Goblin Slayer Side Story: Year One

Goblin Slayer Side Story: Year One, by Kumo Kagyu. Originally published in the U.S. by Yen Press, October 2018. Approx. pages.

HachiSnax Note: I first started reading the Goblin Slayer light novel series back in 2018, right before the anime was announced. It has been a lingering regret that I have not reviewed the novels themselves in a timely order. RightStuf took forever to get my copy of Vol. 8 to me, around when Vol. 9 was about to drop, so in the interim, I dug up my copy of this, the first volume of the prequel story.

Ideally, I had wanted to do concurrent reviews of the original light novels as I read them, as well as the anime and the manga (although I'm only up to Vol. 4 of the manga, as I'm borrowing them from the library). Each of the various Goblin Slayer incarnations have their own strong points; the light novels have a real nostalgic, homage feel for the pen and paper RPG's of yore. The original mangas, with art by Kousuke Kurose, were amazingly illustrated, and gave a real hard, dark edge to the series. And the anime, directed by Takaharu Ozaki (of Girl's Last Tour), provided the joy of seeing the characters brought to life and given perfect-fit vocal talent. It also re-ordered some of the events of the first two light novels; giving it a better feel. Of course, each medium had its own weakness - the light novels can get very repetitive (like goblin slaying! I guess that's the point), and the writing (or translation) isn't always that great. The anime gets hobbled by some bad CGI scenes (not Berserk
bad, but still bad), and the manga, in its focus on the 'hardness', loses some of the...umm, 'softness', I guess? Not going to lie, the manga was pretty damn strong.

Ok, on to the review... Til next time! ~Hach

What could one expect out of a prequel story centering on everyone's favorite, methodically myopic, goblin-killing adventurer? Goblin Slayer's modus operandi is a formula that has worked for nine novels already. Kumo Kagyu has made some inroads in developing the evolving story around his single-minded warrior - that the uptick in goblin population ties in to re-evolving demonic forces in the world, that actions are being taken to port over the little critters as shock troops of sorts to disrupt local populaces, etc. It's slow going at times, but it's always fun to see the new and inventive ways the pragmatic G.S. comes up with to dispatch these hated vermin. Also, while there is not a lot of evolution regarding the backup cast - the party of adventurers re-uses the same jokes over and over, Cow Girl and Guild Girl are just perennial members of his ever-growing harem, etc. - it stays fun, if not fresh, because we've come to care about the characters.

So, again, what to expect from a backstory? I mean, of course it is fun to see developed, bad-ass characters way back when they were getting started, but what else? Would we see more of the traumatic event (the devastation of the village Goblin Slayer grew up in; the rape and murder of his sister before his eyes) that formed him into the reticent killing machine he is now? Would we see more of the training with the abusive old rhea (the series' version of a halfling) who took him in and trained him?

Actually, while those events are referenced briefly, Goblin Slayer Year One plays out like most of the other novels....same formula, just hit the Rewind button. It's Kumo Kagyu playing it safe, but it's still good stuff.

Year One traces from G.S.'s first registering at the Guild, and follows him on his first few quests. That is, that is the core focus of his aspect of the book. The rest of the book serves as a year one for
our beloved secondary cast as well. It's fun to see those initial awkward reactions to this young, oddball adventures; and, of course, the best parts are watching him learn via trial and error during the quests themselves. Here he learns about the importance of sword lengths, weapons durability, importance of mobility over straight protection in armor, etc. We see his iconic helmet in its original form; with two awkward horns that made it more trouble than it was worth (although it had a cool, Dragon Quest aesthetic).

Another change in this new series is a new artist for cover/interior illustrations. Where the original series was handled masterfully by Noboru Kannatuki, the Year One light novel series enlists the deft hand of Shingo Adachi. Adachi does a fine job, employs a masterful color palette, and offers us poignant younger portrayals of the characters.

 It's really hard to find things to knock in a series that utilizes a formula solidified via a successful track record. If anything, I could say I wanted something more, something daring.

Also, while we expect to see the snippets of the other background characters in their younger forms, a large chunk of this novel is dedicated to what I'll call the 'Rock Eater' segment. While done well; featuring the emotional powerhouse moment of the novel, let's be honest; it was superfluous to the origin of Goblin Slayer himself. Still, it was a strong vignette in its own right.

And there you have it. The writing is engaging as always, if not powerful. Kamo Kagyu has a distinctive style; and if you've liked one of his novels, you can enjoy them all.

You can argue that the Year One series isn't completely necessary, but it's fun nonetheless. Let's see how Volume 2 pans out.


Cover:

Not bad at all; but no offense to the cute-as-a-button Cow Girl, young Goblin Slayer should be at the fore of this volume.

Now, as much as I like this cover, when I pre-ordered it, they were showing this as the potential cover. And, wow, holy cow why didn't they use this cover???

And this was being shown as the cover for Volume 2:

Yeah, that's young Sword Maiden and the party she rolled with when they defeated the Demon Lord (part of this tale appears in the novel as well). Now that's a great cover.

A Fortress In Shadow (Dread Empire)

A Fortress in Shadow (Dread Empire Omnibus 2) by Glen Cook. Omnibus edition published by Night Shade, August 2008. Approx. 368 pages.

Before The Black Company, there was the Dread Empire.

So the blurbs often go; however, there are precious few parallels between Glen Cook's early dark fantasy series and his iconic mercenary series.

Reviewing the Dread Empire series is a bit of a tough job; I actually read the first three installments (bundled together in the A Cruel Wind omni) a few years back, but was never able to pen a proper review. I liked them; quite a bit in fact, but yeah, they're kind of odd. As early works, there're issues with pacing, direction, and cohesion of narrative.

However, before getting into the two installments included here (which, by the way, are actually prequel books to the original three), we should touch base a little with the series so far.

Apologizing in advance; I've forgotten a lot of what's transpired already. A lot. Ugh, sorry. Bear with me.

With the Dread Empire series, Cook did something he really seems to enjoy doing; basing stories off of areas from different historical points, and adding influences such as magic, and/or deities into the mix. From this template, he extrudes a compelling narrative. The titular Dread Empire serves as a stand-in for Eastern Asian expansion, while the Western kingdoms are our Europe proxy. Smack dab in the middle (or thereabouts, remember Cook eschews the inclusion of maps) lays the series' version of the Middle East, Hammad al Nakir (or is that just one of the regions? I can never remember, the name onslaught never ends...).

The first trilogy details geopolitical tumult and power moves in the Western Regions as the Dread Empire amasses power and prepares for conquering moves in the East. At the center of this is a trio of friends; Bragi (a Trolledyngjan, the series' Norse equivalent), Mocker, a scheming thief/trickster, and Haroun bin Yousif, the King Without a Throne, the vagabond king of al Nakir, and victor of the El Murid Wars. This trio are former friends and adventurers, and their paths continually cross, overlap, and intertwine as events unfold.

While that sounds pretty straightforward; as I mentioned, the first book of the series, A Shadow of All Night Falling, seems to have trouble figuring out where it wants to go. A large portion of the narrative focuses on the history and current plight of the wizard Varthlokkur, and that's great. But then, along the way, Bragi gets introduced; and in a fairly minor capacity. This is odd as he is, overall, the central character in the series. Hell, in this book, Mocker gets much more page time than him; and that doesn't really work, as Mocker is an extremely annoying character (at first, he gets better as Cook's writing got better). Haroun features barely at all.

The second book, October's Baby, was mostly battle reports (excellently done). And the third book, All Darkness Met, sees the series really hitting its stride;

with the battles and intrigue intensifying, the stakes continually getting raised, and the espionage/spy angles really being played up.

Short take: once the series really gets rolling, it's amazing. Lovers of The Black Company will of course miss the laconic, sardonic wit of a narrator like Croaker. However, they'll also be amazed by Cook's ability to turn extremely bare bones, sparse descriptions and dialogue into compelling scenes and characters. Huge battles are resolved in mere sentences. Major characters die off-screen. There is very little time spent in their heads, and yet, you still get to

know these characters well. But that's why he's such a great author.

Now, back to these prequel books. These were released around the time the first Black Company book came out. Safe to say, this is when Cook was at the top of his game, and it really shows. The writing here is top-notch Cook, and he has a clear vision for how he wants these books to play out.

The two books contained in this omni are The Fire in His Hands (1985) and With Mercy Toward None (1985), keeping up his tradition of absolutely amazing book titles. As was fairly typical of the mid-80's, these books are fairly short; coming in at about 180 pages each, making this omnibus about the size of a normal, modern book at about 370 pages.

The core thesis of the duology is as a chronicle of the El Murid Wars mentioned earlier in the series; and which forged our core trio of characters into the men they are. The primary focus is on El Murid

himself; born Micah, the son of a salt merchant (whose caravan was slaughtered by bandits), who is charged by the Star Rider (that shadowy, omnipresent interloper seen in the first books) with becoming a true Disciple of the Lord. He gifts Micah with the name El Murid, as well as a magic wrist amulet which can literally call down the power of the Heavens.

El Murid soon finds, however, that entrenched power structures are quite adverse to usurpation. El Murid must secure and grow his base of followers; then raise armies and take lands. The "Lord" has charged him with taking the religion to the lands of the non-believers, but he finds it hard going just unifying the lands of his own people. The majority of the first book deals with these actions/battles.

Also interspersed throughout the first book are the introductory backstories for Bragi (and his brother Haaken), and Haroun (which gives us an invaluable insight into the Royalists, who support the establishment over the upstart El Murid).

The second book focuses on the actual taking of the Word to the lands of the infidels. By this point, El Murid has amassed a massive army, with the Royalists reduced to a few scattered bands. By rules of lineage, Haroun is technically king, but he is stranded, on the run.

On the Western front, we see the moves, maneuvers, and power grabs/consolidations which transpire in the wake of the invading forces. There are countless battles, and positions of power shift at the drop of a hat.

Book 2 also introduces Mocker into the mix; showing him as an invaluable asset as a spy an covert ops specialist.

There isn't much else to say on this prequel duology. As already stated, even within the sparse prose; the myriad landscapes are richly envisioned and detailed. The battles effectively convey their horror, magnitude, and significance. And the characters are rich and real. El Murid, the eye of the storm in corporeal form; is an immensely deep, and tragically flawed character. He is no zealot of iron resolve. He has desires; personal desires, sexual desires, desires for power, for revenge, and even desires to grow his Empire into a verdant utopia, rather than subjugate infidels by the sword.

But life does not bend to accommodate our desires. Few authors hammer that sobering message home better than Cook.

So, are there any problems? With the story we get, not really. It's solid. Cook obviously had a vision, and he served it up. There are some questions, though. The main question is....why? Why do we have/need a prequel duology focusing on the El Murid Wars? The Dread Empire, you know that massive evil institution that serves as the primary antagonist for the series, as well as giving it its name? Yeah, them. They don't figure in these two books....at all. El Murid's jihad does not take his forces to their lands.We don't get snippets of what is transpiring in these lands when the forces of the Disciple hit the Western kingdoms (and, we know well from the first books, they're always watching).

Also, although you may have liked Haroun in the first books, and may have grown to like (tolerate) Mocker, perhaps we didn't need to see so much focus on them, especially Haroun. Compelling as his tale is; if you're reading these books, you likely remember that Haroun's tale came to a close in the third book. Mocker's too.

As you can see, the "why?"'s are no deterrent, and these books are great. You also get the added bonus of a heartfelt introduction by Steven Erikson, telling his history with Glen Cook's books. Jeff Vandermeer penned an intimate intro for the first, Cruel Wind omnibus.

So there you have it. Grab these first two omnibus volumes and enjoy some early Cook. See what a brilliant mind this natural strategist has. I'll be moving on to the final book in the series soon, hopefully.

Cover:

Night Shade has always gotten Raymond Swanland to do some of his best work ever for the Cook releases. This one is no exception. What an eye-catching cover, look at that dynamic posing.