Andrew S. Chilton | The Children’s Book Review | January 20, 2016
The Goblin’s Puzzle is the story of a boy without a name and two girls named Alice. After being forced to flee his cruel master, the boy meets a goblin named Mennofar. Mennofar knows the secret truth about the boy’s fate, but he will only reveal it by answering one yes-or-no question a day. And he insists on giving each question the nit-pickiest interpretation possible. The more questions the boy asks, the further and further away the truth seems to get. Along the way, he must rescue first one Alice, a clever girl trying to become a sage, and then the other, a flighty princess who still has a trick or two up her sleeve. With their help, he must survive a fight with an ogre, confront a dragon, duel a usurping duke and solve the goblin’s puzzle, all before finally winning his freedom by outwitting his old master.
The picture above is a photo of me with the book. In the woods. Alone.
Here’s a picture of the stack of books on top of my dresser. I keep them there because it’s convenient for reading in bed. These are the books that I am currently reading or plan on reading. Or might get around to reading but possibly not. Or will never get around to reading but can’t quite bring myself to admit yet. Or have admitted to myself that I will not get around to reading but haven’t bothered to put anywhere else yet. Or just stuck there because it was convenient.
I’m not really sure what you can learn from these books, other than that I am not an engineer. (Yes, they do fall over sometimes.) There’s a lot of science fiction and fantasy books, but there’s a fair amount that isn’t. Some of the books are middle grade and YA, but some are for the adult market, too. It’s hard to know what they say about me. Besides, this is my to-be-read shelf. So, it doesn’t tell you what books that I like. It tells you what books I think I will like. I guess the one thing this picture does tell you is that I like to read. (It’s hard to tell from this picture, but this stack is three rows deep.)
About Andrew S. Chilton
Andrew S. Chilton drew inspiration for The Goblin’s Puzzle from a wide variety of sources, ranging from The Hobbit to Monty Python to Aristotle’sNicomachean Ethics. As a kid, he gobbled up fantasy novels and logic puzzles, and as an adult, he spent over ten years as a practicing lawyer before launching his career as a writer. He lives in Los Angeles, California.
Written by Andrew S. Chilton
Publisher’s Synopsis: Brimming with dragons, goblins, and logic puzzles, this middle-grade fantasy adventure is perfect for readers who enjoyed The Princess Bride or Rump.
THE BOY is a nameless slave on a mission to uncover his true destiny.
THE GOBLIN holds all the answers, but he’s too tricky to be trusted.
PLAIN ALICE is a bookish peasant girl carried off by a confused dragon.
And PRINCESS ALICE is the lucky girl who wasn’t kidnapped.
All four are tangled up in a sinister plot to take over the kingdom, and together they must face kind monsters, a cruel magician, and dozens of deathly boring palace bureaucrats. They’re a ragtag bunch, but with strength, courage, and plenty of deductive reasoning, they just might outwit the villains and crack the goblin’s puzzle.
“An adventure bursting with wit and charm. The characters are fresh, the story is thrilling, and the puzzles are downright diabolical. A wonderful book.” —Jonathan Auxier, author of The Night Gardener
“Brimming with sarcastic, cheeky, laugh-out-loud humor, this is a smart, original, and completely engaging adventure.” —School Library Journal, starred review
Ages 8-12 | Knopf Books for Young Readers | 2016 | ISBN-13: 978-0553520705
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Discover more books like The Goblin’s Puzzle, written by Andrew S. Chilton, by checking out our reviews and articles tagged with Adventure, Dragons, Fantasy, and Goblins; and be sure to follow along with our Selfie and a Shelfie series.