{"id":8488,"date":"2021-03-22T23:07:51","date_gmt":"2021-03-23T03:07:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.monsterlibrarian.com\/TheCirculationDesk\/?p=8488"},"modified":"2021-03-22T23:07:51","modified_gmt":"2021-03-23T03:07:51","slug":"book-review-goblin-by-josh-malerman-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.monsterlibrarian.com\/TheCirculationDesk\/book-review-goblin-by-josh-malerman-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: Goblin by Josh Malerman"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"cover<\/a><\/p>\n

Goblin <\/em>by Josh Malerman
\nDel Rey\u00a0(May 2021)
\nISBN-13 :\u00a0978-0593237809
\nAvailable: Hardcover, Kindle edition, audiobook\u00a0\u00a0(\u00a0Bookshop.org<\/a> |\u00a0Amazon.com<\/a> )<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

After several blockbuster novels, and with Malorie,<\/em> the sequel to\u00a0Bird Box<\/em> still fresh in readers’ minds, Josh Malerman finally gets to introduce the town of Goblin to fans everywhere.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Goblin is Derry. It\u2019s Oxrun Station. It\u2019s Cedar Hill. It\u2019s Green Town. It\u2019s all of us in our hometowns and yet, it\u2019s something brand new, where the greats would likely fear to live. Think of Goblin as Derry\u2019s disturbed little brother.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This book, comprised of a sextet of short novellas, takes the small town motif and shreds it, molding it into something which fills the reader with uneasy pleasure from cover to cover. Malerman seems to display more skill, more darkness, with each story.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cA Man In Slices\u201d shows how friendship can be a tricky concept. One boy does whatever he can to help his lonely friend, at any cost.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cKamp\u201d is a lighter tale about a man petrified of a seeing a ghost. Everyone in his family has, and he knows his time is coming. How Walter copes with the expectation will make many readers feel a bit better about their own issues with things that go bump in the night.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHappy Birthday, Hunter\u201d displays the heart and obsession of a man who cannot give up the hunt. Nash\u2019s addiction comes to a boiling point during his 60th birthday party when he decides to kill Goblin\u2019s most prized game in the north woods, a place from which no one ever returns.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cPresto\u201d is a love affair with magic, the oldest and darkest kind where a young boy seeks to learn the secrets behind his favorite performer in a story which channels classic Bradbury.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cA Mix-Up at the Zoo\u201d details the inner struggle of Dirk, a man who switches jobs to become a tour guide in a zoo, a far cry from his other employment in the slaughterhouse. He finds a talent for understanding the mighty beasts within the cages, but feels a certain darkness brewing when he drifts off in thought.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“The Hedges” is the final story in the collection. Mazes built in corn and the famed topiary in the film version of The Shining<\/em> emerge here. Young Margot claims to have solved the unsolvable creation by Wayne Sherman. What she finds at the end causes her to alert the Goblin police, a decision that might be worse than keeping the secret to herself.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The mythology of Goblin\u2019s history is richly drawn within these stories, and connects them with a style that keeps the reader turning pages. Malerman has created a town which may even be darker than King\u2019s, Grant\u2019s, and Bradbury\u2019s nightmares.\u00a0Goblin<\/em> is all Malerman and should be listed on every horror reader\u2019s itinerary of places to visit, with the lights turned low and the night breeze creeping into the room. Highly recommended.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Reviewed by David Simms<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Goblin by Josh Malerman Del Rey\u00a0(May 2021) ISBN-13 :\u00a0978-0593237809 Available: Hardcover, Kindle edition, audiobook\u00a0\u00a0(\u00a0Bookshop.org |\u00a0Amazon.com )   After several blockbuster novels, and with Malorie, the sequel to\u00a0Bird Box still fresh in readers’ minds, Josh Malerman finally gets to introduce the town of Goblin to fans everywhere.   Goblin is Derry. It\u2019s Oxrun Station. It\u2019s Cedar<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2474,4835,3213,4836,83,2878,2313,4837,2747,2363],"class_list":["post-8488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-book-review","tag-derry","tag-goblin","tag-green-town","tag-horror-fiction","tag-josh-malerman","tag-novellas","tag-oxrun-station","tag-small-town-horror","tag-supernatural-horror"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monsterlibrarian.com\/TheCirculationDesk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monsterlibrarian.com\/TheCirculationDesk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monsterlibrarian.com\/TheCirculationDesk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monsterlibrarian.com\/TheCirculationDesk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monsterlibrarian.com\/TheCirculationDesk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8488"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.monsterlibrarian.com\/TheCirculationDesk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8488\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8499,"href":"https:\/\/www.monsterlibrarian.com\/TheCirculationDesk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8488\/revisions\/8499"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monsterlibrarian.com\/TheCirculationDesk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monsterlibrarian.com\/TheCirculationDesk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monsterlibrarian.com\/TheCirculationDesk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}