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Legends & Lattes #1.5
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
34 people are currently reading
5915 people want to read
About the author
Travis Baldree
322 books12.3k followers#1 New York Times Bestselling Author of Legends & Lattes, Bookshops & Bonedust, and Brigands & Breadknives. Audie-winning. Audiobook narrator. Erstwhile game developer. Made Fate, Torchlight & Rebel Galaxy.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 408 reviews
July 24, 2025
♡ 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 ★★★★★
January 7, 2026
3.5 Stars
A mystery and a mysterious goblin that caught my attention in a short 14 pages. My only hope is that Baldree gives us more of this character in the future!
Legends & Lattes Series
0.0. Bookshops & Bonedust - 4 Stars
0.5. Pages to Fill - 4 Stars
0.6. Goblins & Greatcoats - 3.5 Stars
1. Legends & Lattes - 4 Stars
2. Brigands & Breadknives - 4 Stars
A mystery and a mysterious goblin that caught my attention in a short 14 pages. My only hope is that Baldree gives us more of this character in the future!
Legends & Lattes Series
0.0. Bookshops & Bonedust - 4 Stars
0.5. Pages to Fill - 4 Stars
0.6. Goblins & Greatcoats - 3.5 Stars
1. Legends & Lattes - 4 Stars
2. Brigands & Breadknives - 4 Stars
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.
December 27, 2025
a very short treat from the legends & lattes universe! this locked room mystery sets us down with an entirely new cast of characters in the wake of a dastardly murder at an inn.
this is my first time reading one of baldree's works in ebook form rather than audiobook, and it gave me a nice perspective on his writing. i typically adore the audio production, but this format allowed me to soak in more details of the language. there are some truly scrumptious turns of phrase here and there.
it's far too short to make a significant impression, but i still had fun with this. i love that zyll's pony is named round boy! so precious.
this is my first time reading one of baldree's works in ebook form rather than audiobook, and it gave me a nice perspective on his writing. i typically adore the audio production, but this format allowed me to soak in more details of the language. there are some truly scrumptious turns of phrase here and there.
it's far too short to make a significant impression, but i still had fun with this. i love that zyll's pony is named round boy! so precious.
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
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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.
January 10, 2025
3.5 / 5
this 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)
this 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)
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.
June 29, 2025
This was a fun, quick read.
September 5, 2025
A free short story from Subterranean Press by Travis Baldree. Part of his Legends and Lattes universe, but with new characters. Ending is a bit abrupt.
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.
July 14, 2024
ok now i'm off to binge Death to Divinity, Dungeons Dice a& Everything Nice, and everything Dimension 20 <3
January 3, 2025
This fantasy short story is a cozy mystery in which a goblin arrives one night at an inn where a crime has taken place and tries to figure out which of the six suspects present there is the murderer. A cozy fantasy adventure with Baldree’s distinctive writing style, with a plot too rushed for its short length and that doesn’t leave much room to minimally develop the characters so that at least their voices can be distinguished, but which ending left me with a smile.
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 9, 2025
Rating: 3.5 stars
This is a charming little locked-room murder mystery solved with the aid of a "goblin with too many pockets and a disturbing affinity for cutlery". If you want to test drive Travis Baldree's writing style, this short story is available for free from Subterranean Press: https://subterraneanpress.com/goblins...
This is a charming little locked-room murder mystery solved with the aid of a "goblin with too many pockets and a disturbing affinity for cutlery". If you want to test drive Travis Baldree's writing style, this short story is available for free from Subterranean Press: https://subterraneanpress.com/goblins...
June 16, 2025
FYI - I have this shelved as a kindle freebie, but it is actually free from Subterranean Press.
I actually enjoyed this better than the novels, to be honest. Short, too the point, with good characterization.
I actually enjoyed this better than the novels, to be honest. Short, too the point, with good characterization.
December 30, 2025
Silly fun little murder mystery short story, bite sized and ready off the shelf!
A treat.
A treat.
August 2, 2025
should i get into dnd
November 17, 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 stars
5 stars
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!
January 11, 2026
Da mir "Legends & Lattes" von Travis Baldree sehr gut gefallen hat, habe ich beschlossen, auch die beiden Novellen des Autors zu lesen, die in diesem Erzähluniversum spielen. Mit 25 Seiten ist die Geschichten sehr kurz, aber ein wirklich lohnenswerter Ausflug in Vivs lebendige D&D-Welt. Einen etwas ausführlicheren Nachschlag werde ich in der Vorgeschichte "Bookshops & Bonedust" und der Fortsetzung "Brigands & Breadknives" der Reihe bekommen, welche ich mir auch schon beide gekauft habe.
"Goblins & Greatcoats" ist eine wunderbar schräge Cozy-Fantasy-Novelle aus dem Legends & Lattes-Universum, das keinen direkten Bezug zu Vivs Geschichte hat und stattdessen die Goblindame Zyll vorstellt. Die kleine Abenteurerin mit eindeutig zu vielen Taschen und einer beunruhigenden Vorliebe für Messer wird in "Brigands & Breadknives" nochmal eine Rolle spielen. Als Zyll in einer regnerischen Nacht in einem Gasthaus auf zwei Leichen, vier Abenteurer, einen versteckten Schatz und einen überforderten Gatewarden trifft, ist der Fall mit scharfem Blick, spitzen Zähnen und einer ordentlichen Portion Chaos schnell gelöst. Auf wenigen Seiten gelingt Travis Baldree ein schräges, charmantes und äußerst unterhaltsames Murder Mystery Häppchen. Die Kurzgeschichte gibt es übrigens kostenlos hier.
"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…"
Fazit
Die Novelle aus dem Legends & Lattes-Universum ist zwar sehr kurz, fängt aber perfekt das ein, was Travis Baldrees Geschichten so besonders macht: liebevolles Worldbuilding, warme Atmosphäre und clevere Ideen.
"Goblins & Greatcoats" ist eine wunderbar schräge Cozy-Fantasy-Novelle aus dem Legends & Lattes-Universum, das keinen direkten Bezug zu Vivs Geschichte hat und stattdessen die Goblindame Zyll vorstellt. Die kleine Abenteurerin mit eindeutig zu vielen Taschen und einer beunruhigenden Vorliebe für Messer wird in "Brigands & Breadknives" nochmal eine Rolle spielen. Als Zyll in einer regnerischen Nacht in einem Gasthaus auf zwei Leichen, vier Abenteurer, einen versteckten Schatz und einen überforderten Gatewarden trifft, ist der Fall mit scharfem Blick, spitzen Zähnen und einer ordentlichen Portion Chaos schnell gelöst. Auf wenigen Seiten gelingt Travis Baldree ein schräges, charmantes und äußerst unterhaltsames Murder Mystery Häppchen. Die Kurzgeschichte gibt es übrigens kostenlos hier.
"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…"
Fazit
Die Novelle aus dem Legends & Lattes-Universum ist zwar sehr kurz, fängt aber perfekt das ein, was Travis Baldrees Geschichten so besonders macht: liebevolles Worldbuilding, warme Atmosphäre und clevere Ideen.
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.
November 17, 2025
3.5 ⭐️
Un cuento bastante entretenido que transcurre en el universo de Legends & Lattes.
En pocas páginas Baldree establece un misterio bastante sencillo, pero cargado del humor que caracteriza a sus libros. Es un gran autor para leer si andas buscando historias divertidas y personajes entrañables. Si además juegas D&D, seguro sus libros te van a encantar.
Un cuento bastante entretenido que transcurre en el universo de Legends & Lattes.
En pocas páginas Baldree establece un misterio bastante sencillo, pero cargado del humor que caracteriza a sus libros. Es un gran autor para leer si andas buscando historias divertidas y personajes entrañables. Si además juegas D&D, seguro sus libros te van a encantar.
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!
May 20, 2025
Quite a funny entry into the Legends & Lattes universe (though it seems entirely unrelated). Goblins & Greatcoats is well worth the read if you're a fan of Baldree's other work, or even if you would just like a taste before committing to a longer novel.
For 25 pages, a lot gets done and the story doesn't feel rushed. Zyll, our titular goblin, is a fun character and I hope to see more of her, even in the background of other stories.
For 25 pages, a lot gets done and the story doesn't feel rushed. Zyll, our titular goblin, is a fun character and I hope to see more of her, even in the background of other stories.
November 13, 2025
I love this short story set in the world of Legend & Lattes! I have just finished Brigands & Breadknives where I was first introduced to Zyll's character but I love that this short story gives the reader more of an insight into her character and her personality.
It seems impossible that a murder mystery can be solved in just 20 pages but Baldree does it perfectly and also adds some humour in too to make this an enjoyable short story. I hope we get to see more of Zyll again.
It seems impossible that a murder mystery can be solved in just 20 pages but Baldree does it perfectly and also adds some humour in too to make this an enjoyable short story. I hope we get to see more of Zyll again.
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.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 408 reviews