Book Review: Globular Van der Graff’s Goblin Tales by Jack Eason

Book Review

A very long time ago, there once was a land called Goblindom hidden behind a magic barrier to protect its inhabitants from mankind. Man’s ancestors the humins lived there quietly alongside wyverns, griffins, trolls, witches and wizards as well as woods, mountain and plains goblins, ravens, eagles and many more creatures.
This anthology is a collection of thirty tales, which I have translated from goblin into English thanks to Globular Van der Graff, a friendly southern woods goblin who told them to me not long ago. They are not my tales, they are his, hence the title – Globular Van der Graff’s “Goblin Tales for Adults”.
For a long time, like most human children I disbelieved the stories read to me by my parents of goblins, witches and wizards, wyverns and griffins, believing them to be nothing more than tales designed to entertain, until that first fateful early morning visit several months ago, when Glob physically sought me out and deliberately entered my life.
I hope and pray that like me, you will all open your hearts and minds to the fact that goblins, especially of the noble and friendly southern woods kind, do still actually exist today. Through necessity for their own protection they have to hide from the modern world you and I live in. If you are fortunate as I undoubtedly am, some may even be living in an oak wood near you.
Lastly, may I just say on behalf of Glob whose anthology this is, not forgetting for one moment his good friend Bejuss, and his goblin brothers, Make, Mous, Neo, Byz, and myself, how much we thank you for taking the time to read this, the first ever written record of the once magical land of Goblindom. 

My review:

I really enjoyed Goblin Tales so much. This collection of wonderful short stories from Glob, whose anthology it is, gives you such a warm, cosy feeling. It’s very cheery, and diverse (from amusing stories to battle scenes.) So, there’s something for everyone. You’ll enjoy discovering more about Bejuss, the one eyed lisping raven with the twisted beak (who I loved,) Make, Mous, Neo, and simple-minded Byz.

Whilst reading there were many occasions when I laughed out loud, or smiled. I highly recommend Goblin Tales. The characters are all very carefully crafted and engaging, both the humins and the goblins as well as the raven, witches, and gremlins.

The dialogue is done so well. The author crafts the characters to speak in such a way that it makes them come alive.

Here’s a short example from Bejuss the raven: “Raark – it’th got ter be tall enuff fer me ter make a netht in itth highetht brancheth Glob,” Bejuss squawked loudly, completely forgetting for a moment just how close he was to his friend’s ear, almost deafening him in the process.

And the character names are fantastic –

Globular Van der Graff – Glob

Makepeace Terranova – Make

Byzantine Du Lac – Byz

Eponymous Tringthicky (Mous)

Neopol Stranglethigh (Neo)

My recommendation: 5 stars. Highly recommended. Not to be missed!

Find out more here. In Jack Eason’s words, this work of his is one of his favourites: https://havewehadhelp.wordpress.com/2020/09/10/one-of-my-favourite-short-stories-2/

Author Bio:

Jack Eason lived in New Zealand for forty-two years until 2000 when he returned to his birthplace in England. As far as he is concerned he will always consider himself to be a Kiwi. After military service in the 1960’s, he travelled the world, visiting exotic lands and making many friends. Now in his mid-sixties he is content to write and travel via the Internet. Besides writing novels and short stories, he contributes to his own blog “Have We Had Help?” Some of his short stories and numerous articles appear in the No: 1 online E-zine “Angie’s DIARY”. His literary interests include science fiction, history, both ancient and modern, and humorous tales like those written by his fellow writer Derek Haines, such as “HAL”. He lives in semi-retirement in his home town surrounded by his favourite books, ranging from historical fact to science fiction. His literary icons are J.R.R Tolkien, George Orwell, Arthur C Clarke and John Wyndham.

Authors links:

Blog: https://havewehadhelp.wordpress.com/

Twitter: @Akhen1Khan2

Rating:

Have you read Goblin Tales, or any of Jack Eason’s other books?

Here are a couple of reviews I’ve written for his novellas:

The Magisters: https://mjmallon.com/2020/01/09/book-review-the-magisters-by-jack-eason-bookreview/

Autumn 1066: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/customer-reviews/