Nine Goblins

I've never read anything by T. Kingfisher before (I think she mainly writes horror, which isn't really my thing). But Nine Goblins sounded fun, so I thought I'd give it a shot.

Nine Goblins is the story of the Nineteenth Infantry (aka the Whinin' Niners), a goblin infantry troop of the Goblin Army fighting in the Goblin Wars (or the Glorious Conflict Resisting The Ongoing Human Aggression, as per the goblin generals). In their most recent engagement, they attack a wizard, who, while trying to flee the battle, accidentally transports nine members of the Whinin' Niners with him, deep into enemy territory. Now the goblins just want to get home to Goblinhome.

The main goblins were all a lot of fun. There was Nessilka, the reluctant sergeant trying to get everyone home (she was good at leading, but didn't like doing it). Murray, her corporal - an engineer who was demoted to the infantry because he was too good at designing devices (goblins expected giant clunky devices with lots of spikes, not neat little efficient devices). Algol,  her second corporal, an animal-lover. And Blanchett, who, after a Mechanics Corps accident, now only communicated through his one-eyed teddy bear. 

The remaining five goblins were Weasel, their stuttering and shy hunter, Mishkin and Mushkin, the twin new recruits, Thumper, and Gloober. These five were around but not as prominent as the other four.

I was not expecting Nine Goblins to also be about Sings-to-Trees, an elf veterinarian who will care for any creature great or small, mundane or magical. Though since he featured so prominently in the first few chapters, I (rightly) assumed he woukd be crossing paths with our nine goblins sooner or later.

The plot takes some interesting turns. First, skeleton deer appear at Sings-to-Trees' home, looking for help. From his books, he discovers they are cervidians, who only appear around areas of large magical disturbances. Then the Whinin' Niners try to raid a farm only to find it completely empty of both humans and animals (but find a moldy dinner sitting out with a few bites missing). So after finding Sings-to-Trees and telling him about the farm, the main four goblins go with him to try to discover what exactly is going on. And they are not prepared for the horror they find...

Overall, I quite enjoyed Nine Goblins. I loved the main goblins. The world building is really fun (I really liked how in goblin culture, the more you're complaining about something = the more you like it). There is a horror element to the story, so as long as you're okay with reading that genre, Nine Goblins is a rather fun read. :)