The goblin race has been known to only a few and survived in secrecy. An accident of timing soon changes the world forever, brining the goblins and the humans on the brink of war.Of course that doesn't change the fact that Haghuf and Talla will try at everything to save their race's identity. With the help of their fellow human magician, Count Anton, they are brought to the surface of the Earth and are thrown into numerous conflicts they cannot keep at bay!
Oh this wonderful fantasy novel, I do have many mixed opinions and feelings towards it. Of course I have to hand it to the author. The world that she has created was breathtaking. It was clearly thought of for a long time and the history behind it was splendid. It's really nice to get a novel, especially a fantasy novel, which will tell you it's race's history throughout your reading. The goblins themselves were very amusing and I'm really sad we didn't see much of them. By that I mean different goblin characters. I did enjoy their abilities that help them survive, or however you want to explain it.
Mrs. Hawkins did a wonderful job with her characters. Well let's put Tala to the side for now, Haghuf and Anton's relationship was very relatable. They made me think of best friends actually. Both of them knew each other quite well and they always seem to have a hint of inside jokes or some kind of teasing at their disposal. Talla for some reason didn't stand out too me as much as the other 2 characters. For one, she made me think of a helpless princess most of the time, and she didn't possess the wisdom or knowledge that Haghuf and Anton had. The fantasy magic wasn't too much explained and it wasn't fairy-tale like, also the loose ends urged me on to read the next book. My biggest pride in this novel is how they related the "human world" so well. They described the humans as ignorant creatures who seek comfort in materialism because they have forgotten they were creatures of magic. I'll post the full quote at the end of the review but I found it quite exact to a degree.
As for my disappointments, this novel seemed like a big documentary. Yes I did enjoy the history of the goblins, but it just became overly complicated for myself. The action was never present in my mind. The first few hundred pages lacked the engaging paragraphs that a good fantasy novel needs. I had a hard time passing that great brick wall of boredom and of course once the so called "action" arrived, I just couldn't feel it. (I'll be very contradictory in this review, so I apolagize for that.) As far as the romance goes, I thought that the author tried to put it in there but might have failed miserably. The goblins society has a mindset of surviving, and as for "couples" it's mostly only business!
My favorite quote: `Because I never want to forget that I am alive,' answered Haghuf. `That is what makes us different from them. They sink into the decline of routine for the sake of a safe and comfortable life, yet it is one without adventure, without that spark which makes us what we are. They seek comfort in materialism because they have forgotten what they were meant to be, creatures of magic, who perpetuate the chaos as we do. Now they are nothing. Parasites! They destroy all on the earth without thought for any species but their own because they have sunk into the depression that should have led to their extinction centuries ago, and they refuse to die because they have too much intelligence to allow it to happen. They invent ways of continuance, and entertainments to give it some meaning, yet waste their potential in everlasting toil and the pursuit of an illusory dream of leisure which they deny themselves for the very sake of working towards its possibility. They haven't worked it out yet, but they have condemned themselves, all of their species, to the perpetual Hell of their own mythology.'
