Goblins

by Philip Reeve

Overview

From the acclaimed author of Mortal Engines, “a great romp through fantasy and fable . . . that, in the end, proves the power of friendship” (School Library Journal).

Welcome to a wild world of magical creatures and heroic adventure! The squabbling goblins that live in the great towers of Clovenstone spend their time fighting and looting. Only clever young Skarper (who happens to be in exile) understands that dark magic created by a vanquished sorcerer is rising again. With the help of a wannabe-hero, a middle-aged princess, and a few bumbling wizards, Skarper must fight to save their world.

“You know you are in the hands of a master storyteller when a dangerous yet frivolous fantasy world is brought to life with such imagination that it not only entertains and amuses—it actually seems real and makes its own curious sense . . . Goblins is an utterly charming delight and children will love it.” —The Telegraph



“A delightful romp through towers, passageways, marshes, and fog, with characters that are lovable but flawed, and a sense of humor that forever lurks near the surface like the troll under the proverbial (and actual) bridge.” —Booklist

“A fast-moving and genuinely funny fantasy . . . Filled with cheeky surprises, absurd circumstances delivered in a deadpan manner, and magnetic picaresque-style storytelling, this middle-grade novel should readily appeal to fans of The Hobbit, Lloyd Alexander’s Prydain series, and Monty Python.” —Publishers Weekly

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780545829786
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	08/17/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	357
Lexile:	1020L (what's this?)
File size:	10 MB
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Philip Reeve is the bestselling author of the Mortal Engines quartet, which is now a major motion picture, and the award-winning Fever Crumb series. His other books include the highly acclaimed Here Lies Arthur and No Such Thing As Dragons. He lives in England with his wife and son. Visit him online at philip-reeve.com.

Read an Excerpt

The highest of the seven towers of Clovenstone is called the Blackspike. Although it is dwarfed by the great mass of the Keep behind it, it is still taller than any tower in the lands of men. From its snow-flecked battlements to the ground at the crag's foot is a very long drop indeed . . . And that was bad news for Skarper, because he had just been catapulted off the top of it.“Aaaaaaah!” he screamed, rising up, up, up, pausinga moment, flailing for handholds on the empty air, and then beginning his long fall. “Aaaaaaaaa . . .” But after the first thousand feet or so he realized that he wasjust going “ . . . aaaaaaaaaaaa . . .” from force of habit, so he stopped, and from then on the only sounds were the whooshing of the cold air past his ears and the occasional cottony rustle as a cloud shot by.Of course it's not so much the falling that bothers me, thought Skarper, as the ivied stones and mean little windows of the Blackspike rushed past him. It's the hitting the ground that's the trouble . . . Below him– now that he had got used to the feeling that the wind was pushing its thumbs into his eyes– he could see plump white clouds dotting the middle air like sheep. Below them the bleak buttresses of Meneth Eskern spread out like the fingers of a splayed stone hand, with ruined buildings clustering between them. Weeds and little trees had rooted themselves in the rotting roofs and between the flagstones of the silent streets, and as the land sloped downward toward the Outer Wall, five miles away, the trees grew thicker and thicker, forming a dense wood, from whose canopy old bastions and outbuildings poked up like lonely islands.This was Skarper's world, and as he looked down upon it he was interested to notice several details that Stenoryon's Mappe of All Clovenstone had got wrong. But not that interested, because the details were rushing toward him at great speed, and long before he could tell anyone of his discoveries he was going to be splattered all over them like a careless delivery of raspberry jam.

Editorial Reviews

09/30/2013
In a fast-moving and genuinely funny fantasy, Carnegie Medalist Reeve (Here Lies Arthur) introduces Skarper, a practical sort of goblin who has alienated the less sophisticated members of his tribe by being both intelligent and given to talking back. After being fired off in a "bratapult" by his foes and surviving his fall—he lands rather improbably on a very dense cloud—Skarper meets Henwyn, a foolish 15-year-old apprentice cheesewright who has delusions of becoming a hero ("he'd always felt that he was meant for something more than dairy produce"). After stumbling into several quixotic adventures, the duo teams up with peaceful giant Fraddon, middle-aged princess Eluned (Ned for short), and a gaggle of incompetent sorcerers to defeat the goblins and avert the return to power of the evil Lych Lord. Filled with cheeky surprises, absurd circumstances delivered in a deadpan manner, and magnetic picaresque-style storytelling, this middle-grade novel should readily appeal to fans of The Hobbit, Lloyd Alexander's Prydain series, and Monty Python. Ages 8–12. Agent: Philippa Milnes-Smith, LAW, Ltd. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for Goblins:Shortlisted for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize 2012“You know you are in the hands of a master storyteller when a dangerous yet frivolous fantasy world is brought to life with such imagination that it not only entertains and amuses -- it actually seems real and makes its own curious sense... Goblins is an utterly charming delight and children will love it.”TelegraphPraise for Philip Reeve"Reeve is not just an excellent writer, but a creator with a wildly imaginative mind."--School Library Journal

From the Publisher

12/01/2013
Gr 4–7—A great romp through fantasy and fable, Goblins delivers a highly descriptive and suspenseful tale that, in the end, proves the power of friendship. The story chronicles the adventures of a too-clever-for-his-own-good goblin and a handsome but hapless hero-wannabe human as they join forces to fight a troll, rescue a princess who doesn't want to be rescued, and thwart the efforts of three inept sorcerers intent on restoring the powers of the evil Lych Lord. At times funny, at times dark, and with just enough gore to keep it interesting, Goblins is a great read.—Kathy Kirchoefer, Henderson County Public Library, NC

School Library Journal

Sundry creatures and an affable aspiring hero stumble and bumble around a magically infused landscape. Skarper the goblin lives in one of seven ruined towers surrounding an ancient, sealed-up Keep. Goblin gangs (including Skarper's) have overrun the towers, fighting each other and scrambling for treasures. As Skarper has learned to read the lettuce (letters) that make up worms (words) and form burks (books)--other goblins use burks as "bumwipe"--he's declared "too clever by half" and launched sky-high from a "bratapult." He survives and meets Henwyn, a rather dimwitted human boy who'd rather be a hero than a cheesewright and seeks "evils to fight: proper ones, not made of cheese." Skarper, Henwyn and others--including a giant, three "self-styled sorcerers" and a gray-haired princess in her 40s who nonetheless needs rescuing (some things never change)--blunder around, fighting baddies while at odds with one another's goals. Some workings go unexplained (how does a one-legged goblin move around? How do characters reach a ship atop a tower?). In a device that doesn't always work, playful humor (Henwyn is "stout of heart and damp of socks") contrasts with the formal epic-fantasy voice Reeve uses for background ("the lands of the west, where men are few and some of the old magic lingers"). That exposition feels far distant, yet it's key to the climax, which features the Keep imploding like Tolkien's Barad-dûr. A bit overlong and slapdash-feeling, but amiable. (Fantasy. 8-11)

Kirkus Reviews