Goblin Wars is a fast paced, quirky, and fantastical series about Benjamin Dale Halfpenny. Our hero unknowingly is last remaining member of the royal shaman bloodline that once ruled the vast goblin empires of old. Although now in modern times his people have been subjugated by other species and relegated to carving out a meager existence. The story begins with Benjamin as an infant, dropped off at a porch of the renowned wizard couple Edmund Dale and Irwin Halfpenny. Instead of taking him in as a servant like his birth parents anticipated, the two wizards adopt the young goblin as their own beloved son and apprentice. They begin teaching him the magickal arts and proper rules of wizarding. The goblin trainee grows up going through crazy escapades with his siblings, (the familiars of his fathers) Claudia the talking magickal cat who isn't as clever as she believes, and Mr. Chadwick the raven who serves as the voice of reason for the mischievous trio but is sadly cursed to only say the word Nevermore. While growing up Benjamin has many adventures with magick including; being turned into a chicken, creating a monster that runs amuck, and meeting a variety of beings who become his part of his ‘family’, all the while learning how to become a powerful wizard. Unbeknownst to the young Benjamin, an ancient foe to his bloodline has resurfaced, due to the waning of the magick which the ancient goblin shamans used to hold him in place. With the death of the last active Shaman, the ancient fire dragon Drakkus has managed to escape the earthly prison in which he was bound to thousands of years ago. Now having secretly infiltrated the kingdom and posing as the ruler of the Rendahero Dynasty, Drakkus has launched a merciless campaign with subterfuge, warfare, and dark sorcery. The dragon is racing against the clock. Being the first of his siblings to escape their imprisonment, Drakkus’s main goal is global domination and consolidation of the world’s power before his five equally evil but less magickally inclined siblings can also escape their weakening prisons and challenge his authority. Edmund and Irwin try their best to give their son Benjamin a wonderful life of privilege and love, but oblivious to the goblin is the fact that his fathers are actually members of a resistance against the tyranny of Drakkus. The young goblin’s sheltered life arrives to a dreadful halt when Drakkus comes for his fathers. In a heroic last stand Edmund and Irwin send their children to live with their 'Uncle' Leafy a forest dragon. Devastated, Benjamin and his siblings must now figure out how to stop the evil that destroyed their family and threatens their world. This first book is going to end on a bad note. Benjamin is going to face a lot of loss. Yet this will fill him with the resolve he needs to find a way to defeat Drakkus in future novels. Goblin Wars: A Fire Rises is a whimsical fantasy story with elements of serious plot blended with light hearted moments. There a many themes to the story such as family being what you make of it, overcoming hardship, and unconventional heroes.