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niea's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
booknerd93's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
nicolemhill's review
As someone who loves someone with bipolar disorder, I found this a remarkable work of horror. It's a unique representation of mental illness, and it's left me with a lot to chew on. Hard to rate but glad I read. Also, another afterword worth sticking around for.
the_coycaterpillar_reads's review
4.0
The Hobgoblin of Little Minds…just how on earth do you review something of such important magnitude? The implications, the research, and the depth of such a poetic narrative…it blew my mind. This is the type of book that authors spend their entire careers trying to pen. The depth of feeling took it to a higher level, the bar being set with flair and empathy. This is the kind of horror that gets my gears churning, there is nothing more horrifying than the human condition and Matthews handed me a hand grenade.
The Hobgoblin of Little Minds was a journey. Get that seatbelt locked in tight because you will suffer whiplash but it’s the kind of shock that is needed for you to fully get the message that Matthews is conveying. Just from the synopsis alone, I knew this was going to be a good read, this was an astounding read, however. We have many questions and themes interweaving to bring the reader an explosive plot. Religion, faith, guilt, mental health, and public perception. The book had quite the profound effect on me and wanted the read to last but also wanting to know what would happen next. Mr Matthews is very much the trickster!
This story does not beat around the bush…no it leads you up a secluded path and jumps out at you when you least expect it. A story that at its very core feels like more an investigation at how people are treated with mental illness and the implications of having such, socially. Be prepared for Matthews to transport you into the story, I always felt like I was there, walking the halls of the hospital, feeling the anguish, and feeling the pain the characters were in. it only takes a sentence for the author to bring everything to life.
Our Protagonist, Kori has had her fair share of heartache. Her father is diagnosed with bipolar Disorder. His medication doesn’t seem to be helping with his symptoms. Fully medicated he’s completely numb, nothing like she remembers him to be and when in mania, he is excitable, and they can have fun together…until he comes down again. He’s had multiple enforced stays in hospital but now he’s in permanently. His final stay in hospital has him meeting Dr Zita and well, his life will forever be changed.
The Hobgoblin of Little Minds obviously had Werewolves playing an integral part in the storytelling and let me tell you – these creatures were scary as all hell! It was a deep exploration of how mental and health and being an actual monster can be metaphorically connected. The closing of the book leaves you searching for answers to the questions that the reader wasn’t even aware were hidden in plain sight.
The Hobgoblin of Little Minds is disquieting and disturbing. Its how you want all psychological horror and Monster Horror to be crafted. It’s a story so deeply etched in desperation and pain, its masterful.
The Hobgoblin of Little Minds was a journey. Get that seatbelt locked in tight because you will suffer whiplash but it’s the kind of shock that is needed for you to fully get the message that Matthews is conveying. Just from the synopsis alone, I knew this was going to be a good read, this was an astounding read, however. We have many questions and themes interweaving to bring the reader an explosive plot. Religion, faith, guilt, mental health, and public perception. The book had quite the profound effect on me and wanted the read to last but also wanting to know what would happen next. Mr Matthews is very much the trickster!
This story does not beat around the bush…no it leads you up a secluded path and jumps out at you when you least expect it. A story that at its very core feels like more an investigation at how people are treated with mental illness and the implications of having such, socially. Be prepared for Matthews to transport you into the story, I always felt like I was there, walking the halls of the hospital, feeling the anguish, and feeling the pain the characters were in. it only takes a sentence for the author to bring everything to life.
Our Protagonist, Kori has had her fair share of heartache. Her father is diagnosed with bipolar Disorder. His medication doesn’t seem to be helping with his symptoms. Fully medicated he’s completely numb, nothing like she remembers him to be and when in mania, he is excitable, and they can have fun together…until he comes down again. He’s had multiple enforced stays in hospital but now he’s in permanently. His final stay in hospital has him meeting Dr Zita and well, his life will forever be changed.
The Hobgoblin of Little Minds obviously had Werewolves playing an integral part in the storytelling and let me tell you – these creatures were scary as all hell! It was a deep exploration of how mental and health and being an actual monster can be metaphorically connected. The closing of the book leaves you searching for answers to the questions that the reader wasn’t even aware were hidden in plain sight.
The Hobgoblin of Little Minds is disquieting and disturbing. Its how you want all psychological horror and Monster Horror to be crafted. It’s a story so deeply etched in desperation and pain, its masterful.
raforall's review
4.0
Review in January 2021 Horror Review column for Library Journal: https://www.libraryjournal.com/?reviewDetail=the-hobgoblin-of-little-minds
Three Words That Describe This Book: mental health, visceral, multiple points of view
Draft Review:
Framed by the well known Emerson quote referenced in the title and informed by Matthews’ 20+ years working in the mental health industry, this fast paced thriller, set in an abandoned mental hospital, tells the story of the effects of mental illness from the point of view of those who suffer and their families, but within the frame of a wholly original addition to the werewolf cannon. Readers will fall into the story quickly, connecting with the main characters as each point of view is explored. This is a tale that makes the reader squirm both because of the well executed, and visceral horror and because of the discomfort from a peek into the minds of people trying to live with mania. Verdict: Pairing an honest and respectful discussion of bi-polar disorder and how our current treatment options often fail its patients with a compelling, and action packed werewolf story, this is an obvious suggestion to fans of The Last Werewolf Trilogy by Duncan but also a great comp for thought provoking creature tales that contemplate the character’s trauma as part of the horror like Frankenstein in Baghdad by Saadawi.
Three Words That Describe This Book: mental health, visceral, multiple points of view
Draft Review:
Framed by the well known Emerson quote referenced in the title and informed by Matthews’ 20+ years working in the mental health industry, this fast paced thriller, set in an abandoned mental hospital, tells the story of the effects of mental illness from the point of view of those who suffer and their families, but within the frame of a wholly original addition to the werewolf cannon. Readers will fall into the story quickly, connecting with the main characters as each point of view is explored. This is a tale that makes the reader squirm both because of the well executed, and visceral horror and because of the discomfort from a peek into the minds of people trying to live with mania. Verdict: Pairing an honest and respectful discussion of bi-polar disorder and how our current treatment options often fail its patients with a compelling, and action packed werewolf story, this is an obvious suggestion to fans of The Last Werewolf Trilogy by Duncan but also a great comp for thought provoking creature tales that contemplate the character’s trauma as part of the horror like Frankenstein in Baghdad by Saadawi.
grimmgay's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
pbanditp's review
4.0
Kori’s father, Peter, suffers from bipolar disorder and he tried hard to do right by his family. However, one night Peter hurt Kori and was admitted to Northville Psychiatric Hospital, never to be heard from again.
Fifteen years after he was admitted, after the hospital was closed and abandoned, Kori wants to say a final goodbye before the building is demolished. What Kori discovers leaves her questioning everything she has been told.
Bipolar disorder is a transformation of the mind from mania, back and forth with depression, sometimes extreme in nature. Maybe sometimes the mind isn’t all that transforms. Sometimes science and genetics create a perfect vessel.
Mark Matthews knows the ramblings of a confused, distracted mind. He writes with sensitivity of those who society would consider “crazy”. He perfectly captures the deep regret that Kori feels for being the cause of her fathers institutionalization, making her somber, and nostalgic but determined.
Overall I did find this to be a difficult read even though I know this will stick with me. There is lots of internal monologue from those with mental health issues.
“The sun was just rising, golden eyelids over the horizon, birds happiest at this hour, and together they sing the song of the universe. Words he understands and they pull him along the sidewalk.”
This book would work well as a reread because you would know more of where the characters were coming from but for the first time through it gets confusing as to what may be important and what seems like mumbled nonsense.
Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of the ebook in exchange for an honest review
Fifteen years after he was admitted, after the hospital was closed and abandoned, Kori wants to say a final goodbye before the building is demolished. What Kori discovers leaves her questioning everything she has been told.
Bipolar disorder is a transformation of the mind from mania, back and forth with depression, sometimes extreme in nature. Maybe sometimes the mind isn’t all that transforms. Sometimes science and genetics create a perfect vessel.
Mark Matthews knows the ramblings of a confused, distracted mind. He writes with sensitivity of those who society would consider “crazy”. He perfectly captures the deep regret that Kori feels for being the cause of her fathers institutionalization, making her somber, and nostalgic but determined.
Overall I did find this to be a difficult read even though I know this will stick with me. There is lots of internal monologue from those with mental health issues.
“The sun was just rising, golden eyelids over the horizon, birds happiest at this hour, and together they sing the song of the universe. Words he understands and they pull him along the sidewalk.”
This book would work well as a reread because you would know more of where the characters were coming from but for the first time through it gets confusing as to what may be important and what seems like mumbled nonsense.
Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of the ebook in exchange for an honest review
limina's review
I thought this book was disjointed and terribly hard to read. Horrible is the word that comes to mind.
monakabbani's review
4.0
“That’s what she’s been—just one of an army of hobgoblins terrorizing her dad, trying to fix things with foolish consistency, over and over again, repeating the same efforts that didn’t work.”
Kori Persephone Driscoe needs to get her dad out. But he refuses to leave the hospital. The same psychiatric hospital that tested on him relentlessly until he could barely take it. But even abandoned, he doesn’t want to leave the underground tunnels of Northville Psychiatric. Because that’s where the monsters like him stay.
This is a unique werewolf story that instead of delving into solely the bloodshed, delves into the psyche. How do werewolves think? What runs through their minds when they’re on the brink of transformation? The psychological examination reads like a blur. The writing is fluid, almost like a continuous stream of unconscious thought touching upon mental illness, specifically bipolar disorder. If you’re fascinated by psychological stories with a taste of bloodshed, this would be for you.
Because the story is psychological in depth, it can get wordy so if you’re not a fan of long prose, this may hinder you. However, the writing is well done so the read is highly enjoyable. I do wish we learned more about some of the characters—there were mysterious backgrounds I desired to know. BUT, by the way the book ends, I’m assuming there will be a book two and all those delicious nuggets of information will be given. Looking forward to seeing what Matthews brings us next!
Kori Persephone Driscoe needs to get her dad out. But he refuses to leave the hospital. The same psychiatric hospital that tested on him relentlessly until he could barely take it. But even abandoned, he doesn’t want to leave the underground tunnels of Northville Psychiatric. Because that’s where the monsters like him stay.
This is a unique werewolf story that instead of delving into solely the bloodshed, delves into the psyche. How do werewolves think? What runs through their minds when they’re on the brink of transformation? The psychological examination reads like a blur. The writing is fluid, almost like a continuous stream of unconscious thought touching upon mental illness, specifically bipolar disorder. If you’re fascinated by psychological stories with a taste of bloodshed, this would be for you.
Because the story is psychological in depth, it can get wordy so if you’re not a fan of long prose, this may hinder you. However, the writing is well done so the read is highly enjoyable. I do wish we learned more about some of the characters—there were mysterious backgrounds I desired to know. BUT, by the way the book ends, I’m assuming there will be a book two and all those delicious nuggets of information will be given. Looking forward to seeing what Matthews brings us next!