January 6, 2014 Goblins
Goblins have gained entry into my week—first, through the Dean Koontz 1987 novel Twilight Eyes and then through Kate Locke’s series The Immortal Empire. What are Goblins exactly? They are little creatures related to Brownies and Gnomes. However, they are often depicted as Dwarf size and posses magical abilities. Sometimes they come off as mischievous and annoying, other times they are portrayed as grotesquely evil. J.RR. Tolkien used the term Goblin interchangeably with Orc and Koontz gives Tolkien a nod by naming one of his Goblins Klaus Orcenshield. Yontstown even reminded me a bit of a Modern Mordor. Perhaps there are enough parallels for a paper?
Anyway, Kady Cross wrote three books under the name Kate Locke: God Save the Queen, The Queen is Dead and Long Live the Queen. I noticed #2 on the shelf at the Golden Library and ordered the other two. Xandra Varden is a halfie heroine in an alternative world where Queen Victoria is a Vampire. Werewolves and Goblins also exist. The werewolf Vex is Xandra’s Scottish boyfriend and eventually Xandra becomes Queen of the Goblins.