Books › The goblin reservation
The goblin reservation
667 pages
A cozy, eccentric romp where time travel, folklore, and academic bureaucracy collide in a delightful vintage sci-fi mystery.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like stepping into a warmly lit, slightly dusty university lounge where the impossible is discussed over a cup of tea. It is a delightfully eccentric blend of classic science fiction and folklore, moving at a brisk, engaging pace that never loses its gentle, pastoral charm. The narrative treats its bizarre elements, from time-traveling playwrights to bureaucratic goblins and alien artifacts, with a wry, matter-of-fact dryness that makes the absurdity all the more endearing. The mood is cozy and nostalgic, wrapping the reader in a lighthearted mystery that feels both expansive and intimately human. It will thoroughly delight fans of vintage, whimsical sci-fi who prefer their futuristic adventures seasoned with academic satire, mythological creatures, and a profound, optimistic curiosity about the universe.
- Mood
- cozy
- eccentric
- lighthearted
- nostalgic
- Tone
- whimsical
- wry
- gentle
- satirical
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- intersection of myth and science · academic absurdity · existential identity · preservation of knowledge
- The writing
- The prose is warmly conversational and gently ironic, treating the utterly bizarre with a delightful, matter-of-fact academic dryness.
- The arc
- Begins with disorienting bureaucratic absurdity and unfolds into a charming, high-stakes romp that ultimately affirms the value of curiosity and coexistence.
- Who it's for
- Readers who love vintage sci-fi that prioritizes charm, quirky world-building, and philosophical whimsy over hard science or grim dystopias.
Content notes
- mild peril
- existential themes of duplication
About the book
Having just returned to Earth from an intergalactic research mission, Professor Peter Maxwell, specialist in Supernatural Phenomena, finds himself in most desperate straits.
Earth, as the professor is well aware, has advanced beyond belief in many areas; time travel, for instance, has been perfected to such an extent that creatures from different ages (goblins, dinosaurs, and Shakespeare!) live together at the same time. But Maxwell has accidentally discovered a mysterious crystal planet which contains a storehouse of secret information, and he is sure that not even one-tenth of this knowledge is yet known on Earth.
Realizing the value of the planet for the Earth's future development, he attempts to convince those in power that they must, at any cost, get control of the crystal planet. But his efforts are thwarted by a startling fact: Maxwell was ingeniously duplicated on his return trip. The "other" him came back before he did, and was soon after "accidentally" killed. Now no one will believe the new Maxwell really exists.
Description from Open Library.
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