**Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced e-arc**

After reading and thoroughly enjoying The House at the Bottom of the Lake I was thrilled to see Malerman was releasing a new book. I was even more thrilled to see that it was six novellas that are sort of intertwined with each other and take place within the same creepy town.

Unfortunately it fell flat for me. There were a few stories I enjoyed (the introduction, Kamp, and Presto) but otherwise the stories were sub-par. All the stories take place in the town of Goblin, but otherwise they are not really connected. 

While House at the Bottom of Lake actually scared the shit out of me and left me feeling uneasy throughout the entire book, Goblin didn't do that for me, and instead uses gore for most of the "horror" aspect. That does not leave me scared and uneasy. It just grosses me out. 

While this was more of a miss for me than a hit, I do think there are people who will enjoy it- particularly those who enjoy gory horror.

This is a damn good read, and now my favorite by Josh Malerman. His exceptional writing, ability to create the town of Goblin, and weave an great interconnected story are all here. Someone said Josh was the real deal, they were correct! Josh Malerman is now on my watch list. Keep 'em coming!

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey Books for the advanced copy!

I really don’t know about this one.

It was okay, but I was expecting much more than I got. The concept was quite interesting, but didn’t capture me in the way I wanted it to, mainly due to the writing style. It just really was not my thing. I’m not even sure what majorly irked me about it, I just didn’t mesh with it very well.

I also found that the characters weren’t given enough time to be fleshed out enough independently and it made the story fall unfortunately flat for me.

Goblin is a collection of short stories about a creepy town and the people that inhabit it. Josh Malerman has done it once again for me. I’m not a huge short story person but I loved the style of this one. The idea to have all six novellas connect around the town of Goblin was amazing. Josh Malerman just keeps jumping to the top of my favorite author list. They way he tells a story is so captivating I can never put it down.

I loved so many things about this book. The Mystery behind the first novella pulled me right into the town of Goblin. Then the more you read the weirder it gets. My favorite story was Hedge and boy what a story it was. The hints from each story into the next was so well done.

The only thing I wasn’t a huge fan of was the ending. I was hoping that everything would come to some huge dramatic conclusion of some sort. In a way it kind of did but not completely in my opinion.

Overall I would highly recommend this one to any horror fan. I think it is a very unique set of novellas that make up the spooky town of Goblin. Josh Malerman’s writing is just fantastic and I would read anything the man puts on paper.
4.5/5 Stars

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my gifted copy in exchange for my honest review.

Ever wonder what a towns history really is? Where so called urban legends start? Who has what to hide, who would screw you over and who is misunderstood? Goblin delivers all of that and more.
Still unsure if I dislike the ending or not 🤔
Part of me expected the delivery contents to be completely different and part of me didn't.
Definitely a Malerman ending!

Goblin, by Josh Malerman, is a collection of six novellas, book-ended by a prologue and epilogue, that all center around the creepy, not-quite-right town of the same name and its inhabitants. Malerman does an excellent job world building in the confines of each story while expanding the readers knowledge throughout each of the six novellas. Only at one point, during a late night discussion between two characters, does this world building become more of an info dump and even then, it is done smoothly as one character teaches the other about the history of Goblin and it’s Original 60 settlers.
Throughout “Kamp”, “Happy Birthday, Hunter”, and “The Hedges” the suspense grows naturally until each story reaches it’s twisted conclusion. Each of these tales pulled me in and moved quickly from beginning to end. The remaining three stories, “A Man in Slices”, “Presto”, A Mix-Up At the Zoo” seemed to lack the dramatic build-up that was so successful in the others, but maintain the same shock of an ending. While dark and interesting, they didn’t have the same draw as the other three.
The most unique feature of this collection is how each of these stories tie together, and not just the fact that they all take place in the dark rain-trodden town of Goblin. Each novella harkens back to another of the other stories, even by just the inclusion of a single line, but Malerman uses that device to weave each of the tales together.
While I was not a fan of Bird Box, Malerman’s most popular work, Goblin has drawn me back in, and I will definitely read more of his work.

This is a collection of 6 novellas by the author of Birdbox. (So you know the suspense and sinister aspect will be top notch- and it is).

The thing I really enjoyed is that all the short stories connect to one another to create a full picture to link together. It was really unique and well executed.

All the tales take place in a spooky town called Goblin, Michigan. This place reminded me a bit of of Derry, Maine from Stephen King’s books. It’s a magnet for dark forces and full of mentally unstable residents.

The stories include a wide range of topics - there’s a delivery with strange stipulations, a disturbing friendship, unsettling town history, hunting and murder, a troubling magic show, bad times at the local zoo, and don’t even get me started on the creepy police force.

I had been craving a true horror book recently, and Goblin was satisfying. Some of the novellas were better than others, which is what’s to be expected with a collection, but I had fun with it and could see this becoming a mini series.
I’d watch it.

I give this 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 for this review

A very unique novel made up of shorter stories. There is tremendous demand for this novel--I noticed when mentioning it online that people are clamoring to read it!

It's Halloween year round in my world so I was beyond thrilled to receive an arc of Josh Malerman's short story anthology, Goblin. This collection of short works all take place in the mysterious rain drenched town of Goblin, a town filled with a dark history and unusual residents that form the subject matter of these tales. The stories run the gamut from supernatural to psychological horror and the connecting thread is their association with the town.

As with any anthology, some of the entries are stronger than others. There were two clear highlights for me, "Kamp" is the story of a man who is terrified at the idea of encountering a ghost. He is sure his apartment is haunted and his answer to this is to set up a collection of ghost traps throughout his apartment so he can catch one before it catches him.

Probably my favorite of the stories was "The Hedges" a tale that revolves around Goblin's biggest tourist attraction, a hedge maze that no one has ever been able to solve until a young girl discovers it's secret. What she finds will lead to the owner of the property being chased by the Goblin police into the horrifying North Woods.

Overall I enjoyed this anthology of small town horror. I will say that it left me wanting more and maybe that was the point because I am eager to take another trip to Goblin and learn more about it. I will also say that the cover art is outstanding and should entice horror fans to pick up a copy. I can see this being a great Halloween read and will definitely encourage others to explore Goblin, but they need to stay far away from the police and the North Woods. A fun, weird and spooky read. Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review.

This is Josh Malerman’s novel, Goblin. It’s actually a collection of stories that revolve around the town of Goblin and its many interesting people and points of interest. This would probably be labeled as horror, and one can see why, but I was not creeped out by anything. That being said, I wouldn’t say it wasn’t entertaining as it was.

I liked how each story was linked- not just by the town itself but in the little details and that each story took place on the same rainy night. It brought continuity to the story and gave us different perspectives on how different residents experienced this one night. An example of the little details: in Kamp, Walter is looking out his window to see the car parked outside on the street. The very car that the friends talked in during the first story. It’s the little things like this that help make the connections and bring you into this odd town and it’s odd going-ons.

The book opens with an ex-resident returning to Goblin to deliver a box. I liked how we started outside town and were brought into Goblin via the delivery route. We got a bit of perspective of the town from someone who grew up there yet had an outsider’s view due to moving away. It was good we started with this broad perspective of the town as each story gives us someone else’s individual perspective.

Notable standouts were Presto and The Hedges. Presto was a very intriguing story about Roman Emperor who happens to pass through Goblin on his magic tour. His story was interesting and while I did want to read more at the same time I didn’t. It was just enough to feel satisfied that you got a complete story that kept you reading. Like I said- it was intriguing.

The Hedges was also a good story in the sadness of it. In a similar vein as the previous story to this one, A Mix Up at the Zoo. How someone’s life just gets off course and they are, essentially, lost. However, The Hedges brought into play elements we only heard about earlier in the book. We got a better understanding of the Goblin police, what actually is in the North Woods, and the story of the infamous shrubbery artist, Sherman.

I can’t give this book 5 stars as it wasn’t scary, creepy, or what have you. However, it was entertaining so the 4 stars is deserved.

These six novellas are all connected by the theme of a weird and creepy little town called Goblin. Other than the strange place with a dark history they don't share much else. I had high expectations from the start because I do love home town horror. In Goblin it rains all the time and people are buried standing up. The police force is referenced in a way that made me wonder whether the officers are human, or even alive. I will leave it to you to determine what they are when they play a more prominent role in the last story. Aside from what is listed above there is also a bonus story told in two parts. It begins as a welcome and ends in an epilogue at the end of the book.

My favorite story was Presto which is about a boy who is obsessed with magic, and his favorite magician who comes to perform a midnight show in Goblin. I found it deliciously dark and creepy, and although I was interested in Peter I was mostly enjoying the back story of the magician who started out as a failure before making a pact that gave him real magic instead of tricks. This story was a 5 star read for me.
My least favorite was A Mix Up at the Zoo. It had long passages of dream scenes and the ending was too obvious from the start. I don't care for dream sequences and they always seem over used. It may just be me but when I see pages of italics and I know it's not happening but a dream of what's happening I get the urge to skim. This was a 2 star read for me.
A Man In Slices was a 4 star read for me. It was mainly about a strained childhood friendship, and letting the guilt one feels when wanting to cut ties with someone hold you hostage when you are the only friend they have. If anything this story will convince you to make a clean break before it's too late.
The other three stories landed somewhere in the middle for me and if they were separate novellas I would give them 3 stars each.
I was really enjoying the welcome part of the book and I was so into this story! I was dying to know what this delivery was about. When I finally got to the epilogue where this story continues I was hoping it was somehow going to tie everything together but it mostly stayed in it's own lane.
All in all it was a decent collection that I would rate 3.25 out of 5 stars.

Oof. I love the intro of this collection and enjoyed the first two stories. The intro really set a scene of this creepy town in which everything is not always what it seemed Then I hit the third – Happy Birthday, Hunter, and it killed any motivation to finish the rest. I’m not sure why this impacted me so much to decide not to finish it, but after taking a month to get through one short story, I had to call it quits. Really, I just want a lengthier story based on the intro/prologue. Maybe I’ll pick it up again to finish, but at this time I’m calling it.

3 stars for the first half!

When we enter Goblin we feel as if we're walking into something we know, maybe a fog banked small town that's only really creepy at night or a ghost town that hasn't quite died enough to be itself yet, but we're soon made aware of how wrong we are, the familiar edges slipping away and revealing something more like a monolith on a cold and forsaken hill in the middle of the woods that just happens to look like a town if we look at it from just the right angle. Goblin is a place with many variables and many, many moving parts. Just when you think you've figured it out another story begins, and with it, a new facet of the broader story of the town (and the terrible land it was before that town came to exist) reveals itself. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Goblin is also a character, but one that lurks in the wider edges of the camera, the ones that we just perceive beyond the shoulders of the characters experiencing its energy. There's a lot to unpack from the stories themselves, but it's clear the point was always that we find ourselves haunted by the town itself by the end, having taken on its weight without even realizing it.

This is my first book from Malerman and I genuinely enjoyed the classic horror atmosphere, original narrative, and interesting characters. While it is made up of some conventional parts, or at least things that horror fans are familiar with, I absolutely wouldn't call Goblin a typical novel at all, and that's not just because it's a story made up of several smaller stories. I would go into each of the stories in turn here but I think that the actual experience of reading the book is just too good to spoil by laying every bit of it out and picking it apart in front of you. Instead, I"ll just express that Goblin is every bit its own city with its own legends and existing experiences, I really enjoyed reading each of the stories even when there were parts that left me feeling a little sad or conflicted, and that says a lot in itself. After all, how many authors manage to write something that allows you to feel those emotions and still find yourself genuinely glad to have experience them?

What a unique way to write short stories, in a manner in which they almost all become a novel! This was very well written, with some great interconnecting without being overly obvious! It was quite chilling, bleak, but oh so hard to put down! I highly recommend to horror fans, even if you’re not a fan of short stories; if you are a fan of Josh Malerman, then you must read this! Chills you to the bone, quite atmospheric, and just well done!

Will buzz around platforms and use low Amazon reviewer number on release date!

Josh Malerman is a terrific writer, and he's got a winner here with Goblin. It's very dark and dreary, but in a really good way, with creepy atmosphere that will leave you thinking about the book long after you've put it down. All the novellas here are interconnected and well-written. It's rare to find a story collection where all the stories are solid, but that's what we have here. I dig the cover art, too!

If you are looking for something that will give you that will give you the full body chills with the creepy vibes then look no further! This is definitely the book for you!
Now this is a group of novellas but they are creepy, while there are some that you will start to wonder like what's going on but then you will see how it all is connecting. Out of the six novellas I really enjoyed the prologue where the delivery guy is delivering something very strange and it definitely peaks your interest and then it ends up being far creepier than originally thought! Now I have to say as a prologue that definitely had to be a mic drop moment for Mr. Malerman!
Then I really enjoyed A Mix Up at the Zoo too. Where Dirk has two jobs one at the zoo and the other at a slaughterhouse and when some things get mixed up deadly consequences can happen!
All of these stories have their own different kind of creepy and I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a creepy read that will give you full body chills!
Thank you Netgally and Random House Publishing Group!

Goblin: A Novel in Six Novellas by Josh Malerman was received directly from the publisher and I chose to review it. Josh Malerman, unless you have been living under a rock or have no interest in horror, then you know who this is. This book, broken down into six shorter novellas, introduces the reader to a small town that contains many secrets, some more horrific than the others. If you, or someone you purchase books for, is interested in the author or in a book that you can read in short spurts and still be entertained, give this book a read.

Overall this book was a good read but definitely not amazing. Josh Malerman is clearly a phenomenal writer. He grabs you and pulls you into the most oddest of stories and as a reader it's easy to get lost in the story. I loved how the stories all intertwined around Goblin. I loved this little creepy town. Most of the stories were good and I enjoyed them. I did find some of the endings to be disappointing. Its was like certain stories didn't have one. I had a hard time with, "A Mix-Up At the Zoo." I found myself uninterested in this story and skimmed it. But then I enjoyed the last story, "The Hedges," and picked right back into the story. Overall it's a fun read. I enjoyed the town of Goblin and how the stories linked together. I would recommend especially for any Josh Malerman fans.

Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me. I got through the first two stories with a lot of struggle. I found the endings to be sub-par and just not what I was hoping for when I decided to pick this collection up. I may go back to it in the future and read the stories I didn't get to - but for now, I will be leaving it unfinished.

As the subtitle says, this is a novel in six novellas. They are all set in the town of Goblin, a place plagued by the rain and with a very dark and blood-soaked history. The stories are creepy and unsettling but so well-written that I couldn’t stop reading. The author projects powerful images into the mind of the reader and these images are disturbing. It’s hard to choose a favorite, but I loved Presto, the story of a young boy obsessed with magic who finally gets to meet his favorite magician, whose tricks may be more real than just a performance. As an animal lover, Happy Birthday Hunter and A Mix-up at the Zoo were especially difficult to read, but the characters and the stories are just perfect. The main character is Goblin itself and it’s so well defined and real that I think I could find my way should I ever find myself there (though I doubt that anyone would want to visit and not just because of the rain). I also loved the illustrations that accompany the stories. This is not a feel-good book, quite the opposite, but it’s engrossing and addictive and twisted and just wonderful.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/ Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine!