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brooketreads's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I found this on a list of “If you like The Labyrinth, read this.” I went in expecting to love this. I did enjoyed the multiple novella’s making up one book. Unfortunately, the stories didn’t come together for me. I thought there would be an over arching story line like all of them have to do with whatever is in the truck - nope. All the novellas take place in a city called Goblin, but I had no sense of the setting of any of these stories. Even the story in the woods felt like just a generic forest. I felt each story started out strong but quickly fell flat. There was either: too much detail that wasn’t helpful at all; or too much back story on the character that was being talked about at that moment. At points, I kept thinking ok let’s get on with the story. The Goblin police seemed interesting, but we didn’t get much information on them other than they were horrible/terrible. Were they actually Goblins? I don’t know.
Side Notes:
I can’t claim to know the authors ethnicity, but Kamp’s novella felt a little insensitive to Indigenous people. Maybe, I was reading way too much into it.
And killing owls made me irrationally angry.
Side Notes:
I can’t claim to know the authors ethnicity, but Kamp’s novella felt a little insensitive to Indigenous people. Maybe, I was reading way too much into it.
And killing owls made me irrationally angry.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Violence, and War
brookebatesratesbooks's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Animal cruelty
emilywrayburn's review against another edition
I liked the first two stories but I just wasn't really into the third... Since I only picked this up out of curiosity of the form, I am not bothered about continuing.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Death of parent
louisegraveyard's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Animal cruelty
Moderate: Police brutality and Violence
blakethebookeater's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
“Maude used to say it was in the water. And it always made Mrs. Doris laugh because she knew her sister wasn’t talking about the tap. She was referring of course, to the endless rainfall outside, and the fact that nobody out to be tasked with maintaining their sanity forever in a city that never stopped crying.”
This book was fantastic and I need more books like this PLEASE. It reminded me a lot of one of my favorite horror movies Trick r’ Treat and also of King’s classic creepy towns like Derry and Castle Rock.
My favorite part about these six (seven, if you count the prologue/epilogue) stories is that they all take place one the same night: a torrential downpour. This sets the mood so perfectly, and give you the feeling that there are so many dark, creepy things lurking in the rainstorm.
The town is by far the most important character of this novel, and each story reveals a different layer to its history, giving you further insight into why I think this is one of horror’s most iconic towns.
Brief thoughts on each of the six novellas.
Prologue/Epilogue: a great framing story about a delivery driver carrying mysterious cargo to the town of Goblin, with *very* specific instructions. Really loved the vibe of this.
A Man on Slices: what a great intro. Probably the best character-driven story in the entire book. This is about a confession and a retrospective on a life-long friendship. Dark and twisted and fantastic way to set the tone!
Kamp: a paranoid main who devotes his life to the anticipation of seeing a ghost. I loved the writing in this one, and it had some great build up. I just wish the ending had packed more of a punch.
Happy Birthday, Hunter!: the vibes were *immaculate* with this one. A Hunter decides that for his birthday he wants to go into the forbidden North Woods to hunt the one animal he isn’t allowed to: a Great Owl. So creepily written and eerie. The payoff to this one was fun and this story was definitely one of my favorites.
Presto: I loved the ending to this one so much. By far the most cinematic out of the entire book. A kid learns that his favorite magician is coming to town, and he has to get into his midnight show. This one was a wild ride and I was *SO* here for it.
A Mix Up at the Zoo: Unfortunately the one dud in the collection for me. I liked the writing and where I thought the story was going, but ultimately it ended up being a little boring, predictable, and not memorable.
The Hedges: this wonderful novella also acted like a climax to the entire novel, using the town’s history that we’ve learned in the other novellas to enhance the plot of this one. A little girl solves the Hedge Maze that wasn’t supposed to be solved. Chaos ensues. And I loved it. Probably my favorite.
Overall, I would 100000% recommend this novel if you like horror, like short stories, and like creepy towns. And I am now going to tweet @ Josh Malerman like crazy because I NEED more stories set in Goblin.
This book was fantastic and I need more books like this PLEASE. It reminded me a lot of one of my favorite horror movies Trick r’ Treat and also of King’s classic creepy towns like Derry and Castle Rock.
My favorite part about these six (seven, if you count the prologue/epilogue) stories is that they all take place one the same night: a torrential downpour. This sets the mood so perfectly, and give you the feeling that there are so many dark, creepy things lurking in the rainstorm.
The town is by far the most important character of this novel, and each story reveals a different layer to its history, giving you further insight into why I think this is one of horror’s most iconic towns.
Brief thoughts on each of the six novellas.
Prologue/Epilogue: a great framing story about a delivery driver carrying mysterious cargo to the town of Goblin, with *very* specific instructions. Really loved the vibe of this.
A Man on Slices: what a great intro. Probably the best character-driven story in the entire book. This is about a confession and a retrospective on a life-long friendship. Dark and twisted and fantastic way to set the tone!
Kamp: a paranoid main who devotes his life to the anticipation of seeing a ghost. I loved the writing in this one, and it had some great build up. I just wish the ending had packed more of a punch.
Happy Birthday, Hunter!: the vibes were *immaculate* with this one. A Hunter decides that for his birthday he wants to go into the forbidden North Woods to hunt the one animal he isn’t allowed to: a Great Owl. So creepily written and eerie. The payoff to this one was fun and this story was definitely one of my favorites.
Presto: I loved the ending to this one so much. By far the most cinematic out of the entire book. A kid learns that his favorite magician is coming to town, and he has to get into his midnight show. This one was a wild ride and I was *SO* here for it.
A Mix Up at the Zoo: Unfortunately the one dud in the collection for me. I liked the writing and where I thought the story was going, but ultimately it ended up being a little boring, predictable, and not memorable.
The Hedges: this wonderful novella also acted like a climax to the entire novel, using the town’s history that we’ve learned in the other novellas to enhance the plot of this one. A little girl solves the Hedge Maze that wasn’t supposed to be solved. Chaos ensues. And I loved it. Probably my favorite.
Overall, I would 100000% recommend this novel if you like horror, like short stories, and like creepy towns. And I am now going to tweet @ Josh Malerman like crazy because I NEED more stories set in Goblin.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Colonisation, Death, Toxic friendship, and Violence
Moderate: Child death, Cursing, Gore, Grief, and Terminal illness
Minor: Police brutality and Sexism
caidyn's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Delightfully disturbing! I didn't know what to expect going into this, but it was just like one of those anthology horror movies. Think the movie Trick'r'Treat. Not all the stories were amazing but they were creepy and the whole book had a great ambiance to it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Animal death, Death, Murder, and Violence
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