Goblin
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Goblin (Halloween 2017)
A novel in six novellas by Josh Malerman

Introduction by James A. Moore
Cover artwork by Allison Laakko
Interior artwork by Glenn Chadbourne

Halloween series


SYNOPSIS:

From the celebrated author of Bird Box and Black Mad Wheel, a very special 13th book in Earthling’s annual Halloween Series.

A MAN IN SLICES A young man wants to prove to his long-distance girlfriend that they have “legendary love,” better than Vincent van Gogh, so he sends her more than just his ear.

KAMP A man horrified of encountering a ghost sets up a series of “ghost traps” all over his apartment, desperate to catch one before it can sneak up on him.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HUNTER! Big game hunter Neal Nash leaves his own meat-themed birthday bash to go hunting for Goblin’s hallowed (and protected) Great Owl. But the North Woods are unkind at night.

PRESTO In the pages of Presto magazine, a young boy reads that his favorite magician, Roman Emperor, is coming to town. Problem is, Pete doesn’t know that Emperor's magic is real, and his latest trick involves audience participation... from a little boy volunteer.

A MIX-UP AT THE ZOO Dirk Rogers works at both the Goblin Slaughterhouse and the Goblin Zoo, but the workload is really getting to him. Will he be able to separate the two jobs on the night he finally breaks down, or will the slaughterhouse and the zoo overlap in his cracked, dark mind?

THE HEDGES A young girl finally reaches the end of Goblin’s biggest tourist attraction, The Hedges. But what she finds there sparks a mad chase between the owner of the Hedges and the Goblin Police, through the streets of the rainy city and into the terrible North Woods.

Welcome to the town of Goblin. May your night there be wet with rain, breathless with adventure, and filled with fright…

 

500 numbered, smyth sewn, offset printed hardcovers, illustrated endsheets, silk ribbon page marker, signed by Josh Malerman; $50

SOLD OUT

15 lettered, smyth sewn, offset printed, traycased hardcovers, both book and traycase completely hand made using the finest materials, signed by all contributors; $ price TBD Inquire about a
Lettered Copy

Glenn's awesome endsheet artwork

Glenn's awesome endsheet artwork

Praise for GOBLIN:

“Fans of creepy, eerie, and genuinely unsettling horror will devour (or be devoured by) this set of vignettes about the aptly named town of Goblin, Mich. In Goblin, it rains nearly all the time; the dead are buried standing up; the town park, Perish Park, holds a yearly recreation of the strangling of an early politician; and the original 60 founders were massacred by Native Americans. Malerman (Black Mad Wheel) makes this hair-raising compilation of horror stories an ode to the town itself, a place where people appear normal and have normal jobs, but are often influenced by some odd miasma or emanation from the grave. Walter Kamp has removed all interior walls from his apartment to make sure no ghosts can sneak up and scare him to death; Dirk Rogers, tour guide for the Hardy Carroll Goblin Zoo, has an affinity for the animals that leads in unexpected directions. Malerman’s work reveals the evil lurking just beneath the surface of reality, and he has a true understanding of the things that go bump in the night.”
—Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

“It’s that time of year once again, when horror is in the air, a celebrated author is called up, and Earthling churns out another Halloween masterpiece. This year, the newest superstar in the genre, Josh Malerman, takes the helm and delivers one of the best offerings in the history of the series. This book, comprised of a sextet of short novellas, takes the small-town motif and shreds it, molding it into something that fills the reader with uneasy pleasure from cover to cover. The mythology about Goblin’s history is richly drawn within these stories and connects them with a style that keeps the pages turning. Malerman has created a town that may even be darker than something that King, Grant, and Bradbury have had nightmares about. 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. An incredible Halloween find for all.”
—Dave Simms, Cemetery Dance Online

Goblin is a mesmerizing, terrifying tight-rope walk.”
—Clive Barker

“Malerman has created a Derry for a new generation.” –
—Sarah Pinborough

Goblin is another triumph from Josh Malerman.”
—Christopher Golden
 
“A perfectly-realized universe that’s sometimes hilarious, and often horrifying.”
—Mark Alan Miller

Goblin’s charm will beckon you, its citizens will dance like ghosts in your mind.”
—James Henry Hall

Goblin proves what I’ve been saying for the last few years: Malerman is becoming one of the true greats in weird fiction. He is the genre’s new dark prince!”
—Jonathan Maberry

"Josh Malerman has not only written the best book I’ve read this year; with Goblin he’s written the best book I’ve read in the last few years. The pages couldn’t be turned quickly enough. Goblin is an absolute triumph, wonderful characters, fantastic stories and in Goblin, a place you will want to return to again and again."
—Kendall Reviews

"Goblin, MI, is a strange town where it rains constantly, the local cops are a bit off, and a witch supposedly inhabits the local woods. Malerman sets six novellas in Goblin, bookended by the tale of a truck driver making a mysterious delivery to the area with specific instructions. The first novella, 'A Man in Slices,' tells of a man who fears that his childhood friend has done something awful to please his new girlfriend. A big game hunter obsesses over catching one of the huge owls that haunt Goblin’s woods in 'Happy Birthday, Hunter!' The final entry, 'The Hedges,' features an enormous hedge maze created by a man grieving over a terrible loss and the little girl who is the first to solve his creation. VERDICT: Bram Stoker Award winner Malerman (Bird Box) delivers a chilling collection of tales about a place that’s likely to linger in the imagination, one that readers shouldn’t plan on visiting."
—Library Journal

"Malerman received a lot of attention over his debut novel, BIRD BOX, and continued the buzz earlier this year with his second release, BLACK MAD WHEEL. That’s all fine and dandy, but if you ask me it’s GOBLIN that’s going to resonate deepest with long-time horror readers like myself. The reason why is simple—GOBLIN is Malerman’s stab at one of the great tropes of the horror genre: “The Town That’s Not Quite Right.” Derry. Oxrun Station. Castle Rock. Cedar Hill. Goblin. Lovely places to visit, but you probably wouldn’t want to live there. Beneath their chamber of commerce-approved veneers, something rotten squirms. In GOBLIN, there are more outward signs than most. It never seems to stop raining, for one thing. For another, NO ONE goes in the North Woods, because EVERYONE believes that a witch lives there, and that she can stop your heart with just a whisper. GOBLIN is a place where great owls rule the treetops, and the streets are patrolled by men with waxy skin and hidden eyes. GOBLIN is part of the Earthling Publications “Halloween Series,” a tradition that’s become as dear to me as trick-or-treating and month-long horror movie marathons. This one is lucky #13, and publisher Paul Miller has set himself a tall order if he hopes to top it next year."
—Blu Gilliand, October Country

Special Copies:

13 special copies of GOBLIN to celebrate the 13th year of the Halloween Series...13 copies from the town of Goblin. (These are sold out. Also please note this is not the lettered edition.)

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