Olivia Gratehouse’s Rat King takes a familiar fantasy plot and puts the most unusual hero in the center of it—a goblin. Rat King (or RK) is a lowly guard for an elven vampiric lady. She is visited by an adventurer named Teagan who often interacts with the lady of the castle RK guards. Teagan would like a goblin for his latest pursuit. Guess who is chosen?
RK and his friends, and I won’t reveal who they are, are an unusual bunch. Teagan clearly has plans, and RK has stars in his eyes for a real adventure. When they head for the castle of an ancient wizard, Varyon, things start to get interesting.
This novella zips along with a light-hearted panache that most 500-page fantasies could only envy. The humor is character-driven, the best type of humor because it’s so relatable. RK is both an underdog and a clueless narrator. The reader should have fun reading about his misadventure.
Eight chapters filled with charm and mystery, Rat King should satisfy a fantasy’s reader’s age-old question. What if a goblin was the chosen one?