The Goblin Tower

Infobox Book |
name = The Goblin Tower
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption = first edition of "The Goblin Tower"
author = L. Sprague de Camp
illustrator =
cover_artist = Jeff Jones
country = United States
language = English
series = Novarian series
genre = Fantasy novel
publisher = Pyramid Books
release_date = December, 1968
english_release_date =
media_type = Print (Paperback)
pages = 253 pp
isbn = NA
preceded_by = The Fallible Fiend
followed_by = The Clocks of Iraz

"The Goblin Tower" is a fantasy novel written by L. Sprague de Camp, the first book of both his Novarian series and the "Reluctant King" trilogy featuring King Jorian of Xylar. It was first published as a paperback by Pyramid Books in 1968 and later reprinted by Del Rey Books. The first hardbound edition was issued by HarperCollins in 1987. The novel has been translated into French, Italian and German.

Plot summary

The Kingdom of Xylar, one of the twelve city-states of Novaria, has a peculiar custom for choosing its kings, each of whom serves for a five-year term. At the end of that period he is beheaded in the public square before an assembly of foreigners, and his head cast into the crowd. The man who catches the head is drafted as the next king. Jorian, the latest king, cheats fate and escapes his beheading with the aid of the magician Dr. Karadur. In return he must help his rescuer find the Kist of Avlen, a repository of ancient magical manuscripts.

The novel follows Jorian's adventures as he attempts to fulfill his service and avoid the agents of Xylar, duty-bound to abduct him back to Xylar for the beheading ceremony. Encounters with a homicidal wizard and his giant squirrel, a fortress of executioners, a 500-year-old serpent princess, a horde of ape men, a tiger god, treacherous nomads, and a huge frog statue brought to life are included in the bill of fare, but the ultimate challenge will come at the great symposium of magicians to meet at the fabled Goblin Tower, constructed from actual goblins transformed to stone.

Jorian's ultimate objective is to rescue Estrildis, his favorite among the multiple wives he had as king and settle down in peaceful obscurity in his home state of Kortoli, but the end of the story leaves him well short of that goal, telling stories on a street corner as a start to recouping his fortunes.

etting

The world of which Novaria is part is a parallel world to Earth, a plane of existence related to ours in that ours constitutes its afterlife. Culturally it bears resemblances to the eras of both Classical Greece and Medieval Europe. The states of Novaria itself are split between competing systems of government, some of them unique, which allows the author to explore various pros and cons of different styles of governance as his hero tours the country.

Innovative features

"The Goblin Tower" is one of de Camp's most innovative fantasies, and not only in its use of politics. It inverts the "rags to royalty" pattern characteristic of much heroic fantasy by featuring a protagonist fleeing an unwanted crown. Another singular feature of the novel is its frequent use of folk tales integrated into the plot (Jorian is a storyteller) to painlessly convey something of the background and history of the invented world. This device obviates the need for lengthy appendices, as in "The Lord of the Rings". While each book in the trilogy makes use of the device, its use is heaviest in "The Goblin Tower".

References

*cite book | last=Laughlin | first=Charlotte | coauthors=Daniel J. H. Levack | title=De Camp: An L. Sprague de Camp Bibliography | location=San Francisco | publisher=Underwood/Miller | pages=59 | date=1983