This is best read, I think, as a collection of novellas that just happen to be set in the same place- Goblin. My problem when approaching it the way it has been marketed is Jacob Finch Bonner, a fictional writer whose second offering was described as a novel in stories because, well, you can guess. That's the issue here as well. Goblin is the setting but it isn't a hallmark. Each story can stand on its own and could be located in a different spot. That's not a bad thing, especially since Malerman has a good way with horror which is actually often better in short form. The people are weird, the setting is creepy, and there's a good sense of ickiness. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. For Malerman's fans.

This is a beautifully interwoven short story cycle, or composite novel. It’s delightful as a reader to see touches from other stories make an appearance, or finally reveal their true natures, in whatever story you’re currently reading.

On that note, the town of Goblin, in which all the stories are set and which by its very looming presence ties all of the stories together, is the real shining star of the book. All of the details and oddities that make Goblin such a unique town are utterly bizarre in the best possible way. I was charmed by this town, with its elaborate topiary statues and oddly-named streets and ghoulish police officers and haunted woods, and I would love to spend more time there.

Where the stories fall short for me has to do with the writing style. Most of the stories are primarily told in long flashbacks, and the characters spend most of their time either reflecting on their pasts or finding as many ways to articulate their singular driving force as possible. I would have highly preferred the stories if the fat was trimmed. The subtitle for this book reads “A Novel in Six Novellas,” and I think therein the problem lies: it should have been a novel in six short stories. Each of them felt just a little too long, to the point where I wanted to say “We get it!” two-thirds of the way through each narrative. It’s obvious Malerman loves a good build-up to a reveal, but the reveals are so obvious, each character’s foil so evident, that the atmospheric build-up falls flat, deflated.

What the book really lacks is a sense of humor. There are moments when characters are reflecting about the oddities of Goblin, particularly when they’re glowing with pride about their strange and spooky little town, that the narrative really comes into itself. However, far too often Malerman veers into taking it all far too seriously, indulging in an atmosphere of stale mystery. It feels as though he’s pushing to emulate Stephen King’s Derry or Castle Rock, when Goblin is crying out for a tone more along the lines of what you’d find in R.L. Stine.

There’s a lot here to enjoy, and I certainly had a fun time with this book. Any horror fan will certainly feel they got their money’s worth. It just needed a few tweaks, and a tonal shift, to be really spectacular.

Josh Malerman has become one of my favorite writers! He is creative and always keep me wanting to read more and more. They are creepy and fantastic. I enjoy reading short stories every now and then but this one was so much more fun. The short stories all take place in Goblin, a very strange town with some very crazy history. The stories are each individual and will only mention some of the places and people from other stories. I would love to read another batch of Goblin stories after how the last one ended.

This was probably my favorite thing yet by Malerman. While I didn't like all of the novellas in the book, the ones I did get into were freaking awesome. So, let's focus on those.

My favorite parts in here overall were the prologue and the epilogue, sort of their own start and finish of a story. A man is paid to deliver a crate to an address in Goblin and told that if it's not delivered by a certain time then he is to destroy it. Love this setup. Also, it gave me major Salem's Lot vibes from when the guy is paid to deliver Barlow to the Marsten House.

I also dug A MAN IN SLICES. How much would you give for love? This one was great and had an awesome ending.

My second favorite was KAMP. This one had echoes of Peter Straub's GHOST STORY, and I really enjoyed the characters in this one the most.

The other novella in here I loved was THE HEDGES. Again, you can't help but think of King's work, like the topiary in THE SHINING. The Goblin police steal the show in this one as the creepiest things in this entire book. I would love to see a book just about them! There was also the first real bit of heart in the book here with Mr. Sherman's heartbreaking side of the story.

Based just on the pieces in here that I liked, I'm giving GOBLIN 4 stars!
I'm ready to go back anytime Malerman wants to take me.

Goblin: A Novel in Six Novellas by Josh Malerman
5/18/21; 416 pages
Penguin Random House

Goblin: A Novel in Six Novellas by Josh Malerman is a very highly recommended collection of six interconnected chilling novellas set in the town of Goblin. This is a re-release of the original volume published in 2017.

All of these stories revolve around the secrets and mysteries lurking in the small town of Goblin, a place where it always seems to be raining and you must stay out of the woods. Malerman does an excellent job presenting these seven accomplished, creepy tales (including the prologue). The character development is admirable and helps propel the stories forward while creating an interest in the characters and their situations. The place of Goblin is clearly developed as a place, a character in its own right, and presents a frightening alternate reality.
Contents include:
Prologue: Welcome - Tommy is a truck driver who is delivering a box to a resident of Goblin and must follow strict instructions to complete the task.
A Man in Slices - How much would you help a friend? How far would you go to prove your love?
Kamp - Walter Kamp is afraid of everything and sets traps around his home to catch ghosts.
Happy Birthday, Hunter! - It is the sixtieth birthday of big-game hunter Neal Nash and he is obsessed with the ultimate prey: the mythic Great Owl living in Goblin's dark woods.
Presto - Roman Emperor, the greatest magician in the world, comes to Goblin and Peter wants to be just like him.
A Mix-Up at the Zoo - Dirk Rogers is a well-liked zoo keeper who seems to have a connection to the animals.
The Hedges: A man builds an elaborate hedge maze and the young girl who is the first to solve it, goes to officials to report what she saw at the end.
Epilogue: Make Yourself at Home - A return to the delivery of the mysterious box from the Prologue.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Penguin Random House in exchange for my honest opinion.
The review will be submitted for publication on Amazon, Google Books, and Barnes & Noble.

Regrettably, this fell into my DNF pile. I made it through about 45% of the book but for short stories, they seemed to drone on and fell flat. I liked the idea of the anthology surrounding the same town but with different story lines, but I felt like it was never ever going to end. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC.

If I remember correctly in the author's note for Malorie, Josh Malerman describes himself as a stream-of-consciousness writer, and that definitely shows in this anthology. Most of the stories feel under-developed, riddled with inconsistencies and plot-holes, as if Malerman threw them down on paper as soon as he thought of them and didn't go back to edit. Don't get me wrong, he's a gifted storyteller. The town of Goblin itself was a tangible character, one of the best parts of the book, and the atmosphere hits more than it misses. But that doesn't excuse only executing half of each concept, leaving all of the stories dry and unsatisfying. I'll keep picking up Josh Malerman's works, but wow, this was a disappointment.

No other genre in the world loves anthologies quite like horror. From Creepshow to Trick ‘r Treat, film fans of the macabre gravitate to this form of segmented storytelling with a fervor that’s rarely replicated elsewhere. It isn’t clear why this combination is such a peanut-butter-and-chocolate-style success, but my guess is that it has something to do with the goal of a chilling tale. Horror is meant to shock. It’s a genre predicated on surprise, and a truly terrifying twist is just as effective in fifteen minutes as it is in two hours. In Goblin (Del Ray), out May 18, 2021, author Josh Malerman has taken the beloved anthology format and turned it into an effective and thrilling novel.

The story of Goblin is told in six novellas that follow various citizens of a small town by the same name. Though the protagonists are memorable, the town itself stands equally large as a character throughout. Malerman weaves the city’s influence into every interaction. Constant rain, endangered owls, the sinister North Woods, and the fact that Gobliners are buried standing up all act as sinister forces influencing every character interaction and decision.

Equally effective to the setting are Malerman’s main characters. From plucky would-be magicians to neurotic historians, Goblin’s heroes vibrate with an energy very close to the aforementioned Creepshow. These characters live in a place somewhere between EC comics and real life. The effect is creepy, and creepy is good.

All six novellas are top-notch, but the standout story is rightfully saved for last. “The Hedges,” is a masters-level study in emotional storytelling. What starts as a tense race against the clock for two characters pitted against each other slowly evolves into a meditation on grief, empathy, and the endurance of the heart.

Goblin is the perfect novel for book lovers who like to savor their current read. The novella format allows for reflection at the end of each hour-long tale. And with writing as fine as Malerman’s you’ll have much to relish with every turn of the page.

Josh Malerman is an excellent writer. My first exposure to him was his 2014 novel Bird Box. I’ve also enjoyed his short fiction over the years, finding joy in his sensibilities and clean prose.

Unfortunately, Goblin didn’t work as well for me. The book is made up of six novellas, each taking place in various parts of the titular town. Goblin is an odd place; it’s denizens are strange and often as crazy as the torrid history all around them. It’s the North Woods; which the Gobliners avoid. It’s The Hedges; a virtually unsolvable hedge maze with a terrible secret. It’s a monstrous police force that definitely can’t be trusted. We see various corners of this place, this town as the characters so made and fall into unfortunate fates.

Goblin’s novellas feel like they would belong in a Creepshow sequel. They have moments of sustained dread, but they are often fleeting and are just as often left behind by noisy moments of wild weirdness. While this has its place—and I think that Goblin does that part well—that type of horror doesn’t speak to me. I couldn’t level with these characters when the surroundings and the plots felt more silly than scary.

If that kind of thing works for you, Goblin may be right up your alley.

I will admit that I'm... disappointed. I enjoy Malerman's writing, and was very excited to read this. I actually really loved the first story, and also enjoyed the second, but the rest left me feeling a bit cold.

I'm very liberal in what I call 'horror'. To me, the genre of horror encompasses a lot of things, from extremely subtle horror to horror that is very obvious. I felt like this book lacked in those horror elements for me. The first two stories had them, and the rest were scattered throughout, but nothing really hit me with that gut punch I'm always looking for. I also found a lot of the endings abrupt, or that they just didn't really leave me feeling satisfied.

Overall, I'm afraid this was a miss for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

This felt very nostalgic to me for some reason. It just reminded me of being a kid watching who afraid of the dark. I find adult horror and children's horror to be so similar ( usually minus the gore).

The stories that evoked real emotions were my favorites.

Kamp is my favorite. Maybe because I have anxiety and Ocd but the story was frantic and anxiety inducing. It made me feel claustrophobic and on edge. That what made it a horror story for me.

Presto was my second. As a child I was obsessed with magic shows and this reminded me of that. This story reminded me the most of the child horror I loved.

I wish the story's connected and wrapped up a little more, but I did enjoy my night in Goblin .

It’s clever how the story intertwined between the novellas, building to a larger story. Creepy and wonderful

Josh Malerman welcomes you to the town of Goblin for six loosely connected novellas. With all of the action in each story taking part in the titular town, Goblin appears to be Malerman's take on a Stephen King-esque shared universe, a la Castle Rock or Derry. Unfortunately, the same issues I have found while reading Malerman's work in the past crop up here as well and create a fairly uneven reading experience. While each of the novellas starts strongly, there's little in the way of characterization to create a strong link to the reader and they seem to run out of steam and wrap up with some fairly absurd or unsatisfying endings. With this may seem like a strange gripe for the "horror" genre, I felt like there wasn't quite enough grounding here to maintain the atmosphere that he was striving for.

Malerman is an undoubtedly imaginative writer that isn't afraid to push the genre forward with his original ideas. That being said, I've personally found everything I've read since Bird Box to be leaning a bit too much towards the fantastical for my taste. However, fans of some of his other books like Unbury Carol may find a lot to like in this collection.

**I was given a copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine**

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a honest review. I love horror anthologies so much, so it’s no surprise that I enjoyed this one.

The title refers to a town called Goblin...it’s not a book that has goblins in it. It’s a rainy...dreary town full of miserable people. A place you’d never want to live.

The stories are all independent of each other yet are interwoven at the end...not in some mind blowing way. More like leaving the reader feeling like they really get the history and background of the town.

The stories were decent and I enjoyed the random illustrations throughout. It reminded me of a grownup more subdued Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.

Goblin features six interconnected novellas along with an epilogue and prologue all taking place in the town of Goblin. Its residents are a little different, the police force seems otherworldly, it rains a lot, and you don't dare step into the North Woods.

Like all collections like this, some stories are a little better than others. A Man In Slices,l and A Mix-Up at the Zoo I felt were just ok (3 stars), The rest of the novellas I would rate at four or five stars. My favorite novellas were Presto and The Hedges. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who appreciates a creepy, atmospheric read.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine, Del Rey, author Josh Malerman, and NetGalley for gifting me a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Josh Malerman most known for writing the book turned Netflix hit The Bird Box has written a horror anthology in the vein of Creepshow, Tick r Treat, Cat's Eye, Tales from the Darkside etc. In advance I'm going to say I'm OK with these but they never really rise to the top for me as I personally like a longer narrative and this think applies just as notably with short story collections and it takes something extraordinary to rise above average for me.

That Said take the review with that knowledge and apply your own personal tastes and styles because for me that's really what it seems to come down to with this Book.

Goblin Is a linked anthology revolving around a mysterious creepy town named Goblin where the police may not be human, the most well known residents all have secrets, and it rains more than anywhere on the planet. It Contains 6 Stories and a prologue and Epilogue that are one story as well.
The Stories Are: A Man in Slices, Kamp, Happy Birthday Hunter, Presto, A Mix-up At the Zoo, and The Hedges, as well as the aforementioned Prologue-Epilogue story so technically its 7 stories.

None Of the stories were bad. They ranged from OK to pretty good. My favorite being "The Hedges" which makes sense that a strong finish would be appropriate that with the enjoyable "Prologue-Epilogue" did make for a strong finish and should give you a push to finish the book if you aren't "feeling" some on the stories. My least favorites were probably "Happy Birthday, Hunter" which is a shame because it feels pivotal to the connecting stories in Goblin, and "A Mix up at the Zoo" but again this may be a personal thing because of the subject matter, which I will not spoil. I did feel a couple stories were a bit predictable I did know how they'd end before I got there, you may not though.
There is some gore but if you're a horror fan this wont even make you wince, the sex and swearing are pretty tame to be honest so the only issue I see if you're looking at this book is be careful if you are triggered by animal death, because if you are someone who will get upset at horror or a little blood I don't think you're looking at this anyway.

Goblin will be a much more enjoyable read for you if you are a fan of Horror anthologies. If Trick r Treat and Creepshow are Favorites of yours I'd Recommend it to you. If that isnt something you enjoy the stories are still good but you may not get as much out of it, depending on your taste mileage may vary as they say.

Rather disappointing read from Josh Malerman. I LOVED The House at the Bottom of the Lake and really enjoyed BirdBox, but Goblin left much to be desired.

Goblin is a collection of short stories all around one weird town. It's creepy but kind of boring. There is the feeling of fear but nothing really comes from it. Maybe that's the point.

Thanks to netGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review.

I’ve read several books by this author and consider myself a fan, but this is probably my least favorite.

I like the concept of six novellas with a common theme – this one being the bizarre town of Goblin. There’s a bit of overlap with some of the stories – names of businesses, the mention of another character, etc. – but each stands on its own. It’s one seriously creepy town with some sinister residents and not a place you’d want to visit. Given its origin story, it’s no wonder such heinous events have occurred throughout the town’s history. My favorite of the six stories would have to be Presto. I felt Peter’s excitement at meeting his hero magician in person, and the idea of a magician practicing “dark” magic was deliciously macabre.

The author really knows how to set an eerie tone and make you almost dread what might be waiting around the corner for his characters or under their bed. Considering these six stories are novellas, he also does an admirable job with characterization in just a few pages. It was mainly the story endings that didn’t work for me. Most of them left me frustrated after such a tantalizing plot buildup only to be let down at the finish.

Although this isn’t my favorite Malerman book, it certainly won’t prevent me from reading his next one. Reviews seem to be split, so other readers may enjoy it more.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Thank you to the publisher and the author for the chance to read this book!

Unfortunately I am realizing that although there is nothing wrong with his writing, Josh Mallerman just isn’t for me. He is incredibly talented but I often find myself bored while reading his books, the characters just aren’t fleshed out enough to hook me and the plots are not intricate enough to compensate.

I am glad I read this book, because Goblin itself was very atmospheric. However I can’t say I’ll be visiting again...this was a one time stop through that was fun while it lasted. The writing is truly very good, it just isn’t for me.

3.5 Stars

Beautifully written suspenseful horror like only Josh Malerman can. Six novellas in this book that will send shivers up your spine and is a quick read that is hard to put down, the stories here can be disturbing but not gratuitously. The suspense at times is palpable and you'll find yourself pulling for the protagonists.

These haunting stories have a dreamlike quality to them, heightening the sense of unreality. Malerman proves once again that he is one of the best writers of the horror genre. The length of each novella allows for a bit more character development than most short stories and Malerman uses that to his advantage. Even those we pull for are human with flaws of their own.

If you're familiar with Malerman's writing you will not be disappointed. If you are new to him, whatever your opinion of this collection is, I would recommend exploring a few more of his works, you will likely find a lot to like.

NOTE: I cannot write this review without mentioning the wonderfully creepy illustrations in this book! They are fabulous black and white sketches that bring the monsters to life.