Goblin Slayer, Vol. 1 (light novel) (Volume 1)

Goblin Slayer tells the tale of Goblin Slayer, a person wearing a cheap leather armor, chain mail, shield and a small sword who lives to slay Goblins and nothing else. How does one make this type of monster interesting to fight when they are considered one of the weakest monsters in all forms of medieval fantasy stories? well here in this case it seems the author decided to take a few liberties in how ruthless the Goblins are, specifically with human females, some people might think that the author did it to give it shock value, I personally think that he did this to make them seem more menacing as the intention of the author was to have a guy who specialized in combat against these weak creatures that most adventurer don't care about as they are considered to weak to be worth the effort, yet for people who let their guard down, they could be viciously ruthless. Take this as a warning on whether you might like this Such is the story of this first novel, it starts with the story of Priestess, a young priestess fresh out of church who just started her adventurer life with her new found adventurer party, yet soon she finds out that the adventurer life aint all fun and thrills and meets this Goblin Slayer who will prove to be a great mentor. You can tell the author loved or loves playing Dungeons and Dragons as he explains how the world works in Goblin Slayer, instead of having lets say.. Mana for magic, magic users have miracles which they can perform, he explains how "experience points" work etc, goes into explaining about startegies, weapon durability and other quirks that are usually forgotten in some medieval fantasy stories which are common place in Dungeons and Dragons. The story is very straight forward, you are going to read Golbins being slain, yet there is a back story of the main character and his motivations as well see the growth of both Priestess becoming a more reliable adventurer as well as Goblin Slayer growing and getting over past problems. Even though the story for the most part is a bit grim it does offer some moments of comedy in the form of an elf and a dward which well .. they are always at odds with each other and the banter is quite entertaining, yet I do feel it has been a bit overplayed by most medieval fantasy stories and movies (Think of Legolas and Gimly in Lords of the Rings) that said, it is still nice having them. All in all it was a fun read, I liked all characters presented in this volume and look forward to book 2, and I recommend for anyone intersted in medieval fantasy adventures.

Finding good books that don't flagrantly suck is pretty hard these days. Worse are those trash novels where the characters can do no wrong and the terrible authors handicapped the story with BS luck or dues ex machina. None of that nonsense will be found here. The author as he states is a fan of fantasy and DnD among other things and it shows quite frankly. Minor references and the names only should be obvious to all but the most ignorant or the lowest of mental capacity. (eg ranks, types of class, alignment) Goblin slayer is a fully fleshed out and realistic character who handles everything with what means he has available. Through skill and wits he overcomes his enemies and said skills are displayed and felt. No character shows or portrays themselves in absurd plot armor so there is actual tension when needed. I would never however say this novel is dark as it truly is not and likely never will be. It's realistic and that alone is far to hard to find. The terrible start with the goblins only enforces what they are and why they are bad. I recommend this and several other good novels to literally everyone I know who has appreciation for good writing from an author who is actually sincerely trying.

I started reading the mangas for this and quickly decided to switch to the light novels. I'm glad I did because you get so much more out of the novel than you do from the anime. You get to see the gods and the other characters in their lives and what they're thinking. Sure you can ascertain this from the emotions and the way the artist draws the characters but through the light novel you get so much more and I highly recommend anyone that's enjoyed either the anime or the manga to read the light novels as well.

Goblin Slayer is yet another light novel with a "Gimmick." Set in a fantasy world it focuses on the exploits of one man, a man who made it his life's mission to kill Goblins, and only Goblins. Many adventurers look down upon the stereotypical level 1 monsters, but as you read further and further you start to see the gruesome reality that Goblins are in fact more dangerous than expected. The story does get gory, a bit rapey, but as far as I could tell it was in service of the story and building up what Goblins truly are. The actual unabashed fanservice is left to a character wearing clothes and aptly named "Cow Girl." Speaking of her, the story doesn't allow their characters to have names. Simply, they are referred to by their status. A priestess is Priestess, a warrior is Warrior, and the slayer of Goblins is Goblin Slayer. This does add some distance between the reader and the characters, but once the story slowly introduces how the world works, and the gods of that world, you start to understand it more. That, and the author is an unabashed fan of D&D. There was a lot of thought put into this world and characters. Even to the point where Goblin Slayer's armor, weapons, shield, items, everything he has on him is there for a purpose and detailed during the slaughtering scenes. Volume 1 is a solid start and I'm definitely curious as to where it'll go next. We've seen multiple Goblin hunts in a variety of scenarios, so it'll be fascinating to see how often the author can keep this interesting. The characters are likable, the story balances a mature dark fantasy with the tropes of...well, every anime as it explores big vs small breasts, bad social manners, the slow gathering of friends, the ravaging results of Goblin hordes, etc. If you like fantasy, magics, and don't mind some gruesome thoughts then I'd recommend this.

The series is not for the faint of heart to be sure. Having played a bunch of MMORPGs, RPGs, and fantasy games, this series (light novel, manga, and soon to be anime) addresses or has thoughts that I’d had about them. The edge between the people solving a serious local problem and the paltry reward despite the effort and grinding. And how unforgiving ‘real life’ is when people go into combat. Especially with what seems to be a misunderstanding of how dangerous the enemies are. The beginning is ‘refreshingly real’ or more accurately: ‘disturbing.’ And while at first glance it seems like the protagonist is OP, it is completely justified by the ‘cost’ to him. It is fun to see a fantasy Doom Guy though. To say anymore would be spoilers, suffice to say get ready for subversion of your expectations.

This book was a fun read. Short and sweet. The main character was one I could get behind, a man driven by revenge who does what needs to be done. The supporting characters are great in that they provide a different perspective on the Goblin Slayer. The goblins are evil and not some misunderstood race. Their deeds are wicked and some disturbing imagery is alluded to but the author does not go into graphic detail. Just enough to let you know why goblins need to be slain. I recommend this book to fans of D&D and other RPGs as well as the fantasy genre in general. Some anime tropes are present but it’s not over the top and does not detract from the story if you are not into that genre. I particularly enjoyed the author’s heartfelt afterword. That alone was worth the price of the book.

All-in-all it's just like reading someone else's daydream about exterminating goblins. The enemies are hate-able, the hero and nearly everyone is inspiring, all the girls are pretty, friends are made, damsels and children are rescued... It's a very fun daydream

Started reading after the release of the anime adaptation, and found it to be very useful for adding additional depth to the characters and story. I find the story and character novel and compelling, and like how they have their own strengths and weaknesses. The series is written in a somewhat non-linear fashion so it can be a bit confusing at times on when particular events actually happened as you get farther into the English translated books (currently issue 5 as of Sept. 18, 2018). The general timeline that I have determined is cave, abandoned Elf fortress, party additions, temple ruins, jungle ruins, mage tower, Water Town, farm raid, abandoned Dwarven keep.