The Goblin War

September 1, 2011

In this fantasy sequel, the final volume in the trilogy that began with The Goblin Wood (2003), a highly suspenseful plot leads to a thoroughly satisfying and surprising conclusion.

Picking up at the immediate end of the previous novel, Bell ratchets up the suspense immediately and makes this finale a true page turner. Having returned from the Otherworld that was draining all power from the goblins and hedgewitch Makenna, all characters become fixed on solving the problem of the barbarians in the south. The point of view switches from one to another of a reluctant triumvirate made up of Makenna and brothers Jeriah and Tobin. One very satisfying aspect of the series is the growth these characters have seen throughout the three books. Jeriah has become a resilient clergyman who knows what needs to be done and does it; Makenna has grown beyond her hatred of humans, thus improving her effectiveness with magic; and heroic Tobin has proven himself an astute strategist. The climax uses these combined qualities as well as all the guile and courage that the goblins can muster to reach a stunning ending.

This rewarding resolution caps off a fascinating, engaging trilogy that holds appeal for a diverse fantasy audience. (Fantasy. 12 & up)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

January 1, 2012
This trilogy ender (The Goblin Wood, The Goblin Gate) finds idealistic knight Tobin and hedgewitch Makenna struggling to return to the Realm. Tobin is captured by barbarian invaders while Makenna faces murder charges. Bell's talent for character building along with her illumination of competing factions' motivations are on full display. A thunderous climactic battle brings this series to a highly satisfying close.

(Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

November 1, 2011
In this final volume of the trilogy, hedgewitch Makenna and idealistic knight Tobin are struggling to survive in the magic- and life-sucking Otherworld where they've fled with their goblin allies to escape extermination by a power-mad priest (The Goblin Wood, rev. 5/03). Tobin's brother Jeriah sends them the tools they need to return to the Realm, but Tobin's gate returns him to territory occupied by barbarian invaders, where he is immediately captured, and Makenna's gate drops her in her former village, where she is wanted for murder. Jeriah has problems of his own: he's responsible for the demise of the priest's plan to save the population from the invaders by relocating them to the north (The Goblin Gate, rev. 9/10), and unless he can think of some way to revive the relocation plan, the ensuing bloodbath will be on his conscience. Bell's penchant for illuminating what motivates competing political factions is on full display here, as is a talent for character-building that makes the barbarians credibly vicious and the formerly mercenary goblins credibly selfless and loyal to their human general Makenna and her knight Tobin. A thunderous yet refreshingly blood-free climactic battle brings this series to a highly satisfying close. anita l. burkam

(Copyright 2011 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)