GOBLIN QUEST by Jim C. Hines

I just finished Goblin Quest by Jim C. Hines, and I can't wait to get my hands on the next book in the series. 

Jig, a goblin, is an unlikely but strangely likable protagonist and an even stranger goblin. As a goblin, Jig is a runt and a weakling. He has been relegated to muck duty, a chore usually performed by goblin children. However, Jig's lack of strength has caused him to rely on - gasp - his brain and smarts for survival, which is what makes him likable. Jig is a great character and makes the book worth reading.

While reading, I felt as if I were still rolling twenty-sided dice with friends on Sunday afternoons attempting to save the world from some evil or another. I didn't even try to resist seeing my friends in the Hines' characters. Instead, I laughed when the wizard and the fighter bickered and the dwarf attempted not to take sides. I also laughed when the elven-thief failed to check for traps when picking a lock (just like my wife) and almost died. Such good times.

However, the culture clash was the most entertaining. While Jig was being towed around as a guide by the adventures, several cultural misunderstandings occur. The one that I appreciated most was a discussion what is done with the dead and fallen. Jig and his fellow goblin patrol was just slaughtered by the adventures, and the adventures wondered what happened to the dead in the caverns. Jig''s first thought was that he was full (as in not hungry). Wonderful! Yes, I was reading with an all too human point of view. Now, however, I was ready for and wanting more such moments... 

...More such moments that I hope to find in the next two books.   

Hines, Jim. C. Goblin Quest. New York: DAW, 2006. Print.