Dance of the Goblins by Jaq D. Hawkins

Book Review by Diane Rapp

When I started to read this book, I assumed it was another quest fantasy with elves, goblins, wizards, and fair damsels.  Wrong assumption!  This book is a complex science fiction/fantasy that takes place after a cataclysmic event on Earth that the survivors call the “Turning.”  According to Goblin lore turnings happened many times during history to cleanse the planet.  Humans and animals must start over and perhaps evolve in a different way.

The “Turning” is a real event documented by geologists.  Last year I watched a television series called “How the Earth Was Made” and one episode investigated signs that the earth “flips” its magnetic poles every 40,000 to 60,000 years.  These events wreak havoc on continents, oceans, polar ice caps, and animal life on the planet.  Only lucky or resilient creatures survive such a cataclysm.

A good book takes a premise (like the Earth shifting on its polar axis) and builds a story from that point in time.  Which humans survived and how did they evolve?  In this novel the people who lived underground developed into goblins and surface dwellers were typical humans (except some evolved into magicians and shape shifters).  Different varieties of goblins exist, deep dwellers, defenders, water goblins, and betweeners, but they’re all connected with the rhythm of the earth.  When they hear the beat they “dance.”  One wise goblin and one human magician became friends after they “danced” together in a meadow.  The friendship becomes important to the survival of both races when an accident throws the two races into conflict.  War might destroy everyone.

As a reader I learned to care about the main characters.  I rooted for the goblins and magicians, and hoped they’d prevent the more superstitious humans from destroying both races.  This book is surprising and enjoyable, not an ordinary quest fantasy!  While reading your foot might start tapping as you feel the beat of the dance.  Get up from your chair and enjoy yourself with the goblins!

5 Stars: Not An Ordinary Fantasy