Saturday, September 19, 2020

Book Review: Goblin Slayer Vol. 5


Review:  #931
Title:  Goblin Slayer Vol. 5
Series:  Goblin Slayer – 5th volume
Author:  Kumo Kagyu
Comments:  Volume 5 is a return to form if you’re looking for a meaty, classic, goblin slaying quest.  Unless previous volumes, all the pages, from start to finish, deals with the one quest.  Goblin Slayer and his party take on a special quest that takes place on a snowy mountain.  The objective?  To slay goblins of course.  While the characters’ personalities are predictable, such as High Elf Archer bantering with Dwarf Shaman, or Goblin Slayer’s stoic responses to everyone, it never gets old.  To keep things interesting, we find that this group of goblins is yet again different to what we have previously seen.  While Goblin Slayer is suspicious, he never lets down his guard and prepares various contingency plans in order to succeed.  This time, even he admits that it would have been difficult to clear out such a huge and powerful nest of goblins.  The various types of strategies employed, and not seeing the big picture until it fully plays out by the end of the novel keeps you sucked in.  The cruel and disgusting nature of goblins is emphasized again and again.  This is a dark fantasy so there’s your fair share of misfortunes and it makes all the events that much more personal and grounded.  The action is relentless and well planned, once you get to the halfway point, the pacing does not slow down at all.  The ending is a reflection on the growth of the characters.  Goblin Slayer realizes more and more how much he enjoys his new comrades, friends even, and this is a great sight to see.  Although the fact that he has various romantic interests (though one-sided it may be) that doesn’t go anywhere can be a bit misleading and frustrating.  All in all, this is a fantastic piece of writing.
Rating:  7/10
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