Every so often a book comes along so in-tune with itself
that it helps define the very genre that would try to label it. Goblins Know
Best is just such a book.
Goblins Know Best: the Trivial Trials of Bogrot and Gorag by
Daniel Beazley is a Fantasy novel told from the perspective of a Goblin chef
named Bogrot Blistertooth. Raised in Gert’s Kitchen of the city of Kentai (A
city so prone to earthquakes that it holds no permanent structures) Bogrot is a
budding chef in his own right, driven to become one of the finest cooks in the
land. Often drawn away from his kitchen for errands, adventures, and other
misfortunes, he travels in the company of his best friends: a ravenous and
rambunctious Orc named Gorag and a talking pony with a victim complex, Mona,
acquired after he cooked and ate her brother.
The novel is laid out as an anthology. Rather than chapters
each section of varying length is a self-contained story set in chronological
order that might contain anything from Bogrot sneaking into an orc gathering to
cut a double-crossed Gorag loose from his backstabbing brother, to traveling
deep into the swamp for rare slugs that have become the mainstay ingredient in
a popular curry. Along the way the pair meet and explore the wildly varied and
interesting population and landscapes and play host to a collection of bizarre
and genuinely endearing and funny encounters. Following the adventures carves
out a world that while still having all the trappings of traditional fantasy
tropes manages to feel like an incredibly unique experience that not only
subverts the Fantasy genre, but is possibly the best example to date of
emphatically non-epic fantasy by way of its focus on the humble goals of its
protagonists and the intimate natures of the conflicts. Even minor characters
are believable, with their own hopes, goals, ambitions, and shortcomings. They’re
not allies or enemies of Bogrot, but they share his world and understand his
challenges. Goblins Know Best is an excellent example of character study due to
being so far removed from the epic struggles that dominate the genre that it allows
you to see these characters in their natural state with their usual struggles.
The subtitle ‘Trivial Trials’ perfectly encapsulates not only Bogrot and Gorag,
but also our look at each individual character in their world just trying their
best to get by.
I make no secret of enjoying works with the classic Tolkien races
that so many modern authors try to avoid, or even for having a preference for Orcs and Goblins in general (probably
thanks to Warcraft). But with that said I feel comfortable with the claim that
Goblins Know Best is by far my clear favorite out of all the books I’ve read
this last year, and the entirety of my read-through was an absolute joy.
