Thrillers & Suspense
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Goblin: A Novel in Six Novellas
From the New York Times bestselling author of Bird Box and Malorie comes a chilling story that revolves around a mysterious small town, revealing its sinister secrets one by one.
"Must-read horror."-Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Goblin seems like any other ordinary small town. But with the master storyteller Josh Malerman as your tour guide, you'll discover the secrets that hide behind its closed doors. These six novellas tell the story of a place where the rain is always falling, nighttime is always near, and your darkest fears and desires await. Welcome to Goblin. . . .
A Man in Slices: A man proves his "legendary love" to his girlfriend with a sacrifice even more daring than Vincent van Gogh's-and sends her more than his heart.
Kamp: Walter Kamp is afraid of everything, but most afraid of being scared to death. As he sets traps around his home to catch the ghosts that haunt him, he learns that nothing is more terrifying than fear itself.
Happy Birthday, Hunter!: A famed big-game hunter is determined to capture-and kill-the ultimate prey: the mythic Great Owl who lives in Goblin's dark forests. But this mysterious creature is not the only secret the woods are keeping.
Presto: All Peter wants is to be like his hero, Roman Emperor, the greatest magician in the world. When the famous magician comes to Goblin, Peter discovers that not all magic is just an illusion.
A Mix-Up at the Zoo: The new zookeeper feels a mysterious kinship with the animals in his care . . . and finds that his work is freeing dark forces inside him.
The Hedges: When his wife dies, a man builds a hedge maze so elaborate no one ever solves it-until a little girl resolves to be the first to find the mysteries that wait at its heart.
"Must-read horror."-Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Goblin seems like any other ordinary small town. But with the master storyteller Josh Malerman as your tour guide, you'll discover the secrets that hide behind its closed doors. These six novellas tell the story of a place where the rain is always falling, nighttime is always near, and your darkest fears and desires await. Welcome to Goblin. . . .
A Man in Slices: A man proves his "legendary love" to his girlfriend with a sacrifice even more daring than Vincent van Gogh's-and sends her more than his heart.
Kamp: Walter Kamp is afraid of everything, but most afraid of being scared to death. As he sets traps around his home to catch the ghosts that haunt him, he learns that nothing is more terrifying than fear itself.
Happy Birthday, Hunter!: A famed big-game hunter is determined to capture-and kill-the ultimate prey: the mythic Great Owl who lives in Goblin's dark forests. But this mysterious creature is not the only secret the woods are keeping.
Presto: All Peter wants is to be like his hero, Roman Emperor, the greatest magician in the world. When the famous magician comes to Goblin, Peter discovers that not all magic is just an illusion.
A Mix-Up at the Zoo: The new zookeeper feels a mysterious kinship with the animals in his care . . . and finds that his work is freeing dark forces inside him.
The Hedges: When his wife dies, a man builds a hedge maze so elaborate no one ever solves it-until a little girl resolves to be the first to find the mysteries that wait at its heart.
Editorial Reviews
"Goblin seems like any other ordinary small town. But with the master storyteller Josh Malerman as your tour guide, you'll discover the secrets that hide behind its closed doors. These six novellas tell the story of a place where the rain is always falling, nighttime is always near, and your darkest fears and desires await. Welcome to Goblin."-Tor online
"The mythology of Goblin's 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's, Grant's, and Bradbury's nightmares. Goblin is all Malerman and should be listed on every horror reader's itinerary of places to visit, with the lights turned low and the night breeze creeping into the room."-Monster Librarian
"[A] masterpiece . . . 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 has created a town which may even be darker than King, Grant, and Bradbury's nightmares. Goblin is all Malerman and should be listed on every horror reader's itinerary of places to visit, with the lights turned low and the night breeze creeping into the room."-Cemetery Dance Online
"Goblin is a mesmerizing, terrifying tightrope walk."-Clive Barker
"Malerman has created a Derry for a new generation."-Sarah Pinborough
"Goblin is another triumph from Josh Malerman."-Christopher Golden
"A chilling collection of tales about a place that's likely to linger in the imagination."-Library Journal
"Malerman (Bird Box) tantalizes readers with this enigmatic linked collection of horror novellas. . . . The dark, fantastic tone will put readers in mind of Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes. This is must-read horror."-Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"The mythology of Goblin's 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's, Grant's, and Bradbury's nightmares. Goblin is all Malerman and should be listed on every horror reader's itinerary of places to visit, with the lights turned low and the night breeze creeping into the room."-Monster Librarian
"[A] masterpiece . . . 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 has created a town which may even be darker than King, Grant, and Bradbury's nightmares. Goblin is all Malerman and should be listed on every horror reader's itinerary of places to visit, with the lights turned low and the night breeze creeping into the room."-Cemetery Dance Online
"Goblin is a mesmerizing, terrifying tightrope walk."-Clive Barker
"Malerman has created a Derry for a new generation."-Sarah Pinborough
"Goblin is another triumph from Josh Malerman."-Christopher Golden
"A chilling collection of tales about a place that's likely to linger in the imagination."-Library Journal
"Malerman (Bird Box) tantalizes readers with this enigmatic linked collection of horror novellas. . . . The dark, fantastic tone will put readers in mind of Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes. This is must-read horror."-Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Readers Top Reviews
mrs andrea wroe
A book like no other I have read,from the opening prologue to the very terrifying end ,it is a monument of a read.Sometimes one thinks there is nothing really new out there to read in horror that has not been tried before,but with Goblin it truly is brilliant.The chapter on Roman emperor the magician is worth the money alone,and the big game hunter who all his life has tracked every creature possible until he hunts a mythical one in the forbidden forest,ends with a twist no one will see coming.The only story I felt weak was a zoo keeper come slaughter house man's tale,I just didn't get it at all,but hey that's just me.The police force in the town are among the most eerie creatures possible,and I'm sure others will agree.The novel demands a follow up ,or prequel,there are so many unanswered questions ,so many more characters that must have their own stories ,I really hope there is a return to the facinating but terrifying town of Goblin.
Azrael865
Goblin" a novel in 6 interconnected novellas. I really enjoyed the format. It was creative and engaging. Each individual story seems entirely independant, like an anthology, until you begin to pick up on the common threads throughout. The Prologue and Epilogues are key along with the six tales. This book has a very ominous and dark atmosphere that pulls you along to the end. Thank you to Random House and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this e-ARC. I pre-ordered a physically copy and it was shipped out to me today.
H. Grove (errantdrea
Josh Malerman’s Goblin: A Novel in Six Novellas is an interconnected set of six stories–as well as a connected prologue and epilogue–all of which take place in and around the town of Goblin. I really enjoyed the variety of tales! “Prologue: Welcome”: Tom is a delivery driver, and he’s been given an unusual late-night delivery to Goblin. It’s a big ol’ box, and it comes with remarkably specific directions: don’t open the package. Don’t stop driving. Ignore anything unusual you might hear. And if it can’t be delivered within the specified half-hour window, destroy it. Naturally, it becomes difficult for Tom to adhere to these requirements. “A Man In Slices”: Richard has been Charles’s only friend since they met in school. Now that they’re adults, once again Charles needs Richard’s help. Only the kind of help he needs may be more than Richard wants to part with! We see Richard and Charles’s interactions in slices as Richard contemplates the relationship they’ve had, and it’s fascinating. The two characters are unusual, with a particularly bizarre friendship. This is a great story! “Kamp”: Walter Kamp is the Goblin historian, and he seems to be having a difficult time lately. He’s so convinced that something’s going to haunt him that he’s wrecked his entire apartment making sure he can see to the walls in every direction. He’s set up traps. Even his bed is made of plexiglass so he can be sure nothing’s hiding beneath it! Lucky for him, his landlady seems to have a sense for how to distract him from his paranoia. This story as well has remarkably interesting characters. Walter is not your average paranoid loon, and his landlady is remarkably astute about human nature. This story also gives us a rundown of some of the legendry surrounding the town’s origins. “Happy Birthday, Hunter!”: Neal Nash, called Hunter by his friends (because he’s an extremely avid hunter of game) is throwing the ultimate birthday bash, and it seems as though most of the town is in attendance. But all Hunter cares about is bagging the one forbidden game creature in Goblin: the Great Owls. I certainly didn’t see where this one was going, and it’s excellent! Hunter and his friends and wife are again a really interesting set of people. Malerman has a knack for relatable, unusual characters. “Presto”: Young Pete is a huge fan of magic shows, and more than anything he wants to see the magician who’s something of a pariah among other magicians: Roman Emperor. When he finds out Roman is going to do a show in his town, Pete goes to great lengths to get there. But Pete’s going to find out that Roman’s magic isn’t quite what he’s expecting. Both Roman and his odd assistant Maggie are, once again, great characters. I can’t really talk much about them without giving too much away, but they interact in such unusual ways. “A Mix-Up At the Zoo”: This ...
HorrorJunkie103178
Recently, I had the chance to read the latest novel by Josh Malerman (Birdbox, Malerie) as an early release. I pre-ordered a physical copy before I had even completed the book and couldn’t wait to receive it in hand today. I was instantly enamored with the town of Goblin and all the secrets it held within the first few pages of the prologue. Malerman, as always, creates engaging stories and Goblin is no exception. With each gem of a story, I fell deeper and deeper into the beautiful darkness that Goblin holds within its town limits. A modern classic, Goblin easily finds its place on the map and on the shelf beside the towns of Derry and ‘Salem’s Lot. - Derek @horrorjunkie103178 Thanks to NetGalley, Josh Malerman, and Del Rey Books.
Short Excerpt Teaser
A MAN IN SLICES
1
Richard stood outside Charles's house with a heavy rain crashing against his face. A rain so thick that, earlier tonight, Charles appeared to vanish, after exiting Richard's car, like he'd stepped through a wet curtain. The pair had had a decidedly weird night, or rather Richard was the one who suffered the strange; Charles's night must have been something more . . . liberating.
They'd spent many hours parked downtown, at the corner of Lily and Neptune, as all that Goblin rain came furious against the windshield. The wipers of Richard's Dodge Dart remained asleep, and the water poured down the glass like at the car wash on Samhattan Street. Charles unloaded some things he didn't feel like keeping secret anymore. Richard, the good friend, had listened. And now, long after Charles stepped through that curtain (and Richard was left with the story), Richard stood under that very rain, staring into the eyes of the life-sized topiary of Charles himself. It was one of Wayne Sherman's finest, most Gobliners agreed. But Richard wasn't thinking of the fabled proprietor of The Hedges. Rather, he weighed whether or not he had to turn his old friend in to the Goblin Police. He could phone Mayor Blackwater directly. That felt right, somehow. The mayor's tie to this city went further back than any bond between its citizens ever could.
Charles, he thought. Oh boy, Charles.
Richard could defend Charles all he wanted (and how he had!). He could argue that everybody, even a monster, needed a friend (and how he was!). He could preach that Charles had never meant anybody any harm. That his friend lived without a governor, outside the social constructs that crippled so many. And yet being free was not necessarily being happy. And Richard would never be able to hide the fact that he knew his friend was troubled.
He'd always known it.
Tonight Richard wore his green slicker, the rain coming down so heavy it molded the plastic to his upper body, making him look something like a topiary himself. He looked into the eyes of that Sherman work of art and saw the same vacancy that he noted in the eyes of the actual man he'd just been with. Did Wayne Sherman recognize this in Charles? When he lifted his shears to clip the leaves, did Charles's vacancy burn in his mind like it burned in Richard's now? Perhaps every topiary, marble statue, and plaster casting ever rendered had something of that same void.
The void that Charles was.
Richard closed his eyes and when he opened them, the bush statue remained. Charles in nature. Charles's nature.
Richard thought back.
Charles wasn't the only kid Richard's mom advised her son to steer clear of, but it struck him as extra meaningful when, after seeing Charles the eleven-year-old for the first time, she leaned in and said,
"You must try to avoid that one, Richard."
It was clear to everyone who met him that Charles was something problematic. Not the manic, destructive hell-raiser or the conniving and enervated bully that unnerved so many adults, but the sort that even those types of kids stayed away from. From the start, Charles was different in a different way.
And Richard became his only friend.
You've put me in a spot, Charles, Richard thought, staring into the deep-green eyes of that Sherman topiary.
Even by Goblin standards the rain was fantastic, punishing, and Richard thought back, attempting to isolate Charles's history in a jar, the history he'd witnessed himself, growing up in Goblin, through the years.
There were scenes . . .
High school parties where girls pulled Richard aside to ask him what was wrong with his friend.
Times at Charles's house when Richard saw real and raw fear in the eyes of Charles's own parents.
Times when Richard was just as afraid.
Was there a singular moment, a beat or a bump, that could act as a finger and point to the story Charles had just unloaded in the car? Should Richard have seen this story coming?
Staring into the dark-green, leafy eyes of the false man before him, Richard thought hard about the real one.
Yes, he knew, there were scenes. . . .
2
The day Charles moved to Goblin, Richard's doorbell rang and his mom, looking through the living room window, flashed Richard a concerned expression.
But Richard was curious. A new friend? Richard, a shy bookworm, could use all the friends he could get.
Richard answered the door himself.
"I'm here to introduce myself," Charles said.
"Okay, so who are you?"
"I'm Charles Ridnour. I live in the green house . . . there."
He pointed up the street. Richard knew the house.
"I'm Richard Robin," Richar...
1
Richard stood outside Charles's house with a heavy rain crashing against his face. A rain so thick that, earlier tonight, Charles appeared to vanish, after exiting Richard's car, like he'd stepped through a wet curtain. The pair had had a decidedly weird night, or rather Richard was the one who suffered the strange; Charles's night must have been something more . . . liberating.
They'd spent many hours parked downtown, at the corner of Lily and Neptune, as all that Goblin rain came furious against the windshield. The wipers of Richard's Dodge Dart remained asleep, and the water poured down the glass like at the car wash on Samhattan Street. Charles unloaded some things he didn't feel like keeping secret anymore. Richard, the good friend, had listened. And now, long after Charles stepped through that curtain (and Richard was left with the story), Richard stood under that very rain, staring into the eyes of the life-sized topiary of Charles himself. It was one of Wayne Sherman's finest, most Gobliners agreed. But Richard wasn't thinking of the fabled proprietor of The Hedges. Rather, he weighed whether or not he had to turn his old friend in to the Goblin Police. He could phone Mayor Blackwater directly. That felt right, somehow. The mayor's tie to this city went further back than any bond between its citizens ever could.
Charles, he thought. Oh boy, Charles.
Richard could defend Charles all he wanted (and how he had!). He could argue that everybody, even a monster, needed a friend (and how he was!). He could preach that Charles had never meant anybody any harm. That his friend lived without a governor, outside the social constructs that crippled so many. And yet being free was not necessarily being happy. And Richard would never be able to hide the fact that he knew his friend was troubled.
He'd always known it.
Tonight Richard wore his green slicker, the rain coming down so heavy it molded the plastic to his upper body, making him look something like a topiary himself. He looked into the eyes of that Sherman work of art and saw the same vacancy that he noted in the eyes of the actual man he'd just been with. Did Wayne Sherman recognize this in Charles? When he lifted his shears to clip the leaves, did Charles's vacancy burn in his mind like it burned in Richard's now? Perhaps every topiary, marble statue, and plaster casting ever rendered had something of that same void.
The void that Charles was.
Richard closed his eyes and when he opened them, the bush statue remained. Charles in nature. Charles's nature.
Richard thought back.
Charles wasn't the only kid Richard's mom advised her son to steer clear of, but it struck him as extra meaningful when, after seeing Charles the eleven-year-old for the first time, she leaned in and said,
"You must try to avoid that one, Richard."
It was clear to everyone who met him that Charles was something problematic. Not the manic, destructive hell-raiser or the conniving and enervated bully that unnerved so many adults, but the sort that even those types of kids stayed away from. From the start, Charles was different in a different way.
And Richard became his only friend.
You've put me in a spot, Charles, Richard thought, staring into the deep-green eyes of that Sherman topiary.
Even by Goblin standards the rain was fantastic, punishing, and Richard thought back, attempting to isolate Charles's history in a jar, the history he'd witnessed himself, growing up in Goblin, through the years.
There were scenes . . .
High school parties where girls pulled Richard aside to ask him what was wrong with his friend.
Times at Charles's house when Richard saw real and raw fear in the eyes of Charles's own parents.
Times when Richard was just as afraid.
Was there a singular moment, a beat or a bump, that could act as a finger and point to the story Charles had just unloaded in the car? Should Richard have seen this story coming?
Staring into the dark-green, leafy eyes of the false man before him, Richard thought hard about the real one.
Yes, he knew, there were scenes. . . .
2
The day Charles moved to Goblin, Richard's doorbell rang and his mom, looking through the living room window, flashed Richard a concerned expression.
But Richard was curious. A new friend? Richard, a shy bookworm, could use all the friends he could get.
Richard answered the door himself.
"I'm here to introduce myself," Charles said.
"Okay, so who are you?"
"I'm Charles Ridnour. I live in the green house . . . there."
He pointed up the street. Richard knew the house.
"I'm Richard Robin," Richar...
