Info: You can get Goblintown Justice for free at Matt Forbeck’s website.

Goblintown Justice first appeared in 2011 in the Carnage & Consequences Anthology. It is the second story in the Shotguns and Sorcery series.

Goblintown Justice is definitely a mystery with Max Gibson as its investigator. Max Gibson is one of the main characters of the Shotguns and Sorcery series. He is a pretty tough guy who just happens to be a sorcerer.

Max lives in Dragon City. Dragon City is like any rough city in the world. It is divided between the powerful and the ones not so powerful. Rich and poor are as usual placed in different parts of the city and the various races also tend to congregate among their own. So, nothing unusual there. Even our capital Oslo is like this – and we are a puny country.

We find the police looking for easy answers because they want some body to blame. This time they blame Sig, one of Max’ acquaintances. Since the victim is one of their own Dragon Guard the police are especially keen on getting their perpetrator. But Max does not think that Sig did it and he is given a short space of time to prove it.

Power and corruption, fear and power, rich and poor are all found in this short story. In an amazingly short time Matt Forbeck manages to show the helplessness of the weak. But the weak have Max Gibson to bat for them and that is not such a bad thing. He fights well, takes a beating without giving up and manages to give as well as get. I like Max Gibson’s character – this hard-shelled adventurer.

I had great fun reading Goblintown Justice and wouldn’t mind reading more of Matt Forbeck’s work.