Fantasy book review: The Goblin Companion.
Anyone that does not own the Goblin Companion, will know nothing but misery and woe in their lives.
The Review.
What can one say about a book as incandescently brilliant as the Goblin Companion: a field guide to goblins? One could say it was good, though that seems to be a description that is somewhat lacking. One could say that this book may well be God, though that is possibly overstating matters… slightly. The truth is, this book is an exceptional piece of work, both from a standpoint of the illustrations and the writing.
It is fair to say that the Goblin Companion: a field guide to goblins has had a significant impact on my own work over the years and remains one of my all time faves. The book features many designs created for the film “The Labyrinth” and the aesthetic of the film shines through in this work. there are 128 pages, lots of full color illustrations and an old dead, very flat, moth included in the Goblin Companion: a field guide to goblins.
the thought occurs to me that the flat moth may have been unintended collateral damage from the last time I read and closed this book without paying attention and not a factory installed bonus. If the dead moth is a special feature included by the publishers, then I apologize, though it does seem an unusual choice of free gift. I am almost certain now that the moth was my doing and I beg the forgiveness of any kin the moth may have left behind… I have named the moth “Gerald the slim” as a sign of respect.
The Pictures.
Illustrated by Brian Froud, an English artist and one of, if not the, shining example of what it means to be awesome. Spoiler alert, I am a Brian Froud fan boy, for which I do not apologize, he is awesome and if you want to be awesome too, you should read his books, buy his merchandise and try to be as much like him as possible. Moving rapidly away from my creepy obsession with Brian Froud and onto the man’s illustrated perfection, as featured in the Goblin Companion: a field guide to goblins.
The illustrated work in this book is actually a little bit rougher than some of his other work. I certainly don’t mean that in a bad way, (love you Brian,) the goblins are just rendered in a harsher thicker style than many of his other creatures. This style suits the book and the characters perfectly, goblins, to my mind, would be thicker and stockier kinds of beasts than long limbed faeries flitting about with their naked butts hanging out. This thicker style is further enhanced by rough pencil doodles being placed in the background of many pages as well as stains from coffee cups being placed on the original pages. Just to be clear when I said “doodles” I meant rough sketches… not male genitalia. I usually refer to Male genitalia as Winkys, pee pees or when I am feeling particularly salacious, tallywhackers… not doodles, so get your mind out of the gutter… but I digress.
There are at least four different illustrations shown here, probably closer to two hundred actually… let’s just say somewhere between four and two hundred to be safe, lots and lots anyway. All of the creatures have a great depth of character and amazing expressions, which is one of the hallmarks of Brian Froud’s work. now I mentioned earlier that these designs are to do with the Brian Henson film “the Labyrinth” however you won’t really be able to see too many of the characters that appeared in the film… or any. It’s more like a concept art collection that inspired the film, which in many ways is better, as you get to see characters that you are unfamiliar with. First rate work as always by Brian Froud… obviously.
The Words.
Normally a book like the Goblin Companion: a field guide to goblins, is written as a series of encyclopedia or field guide entries, which I love. While this book is written in the same style, the thing that really sets it apart is the immense amount of humor used. Terry Jones is responsible for the writing here and his style really makes the book shine and turns it from a book you would normally buy just for the pictures, into a book you truly enjoy reading.
Terry Jones claims that the goblins documented within the Goblin Companion: a field guide to goblins, were first chronicled in pages that are some sixty million years old. Through a series of archaeological discoveries and kind hearted dustmen, the pages were delivered to Brian Froud, the rest being history. The introduction and description of how the old earthenware pot that contained these lost descriptions happened into the hands of Brian, is very well written, imaginative and clearly a pack of lies. Oh yes, Terry Jones lied to us… in print. I am willing to forgive him for his lies due chiefly to two main reasons. The first, he is writing fiction and a certain amount of lying is necessary when dealing with fictional situations. The second, Terry Jones was in Monty Python… I am willing to forgive a great deal of anyone, even loosely, related to Monty Python.
To sum up, the writing is funny and clever and funny. Yes I mentioned funny twice, I meant to do that, because this book is very funny. Kind of rude that you pointed that out actually.
Final thoughts.
Am I being melodramatic by making the claim, that not owning this book is a sure fire way to stumble on to an unmitigated nightmare of hellish proportions? Possibly. Is it fair, or indeed moral, to say, that those who choose not to purchase this book will regret it for what little remains of their short awkward lives? Probably. Yet I am sticking to my wildly inappropriate assertions that this book is an essential tool to stave off madness and mediocrity. I laughed, I cried, I felt slightly queasy because I had somehow convinced myself that the sushi I left out on the bench over night was still perfectly fine to eat… it wasn’t. The sushi incident was not the book’s fault and no points were deducted for my near hallucinogenic foray into food poisoning. This is the perfect book for any fan of the work of Brian Froud, the writing of Terry Jones or of goblins in general. Highly recommended… eating day old sushi is however not recommended and certainly not highly.
Score out of ten? Three bad goblin poems and half of the much vaunted dead fish of Blarth, out of ten. in Modern cultural terms that number equates to seventeen and three eighths out of ten. Really good scores right there. Buy the book and know happiness in your endeavors. (please note: while my gushing over this book may make it seem so, I am not affiliated with this book in any way and receive no kickbacks whatsoever… sadly.)
As always if you have any questions or comments please feel free to contact me and please check out my books.
