What do you think?
Rate this book
Goblins & Greatcoats
A goblin with too many pockets and a disturbing affinity for cutlery, a rain-soaked night, four adventurers, a pair of corpses, a junk-drawer knife, some unfortunate taxidermy, and a beleaguered Gatewarden…
These are the primary ingredients in a locked-room mystery that can only be solved by the Territory's most unlikely detective.
Her name is Zyll.
Her eyes are keen, her teeth are sharp, and the chaos of her passing leaves no murder unsolved.
These are the primary ingredients in a locked-room mystery that can only be solved by the Territory's most unlikely detective.
Her name is Zyll.
Her eyes are keen, her teeth are sharp, and the chaos of her passing leaves no murder unsolved.
25 pages, ebook
First published June 24, 2024
About the author
Travis Baldree
172 books8,267 followersNew York Times Bestselling Author of Legends & Lattes. Audiobook narrator. Erstwhile game developer. Made Fate, Torchlight & Rebel Galaxy.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 132 reviews
July 19, 2024
♡ download and read for free from subterranean press
fourteen pages of cozy fantasy murder mystery meets a d&d campaign perfection. we follow zyll (with her greatcoat of many pockets), and her pony (named round boy 🥺), come to an inn one rainy night and slowly solve the closed circle mystery. i really adored this and i really hope travis blesses us with more from within story in the future (please more zyll and round boy adventures).
trigger and content warnings: talk of murder / death + blood
blog | instagram | youtube | kofi | spotify | amazon
♡ Legends & Lattes ★★★★★
♡ Bookshops & Bonedust ★★★★★
fourteen pages of cozy fantasy murder mystery meets a d&d campaign perfection. we follow zyll (with her greatcoat of many pockets), and her pony (named round boy 🥺), come to an inn one rainy night and slowly solve the closed circle mystery. i really adored this and i really hope travis blesses us with more from within story in the future (please more zyll and round boy adventures).
trigger and content warnings: talk of murder / death + blood
blog | instagram | youtube | kofi | spotify | amazon
♡ Legends & Lattes ★★★★★
♡ Bookshops & Bonedust ★★★★★
July 4, 2024
free here
which is fair enough, as i have (happily) spent way too much money on limited edition seanan mcguire books thru them.
which is fair enough, as i have (happily) spent way too much money on limited edition seanan mcguire books thru them.
July 29, 2024
This was a fun short story that's a fantasy version of a cozy mystery with a goblin investigating. Free from Subterranean Press.
July 6, 2024
I had no clue how this fourteen page novella (short story?) was going to go or how I could be made to like something so short and that had no ties to anything else but.. somehow.. here we are! This was really cute and a little silly, in the best way!, and I hope it's going to be a series with more to come. Because this little vignette has so much potential.
If you are looking for a distraction from the world that makes no demands on your time, that's both fantasy and locked room mystery, you definitely need this. So if you haven't already, go ahead and make sure to snag yourself a copy of this -- and, ps, as of the time of writing this post, it's free!
3.5 stars
---
This review can also be found at A Take From Two Cities.
If you are looking for a distraction from the world that makes no demands on your time, that's both fantasy and locked room mystery, you definitely need this. So if you haven't already, go ahead and make sure to snag yourself a copy of this -- and, ps, as of the time of writing this post, it's free!
3.5 stars
---
This review can also be found at A Take From Two Cities.
August 9, 2024
This was a super quick little mystery!
Personally, I thought the writing was a bit too descriptive and wordy in the beginning, but this was a a fun little story with an interesting main character. I want to know more about Zyll and would read a longer book following her.
Personally, I thought the writing was a bit too descriptive and wordy in the beginning, but this was a a fun little story with an interesting main character. I want to know more about Zyll and would read a longer book following her.
July 13, 2024
Una fantasía acogedora con misterio de habitación cerrada al estilo de los casos de Judge Dee de Lavie Tidhar con mucha cercanía a DnD. Ojalá tengamos más Zyll en el futuro :)
July 27, 2024
Cute but too short.
July 2, 2024
Racconto divertente ambientato (ma del tutto scollegato) nello stesso universo di Legends & Lattes. Prosa frizzante e irriverente che condisce un murder mystery risolto in poche pagine.
Il difetto principale risiede non tanto nell'aver schierato, in così poco spazio, molti personaggi, ma quanto nell'averli voluti identificare in maniera molto precisa con descrizioni accurate e, soprattutto, con nomi che difficilmente rimangono in testa. Sarebbe stato molto meglio limitarsi alla presentazione fisica, che già li distingueva bene (l'elfa, la nana, il folletto).
Vengono introdotti concetti che potrebbero (e visto il successo della serie, scommetto che sarà così) trovare futuri sviluppi nel mondo che l'autore sta costruendo.
Il difetto principale risiede non tanto nell'aver schierato, in così poco spazio, molti personaggi, ma quanto nell'averli voluti identificare in maniera molto precisa con descrizioni accurate e, soprattutto, con nomi che difficilmente rimangono in testa. Sarebbe stato molto meglio limitarsi alla presentazione fisica, che già li distingueva bene (l'elfa, la nana, il folletto).
Vengono introdotti concetti che potrebbero (e visto il successo della serie, scommetto che sarà così) trovare futuri sviluppi nel mondo che l'autore sta costruendo.
Want to read
June 25, 2024Currently (as of June 25, 2024) free at Subterranean Press as a DRM-free epub. You'll need to have an account, which includes providing a mailing address.
July 14, 2024
ok now i'm off to binge Death to Divinity, Dungeons Dice a& Everything Nice, and everything Dimension 20 <3
Read
July 15, 2024this was a very fun introduction to a character i hope we see more of in the future!
read for the Fantasy Book Bingo Challenge: Orcs, Trolls, and Goblins - Oh My! (Hard Mode)
read for the Fantasy Book Bingo Challenge: Orcs, Trolls, and Goblins - Oh My! (Hard Mode)
July 18, 2024
In marches Travis Baldree and a cozy new short story. if you're in the mood for a quick, cute story with all the cozy, mysterious vibes, read this short by Travis Baldree. It is free on Subterranean Press's website.
Read
June 28, 2024I'm not going to dunk on an author for doing the thing that's the thing they do. I liked Legends and Lattes, understood it was a riff on DnD (which I don't play) and that it was low-stakes because it was meant to be and no one was getting anything they didn't sign up for.
This, however, annoyed the shit out of me. For one thing, Subterranean seem to be trying to imply it's a novella rather than a 14-page novelette. And for the main thing, this is DnD. It's just DnD. The tavern, check; the huge number of characters of different species and funny names, check; the worldbuilding that's incomprehensible unless you already know what it is. This doesn't feel like a piece of work that's intended to be a work of freestanding narrative fiction. It's very annoying.
This, however, annoyed the shit out of me. For one thing, Subterranean seem to be trying to imply it's a novella rather than a 14-page novelette. And for the main thing, this is DnD. It's just DnD. The tavern, check; the huge number of characters of different species and funny names, check; the worldbuilding that's incomprehensible unless you already know what it is. This doesn't feel like a piece of work that's intended to be a work of freestanding narrative fiction. It's very annoying.
June 27, 2024
This is so cute! And it was fun, too!
I couldn't believe that such a short story could have been so good, especially if you have to solve a murder in it, but... I was wrong. This story is short, really really short, but it is also good, really really good!
Zyl is an amazing character and I really hope to read more of her adventures, maybe even longer ones! This is a perfect blend of mystery and fantasy, with a good serving of cozy all around!
I couldn't believe that such a short story could have been so good, especially if you have to solve a murder in it, but... I was wrong. This story is short, really really short, but it is also good, really really good!
Zyl is an amazing character and I really hope to read more of her adventures, maybe even longer ones! This is a perfect blend of mystery and fantasy, with a good serving of cozy all around!
June 25, 2024
This was a short, fun read. It is available for free here
I was sure I had it figured out and then bam 💥 there was a nice twist in the end. I really hope Travis writes more stories following Zyll in the future. Also what a nice cover!
I was sure I had it figured out and then bam 💥 there was a nice twist in the end. I really hope Travis writes more stories following Zyll in the future. Also what a nice cover!
June 26, 2024
It’s always a good day when you’ve discovered something new from Travis Baldree. This was a delightful novella featuring Zyll our detective, set in the world of Legends & Lattes. A classic whodunnit murder mystery, with quirky characters and great humour. This really made me smile, I would love to see Zyll get her chance at a full novel, and Travis Baldree’s writing in this is no less spectacular than in his previous works.
5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
August 28, 2024
This was a quick, fun little novella mystery set in the world of Legends & Lattes. I think it was definitely too short - less than 50 pages is not really enough to gain anything from; 100 pages or so would have been much better for me personally.
July 9, 2024
Haha, loved it. More Zyll, please!
July 19, 2024
Its ok... like 3.3
July 17, 2024
Cozy fantasy murder mystery short story with an awesome main character, that I would love to hear more about. I really hope this is a teaser for a longer work.
Read
July 19, 2024I'm not actually going to rate what is clearly just a bite out of someone's D&D campaign. It's a cute little mystery, but it's too short and there's not really enough there to be anything in particular.
Always up for little goblins solving mysteries, and the chunky horse was amazing. The atmosphere crushed it. I'd like more from this, but it's a bit short and mildly confusing as it stands. But it's totally free, and there's a pretty cool coat with a thousand little pockets in it.
Always up for little goblins solving mysteries, and the chunky horse was amazing. The atmosphere crushed it. I'd like more from this, but it's a bit short and mildly confusing as it stands. But it's totally free, and there's a pretty cool coat with a thousand little pockets in it.
August 18, 2024
A fun short story about a goblin, Zyll, who enters an inn and discovers a murder scene. The people at the inn believe she is there to investigate the murder and discover who is the murderer. That she does, showing an eye for detail, both mundane and magical, while pocketing various eating utensils from the inn.
The twist comes at the end when the murderer is revealed, and Zyll is shown to be not the person they expect her to be.
The twist comes at the end when the murderer is revealed, and Zyll is shown to be not the person they expect her to be.
June 24, 2024
Kind of a large cast to keep track of for such a short story but the story itself was so fun and I did greatly enjoy the murder mystery.
June 24, 2024
Downloaded and read for free from subterranean press. Lots of characters introduced in 14 pages. Can't wait to see how/if this story progresses.
June 26, 2024
Cortito pero me gustó como funciona el típico cuento a lo Agatha Christie en una taberna en un mundo de fantasía a lo D&D. Tengo que seguir leyendo a Baldree.
August 1, 2024
A bite-sized treat for those of us who were enchanted by Baldree's writing.
What's better than a lil mystery set in a tavern, almost as if peeking into a group's DnD adventure? Nothing, that's what.
I'd love to see this bunch of idiots in a bigger, meatier adventure in the future. Here's to hoping we get something new soon!
WINK WINK
What's better than a lil mystery set in a tavern, almost as if peeking into a group's DnD adventure? Nothing, that's what.
I'd love to see this bunch of idiots in a bigger, meatier adventure in the future. Here's to hoping we get something new soon!
WINK WINK
August 13, 2024
Wonderfully baroque prose, worthy of the cheesiest of detective novels, set in a fantasy inn. Funny, vivid and cozy.
August 14, 2024
Fun little short story.
June 26, 2024
A short but very enjoyable story set in the world of Legends & Lattes.
I for one hope we see a lot more of Zyll in upcoming works.
I for one hope we see a lot more of Zyll in upcoming works.
August 3, 2024
3.5 stars. Super cute short story.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 132 reviews