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splattergore's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
fern_mollett's review against another edition
2.0
TL;DR: In a book about the creepy town of Goblin, which has many scary elements (a witch, a haunted woods, monsters, zombie police force) we focus instead on random, flat characters on one rainy night. Bad endings, predictable, full of tropes, with tons of unanswered (really interesting) questions.
This book is like if Stephen King (the master of bad endings) tried writing some Twilight Zone episodes. A quick, easy read focusing on the events of one very rainy night in the town of Goblin. This collection is full of tropes, bad endings, and relying on mental illness to convey horror. For experienced horror readers this collection is predictable at best, trite at worst.
My biggest grief with this book is that the stories focused on the wrong things. Throughout the book we got snippets of other, far more interesting sounding stories: the zombie police department, the witch in the haunted North Woods, the original 60 and the Indigenous people that feared the land, the key to the city and why not having it in place threw Goblin out of balance, the Great Owls, whatever was in the back of the truck ... Instead we got stories of regular people on a rainy night: A mentally ill man who murdered his friend, a mentally ill man who Chekhov's gun-ed himself to death, a mentally ill man who got his friends killed so he could get what he wanted, a magician who sold his soul for real magic, another mentally ill man who killed his friend, and a grieving widow.
Instead of writing a collection of stories about Goblin, a town its own entity, we got random, confusing stories about the flat characters that live there (or are passing thru it, or leaving it).
Prologue + Epilogue ☆☆
Started out the book with building atmosphere, scary monsters and ended the book with another confusing ending that lead nowhere.
A Man in Slices ☆
This story is splatter punk adjacent thriller. The horror part is that the character is mentally ill and violent (a real theme in this collection). There was such a good buildup to such a random, not-that-scary confession. The ending was predictable and very sudden.
Kamp ☆☆
This story is a psychological horror full of classic tropes, that once again, relies on mental illness to convey the horror. Classic "is it mental illness or is it ghosts?" Great example of Chekhov's gun. A great example of how NOT to write fat characters. Every mention of Walter's movements came with adjectives like plump, huge, thick, big, heavy set. The ending was predictable, but very WTF? in its specific details. Like a poorly executed Twilight Zone.
Happy Birthday, Hunter ☆☆☆
A fine, atmospheric, landscape and animal based horror story focusing on the haunted North Woods and the terrifying creatures that inhabit it (probably). There were a few scary scenes in the woods, some gore, and some ghosts. The end was not very satisfying and left me going, "ok?" and with many more questions about Goblin then it cared to answer.
Presto ☆☆☆
The bits concerning Roman Emperor were interesting, but the filler about the kid who was his fan was boring. The ending (one which had to be puzzled together) came too soon and didn't make a lot of sense to me, logistically. How was Roman going city to city disappearing multiple people into empty graves and no one became suspicious?
A Mix Up at the Zoo ☆
Kind of boring, predictable. The main character fell flat, as once again, the author relied on mental illness to provide all the horrors and twists.
The Hedges ☆☆
A thriller that raised way more questions than it answered.
This book is like if Stephen King (the master of bad endings) tried writing some Twilight Zone episodes. A quick, easy read focusing on the events of one very rainy night in the town of Goblin. This collection is full of tropes, bad endings, and relying on mental illness to convey horror. For experienced horror readers this collection is predictable at best, trite at worst.
My biggest grief with this book is that the stories focused on the wrong things. Throughout the book we got snippets of other, far more interesting sounding stories: the zombie police department, the witch in the haunted North Woods, the original 60 and the Indigenous people that feared the land, the key to the city and why not having it in place threw Goblin out of balance, the Great Owls, whatever was in the back of the truck ... Instead we got stories of regular people on a rainy night: A mentally ill man who murdered his friend, a mentally ill man who Chekhov's gun-ed himself to death, a mentally ill man who got his friends killed so he could get what he wanted, a magician who sold his soul for real magic, another mentally ill man who killed his friend, and a grieving widow.
Instead of writing a collection of stories about Goblin, a town its own entity, we got random, confusing stories about the flat characters that live there (or are passing thru it, or leaving it).
Prologue + Epilogue ☆☆
Started out the book with building atmosphere, scary monsters and ended the book with another confusing ending that lead nowhere.
A Man in Slices ☆
This story is splatter punk adjacent thriller. The horror part is that the character is mentally ill and violent (a real theme in this collection). There was such a good buildup to such a random, not-that-scary confession. The ending was predictable and very sudden.
Kamp ☆☆
This story is a psychological horror full of classic tropes, that once again, relies on mental illness to convey the horror. Classic "is it mental illness or is it ghosts?" Great example of Chekhov's gun. A great example of how NOT to write fat characters. Every mention of Walter's movements came with adjectives like plump, huge, thick, big, heavy set. The ending was predictable, but very WTF? in its specific details. Like a poorly executed Twilight Zone.
Happy Birthday, Hunter ☆☆☆
A fine, atmospheric, landscape and animal based horror story focusing on the haunted North Woods and the terrifying creatures that inhabit it (probably). There were a few scary scenes in the woods, some gore, and some ghosts. The end was not very satisfying and left me going, "ok?" and with many more questions about Goblin then it cared to answer.
Presto ☆☆☆
The bits concerning Roman Emperor were interesting, but the filler about the kid who was his fan was boring. The ending (one which had to be puzzled together) came too soon and didn't make a lot of sense to me, logistically. How was Roman going city to city disappearing multiple people into empty graves and no one became suspicious?
A Mix Up at the Zoo ☆
Kind of boring, predictable. The main character fell flat, as once again, the author relied on mental illness to provide all the horrors and twists.
The Hedges ☆☆
A thriller that raised way more questions than it answered.
gcb's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
But that's how it always is here, isn't it? People mistaking their own stories as adding up to one big one.
I’m a sucker for short stories, I’m a sucker for an anthology, and I’m a sucker for a small town in Michigan where everything seems wrong. GOBLIN and its mythology stole my heart! I loved the subtle connections between the stories and the obsession that stitched them together. PHENOMENAL!
I’m a sucker for short stories, I’m a sucker for an anthology, and I’m a sucker for a small town in Michigan where everything seems wrong. GOBLIN and its mythology stole my heart! I loved the subtle connections between the stories and the obsession that stitched them together. PHENOMENAL!
jamiecakes0522's review against another edition
4.0
Favorites of the stories:
A Man In Slices
Kamp
Happy Birthday, Hunter!
A Man In Slices
Kamp
Happy Birthday, Hunter!
voidedlux's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
blakeaustin's review against another edition
4.0
This was good! I liked the format and I liked how each of the six novellas was totally unique and stood apart from each other.
My biggest complaint is that each story relied too heavily on a very Twilight Zone style twist ending and it got a little bit repetitive knowing that every story would end this way and not fully conclude what was going on. Minor complaint though, as I did really enjoy this book.
My biggest complaint is that each story relied too heavily on a very Twilight Zone style twist ending and it got a little bit repetitive knowing that every story would end this way and not fully conclude what was going on. Minor complaint though, as I did really enjoy this book.
justinkhchen's review against another edition
3.0
3 stars
Atmospheric buildup leading to underwhelming resolution. I do love what Josh Malerman is attempting here: a collection of distinct stories set in the same fictional location with interconnecting details. Judging solely from this aspect, Goblin is flawlessly executed; painting a vivid picture of this always-rainy town named Goblin, and casting a deep web of its troubled history. I don't particularly mind there are lingering mysteries remaining unresolved—leaving plenty of room for a second installment. (Goblin was first published back in 2017, this is a 2021 re-release.)
So it's quite disappointing to say all the stories here are plagued by one common shortcoming: subpar ending. Either they are extremely predictable (A Mix-Up at the Zoo, A Man in Slices), or completely out of left field, dissipating narrative momentum and adding even more unresolved questions (Presto, The Hedges). Even the more cohesive ones (Kamp, Happy Birthday, Hunter!) kind of peter out, leaving readers with a sense of 'that's it?' rather than a sharp, clean finish.
Usually within a short stories collection there are identifiable highs and lows, but Goblin is a case of unrewarding uniformity; even though the tales all contain immersive environment, unique creepy element, and lore bleeding with potential, they are all bogged down by their misaligned closures. I do, however, still wish there will be a round two with the town of Goblin in the future—fingers crossed for better endings!
***This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Much appreciated!***
Atmospheric buildup leading to underwhelming resolution. I do love what Josh Malerman is attempting here: a collection of distinct stories set in the same fictional location with interconnecting details. Judging solely from this aspect, Goblin is flawlessly executed; painting a vivid picture of this always-rainy town named Goblin, and casting a deep web of its troubled history. I don't particularly mind there are lingering mysteries remaining unresolved—leaving plenty of room for a second installment. (Goblin was first published back in 2017, this is a 2021 re-release.)
So it's quite disappointing to say all the stories here are plagued by one common shortcoming: subpar ending. Either they are extremely predictable (A Mix-Up at the Zoo, A Man in Slices), or completely out of left field, dissipating narrative momentum and adding even more unresolved questions (Presto, The Hedges). Even the more cohesive ones (Kamp, Happy Birthday, Hunter!) kind of peter out, leaving readers with a sense of 'that's it?' rather than a sharp, clean finish.
Usually within a short stories collection there are identifiable highs and lows, but Goblin is a case of unrewarding uniformity; even though the tales all contain immersive environment, unique creepy element, and lore bleeding with potential, they are all bogged down by their misaligned closures. I do, however, still wish there will be a round two with the town of Goblin in the future—fingers crossed for better endings!
***This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Much appreciated!***
njdarkish's review against another edition
3.0
A fun collection of novellas with thin connective tissue. Some stories were stronger than others, but overall I had fun. Ultimately Goblin failed to feel real enough to really sell me on some of the stories, unfortunately.