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Shard's Thugs
Wiggletooth Shard started off the campaign as a lowly goblin corporal, but when his unit is decimated by the human forces, he steals a captain’s rank and musters the goblins for a desperate counterattack, unknowing that his rag-tag company would soon plunge straight into the heart of the war for the survival of the goblin nation! His newly formed unit, the Black Dragon Company, is assigned a simple mission, get the goblin princess to the shore, but Shard soon realizes his innocuous assignment is far more deadly. Shard musters all his wit and courage as the humans pull out all stops to capture the goblin princess. Shard realizes that all hope of the goblin nation rides on his shoulders as he discovers the elves’ new secret weapon. Plagued by his own memories and tortured by dreams of a mysterious elf sorceress, Shard leads his goblins through battle after battle with his only allies; the incompetent Captain Momoo who lost his own company thinking it would get him laid, the brutal Sergeant Major Ribsplitter Jones who’s killed more goblin officers than the elves, the enigmatic Major Bark-Bite who seems more interested in Shard’s past than the war itself, and the lusty, busty, war loving Princess Hiroki who has her own castration machine and a perchance to use it, in a crazy suicide mission across enemy territory against unwinnable odds to save his people. Shard’s Thugs is laugh out loud funny and an action packed thrill ride from first page to last. Battle after ferocious battle, armed with a his big sword and guile, he must keep the rambunctious princess safe, outsmart the elves and humans hunting him down, and dodge the lurking shadow of a vengeful black dragon. Shard must succeed at all costs even if the price is his goblin company or worse, their lives!
545 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 28, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
February 8, 2017
The most awful heroes
I almost hurt myself laughing a few times.
The language is....ripe. And imaginative.
This is a must read for lovers of off-color fantasy with anti-heroic heroes and disturbing imagery.
You will pee a little laughing so hard when that wonderful punchline is finally delivered.
Please tell me there are more books from this author.
I almost hurt myself laughing a few times.
The language is....ripe. And imaginative.
This is a must read for lovers of off-color fantasy with anti-heroic heroes and disturbing imagery.
You will pee a little laughing so hard when that wonderful punchline is finally delivered.
Please tell me there are more books from this author.
February 10, 2017
This tale was an absolute hoot and a half. A grown-up story that puts the underdog grunt in the spotlight.
What do you do when you're a worthless, good-for-nothing thug in the goblin army but somehow you keep surviving? You make yourself the Captain by taking the dead one's uniform and try to continue not getting dead. At least that's what Shard figured.
But he proved not only competent, he proved imaginative in ways to keep alive. Then he's charged with the task of getting the Goblin Princess across enemy lands to safety. Which might have been easier had he been in charge of a company of anything other than worthless, good-for-nothing Goblin Thugs or if the Princess were remotely Princess-y and docile.
But through it all, he managed to stay just one step ahead of the Goddess of Death.
This was one of those books that I would classify along the lines of a Grown up version of the M.Y.T.H. books by Robert Asprin and recommend to others.
What do you do when you're a worthless, good-for-nothing thug in the goblin army but somehow you keep surviving? You make yourself the Captain by taking the dead one's uniform and try to continue not getting dead. At least that's what Shard figured.
But he proved not only competent, he proved imaginative in ways to keep alive. Then he's charged with the task of getting the Goblin Princess across enemy lands to safety. Which might have been easier had he been in charge of a company of anything other than worthless, good-for-nothing Goblin Thugs or if the Princess were remotely Princess-y and docile.
But through it all, he managed to stay just one step ahead of the Goddess of Death.
This was one of those books that I would classify along the lines of a Grown up version of the M.Y.T.H. books by Robert Asprin and recommend to others.
May 27, 2025
Laughs and action. Fast paced, wonderful characterization.
June 20, 2018
I found myself rooting for the goblins!!!
Definitely a change of pace and so much fun. Would love to read more of Shard's adventures.
Give it a try, doubt you'll be sorry.
Definitely a change of pace and so much fun. Would love to read more of Shard's adventures.
Give it a try, doubt you'll be sorry.
November 13, 2018
I really enjoyed this book. It had a great sense of humor, like Douglas Adams, in a fantasy setting.
October 18, 2024
Laugh out loud! Action packed sword and sorcery adventure from the view of the goblins. A must read for all the D&D, Lord of the Rings, fans!
June 2, 2025
A rollicking comedic fantasy tale full of goblins and their lowbrow humor.
On the one hand I was impressed with the pacing of the story in that it doesn't drag anywhere, but I was also impressed with how tightly written it ends up being. Details from the beginning become critical later on.
But most of all I loved how it is a tale of the underdogs fighting tusk and claw to make it in a world where everything is stacked against them.
Good times. Highly recommended.
On the one hand I was impressed with the pacing of the story in that it doesn't drag anywhere, but I was also impressed with how tightly written it ends up being. Details from the beginning become critical later on.
But most of all I loved how it is a tale of the underdogs fighting tusk and claw to make it in a world where everything is stacked against them.
Good times. Highly recommended.
May 13, 2017
Great character and great ideas make this a 3 and a half star book. The grammatical mistakes every fifth page almost took me out and means I can't round this up. Great characters though. If Shard wasn't as cool and MoMoo wasn't a tool I would've not stuck with the book.
August 11, 2019
"Shard's Thugs" by Dexter Herron is fast-paced and furious. Action, fantasy, adventure, and milk-through-your-nose comedy.
I recommend this book for mature readers over eighteen years old who like their princesses foul-mouthed and their goblins decidedly depraved.
I recommend this book for mature readers over eighteen years old who like their princesses foul-mouthed and their goblins decidedly depraved.
December 22, 2016
Not for those who don't like colorful language. It is fast paced, and has funny moments, as well as drama.
June 22, 2018
At first I thought it would be too silly, but I loved it as soon as the princess appeared. This book is a perfect mix of adult jokes and overall silliness.
February 8, 2022
Hilarious
Entertaining, easy to read and often laugh out loud funny. I really enjoyed this book and I hope that there's another one coming.
Entertaining, easy to read and often laugh out loud funny. I really enjoyed this book and I hope that there's another one coming.
January 30, 2026
NON-STOP FUNNY! Action, twisted romance, GOBLINS! This is nut-kicking, no apologies, rough and tumble adventure! Thrill a minute! Waiting for the sequel!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews