Backyard Goblins by Virgil Knightley Review
Backyard Goblins by Virgil Knightley Review
Hey, you crazy cats and kittens. Step into the spear line with me as we talk about the most recent #HaremLit book that I’ve ever read! This book was a lot of fun, scratching my desire to have a homestead of my own. This one was about a hermit living on a rural property and his encounter with otherworldly goblins. This book was a lot of fun to experience, so grab your smores and prepare for the story of a lifetime! It had everything you expect from Virgil Knightley; hot girls, a fun harem dynamic, and all of the feral girl shenanigans you could ask for. So, join me on this crazy adventure and dive into the deep end of crazy with me, Lance Spears!
Book Title: Backyard Goblins
Author: Virgil Knightley
Narrator: Jonathan Waters & Mandy McCullough
Audio Publisher: Royal Guard Publishing
eBook Price: $4.99 USD
Audiobook Price: $29.66 USD or one Audible Credit
Whisper Sync Pricing: $12.48 USD
Pages: 271 Pages
Audiobook Length: 7 Hours 31 Minutes
Keywords: Goblins, Paranormal Fantasy, Rural Fantasy, Portal Fantasy, Harem, Progression Story
Summary
Be careful. They bite.
One day I was enjoying my early retirement out in the countryside, taking comfort in the simplicity of my off grid lifestyle. Hunting and gardening provided the bulk of my own food, and I slept and did my work from inside my converted shipping container mini-home. It could get a bit lonely at times—but it gave me the space I needed to get away from the city...and my past.
But when a trio of cute goblins emerged from a silver portal that appeared out of nowhere on my property...things got a bit more complicated all of a sudden. Also, I soon discovered they bite and scratch: mostly each other, but sometimes me.
Still, I made a commitment to care for them. I also discovered that I can travel freely back to their world and slay monsters to gain strength and enhance each of the women I’m now responsible for in unusual ways. It’s all pretty exciting—but what is my childhood friend Susie going to say when she finds out about this strange arrangement? Knowing her, probably something weird.
The summary by the author was spot on! He gave us a hint of what to expect, showed his authorial tone, and generally made me want to read this book. The kick-ass cover helped, but the blurb sold it for me.
Characters
The characters in this story are compelling, and like with most harem stories, the final product is better than the sum of its parts. The story is mostly told through the eyes of our main character, Daryl, but we get brief glimpses of narrative prose from the eyes of Susie and the Homeland Security agent. I’ll break down the individual characters, but overall, I loved all of the ensemble cast.
Daryl: He’s the main character in this novel and is independently wealthy. After experiencing that great tragedy, he resolved never to allow himself to be unable to save those close to him again. As part of that, he quits teaching and begins every side hustle known to man until he’s got several million in the bank. After he reached that fiscal milestone, he withdrew from society. He becomes a hermit, hiding away on royal property where he merely exists. Sure, he has his occasional sexual trysts with Susie, but at the time, he sees it as purely physical. When the trio of goblin girls came into his life, he truly stepped up and cared for his charges. Through that process, he finally begins to thrive. It is only then that his mostly physical relationship with his former girlfriend, Susie, becomes something more.
During these events, he’s forced to face his emotions and his past so he can have her in his future. He finally decides that he wants more out of life. As a construct, he’s an extremely well-written and flush-out character. I could easily relate to him. Especially with the way he’s dealing with the trauma of a school shooting he survived. He was in the unenviable position of being a teacher, trying to save as many of his students as he could. He grieves those he couldn’t save, and it changes him to his core. Having been through the trials of combat, I felt like Daryl’s reactions were spot on. This novel is basically the story of a man overcoming his PTSD with the help of his loyal harem.
Susie Quickly: She’s the female love interest, at least the human one. She’s also the queen to Daryl’s king, at least as far as the goblin girls are concerned. She’s the cute every girl with curves, cute pigtails, and glasses. She gives me the sexy librarian vibe, which fits since she is a smart and successful certified public accountant. She has a big wig corporate job, making good money. She’s deeply in love with Daryl and is the kind of spunky lady you want to throw a ring at!
Moppi, Poppi, and Koko: This trio of goblin girls was a fun and feral collection of waist-high sexpots. They were about 4 feet tall, by description… but in my head, I envisioned them smaller for some reason. I think it was because of how they were described. They were fun to read about, giving just the right amount of otherworldliness to the setting. I like how Virgil made up a language for them before having them switch to the ttrpg trope of the “common” tongue. However, because of the accents and language barriers, I had trouble differentiating the three goblin girls in my head. I wonder if I would have the same issue if I’d read the ebook instead of listening to the audio. Overall, they were an adorable trio, so while I couldn’t separate them in my head, I don’t find fault with it because it gave a sense of exoticness to their characterization.
Plot and Pacing
This story was expertly plotted by Virgil Knightley. I believed in the goblin character’s transition from their world to Earth. The process that brought them there was easy to buy, but I wanted to believe, and the author made it easy to do. I really loved how Daryl advanced or progressed as he absorbed monster souls. The other important part of this story was how well-paced the adventure was. I had zero complaints about the plotting and pacing of this novel’s story arc. The story progressed along nicely, with appropriate interspace lulls in the action for spicy time, character development, and world-building. Like all of the best stories, this one wasn’t all action, and it wasn’t all sex. I was left wanting more as I heard the end credits; what more can we ask from any plot?
Audiobook Quality
I listened to the audiobook version of this novel, and it was perfectly done. I shouldn’t be surprised that Virgil Knightley and Royal Guard Publishing put together a Grade-A production. The narrators, Jonathan Waters and Mandy McCullough, did an amazing job. I don’t know if they’ve ever worked together, but this felt natural. I really thought I was sitting in front of a fire pit as my friends told me a kick-ass story. They did a good job of setting the mood and tone for the various parts of the story. They are definitely on the short list of narrators that I would want for my own books.
Sizzle Factor
The sex scenes in this book were well-written and imaginative, though the language was blunt and left little to the imagination. I’ve come to accept this as Virgil’s authorial voice in action… err, in motion? Anyway, the fun part of the schmexy scenes was how creative the author was in factoring in the goblin vibes. He kept up the feral nature of the love interests in play, and it was fun to see how it would happen. Given that this is my second Virgil novel that had biting in it, I think of it as his signature naughty move. It wasn’t cringe; no, it was hot, but very much a part of his style. It was steamy, fun and left you wanting more. Backyard Goblins 2, when? Though, if I’m being honest, I’m not sure how the author tops these naughty bits!
Overall
This was an awesome novel, and I really loved seeing how Virgil brought goblin women into the real world. I thought he expertly showed the culture shock of his main character, Daryl. Further, he showed the confusion of the trio of Moppi, Poppi, and Koko as they learned they’d entered a non-magical dimension. As far as portal scenes go, this one was top-notch.
Because this was our world, there wasn’t as much required world-building, and it gave the author room to showcase the characters. Virgil didn’t waste that time; nope, he put it to good use. We got in-depth looks into the psyche of all of the main players in Backyard Goblins. Then we got to discover the Daryl Homestead, which is an interest of mine as well. But why container homes? Ugh, these make no sense to me. Building on-site seems more efficient and gives you more space for your buck. I digress… back to the novel itself.
Like everything of Virgil’s that I’ve read, this book had well-written prose that was simple and workman-like. He very much reminds me of the way Tom Clancy tells a yarn, but I’m a fan of that way of conveying a story. The language wasn’t flowery, but the author isn’t a dunce with words either. He kept the story moving forward, and I was constantly left wanting more from everything about this world.
One thing that I struggled with in this book was how the big bad was portrayed. I’m going to be intentionally vague since we don’t do spoilers here. That said, the character was written as someone who was firm in his convictions. His actions were largely honorable and within the realm of what I’ve experienced from the clandestine operators. Even the final confrontation was more a misunderstanding than a showdown between good and evil. The scene was written so that you feel for both sides in that ruckus. I understood the motivation of all parties, and I truly felt sorry for the dying big bad. He wasn’t an evil person, but he could have handled things differently and lived. I guess it’s part of that Fuck Around and Find Out life lesson situation. Again, he wasn’t evil either, so it kept things interesting.
One of the things that make this review difficult was that the author didn’t give overarching stakes that put the universe at risk. Instead, this book was mostly about the main character living with the change to his reality that happened because of the trio of goblins that came into his world. It made the story more relaxing and enjoyable, but that gives me less meat on the bone for this review. With that being said, I’ll conclude by restating that I loved this story. Oh, and I’d like to request that if you loved this book too, go over to Amazon and leave a review. This is a small thing, but it really does help the authors find visibility. Since I’m hooked on this genre, I want the creators I’m growing to love to be able to give us more of this literary crack that’s piped straight into my earholes!