incredible voice work that makes it one of the funniest things I've listened to in a while. The first book is the best, the second and third are all right and the stories avoid repeating themselves.

[Brian Chafin]

Lots of lore. Pretty humorous. Even a little bit of plot.

[Deryk Allan]

One of the best stories from the age of Sigmar, more of this please.

[Conor]

Amusing collection of short stories,particularly the final read. was expecting christmas stories but ended up with communist 'satire'

[Curtis]

Goofy, dark, and fun all at once. A great little collection.

[Jackel50]

I would rather have had the first story continue as opposed to being more like an anthology but they were all good

[Mek boy]

hilarious and very fun read

[Lachlan Alexander]

Entertaining jaunt through the short and brutish lives of many a greenskin and those unfortunate enough to be in their vicinity.

[Jan]

I liked the setting, loved the main point of the story. Liked the characters but somehow it sometimes dragged on a bit. It wasn't a quick read as I was expecting. But I did enjoy it.

[Elolo Les Les cocos]

GOLBIN COMMUNISTE !!!! ÉNORME BANGER

[S L]

Quite fun little stories that surprisingly had a continuity. My favorite moment was when a group of Grots tried to smother flames with sawdust.

[Joelendil]

In the grim dark Warhammer 40,000 universe orks are frequently played for laughs, being green extra stupid, extra-violent, extra-tough caricatures of Cockney-speaking football (soccer) hooligans. The novellas and short stories in this collection definitely tilt in that humorous direction but focus more on the cowardly, cunning grots (aka Gretchin): smaller ork-kind used as slaves, punching bags, and canon fodder by the bigger ork ladz. More specifically, they focus on the grot folk hero: Da Red Gobbo. Da Red Gobbo is the head of the Revolushunary Komitee…or maybe he’s any grot willing to take up the mantle and inspire his fellows to rise against the ork masters.

There’s a fun/weird mixture of superhero vigilantism, revolutionary rhetoric, ultraviolence, cunning plans, and orkish stupidity (with a heaping side of casually butchered humans for that grimdark flavor). I think my favorite novella was the one where a group of disorganized grots duke it out with an equally incompetent group of chaos cultists. Overall, this is a lot of fun as long as you like dark humor.

[Andi K]

Completly worth it for brooks stories alone

[Jérôme]

If I had a nickel every time some xenos starts a revolution in a Warhammer book I read, I'd have two nickels.

Which isn't much but it's weird that it happened twice