Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Hobgoblin

Hobgoblin by John Coyne. Published July 1982 by Berkley Books. 342 pages.

So last night I finished my long-overdue reread of John Coyne's fantasy-horror yarn Hobgoblin, and I will say right now that some aspects of my review will be tainted as it is a work viewed through nostalgia-colored glasses. This compact little terror tale has been present on a bookshelf in my home for the better part of three decades. Being a child of the 80's, as well as being someone raised on Dungeons and Dragons, a lot of the elements incorporated into the framework of the story resonated with me on a personal level. To the casual reader, today, some of the ideas, dialogue, etc., might seem corny and dated. Hopefully this same reader can put aside these biases and enjoy this well-written story.

Before we get into the review, let's take a peek at the description on the back, shall we?

Scott Gardiner is weird.
He thinks the monsters in his fantasy game are real.
He thinks he sees Hobgoblins at the castle where his mother works.
He thinks his girl friend is being stalked by the Black Annis because of what happened to her in the graveyard.
He thinks his high school is filled with blood-spewing Gorfs and flesh-hungry Groundbats from the darkness of Irish legend.
Scott Gardiner is right.
So he's throwing the biggest party of the year. 
On Hallowe'en.

Reading this, as well as the (blatantly false) claims on the front:

The Dungeons are real.
The Dragons are real.
The Terror is here.
you might think that what you are getting is a sensationalist tale (like Rona Jaffe's Mazes & Monsters) playing on parental fears of their child becoming the next James Dallas Egbert.

Point blank; that's not what Hobgoblin is. At all. Back in the early 80's, there was fear born of urban legend, and apparently the opinion of someone's psychiatrist, that some of the introverted youngsters playing these RPG's would become so emotionally invested in them that their already fragile grasp on reality would snap and they would be rendered unable to separate reality from a fantasy world filled with goblins and bugbears. And people fell for this (then again these same people also believed that D&D was promoting devil worship due to the appearance of devils and demons in the original AD&D Monster Manual). And luckily, those same people were punished for their gullibility, in the form of a Mazes & Monsters TV movie 'starring' a young, desperate for cash Tom Hanks:
Not exactly Dr. Langdon's finest hour, but it serves him right.

We've had Dungeons and Dragons, and Mazes & Monsters, so what exactly is Hobgoblin (the game)? Actually, Hobgoblin was pretty ahead of its time. The fictional game that Coyne crafts for the novel incorporates three types of fantasy gaming; the "role-playing" aspect of D&D, the "card" aspect of games like Magic, and a "board" akin to Games Workshop offerings (yes, the use of figurines was huge in D&D, but using an actual crafted diorama to represent scale and events was more in line with British counterparts). Coyne also injects welcome authenticity by basing the lore of the Hobgoblin world on Irish mythology. A hack author might have been tempted to just insert 'made-up' names to pad out their D&D clones, giving us creatures with ludicrous names like "fecalite". By using established lore, Coyne makes Hobgoblin feel like a game whose supplements you would snatch right off the wall at The Compleat Strategist, as well as giving us a primer of some intriguing Celtic mythology.

Now, on to the book. Finally....

In Hobgoblin, we are presented with young Scott Gardiner. Scott is not exactly, as the back cover puts it, 'weird', but he does fit the 80's RPG'er template to a tee. He is introverted, repressive, awkward (especially regarding the fairer sex). He is a high-functioning student. Of course he wears glasses. So yes, the stereotypical gamer. But, stereotypes don't become stereotypes without an impressive track record of accuracy, and, on his appearance, Scott fits the bill. Many readers might find it difficult to sympathize and/or even like Scott. Tell the truth, it's kind of hard to warm up to him. He's not a gregarious kid, he's often sullen and even a bit boorish. But Scott Gardiner isn't mean, or vindictive. And actually, he has some good reasons to be withdrawn.

Early on in the book, Scott's father dies suddenly from a heart attack. At roughly the same time, away at his prep school, Scott's nearly invincible Hobgoblin character, legendary paladin Brian BorĂº, is slain in combat. In the fallout of these two soul-crushing events, Scott and his mother, Barbara, have to move, and find themselves in Upstate New York. This gives Scott an extra helping of stress, as he has to re-acclimate to a new environment and new people. And, honestly, being a resident of Upstate New York for the past three years, I can totally understand the horror he must have felt. Barbara Gardiner lands a job at an old Irish castle, Ballycastle, which was built (actually brought from Ireland stone by stone) by the Gatsby-esque Fergus O'Cuileannain, an Irish tycoon that died young and left a fortune in a Trust. As ominous and foreboding as the castle and the surrounding grounds are, Barbara is smart enough to realize that there is only so far a woman in the 80's can go with an art history degree (exactly the same distance that it goes in 2013).

The medieval Ballycastle serves as ample fuel for Scott's Hobgoblin fantasies, as does Conor Fitzpatrick, the sole holdover employee from O'Cuileannain's days, who gifts Scott with traditional Irish weaponry and regales him with tales of mythology of the Eire. This worries Barbara. She knows how impressionable Scott is. She knows he is dressing up and pretending to be Brian BorĂº. And she knows just how dangerous these tendencies can be.


In all fairness, she may be on to something....

Meanwhile, Scott is having trouble fitting in at his new school. The rural folk of Flat Rock are a far cry from the scions of money families that he was used to back at Spencertown Academy. Worst of all, he has become the center of attention for two malicious football players, Nick Borgus and Hank Simpson. Their level of bullying would be trying on even the strongest of souls, so Scott's misery is understandable.

And yet, things are not all bad. A lovely young lady, Valerie Dunn, has taken a liking to Mr. Gardiner. She can see the good behind the standoffish exterior. Unfortunately for both of them, their burgeoning relationship has caught both the attention and ire of Borgus and Simpson.

Love is also in the air for Barbara Gardiner. The young widow finds another chance at love developing with her boss, Derek Brennan, the executive director at Ballycastle. This poses a problem for her, though. Already facing difficulties communicating with her quiet son, what is perceived as bringing in a 'replacement' for his dead father only makes things worse.

Now, Hobgoblin would have been just fine as being a study in these peoples' lives; watching as they learn to cope with loss and learn to live again. But this isn't a character study; it's a horror novel. And after an opening act where we meet everyone, strange things start happening.

There are weird things going on at Ballycastle. And they aren't only in Scott's head. There is some kind of creature roaming the grounds. It tried to break into the house when Barbara was alone; it comes into the house when Scott and Valerie are spending time together, and, worst of all, it attacks Valerie when she is alone in Ballycastle's extremely creepy graveyard. All three also can agree that this being loping through the forest bears a resemblance to the Black Annis, another creature from the Hobgoblin game, and one of the more frightening nightmares of Irish lore:
Exactly what you want to be visited by while you are making out with your girlfriend.

While this is going on, Barbara is busy trying to get to the bottom of some mysterious happenings in Ballycastle's past. That same graveyard mentioned earlier is not only the resting place of Fergus O'Cuileannain, but also the burial grounds for a slew of young Irish girls that had died in his employ, poor girls that had been brought over from the old country and had passed in the prime of their youth. Will uncovering the truth behind their deaths endanger the future of the estate's Trust, or are the stakes actually much, much higher?

In an attempt to integrate Scott into Flat Rock life, and warm the students to him and his Hobgoblin-y ways, it is agreed for an upcoming school dance to be held at Ballycastle, where the event will be a dance/Hobgoblin-LARP hybrid. Here, Scott will finally come face to face with the truth, with reality, and with himself.

Coyne has created a work that boasts solid prose and remains gripping from beginning to end. This is no small praise; horror novels were a dime a dozen at the time, and most were spat out by third rate hacks. Many of these novels might feature decent writing in one facet of the story, like in the details of violence, or sexual situations, etc. Coyne, however, presents descriptive scenery, believable (even if at times unlikable) characters, and jarring scenes of violence. He is a solid writer of other horror works (The Legacy, The Searing, The Piercing) who is still going strong thirty years later, now writing about another of his passions, golf. I can say assuredly that I will be tracking down more of his horror work.

Coyne structures each chapter around Scott and Barbara, as the encounter situations that are not directly related, but essentially similar. As the story evolves, we watch as they both struggle with their 'new lives'. Scott's troubles have already been covered; but it bears remembering that Barbara is starting over as well. She had married young, and her deceased husband was a powerful, successful man that she was content and secure in following. Now she has a chance to solidify a career on her own, and re-discover romance with a man who is happy to walk alongside her, not just lead the way. By the end of the tale, we can see that Scott and his mother are actually very similar people, making all of their past estrangement unnecessary.

While I personally have no complaints about Hobgoblin, I can understand some readers having an issue with the final act. What Hobgoblin becomes in the end is not a psychological thriller, or a supernatural tale, but rather straight up slasher fiction. I mean, there are implausible scenarios throughout the tale (or maybe not, from what I've seen up here the levels of bullying and sexual harassment portrayed in the high schools might be spot on), but the ending goes pretty balls to the wall. It's handled nicely though.

Final thoughts:
Books like Hobgoblin and Mazes & Monsters caught some flak back in the day for being condescending and dismissive towards RPG's and their players. They seemed to associate salvation with 'growing up' and giving up on playing. Well, maybe that's true for M&M, but not so much here. Scott Gardiner is not at risk of getting lost in a steam tunnel, or in a mentally reclusive fantasy world. He is, however, a kid who is going through some tough times, and ends up a little overly-invested in a game that offers a little more fun that reality. Haven't we all felt that way about something, sometime?

Here's what it is:
Bar none, the authoritative "D&D Panic" novel. A masterful slasher-film in book form, that stands strong three decades after it was unleashed on the world.
Some sexual situations, so a little intense even for young adults.


Final Score:

93/100


Cover Score:
Ah the 80's. Epic VHS covers. Epic book covers. This one is no different. A two-page cover flap design, you can see the outer cover above, with what appears to be Scott trapped in a dungeon behind a portcullis gate (presumably showing how he feels in the 'real world'). Open the first flap and you see....
A beautifully done, vibrantly colorful rendition of Scott doing battle with some of the creatures from the Hobgoblin world. They really don't make stuff like this anymore. Sadly.

Cover Final Score:

90/100

12 comments:

  1. Although I certainly remember the days of D&D "panic" and that Tom Hanks/Chris Makepeace TV movie, I don't recall this novel. Couple years ago I read Coyne's 'The Searing' and thought it was passably ok as a bestseller horror novel with skeevy sex and violence. This novel sounds more interesting, and you're right, they don't make covers like that anymore.

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  2. Thanks for commenting Will. I am hoping to track down one of Coyne's other novels and get a review up for Halloween Horrors Month (tentative name). I recently read a very short story by him, The Crazy Chinaman, which was a little more experimental, and fairly serviceable, but not great.
    In Hobgoblin, like I mentioned, you get those juicy sexual and violent themes that were commonplace in those novels gracing the spinning wire racks in local drug stores (like the one we got our copy in), but it does not come off as arbitrary and cheap.
    Plus, you get the D&D panic bonus. Hopefully your local library database has a copy in it.

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  3. I read this more than once as a 12-year old kid circa 1987. I was just on a journey to find a Kindle version of it when I ran across this site. Nice writeup and it's a great book.

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  4. I really appreciate the compliment. I was reading it myself at around the same age, around the same time period. It is a solid little chiller, but the RPG component really ups it.
    Obviously this book has a solid fan base, as it is easily my most viewed review. And it deserves it.
    You also mention something that raises a good point: looking for a Kindle version. I personally like having a book in hand, but am coming to terms with the inevitability of the ebook slaying the mass market paperback. Sad thing is, for so many books like this, it looks like they might get lost in the shuffle. Keep one copy on the shelf, and one in the bins (as you can still get a used copy nice and cheap).
    But to think that in the next twenty odd years, titles like this might be all but forgotten....kind of sad.

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  5. My mom has an original first edition that I read from time to time. It's one of those books that never gets boring. In fact I'm thinking about rereading it now, it's been awhile.

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    1. I hope you got around to that reread. I need to do one myself over the summer or around Halloween time. Definitely this book stands up well with rereads, and is a great recommendation for friends....

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  6. As a blogger, I'm sure it's annoying to have to sift through comments years after you've posted.
    But this book 'means something' to me.
    In '82, when I was about 7 or 8 years old, I was in a local drug store with my mom. I saw the book and, as any kid that age at that time would do, I HAD to know what was the art underneath the cover. I was blown away. Everytime after, while it was on the small rack for (then new) paperbacks I had to stare at it.
    For years after the image stayed with me and I very often wondered what the book was...
    Later, by then a gamer and fantasy freak, I wondered still about this book.
    Once, when I was in a nearby used bookstore in late '87 (then in 8th grade) I was looking through the horror section. Seeing the word "Hobgoblin" caused me to pull the book out. There it was. There it was! Finally! Pure luck. ALL that time! There it was.
    I read the front and back cover blubs. Whoa. It was a horror novel centered on a kid who played a D&D-like game.
    Fate. It was freakin' fate. Wow. Just...wow.
    I read it. It was the first horror novel I'd ever read (though I'd enjoyed a smattering of King short stories by then).
    Perfect.
    You're right about Scott. What a jerk. But very real. Very wonderfully flawed.
    Ever since then, when I come across a copy of Hobgoblin that's in really good condition I'm compelled to buy it as though I have to keep grabbing and finding and keeping something I was certain I'd never see again or ever find out what it was.
    Your review was spot on and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. As fate (there it is again) would have it, my girlfriend is reading it on my recommendation.
    Perhaps our little one (at age 8 already loves both horror and fantasy stuff) will read it after some years. :)
    Cheers!

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    1. Hi Eric-
      Thanks for taking the time to make this in-depth post. Actually, I get so few comments here that there is no sifting to do... It's actually good to know that some people are still out there reading this. And I can always find time to come back to Hobgoblin. It's been in my life for a very long time. This review is still my top-viewed post, and it's always great to here from fellow fans of it.
      From your post, I'm guessing we're around the same age (I was born in '74). We got the book in the early 80's, since my brother (4 years older than me) was really heavy into D&D, and had even got me into it at about 8. My mom tried to hide the book from me at that point since she thought it might be "too much", especially since, like I mentioned in the post, there were so many concerns over how D&D related things would mess with young, emotional minds (actually, as a child of the 80's, I thought the skyrocketing divorce rates and constant threat of nuclear war with Russia were more terrifying than mind flayers, but I digress). But I would always find the copy, and stare at that great cover, and read what I was able to comprehend and retain. At about 12-13 I read the whole thing through (my only other horror reads up til that point were a few stories from my brother's copies of the Books of Blood, Firestarter, and a copy of The Amityville Horror that I grabbed at a flea market for like a dime). And it blew me away. I had seen Mazes & Monsters and expected something along those lines. But Hobgoblin was so much better.
      And now that I am older, I can truly appreciate the finer touches; how Coyne wove the Celtic myths into it so well, rather than making up names for random creatures. How he didn't use a stereotypical gamer template for Scott (weirdo, social outcast, etc.). He made Scott real; a little emotional, high-strung, awkward as a teen his age would be, angry over the loss of a parent, but also intelligent and capable of nobility.
      Also, the things I thought were overdone when I read this as a kid; the level of bullying, the concept of a mob of teens partying in a castle.... after moving from NYC to Upstate NY I can see these levels of bullying. Not too long ago we saw teens raiding an NFL players vacation home to throw a party. So now it all seems a bit more genuine.
      Anyway, I'm rambling too much here. I hope your girlfriend truly enjoys it. I recommend it to all my friends as well. They might never feel that same exhilaration we did so long ago, when it felt like a book custom-made for us. But it is still a damn good read.
      And I hope your little one likes it too. We are raising our 4 kids on a hearty diet of horror and such, and I leave a copy of Hobgoblin (I actually have two back-ups squirreled away) on a shelf in plain view. They have started asking about it, and I keep telling them "Oh it's a great book, maybe when you are a bit bigger you can handle it." I want to see if any of them outright ask to read it, or try to sneak a read....
      Thanks again for posting!

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    2. Hello Hachi!
      I wonder if you'll see this. I'm the very same Eric that posted my long comment years ago. I've come across and read yet again your review. So, yeah...here I am again! (I was actually trying my damndest to figure out the artist who painted the awesome inner art, and it would seem, the art to McKiernen's two paperback editions of his Silver Call duology. No luck, despite that I thought I HAD come across info some years back that granted me the name of the artist. Argh! lol)
      I'm glad to see you're still running the blog. Also...can you believe my wife STILL has not gotten around to reading this? Sheesh! Ha ha! My "little one" is now 11 and still into horror and fantasy. I'm not sure she's ready yet, however. Also, the person who commented some time after my original comment: Yeah. A Hobgoblin movie. That would be wonderful.
      Lastly, as I'm still a rpg gamer using old-school D&D clone rules-set(s) (if you're familiar about so-called 'retro-clones' that is), I've been attempting to organize a Hobgoblin-like game/campaign for some time. Hopefully it's not too far off from coming to fruition.
      Be mindful at night of the nuckelavees and the Black Annis! After all, Samhain is not too far away!
      Cheers! :)

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    3. Eric, it's great to see you! Thanks for stopping back! Sorry, I am checking the blog so infrequently recently that your comment sat in the pending section a while.

      I will dig up my copy of the old edition of Hobgoblin as soon as I can. I keep it tucked away now; and the re-release is on my shelf. Hopefully it will say who the interior artist is. As for the artist of those two McKiernan books; I believe it is Alan Lee...do you think he did the Hobgoblin interior art too?

      Sorry to hear that your wife hasn't gotten around to reading this book yet...wait, she's you wife now? Wasn't she your girlfriend than? Congratulations!

      All the best in your efforts towards making a Hobgoblin game....I wish some like minds like us could get together and Kickstart something; especially since it would incorporate tabletop minis, and cards as well...with some good sculptors and artists, it'd be a thing to behold. And maybe, yes maybe a movie down the line....keep the 80's time period. Give it a retro VHS style cover; maybe some dice, a figure, and some cards on home release. Man, it's good to dream.

      Looking forward to Samhain as well! I'll keep an eye over my shoulder for those creatures.

      Hopefully in the future, I can take a trip down to Greenport NY, and visit the Olana Historic Site, which was the inspiration for Ballycastle.

      All the best, and come back again! Take care.

      P.S.- The Vestron Video avatar, awesome.

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  7. Nice review. One of my parents owned this book, and I found it one day in their bedroom. I was 13 or 14 when I first read it, and I fell completely in love with it! I had already been gaming since the age of 11, which might have helped to draw me in. Plus at that time I'd been reading the Lancer/Ace series of Conan books, so I was okay with very descriptive, brutal gore and violence. (I was also very into horror film already by that point in my life!) This was around 1984 or '85. Anyway, about 10 years ago, I decided that I was going to write a screenplay of this book. I got about 50 pages into it and sort of gave up when I started looking into acquiring the film rights and whatnot. I always thought it'd make an excellent film, even now. It would have a retro aspect to it, which is popular, and it's about gaming, fantasy, and horror, three very popular items these days. What a perfect blend! It would appeal to teen and adult audiences, male or female. It has a strong female lead in Scott's mother. Anyway, it's been sitting on a shelf, but recently I decided I'd pick it up again and try to finish the screenplay. Wish me luck!

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    1. Hi-
      Sorry it took me so long to answer.
      It seems that so many people of around our age were pretty profoundly impacted and influenced by this book.
      Many times I've fantasized, when I was younger, and especially now that I am living Upstate and can see similar locations to the one that inspired Ballycastle, about getting a Hobgoblin movie made. Financing it has always been high on my "If I ever win the Powerball" fantasy list.
      Never did I do anything as ambitious as attempting a screenplay. Good for you! Seriously! Get it down off the shelf, and give it a go.
      Hope to hear from you again soon.

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