Hines, Jim C.
Author Website | Reviews | Bibliography & Rights Information
To view the fantastic new cover art for GOBLIN HERO, please click here. To check out the DAW cover for GOBLIN QUEST, clickhere.
To see quotes and reviews for an individual work, simply click on a title.
The Goblin Series | Biblio. & Rights Info
Goblin Quest (Five Star Books, 2004) / (DAW Books, 2006)
Goblin Hero (DAW Books, 2007)
Goblin War (DAW Books, 2008)
The Princess Series | Biblio. & Rights Info
The Stepsister Scheme (DAW Books, Jan. 2009)
Mermaid's Madness (DAW Books, Oct. 2009)
Red Hood's Revenge (Forthcoming, DAW Books)
The Snow Queen's Shadow (Forthcoming, DAW Books)
PRAISE FOR THE GOBLIN SERIES
"A series of action-filled, entertaining, and often funny adventures as they battle hobgoblins, worms, a necromancer, and various other foes. The book will sppeal to both adults and young adults. Prepare to be entertained throughout and completely satisfied with Jig's journey by the time you reach the end."
-- Midwest Book Review
"[A] Clever satire... Reminiscent of Terry Pratchett and Robert Asprin at their best. An over-the-top tale that still manages to be genuinely touching."
-- Romantic Times
"A gripping tale...GOBLIN QUEST is a must have for the fantasy aficionados library."
-- Romance Reviews Today
"[GOBLIN QUEST] has a lot working for it, particularly its humor and lighthearted narrative. ...it innovates in placing the usually downtrodden race of goblins at the forefront."
-- SF Site
"Goblin Quest is a fun enjoyable read. Role reversal and jibes at the genre make Jig not only a sympathetic character, but seemingly the only sane one there for the reader to identify with. Of course, if you read this book and drive your spouse into fits of annoyance listening to you snort and giggle at the absurdity the author continually throws at poor Jig, don't blame me. I merely said it was a great book."
-- SFRevu
"This exciting adult fairy tale is filled with adventure and action, but the keys to the fantasy are Jig and the belief that the mythological creatures are real in the realm of Jim C. Hines."
-- Baryon #97 (by Harriet Klausner)
."Enough humor here to make this a fun adventure with a nice sprinkle of originality that makes you want to continue to read to the end. All in all I found this another good example of a humorous bubblegum fantasy novel with some good original ideas."
-- Fantasy Book Spot
"This is a fun tale... This book is fun for all ages. Goblin Quest is a stunning first book that reads more like a fourth or fifth book."
-- MarsDust
"Goblin Quest is a fun way to pass a few hours - its engaging parody of epic fantasy takes a sly wink at heroes, monsters, and the dynamics of adventuring. It's guaranteed to keep roleplayers and fantasy buffs grinning and, who knows, it may just redefine the role of goblins in fantasy everywhere."
-- The Harrow (theharrow.com)
"Goblin Quest is definitely not your traditional fantasy. It's a skewed, hilarious twist on epic quest fantasy, turning things upside down and showing them from the viewpoint of the cannon fodder. All of the usual troops are here: warriors, wizards, dragons, dungeons, quests, goblins, and so on, but nothing is exactly as you'd epect. Sick of those formulaic epic fantasies? Goblin Quest is the exact opposite of them. It reminds me heavily of Eve Forward's Villains by Necessity, which likewise showed a fantasy quest from an unusual viewpoint. I had a great deal of fun following Jig as he took control of his own destiny, and I look forward to future installments in his story. Goblin Quest is a very welcome breath of fresh air, and a great addition to the comic fantasy genre."
-- Green Man Review
"It's not quite a parody, but it sure is tongue in cheek and has a bit of fun, with a lot of the elements that are typical of a quest fantasy novel. I loved it. ...it was a fun read with great characters and had a nice ending."
-- Galaxy Books
"I really enjoyed this book. It's a light-hearted, east to read novel with more than a good dash of old fashioned 'laugh out loud' humor. The characters are fun, and what's more, the adventures they all have together are hilarious. I would recommend it without hesitation."
"Seeing the world through the eyes of Jig the goblin is both fascinating and original. Thanks, Jim Hines, for a great read. If, when growing up you loved Dungeons and Dragons, then this book will surely strike a chord. Such a great adventure romp. Roll on the next novel, Goblin Hero."
-- Bewildering Stories (bewilderingstories.com / Australia)
"[A] distinctive fantasy. Goblin Quest is a cleverly written adventure fantasy with a no-so-ordinary goblin hero. I thoroughly enjoyed this fun and exciting fantasy debut and will definitely be following future episodes."
-- SciFi Chick
"[Hines'] dungeon delving novel, GOBLIN QUEST, brings a jovial and ironic spirit to the ranks of fantasy fiction. ...a fun adventure story, a sword and sorcery story like Robert Howard's Conan or some Forgotten Realms novels. Jig's characterization is consistent and compelling. Best of all, GOBLIN QUEST has a surprise ending that even the most hardened of fantasy readers might react to with shock. I recommend GOBLIN QUEST for those looking for more light-hearted fare within the fantasy genre."
-- Grasping for the Wind
(http://otter.covblogs.com/archives/023157.html)
It was hilarious. The subtle gamer-gags keep coming, but with perfect lightness and humor that prevent the book from ever descending into either triteness or dull parody.
-- The Barbarienne's Den (Grade B+)
The humour, mainly based on Jig's commentary on the quest, is character-driven and nicely done, not laid on with a trowel nor reliant on multiple absurdities. The plot rolls along at a comfortably brisk pace with plenty of unexpected turns, sufficient backstory is revealed without clogging the forward movement. This book...did make me smile a lot.
-- Infinity Plus (UK)
"This humorous book...will keep audiences laughing while afterward digging for more tales by James C. Hines. There is plenty of non-stop action in this enthralling fantasy land and the character development is superb."
-- Harriet Klausner
"Jim Hines' Goblin Quest is a rollicking ride, enjoyable from beginning to end. Jig is a fresh, engaging hero, for a goblin, and takes the readers through a whirlwind of magic and adventure that never once fails to entertain and amaze. Hines has just become one of my must-read authors!"
-- Julie E. Czerneda,
author of the SPECIES IMPERATIVE TRILOGY
"Takes us up close and personal with goblins and dungeon adventurers in a light-hearted but VERY insightful quest tale...a hilarious 'good read.' One of the funniest dungeon-delving epics ever!"
-- Ed Greenwood
Creator of the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting
and author of ELMINSTER: THE MAKING OF A MAGE
"A clever inversion of the epic fantasy adventure tale. Brightly written and very entertaining."
-- James Lowder
author of PRINCE OF LIES and KNIGHT OF THE BLACK ROSE
"Need a book that will make you smile, then grin, then laugh out loud? If your tickle spot's the same as mine, Goblin Quest is the book you're looking for--I'm still laughing."
-- Janet Kagan
bestselling author of UHURA'S SONG and HELLSPARK
"Jim C. Hines has given us a wonderful adventure from the goblin's point of view, and it's fantastic! I haven't had this much fun reading a book in ages. I can't wait to buy a copy for my stepson, who keeps asking me what I'm laughing so hard about."
-- Wil Wheaton
actor and author of JUST A GEEK
"The book is funny, poignant, sometimes riffing off quest tales, other times plunging the reader into straightfoward adventure. I loved Jig and his questions and discoveries, I loved the complexity of the others--including Straum, the dragon. Though this was a quest tale, Hines kept me guessing right until the very last page."
-- Sherwood Smith
Author of INDA and CROWN DUEL
"GOBLIN QUEST is a hilarious piece of work! It's confident, irreverent and laugh-out-loud funny: one of the easiest fantasy reads I've come across in a long time. Jim Hines has a unique voice...when you can hear it between the bouts of laughter, that is."
-- John Kovalic
Creator/Author of DORK TOWER
"[I'm] enjoying the heck out of it. Part flashback, part sheer amusement, and part enjoyment of the deconstruction of dungeon crawling from the point of view of the wandering monster.
"Goblin Quest is hilarious. It has a wonderful angle on some classic material that's in the DNA of many of my generation and younger... Jim Hines' Jig is a clever character, in several sense of that term. He's got the RPG warrior mentality nailed to the wall. He's got a lovely sense of plot and pacing. Most of all, he has an excellent sense of fun.
"If you've ever rolled 3d6 for a character trait, go read this book."
-- Jay Lake
"A wonderful story that'll make anybody who's ever gamed laugh out loud, and even if you haven't, is still so well-drawn and considered that there's almost no way it can fail to charm."
-- C.E. Murphy
author of HEART OF STONE
"A pleasant and easy read. Jig is...an entertaining protagonist. The seconday characters are interesting too, and they bring much-needed depth."
-- Romantic Times
"A genuinely exciting adventure story. I thought it was amusing, entertaining, and at times bitingly satiric. Let's hope for more perspicacity."
-- Critical Mass
"One can only imagine what Joseph Campbell would have said about this most reluctant Hero attempting to survive using equal portions of cowardice and brans. Much in the spirit of Piers Anthony's Ogre, Ogre this amusing fantasy includes plenty of hurmorous nods to the genre's standard fare of questing warriors, scary monsters and evil villains for an engaging, lighthearted romp through the goblin underworld."
-- Monsters & Critics
"Jim C. Hines crams the narrative with great visual and verbal jokes. You'll be laughing out loud as frequently as I did. Hines skillfully makes these characters sympathetic...[and] makes us like the characters. Hines manages is with skill and panache. I closed this book hoping for more visits from Jig and his world."
-- SF Site (Sherwood Smith)
"Another engaging tale of Jig the Goblin. Goblin Hero is a great book for young adults. [A] grand adventure. This is a great weekend read."
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-- Bear Mountain Books
"Jim C. Hines has an uncanny ability to make his magical species co-existing inside a mountain seem plausible including residing there. With no human in sight, his characters are unique with none more inimitable than Jig. GOBLIN HERO is a wonderful fantasy quest tale with humor and wit."
-- Harriet Klausner
"GOBLIN HERO is the entertaining followup to the first in the series, GOBLIN QUEST. Once again, Jim C. Hines turns the fantasy world on its ear with this insightfully hilarious look at the traditional cannon fodder of the genre. They may be small, vicious, and untrustworthy, but Hines proves there's more than enough cunning and resourcefulness in your average goblin to carry quite the enjoyable story. Hines deconstructs the role of the epic fantasy hero masterfully, keeping things light... Hines...succeeds in presenting an honestly enjoyable story, mixing adventure and humor. If nothing else, Goblin Hero succeeds in giving us a new kind of protagonist, whose allies are as much a hazard to him as his enemies are. This is a fantasy for those weary of epic quests and seven-book-long sagas."
-- Green Man Reviews
"I love it when parts of a "trilogy" are self-contained. I raced through it like a man possessed. [Hines] manages to make everybody who matters a three-dimensional character with hidden depths...all have their little story arcs, secrets, and good characterization. [T]hey're all a lot of fun. [GOBLIN HERO] is truly funny... It's a straightforward adventure story that has some point to make about the human condition and what it takes to be a hero. This book is enjoyable from beginning to end. GOBLIN HERO is just the perfect tonic for those who have had too much of overly serious fantasy."
-- Curled Up With a Good Book
"This is a fantastical tale that will leave you laughing loudly and shaking your head in amazement... I completely enjoyed this book and would recommend it from the teen age on up... Now I have to go and buy the original tale of GOBLIN QUEST just to find the hilarious passages in there."
-- Book Fetish
"Quite entertaining. I can recommend it to fans of fantasy of all ages. I'll be keeping my eye out for Goblin War as well."
-- TCM Reviews
"I enjoyed Goblin Hero even more than its predecessor. With even more laughs and excitement, Jig becomes the reluctant hero once again. Every character is unique with wonderful quirks. From the brawny goblin who pretends to be dumber than he is to the hobgoblin warrior who faints at the sight of blood, this fantasy is cleverly written from beginning to end. I can't recommend this series enough."
-- SciFi Chick
"In GOBLIN HERO, as in GOBLIN QUEST, Hines recognizes that wisdom is most often common-sense and that mouthing off to the big guy with the sword is a very bad idea."
-- Tanya Huff
author of the popular BLOOD and SMOKE series
"The problem with surviving your first book--your first great adventure--is that someone thinks you're now a Hero, and can be sent on a second adventure, even greater and funnier than the first. Jim Hines gives us another side-splitting, inspiring tale of Jig the runt, Jig the most unpopular goblin in the lair. Jig the Dragonslayer. I loved this book. It has the Path of the Hero, lots of goblins who never live happily ever after, and much wry fun. Highly recommended!"
-- Ed Greenwood
Creator of the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting
and author of ELMINSTER: THE MAKING OF A MAGE
"Hines's funny bone is sharp and YA-friendly."
-- Publishers Weekly
"Hines presents hysterically funny, witty and surprisingly intuitive writing ... the entire cast is disarmingly and charmingly wonderful. This is a definite must read."
-- Romantic Times (4.5 stars)
"Part farce, part parody, Hines' rip-roaring narrative has us cheering the highly sympathetic Jig on to victory."
-- Booklist
"The characterizations are wonderful. Hines is a phenomenal world builder...not only inventive, and funny, his people and his world are convincing. That's magic of the most powerful kind."
-- SF Site
"The mixture of heroism and buffoonery combine to put the Goblin series into a fantasy class of its own."
-- SFRevu
"Goblin War by Jim C. Hines - The most recent (and almost certainly not final) installment in the misadventures of Jig the Goblin. I was very taken with the first book in the series, Goblin Quest. Hines did something I've seen only rarely (Mary Gentle's Grunts! comes to mind), which is take hero/monster fiction from the monster's perspective. That was in a sense the sustaining gag of the first book. The problem Hines has now is that he's created a likeable (albeit still monstrous) character in Jig, and given Jig a life. Good, funny adventuring ensues in following volumes. Third in a series."
-- Jay Lake
"A very good finish to a satisying series... a good read for young adults and adults, and I highly recommend it."
-- Fantasy Book Spot
"A great read... I loved GOBLIN WAR. It's a breath of fresh air in the fantasy field... you can look at it as a comic fantasy novel, a clever satire, an epic fantasy turned inside out, or whatever else suits, it's all there for the taking."
-- Green Man Review
"I loved every page... a standout novel."
-- Curled Up With a Good Book
"Hines' best novel so far... highly recommended as fun adventure tales, safe for kids, which will also leave many an adult with a smile on their face."
-- Grasping for the Wind
Return to TopPraise for THE STEPSISTER SCHEME
"Hines' strength in his brilliantly plotted, cleverly imaginative book is character concepts and interactions. The action never stops, and the characters are painstakingly real."
-- Romantic Times (4 1/2 star rating, Top Pick!)
Delightful, innovative entertainment... fans who've enjoyed his earlier "Goblin" novels should get a kick out of this one."
-- Lansing State Journal
The Stepsister Scheme is yet another winner, one more reason why I will pick up every book Hines writes... This book is a scream, and possibly his best book yet."
-- Curled Up With a Good Book
"Plenty of action, comedy, and fun characters. A great read for young adults, but I'm sure readers of any age would get a kick out [of] this page turner."
-- SF Revu
"Very entertaining."
-- Critical Mass
"Like a breath of fresh air... Hines' work is always entertaining, and in many ways THE STEPSISTER SCHEME is his best yet."
-- Grasping for the Wind
"As engaging as ever... what carries this book is the characterization, the love story and triumph.
-- Book Spot Central
"Highly imaginative, with fun and engaging characters. It's a wild ride worthy of any fairy tale, complete with wild flights, high-octane fights, and more... the best part of it all is the complex relationship that develops between the wonderful characters."
-- Errant Dreams
"Fantastically fresh and exciting, The Stepsister Scheme is another hit by Goblin series author Jim C. Hines. Fantasy and fairytale fans will enjoy this quirky and fun adventure of three princesses, each with an incredible story to tell."
-- SciFi Chick
"Hines brilliantly remixes and reimagines three of the most popular fairy tale heroines of all time. The plot is fast-paced and exciting ... this book manages to push a lot of my 'wow, what a great idea' buttons, and it does it with style and enthusiasm. I can't wait for the next installment. Mark my words, this is a fantasy adventure worth checking out."
--Green Man Reviews
"Readers who discovered Hines through [his Goblin books] are going to find similar strong characterizations, the breadth of humorous riffs on fantasy tropes (especially fairy tales), and deftly set up, increasingly complex world-building."
--SF Site
"What a romp, both light and dark, sometimes sexy, and along the way occasionally quite brutal. Old friends Snow White and Sleeping Beauty forge an odd trio of feminist ninjas with Cinderella in an amazing gallop to save a prince, thwart a witch, rescue a kingdom, and turn fairy tale conventions upside down in the process."
-- Jane Yolden
author of BRIAR ROSE, SISTER LIGHT/SISTER DARK;
two-time Nebula Award winner
"THE STEPSISTER SCHEME is not your Grandma's fairy tale. Action, intrigue, romance, action, treachery, and did I mention action? These princesses will give Charlie's Angels a serious run for the money, and leave 'em in the dust. Read it!"
-- Esther Friesner
"An engaging, well-paced romp that sheds a whole new light on some delightfully familiar characters. Make sure you free up some time before starting this one because you won't be able to put it down."
-- Mickey Zucker Reichert
author of THE RETURN OF NIGHTFALL
"THE STEPSISTER SCHEME is a very entertaining read. I loved the magic and fresh twist on the notion of 'happily ever after.'"
-- Kristen Britain
author of THE HIGH KING'S TOMB
"What fun! In The Stepsister Scheme, Jim Hines shows that what happens after happily ever after is even more interesting. A thoroughly enjoyable reinvention of the fairy tales you thought you knew. If you like your princesses smart and strong, read this book."
-- Theodora Goss
Return to Top"Quick-paced and engaging... a great read."
-- Romantic Times
"Fast-paced, energetic, exciting and amazingly fun... a spectacular take on fairy tales. Hines has a winner."
-- Green Man Review
"Fast-paced ... a nearly effortless read. This novel will appeal to anyone who yearns for the heroines of their childhood -- or just a witty, well-constructed adventure tale about powerful women stepping up with skill and cleverness."
-- Publishers Weekly
"An engaging conclusion to a thrilling, thought-provoking saga."
-- io9.com
"I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, even more than the first. With a huge twist on the Little Mermaid story, the princesses stand up against the dangers of the sea as well as odd magic from a legendary sea witch. Steeped in adventure and danger, this dark fairytale is like no other. And a huge twist in the story had me at the edge of my seat until the very end. Fantasy and fairytale fans beware; you'll be hooked on this mermaid's tale."
-- Sci Fi Chick
"A fun read... leaves one looking forward to more books about this dynamic trio of princesses."
-- Fantasy Magazine
"A tour de force... Hines's prose and plotting continue to shine."
-- Curled Up With a Good Book
"Enjoyable and exciting adventure fiction."
-- Grasping for the Wind
"Fast paced, with well defined characters."
-- Sci Fi Fan Letter
"The Mermaid's Madness belongs on your must-read list. It's an enthralling adventure that takes you back to the stories of your childhood and then folds, spindles and mutilates them--in the best possible way. One of the most entertaining stories I've read all year. You'll never watch The Little Mermaid the same way again."
-- Diana Pharaoh Francis, author of THE BLACK SHIP
Return to Top"Combining the best parts of fantasy and folklore, mixed with action and aventure, tinged with horror (just like the original stories!), RED HOOD'S REVENGE is a thorougly satisfying continuation of the series, and a worthy updating of these cultural icons."
-- Green Man Review
"There's plenty of the suspense and action that makes this fantasy series great. Hines' heroines are truly unique and completely enjoyable from start to finish. I can't wait to see what comes next from this highly talented fantasy author."
-- SciFi Chick
BIBLIOGRAPHY & RIGHTS INFORMATION