The Goblin Mirror

You can trust that when CJ Cherryh writes goblins, the take is going to be nore sophisticated than cartoonish monstrous bad guys, in fact everything about this tight little fantasy adventure is full of sophisticated little subtleties of setting and character and plot, but it is first and foremost an atmospheric adventure of magic and ghosts and brothers and witches and magicians and goblins - I really like her take on goblins, it feels way ahead of its time.

Things weren't right in the little kingdom of Maggiar, not right at all. So the princes Bogdan and Tamas set off to seek an answer to the kingdom's troubles in the land over-mountain, a world they knew only from legends told by 'old Gran.' And Yuri, the youngest prince, chafing at being left behind, soon followed the older to boys . . . But the land over-mountain was in turmoil, for the goblins had declared war. The kingdoms the princes had come to find had all been ravaged. No sooner haad the brothers crossed out of Maggiar than their party was ambushed. Bogdan, the eldest, was carried away to the fortress of the goblin queen herself. Yuri, the youngest, wandered lost through an evil wood, in search of his brothers. And Tamas was show more caught up in darkest sorcery, for he fell in with Ela, a witch'e apprentice who possessed a shard of the goblin queen's powerful magic mirror. With that single sliver of the queen's great power, Ela planned to challenge the ancient goblin queen herself. And Tamas, the middle prince, would be the focus of the battle. It was even remotely possible that he might actually live through the experience, perhaps . . . show less

What can I say? Ms. Cherryh has again created an interesting world and characters.

I read it years ago, maybe when it was first published and enjoyed it then. As a reread in which I could not recall the plot at all (it had been that long), it was just as enjoyable, if not more.

If you've not yet read anything by CJ Cherryh, I highly recommend any of her books, but especially those I have already read, see my library for details.