The Goblin Wars Part One: Siege of Talonrend

The Goblin Wars #1

by Stuart Thaman

Lady Scrapple lurks in the depths of Kanebullar Mountain, building her army of mindless slaves and waiting for the perfect moment to strike. As the final pieces are about to fall into place and secure her victory, an anomaly is born. One of her goblins, an incredibly powerful shaman, stands free of Lady Scrapple’s iron-clad hive mind.


A few miles west of Kanebullar Mountain, the frontier city of Talonrend perches dangerously on the edge of anarchy. King Lucius Firesbane has disappeared without an heir and left the city leaderless.


In the face of chaos, a disgruntled paladin sets out to find his king.

Genres: Fantasy, Adult, Adventure, Amazon

ebook

First published December 7, 2013

About the author

International best-selling author Stuart Thaman!

Stuart Thaman was born and grew up in Ohio. He attended Hillsdale College as well as Chase College of Law and currently holds degrees in politics, German, classical political philosophy, and law. He is a licensed and practicing member of the Kentucky Bar.

Stuart Thaman is also the lead guitarist for the extreme metal band Saxo Grammaticus.

Check out all the wonderful words of epic fantasy and LitRPG at www.stuartthamanbooks.com. Join the mailing list for a free book!

Head over to www.nefhousepublishing.com for even more cool stuff!

Reviews

[Bookwraiths · Rating 2 out of 5]

A fairly entertaining story with several interesting characters and the promise of a unique plot which soon turned into a generic fantasy with chosen ones, overpowered characters, and poor plot progression. It isn’t bad if you (like me) enjoy sword and sorcery tales, but I lost my desire to finish after 57% of the narrative was behind me.

[Geordie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book has been nagging at my mind for 3+ years now, but I just haven't been able to write a review. Probably because there is so much I want to say that I can't seem to squeeze it all into a cohesive review. So, to heck with it. I'm just going to write this as an open-letter to the writer. Open and open-ended, because I'll be coming back to it now and then to add more. And more. There is a lot to add, but I really want to get it off my chest.

Dear Mr. Thaman;

This book is terrible. I don't think you are a terrible writer, though; you have just written a terrible book. Which makes the book kind of sad, in addition to being painful to read. There is a lot of minutia I want to pick apart, but let's start with the big things;

Did you try to edit this book? Did you have beta-readers read it and ruthlessly critique what they didn't like? Did YOU read through and ruthlessly question your own writing? Cuz, I don't believe it. I don't believe this book was edited for anything, except possibly grammar mistakes because there were only (relatively) few. The book is full of stuff that doesn't make sense, and I think you could avoid this by having beta-readers read it, pick it apart, and for you to listen to their feedback openly. And YOU, do not forget, are among the best of beta-readers. Set your book aside, do something else, and then come back a month later. Reread it, looking for mistakes, inconsistencies, lapses in logic or suspension of disbelief - and then try to fix any of those.

That is the big one, but a major second; stop, STOP trying to be cool. Sure, we all want to be cool, writers want their books to be cool. But you're trying too hard, and it hurts. If it can be cool, fine. But it's more important that a book be interesting than cool. It's more important that a book be immersive than cool. And if it's screaming obvious that the book is trying to be cool, that will yank you out of interest and immersion like a case of roller-coaster whiplash.

I can provide examples of both, and start in on the smaller details that bother me, with the very hook of the story. Where do I start? Well, the book starts with the schemes of the goblin leader, Lady Scrapple, and goes on to the viewpoint of a goblin mine foreman Gravlox . What the hell, dude. Is this supposed to be a comedy? Or a send-up of traditional fantasies? We then go on to Prince Herod, angsting about his not becoming king because of an Oracle's prophecy, and also about the disappearance of his brother, King Lucius. None of this feels like humor or parody (except for the laughable line "It is as if the King of Talonrend disappeared." Said about the King who had DISAPPEARED. No 'as if' needed). Since no regular forces of the kingdom can find the missing King, the Prince sends the Captain of his guard to find someone who can. And the Captain of the guard looks for a hero skillful enough to take on this quest... in a bar. It was at this point that I felt, that maybe this book could work as an in-joke about fantasy tropes, and still be worth 3 stars or 2. But, you actually seem to be playing the rest of the book seriously. What the hell. Why? It's incomprehensibly ridiculous. You weren't trying to be funny, were you? Then why, what is even remotely logical about this? We later find out that the hero they find here, Gideon, worked for the kingdom's paladin's briefly, why not have the Prince contact him through that connection? Avoiding regular means of searching for the King because of a suspicion that there is a traitor in his court, sabotaging attempts to rescue the King (which would also help demonstrate later in the book that the Prince is not an IDIOT). Rather than have the questing hero introduced by a literal RANDOM DRUNK? Oh, and, we also discover now that the kingdom is either a dysfunctional tyranny, or just poorly thought out by the author, because the last time the guard captain was in this bar, two people mocked his ability to hold his liquor and he KILLED THEM. Without repercussion.

So, rando-drunk points Gideon to the Prince. The Prince ambushes Gideon to test his fighting skill, which, maybe plays out as cool? But is wrong on so many levels. You're attacking a stranger with lethal force; what if you killed him? Mr. Thaman doesn't seem to believe it, but, in actual medieval societies there were repercussions for someone, even a Prince, killing somebody. And the Prince is the only survivor of the royal family. Yeah, it's very cool of him to join a fight and show how skilled and brave he is, but if Gideon accidentally killed him, that would be pretty fricking big problem! If you want to show off how awesome your characters are, you need to think of a better way than this, because it reeks of ill-thought out posturing.

I want to talk about some of the good things about the book, but, looking over it again, it's not as easy as I'd hoped. One of the most creative ideas is that goblins in this world are part of a hive-mind, controlled by their queen (Lady Scrapple? Seriously?). That's very original, and, going against type, one of the protagonists is Gravlox the goblin, who is free from this hive-mind, and sees how unjust and destructive it is. So, a novel idea with lots of opportunity to develop in interesting ways.... I want to say. Only, it is often used so poorly, or haphazardly. Goblins are all interconnected and devoted to one queen? So, why are they so fractious and back-stabbing? Why bother making them different from trope goblins if they're going to act like trope goblins 90% of the time? You have an interesting idea, run with it!

Sometimes the word use is good, sometimes terrible. What hurts the good word use is that it gets driven into the ground. There is a line; "as if she was lost in some sort of ethereal daydream." I thought that was rather good. Guess what; 'ethereal' is used in the book SEVEN times. After the third time it was laughable what a crutch it had turned into. Look, it's not enough to just use the right word, you also need to NOT drive the right word into the ground. Maybe you don't like Grammarly or editing software like that, I'm not crazy for them, but it's probably for the best (if you're self-publishing) to invest in something like that; it will help catch things like that.

EDIT; Guess what? Using Kindle I found that 'ethereal' was used ELEVEN times. You need to edit your work, dude. And you don't have to pony up for Grammarly if you don't want - reread, or get a friend to read, and if either of you suspect a word is over-used, you can search to find out, easy-peasy. Because using ethereal 11 times is frigging ridiculous.

So, before I get into more of the scenes and prose that set my teeth on edge, now would be a good time to talk about the main characters;
The book is divided into three view-points. First is Gravlox, a goblin, accompanied by Vorst, a female goblin who develops into his love interest. These parts of the book are not stellar, but they are easily the strongest. Gravlox is a fish out of water, unfamiliar with the outside world and different cultures. He wants the best for his fellow goblins, but despairs for their cruel, unfair way of life. Vorst is absurdly dangerous, just, trying too hard to be cool again, Thaman. But she's not a bad character; she is worldly, loves life, she likes Gravlox and wants to help him, but doesn't patronize him. Their developing romance is pretty obvious, but it's not awful.

Gideon is a fighter sent on an exceedingly vague quest to find the lost King. He is strong, and utterly obsessed with being the best fighter - embarrassingly, that is absolutely all we ever know about his character. We get zero background and zero development. I don't think 'obsessed with being the best' is much of a core character concept (sounds like a character from a manga or a fighting game), but it's not abysmal, just, it needs more! How about a scene where we see the negative side of his single-minded motivation? Maybe a flashback to him recovering in a hospital, and his girlfriend comes to tell him she can't live like this anymore, or his mother comes and begs him to come back to the family farm - but all he can do is talk about what a great fight that was. And then back to the present to depict him wondering, just for a fraction of a second, if he's made the right choice in his life... Something, anything! Maybe he likes kids, or puppies, can't sing, misses his granny, wants to be vegan but needs more protein for his muscles, or SOMETHING.

Third is Prince Herod, who is easily the worst of them. At least Gideon is proactive; Herod sits around passively, whining that he wants his brother to come back and take charge, waiting for other people to do things to him. While Gideon's character is flimsy, Herod's is grating AND flimsy. If the three protagonists came across a strange artifact on the ground, Gravlox would try to figure it out, Gideon would try to turn it into a weapon, Herod would find somebody else to deal with it. All while bitching about how unfair life is to him. Herod should just be a minor character in this book, because he adds very little. Or give him a plot of ACTIVELY flushing out the traitor in his court, instead of waiting around hoping he gets lucky. And some character, please! What do we know about him? Pretty much jack. No, wait, we know he's an assh*le, because his kingdom is comparable to Saddam Hussein era Iraq. His underlings use murder and torture people indiscriminately and with NO sign that he's unaware of this, and there are arena battles to the death for public entertainment. I feel this is another thing you did not think through fully, so, please take a good close look at it. A book can be gritty, but, Herod is turning a blind eye to evil stuff. Screw him, I relished him being steam-rolled by goblins, and was disappointed when he wasn't.

So, that's an outline of the major points that irritated me about the book, past this point it's all just individual scenes and word choices I had a problem with. And boy are there a LOT of them.

A prime example comes soon after Gravlax and Vorst leave the goblin caverns, with a scene that is replete with all the errors you make Mr. Thaman. They find some elk tracks which Vorst, the expert of the surface world, does not recognize. Gravlax wants to follow the tracks because...? He wants to show off his machismo? They see a cave, and then, quote "out from behind the cave emerged the elk." From behind the cave? What the heck does that even mean? Is the cave set in a rock or a hill? How does the elk come from behind it. And the elk is "rather large", and also "its antlers each the size of a goblin and a half". What the hell? So, let's extrapolate about this freaking ridiculous elk
A large male elk is 5 feet at the shoulder. I'm guessing the antlers reach about three feet from head to tip maybe? Each of its antlers is the size of a goblin and a half, so... goblins are about 2 feet tall? Which also suggests that an arrow from a goblin short bow is less than a foot long! Anyway, Gravlax panics (a nice touch, I admit), and runs, and the elk chases him. Vorst decides to shoot it, but she doesn't shoot when it's holding still, but when it's running??? And she shoots "in a split second," "loosing three shots into the elk over the course of a single exhale." First, that's ridiculous. Second, why? Do elk have hit points in this world? Why not just one arrow? And for that matter, why not just hide in the woods? Is it that big a danger? How does a goblin arrow even penetrate its hide? Did Vorst want to kill it for food, because, dick move, they already have food, and 99% of that meat is going to rot in the woods. This scene is one big chance to show that Vorst is a bad-ass, for no reason except to show she is a bad-ass. Thaman, can I call you Stuart? Stuart, you did not think things out here. An antler the size of a goblin and a half means that either goblins are dinky, or this thing is a Megaloceros; in either case, a goblin arrow probably wouldn't do jack. Shooting 3 fatally accurate arrows in one breath is absurd, and why didn't they just hide in the woods anyway? You want to show how cool and competent Vorst is, well, I'd rather you not, it's tiresome. But maybe you could think of some better way to do it. This feels like Wonder Woman fan-fic, it's so damn over the top, and it's just an elk. Couldn't you make it humans, other monstrous humanoids, a rabid dog, or other goblins sent by Lady Scrapple as some sort of test or SOMETHING?

Vorst looks for wood to fletch some arrows. 'Fletch' does not mean to build arrows, it means to put feathers on an arrow. That's a small point, but, it took me literally 20 seconds to Google it.
Research, dude, it's useful and easy.

The next scene moves to Gideon on his quest. Correct me if I'm wrong, I don't want to reread the entire book, but the nature of the quest seems to be 'walk in the direction the King was last scene, hope you get lucky.' We get some back-story of him now, particularly of a big arena fight he had, which is a very drawn-out flashback that seems to serve no purpose but show how cool he is, interspersed with some lines that seem to be intentionally thrown in to confuse the reader. Gideon doesn't have a horse, because he lost his in an arena bet... so... you're telling me the Prince in charge of the kingdom couldn't set him up with a horse or some money to buy one? Why not? Gideon preferred "to walk atop the the stony cave ceilings that ran under the entire kingdom..." I, I think this is foreshadowing that there're lots of cave networks under the kingdom? But you make it sound like he's underground and Spider-man walking the cave ceilings. And does he even know about all these cave networks? So, Gideon was awesome in the arena, killing wolves and bulls, but before he could graduate to killing humans... literally, that's literally how it's put - this kingdom is effed up. Well before that, he had to fight a giant minotaur. Was this a criminal minotaur, volunteer, or can minotaurs just get tossed in the arena like wolves and bulls because they're not human? No time for that, action! So, the whole thing is just showing how cool Gideon is, while being drawn out far too long, especially since there are zero stakes since it's a flashback and we KNOW Gideon survived. Some of the descriptions are also confusing, but, I can't take the time to analyze all of them, or this damn review will be as long as the book.

After the big fight, Gideon is recruited to be a royal paladin. He goes into training for a decade. A DECADE? When he graduates the training he immediately leaves the paladins, and has the magic mace and shield they gave him reforged into a magic sword. So.... this is all weird as hell. A decade? And we now know Gideon has a pretty abysmal interpretation of loyalty. Also that the paladins will train and equip anyone who is a bad-ass, without trying to impose training (or contracts) of service, and, really not doing more than being huffy if he leaves with the magic equipment they provided him to DEFEND the KINGDOM. Again, you're trying too hard to make Gideon cool, all with stories too ridiculous and convoluted to take seriously. I don't know what would be a perfect way to solve this, but almost anything would make more sense than how you did it. How about if Gideon is still a paladin? But one with a bad reputation for starting fights? Maybe assigned somewhere far from the others? Maybe he was so good at fighting that they asked him to train other paladins; maybe they now regret it because he's such a hard task-master? But, the arena, the decade of training, walking away from paladins with their stuff - all of it - is just bizarre.

Next... next I need to have a few drinks before I talk about this scene. We get a proper introduction to Prince Herod's chamberlain, who totally isn't an evil necromancer! And the chamberlain is torturing someone who MIGHT know something about the King, in a manner that's almost comical. Not to mention begs the question, did the Prince sign off on torturing possibly innocent citizens of his country?

So, the captain of the royal guard goes down into the dungeon, which is 'hundreds of feet' below the ground.... Sigh. Stuart, you need to do things in moderation, especially irrelevant things. Otherwise when you do big, impressive things that are significant to the plot the reader will not give a sh*t. In the dungeon the king's steward, Jan, is torturing somebody who was on the King's caravan, to see what the man knows about the missing king. And this stuff is problematic for so many reasons, let me try to break them down. 1) it's pretty obviously trying to be grimdark, but is instead 2) ugly. This is just an ugly, unpleasant scene. The only thing that saves it from being shockingly dark is 3) it's ridiculous. Jan 'cackles with evil' (that's some really terrible fore-shadowing), he cuts off both the man's feet at the ankles, then threatens to stick the stumps into a bucket of salt. WTF? Yeah, putting open wounds into salt is unpleasant, isn't it. I think when a man loses both feet and is bleeding to death, a bucket of salt is not really his first damn concern. And then, having gone to these bizarre lengths, Jan just kind of... ends the interrogation? The interrogations that the guard captain knows about, and the King, quote, "pays him to do." So, 4) can we infer that this kingdom uses indiscriminate torture and murder on people? I don't believe in torturing criminals and enemies, but, let's be very clear, it's torture on people who MIGHT know something about the King disappearing, and on the other hand, might not. Stuart, you are setting me up to WANT this kingdom to lose the big war, because it sucks. The only use of this scene is to introduce the steward, and his Brady Bunch name, show that he can use magic, and is a total bastard. When we later find out Jan is an evil necromancer working against the kingdom it is zero surprise.
A lot of other things happen in this chapter that are confusing or not very interesting, but let's sum it up with one question. Is the captain of the guard a major character? I don't like him, but maybe that's my taste. The thing is, you're splitting us between four characters (five if you count Vorst), but this jerk doesn't seem to be a central character; he's not as important

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

First things first, this is 2 1/2 stars but gets the extra half because I almost never round down. If I were a few decades younger I might have given this 4 stars because it seems written for someone in that middle school/high school age range. All the characters are simple caricatures of what a more mature reader would expect, and the motivations for all of them are murky or unknown. In short, this reads like a book that HAS to be part of a series and doesn't stand alone on its own (and in the process reinforces why I loathe series).

The plot isn't great but has potential. Three factions are vying for dominance: goblins, a necromancer who rules over a city of zombies, and a kingdom of humans. There may or may not be some sort of hidden alliance between the goblin "mother being" (who I never got a clear picture of but see as something like a giant blob with roots) and the necromancer, but I never grew to care. The human kingdom is ruled by the brother of the king -- who has gone missing -- yet the brother is also a character I never cared about. Then, moving along the story are two goblins (one with great power he never knew he had and one who was a slave-type to the goblin mother being but is now in love with the other goblin) and a paladin (essentially a hired mercenary with a really powerful sword). Throw all this in a blender, mix on high for one minute, then toss into a book. Not really a tasty cake.

I could have liked this book if things had seemed more "normal" in the sense that people (and goblins) needed to act in a more normal manner. Everyone seemed to just kind of jump up and do things with no real motivation. No one actually seemed to think. Those that did think then suddenly stopped thinking at crucial times and then just did stupid things. I was never able to buy in to anyone. And the cover didn't help as it didn't match anything I pictured based on the descriptions of the book.

For readers who haven't reached college yet, this book might work, especially if they like funhouse mirror-type series. For everyone else, probably not the best way to spend about 3 hours of your life.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not too bad but this may not be for everyone as the story is a little slow to start. Whilst the premise isn't too new a few of the characters work out really well , it took a bit too long before the action and interest really kicked off for my full comfort but i did enjoy the ending. Without spoliers this does allow you to see what else is in store for the follow up and how this may be better. Narration was done well and is easy to listen to.

[Michael N. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel like there was so much potential with this and it just fell apart over and over and over. Honestly I spent enough time realizing I had no idea what was going on or why people were doing what they were doing that I read sections two or three times. I was still confused. 75% of the way through I decided to say goodbye.

[Lisa Maughan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story. It has an old school writing feel to it. I found the characters to be strong and likable. The world building is not extensive but still good. The writing style flows evenly.

[Al Burke · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is essentially a fun retelling of The Battle of Helm's Deep with the "epic" tag removed. The battle scenes are good, especially when hero Gideon fights a minotaur, but also at the end when it stops being a seige and becomes a beseige. The characters are okay. Ex-paladin Gideon was my favourite, though a little starchy. Then there was a couple of goblins who liked humans, which was a break from the rest who were constantly referred to as "mindless drones," apart from the leaders. Then there was the prince haunted by the disembodied voice that constantly told him he'd never be king. Also, there happens to be an army of zombies. The narrator also does a fine job, although he needs to work on his 'goblin.'
On the negative side, it jumps around a bit, making it hard for some of the key parts to sink in. The motivation for the goblins to throw themselves on the blades of the humans (apart from their leaders) was never really made clear (at least to me), and kind of annoying.

Still, an enjoyable tale, and part of a series, which I will likely be continuing.

[M.T. Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was conflicted after reading this. My gut told me to just slap it a rating and leave it alone. Perhaps that might actually be for the best.

But I’m not one to shy away from a challenge. There was a lot to both like and dislike here. In pointing those things out, I hope to both give feedback to Mr. Thaman and grow as a writer myself.

Spoiler warning: I will give everything away without a shred of mercy or tact!

Still here? Great! Let’s dive into them tunnels and start digging!

The first part of the Gobllin Wars series offers exactly what it says. In any other case, that’d probably be a very bad thing. Goblins were, are, and will stay an overused fantasy race. A Tolkinistic atavism. Luckily, Mr. Thaman has put his particular twist on these little buggers, giving them a mistress reminiscent of the good old Overmind. This, in my opinion, worked marvelously. Especially later, when her control over the creatures starts to fizzle out. Different individuals deal with their newfound freedom in their own different ways, which was fascinating to see. To me, this was likely the most interesting part of the book.

On the other hand, we learn of the aforementioned Lady Scrapple through lengthy exposition, which significantly dulls her impact. In fact, I think that if the prologue were to be omitted entirely, the scene of her dramatic rage near the end would have given her at least twice the punch.

I found the city of Talonrend a lovely place. I really liked everything about it. Its backstory is mysterious and tickles the imagination about what might be happening behind the scenes. The architecture is marvelous, its defensive systems are imaginative, and I’d have been saddened to read about its winged spires getting plucked and broken. Great work on the city there.

Mr. Thaman seems to have a knack for the grandiose in general. The war at the end of the book was very, very well described, especially from the perspective of the human prince. It was a pleasure to read.

On the other hand, while I found myself invested in Talonrend itself, I could barely get into most if the book’s characters. Gravlox was good. So was Vorst, most of the time. Why most of the time, you ask? Because pieces.... or rather chunks of her character development just seemed to happen. She falls in love with Gravlox practically offscreen. They kind of win a fight, and the next we see them they are making out as part of some healing magic. Why? I’m not saying this has no sense, but I’d liked to have seen at least a hint of why this was happening. The goblin commander was also very well done, no complaints about him at all. An effectively conceived and executed semi-tragic villain right there.

Speaking about villains, I found them disappointing. Well, not immediately. The scheming lady Keturah was intriguing right from her introduction. She had the air of someone with a plan; someone who was playing with fire yet knew exactly what she was doing... only to die from overcommiting to a proxy battle. I found that not only anticlimactic but damaging to the nature of the character. Jan, the other villain and de facto main antagonist of the book is pretty much a card-carrying bad guy. He seemed competent as well... until the point he pretty much destroyed his own plan in a single fit of rage. The goblin army he and his sister planned on unleashing onto Talonrend? He killed it himself.

And then there was Herod. Herod was a likeable guy through and through. Up to the point where he flat out refuses magical treatment from a goblin after pretty much acknowledging they’ve saved his city. Granted, he might be going delirious from the fever. Or maybe it’s something that would be resolved in the next book. But damn, it is a strange transition for a likeable character, and it occurs literally within a single scene.

Given what I’ve written, one would think that I hate this book. But I don’t. Not at all.

This is a fun, light read that plays with fantasy tropes in a way I’ve never seen before. This, I think, gives it power. And it’s not only that, but there is a lot of soul to be found within these pages. The language might be rough in some places, but the message gets through. The author really seems to enjoy writing this, and that translates to the reader. Or at least it did to me.

So in conclusion, I give this work 3.5 stars, rounded up. And I thank Mr. Thaman for making goblins cool. So the rest of us don’t have to.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this debut to the series. Making goblins the focus of the story, when they have historically been supporting (and often, evil) characters was pretty neat, as was the collective hivemind of the goblins. Despite their fantastical origins, the two main goblins felt very real and relatable. I found the prince and paladin characters to be a little less developed, though both character arcs seemed to hint at further development in the later books. It also takes a little time for the action to develop. Overall, a very engaging setup for a series (though it felt at times to be just that, setup) and an easy and entertaining read for anyone interested in high fantasy.

[Bill Barnes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Could have been a lot better

The basic story was good. Surprisingly, the editing was perfect. There were parts I skipped over because of repetitious explanations or descriptions. The plot was convoluted and the jumping from one place and set of characters without warning or notice got annoying. If you read Tom Clancy he uses a date/time/ place line to let you know. Other good authors do the same like James Michener. I will forgo the dubious task of book two. I don't care about any of the characters. Sorry.

[Breanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

The only thing I was disappointed about with this book was that the war didn't even happen until the last few chapters. I was expecting action the whole time, but it was a lot of buildup and character development. It was a good book if you're into fantasy, sadly I'm more of a young adult reader so this wasn't really my cup of tea. Fantasy readers will love this, it has goblins, magic, giants, and castles galore. Not my favorite book by Thaman, but it's well written.

[Casca Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is what high fantasy looks like, folks. If you want goblins and soul-eating swords, we gotcher' goblins and soul-eating swords right here! Siege of Talonrend is well-written and well-edited; the story itself is good, although the nominal war doesn't properly start happening until the last quarter of the book. Don't let that deter you; the author built a vibrant fantasy world full of enjoyably bawdy humour. It's an easy single-afternoon read.

[Joanne Garbato · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first,I was disappointed because of the books opening with goblins.But I quickly became invested in the two main goblin characters.This was a very enjoyable read.It moved along quickly,was creative and had good character development.The ending makes me eager to read the next in the series.

[Hayes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great start. Got it for free through a newsletter.

[A.C. Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The goblins are coming! The goblins are coming! Ok, so, that line was never put into this book, but it definitely could have been. Siege of Talonrend is an exciting tale of missing kings, fantastic magical weapons, evil plans, and massive attacking armies.

If you're a fan of fantasy fiction (and who isn't?) this first installment in The Goblin Wars series is for you. Once I started reading it, I finished it in an extended reading sprint. My favorite character is Gideon. He's a mighty warrior who has a magic sword that gives him amazing fighting abilities, with one minor caveat: if he draws it and doesn't kill something that has a soul the sword can feed on, the magic within the weapon will eventually kill its wielder. If you want to find out more, you'll have to read the book, as no spoiler of plotlines am I!

I thought the author's storytelling abilities were spot on, and I completely lost track of time while I was reading this one. The battle scenes are epic, the characters came to life, and I even found myself liking a few of the main goblins. We're supposed to just hate goblins from the get go, right? Well, I thought so, too, until I was introduced to Vorst and Gravlox. The more I got to know them, the more I really didn't want them to die before the story ended.

Stuart Thaman has crafted a great tale of fantasy within the pages of Siege of Talonrend, and made me want to find out more about what happens after the goblin attacks on the city. Well played, Mr. Thaman. Well played, indeed.

Until next time, stay safe, and above all, be true to yourself.

That Aaron Guy

[Zachary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an intriguing read. In places I was fascinated with the world and the scale of the conflict Thaman was conveying, and in other places I struggled to connect with the characters. In the end I enjoyed the book. I appreciated that Thaman didn't shy away from the consequences of different situations, with characters who had seemed important succumbing to the plans/schemes of others - even to their demise. The premise Thaman has, of a Goblin queen spawning all the goblins and then controlling (or at least attempting to control them) with her mind has interesting consequences for the conflict, and he has set the stage for an interesting clash.

Though it is the first of a trilogy, this book does have a clear conclusion to it, resolving the major conflicts raised earlier in the story while at the same time setting up a few bigger conflicts/storylines that will be resolved later. In the end I found myself enjoying the book and curious to see what comes next.

[note: I received a free copy of this book in return for an honest review]

[Louis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the first book I have read based on goblins. I have spent a lifetime playing board games that involve goblins, so I'm not sure why I never decided, until now, to pick up a book that revolves around goblins. The cover of this book caught my attention, so I decided to download it and give it a read.

What I really like about the book is the way the action seems to increase in pace as you go along, almost as if it was the author's deliberate attempt to use this writing device to grip the reader and keep them excited about what was taking place. It worked in a big way, and I found myself wanting to know what would happen next and how the war would play out. The characters in this book, furthermore, were very well developed and highly interesting and entertaining.

Stuart Thaman is definitely an author I will be following on Amazon, and I look forward to getting to Part 2 this weekend.

[Tony Duxbury · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's good to see someone take an interest in this neglected magical race. Full of dark villainy and black magic. Talonrend is the target of two dark sorcerers who wish to see it and and it's people destroyed. Allied with the Goblin Queen, Lady Scrabble, they try to do just that. The King is missing and the regent, his brother is in despair. Something is amiss, but nobody knows what. A human paladin and two Goblins are sent out from either side. War engulfs the nations. The Goblins rebel against their mistress, the paladin fights a monster from the Abyss. All good stuff. Plenty of weird, wild magic and betrayal. Battles on an epic scale. Lots of heroes and villains.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audiobook: I enjoyed this audiobook a lot. Once I started listening to it, I had to listen until the end as I was enthralled by the fast-paced action and the characters. The world building was extensive. The machinations were intricate and twisted. The characters were complicated, and I liked the interesting way that the author portrayed the goblins. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series. Bryson David Hoff's narration was excellent, and his performance added to the story's entertainment. I was given a free copy of the audiobook, and I have voluntarily posted this review.

[Scott Sammons · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good beginning!

I received the first book for free and kept checking back to see when that next book would be available. A good hook and memorable characters make this worth reading. Checkout the omnibus edition if still available, to avoid cliffhangers and have a good binge read.

[Daniel Wright · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun but missing... something

It was a fun read with interesting and creative uses of magic. I especially enjoyed the various enchantments on weapons. The story, however, lacked in pacing as well as development. The whole thing felt rushed. If the writer had given more content for motivation and character development I could easily see myself adding a star or two to my rating.

[Maurice Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

A rousing epic adventure using original points of view from the usual "villians" of these tales,the goblins!! great action,royal political intrigue,and the inevitable war fill out this above average tale....energetic writing,superior reading!!

[D.S. Fisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

The problem with fantasy is that a lot of it feels familiar. Often worlds have elements that we've seen a hundred times, or characters feel like we've met them before. I think this is true of fantasy more than it is in any other genre. That is not the case here, though. Stuart Thaman has created an original world with fresh ideas, written using a tight, clear style. Although he uses lots of tropes of the genre he does them in his own way. Goblins, for example, have been used in countless books before, but I've never seen them this way.

Similarly, it's no coincidence either that all the best fantasy centres around interesting characters. The Siege of Talonrend is no different: the characters have their own unique voice. What struck me most about them -- sticking with the fantasy-comparison thing I have going on here -- is that they had a degree of complexity to their motivations that I find, unfortunately, lacking elsewhere sometimes. Gravlox and Vorst especially interested me here.

The story is interesting and develops well, with excellent pacing that builds until it moves a hundred miles an hour at the end. I won't spoil any part of it, but I will say that the end, the last few chapters, were -- to me -- the best part of the book. They were quick, they were exciting, and, having read them, I couldn't wait to read the next book. And that's exactly what I will do.

[Striking 13 · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Goblin Wars – Part 1 is a fairly typical high-fantasy adventure, pitting well-known fictional creatures of the wild against an isolated city beyond the outskirts of civilisation. It follows a human paladin and a goblin shaman as they pit their skills against demons, the undead, the goblin horde and powerful necromancers. And, in so doing, they become the unlikeliest of allies.

Full review of Stuart Thaman's Siege of Talonrend

[Gregory Mahan · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a whole lot of exposition in this book.

What I mean by that is the entire prologue, and all throughout the first chapter, rather than showing us how the world works, the author just tells it to us as an aside. I would prefer to learn about the world through the interaction of the characters, rather than through explanations by the author.

The premise is interesting and promising, but the writing style (which, naturally, is completely subjective) just isn't my cup of tea.

[S. C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first book of his Goblin series is Stuart Thaman's thumb print on the world of fantasy and for me it is a thumbs up. With unorthodox style, Thaman is a true artist. Fast paced and with characters that may not have the depth, that we are used to in this genre, yet he is still able to deal out a real page turner. So if you want an original story with goblins in a light we never see them, then pick up Thaman. - The Dragon Critic

[Aaron Volner · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had a lot of potential, but I just couldn't connect with the characters and felt the pacing was too fast for the story to develop well.

[Dennis Stamey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very imaginative. Epic fantasy at its best!