Finished Goblin War by Jim C. Hines. This is the third book in his series about Jig Dragonslayer, a goblin who finds himself having adventures against his will.

In this one, Jig and some of his fellow goblins are captured by Princess Genevieve, who needs their help fortifying a town against Billa the Bloody (an orc) and her army of monster followers. But Billa’s army is just a cover for Isa, a winter goddess who wants to kill everyone to lure death god Noc onto the battlefield so she can then kill him. Of course, it’s up to Jig to stop Isa at the urging of his god, Tymolaus Shadowstar. Too bad Jig might get killed in the process …

As always, Hines writes a clever fantasy send-up. Folks who play fantasy or D&D games will especially recognize the gentle genre skewers. I loved the army of monsters with all their quibbles and problems, especially the guy who kept spouting off about regulations.

Jig is a great, albeit reluctant, hero who uses his brain to get him out of lots of tricky situations. And Jig’s interactions with his god are always amusing to read. This book fills in a lot of gaps as to exactly how Jig came to workshop Shadowstar (it wasn’t accidental at all) and more of the god’s background.

The only quibble I had with the book was the plot involving the gods. I thought it was a little convoluted, and I never understood why Isa wanted to kill the death god. Just for revenge for trying to kill her? I guess I wanted more motivation than that. Also, I wanted to know if Shadowstar was still around at the end of the book (he takes a blow meant for Jig in the end).

Still, if you like more light-hearted fantasy, you should check out this series. I hope there are more Jig adventures ahead. Thumbs up.

Up next: InterWorld by Neil Gaiman.

Books in my TBR pile: About 14. (I’m finally whittling it down!)