The Goblin Gate and The Goblin War by Hilari Bell

I'm doing one post for The Goblin Gate and The Goblin War by Hilari Bell, as they are the second and third books in a trilogy and I read them back to back. (For my thoughts on the first book of the series, see this post.)

The Goblin Gate focuses on Tobin's brother Jeriah, who is attempting to find a way to rescue his brother from the Otherworld. Jeriah is opposed in this by the priests and government officials who are focused on winning the war with the southern barbarians, now that the goblin problem has been dealt with . . . even though they know from their research that prolonged exposure to the Otherworld will kill Tobin. In their eyes, Tobin is a casualty of war, but Jeriah is not willing to give up on his brother while there is a chance that he is still alive. The main focus of the book is on Jeriah's desire to be a hero, while acknowledging that the heroes of old never had to compromise their principles the way he does. Jeriah reminds me of another Hilari Bell character -- Michael from The Last Knight.

In The Goblin War, the final conflict with the southern barbarians is heating up, and all of the characters are struggling to find a way to coexist. United by the threat from a common enemy, the goblins and the humans may finally have to learn to work together.

I enjoyed this series, but find that I don't have deeper thoughts on it than that it was a fun adventure. It's not one I'll want to revisit, but I'd recommend it to someone looking for (if this is not a contradiction in terms) light epic fantasy.

(Reviewed from copies borrowed through my library system.)