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Gremlins #2
Gremlins 2 The New Batch. A Novelization
Keep them out of bright light, away from water—and never... never... feed them after midnight!
Who would have thought that within every playful, cuddly Mogwai there lurked a gleefully malevolent gremlin? Billy Peltzer and his girlfriend Kate Beringer found out the hard way—and it nearly destroyed their hometown of Kingston Falls. Now the young lovers have come to New York to seek their fortunes. But the towering, high-tech office building in which they work is about to become a breeding ground for a whole new batch of deliciously malicious creatures.
Start spreading the news. The gremlins—lots of them—have come to take Manhattan... and they're itching to comically paint the Big Apple gremlin green!
Who would have thought that within every playful, cuddly Mogwai there lurked a gleefully malevolent gremlin? Billy Peltzer and his girlfriend Kate Beringer found out the hard way—and it nearly destroyed their hometown of Kingston Falls. Now the young lovers have come to New York to seek their fortunes. But the towering, high-tech office building in which they work is about to become a breeding ground for a whole new batch of deliciously malicious creatures.
Start spreading the news. The gremlins—lots of them—have come to take Manhattan... and they're itching to comically paint the Big Apple gremlin green!
Unknown Binding
First published June 1, 1990
4 people are currently reading
232 people want to read
About the author
David Bischoff
162 books104 followersaka Mark Grant (with Bruce King), Brad Quentin (with Terry Bisson)
Born in Washington D.C. and now living in Eugene, Oregon, David Bischoff writes science fiction books, short stories, and scripts for television. Though he has been writing since the early 1970s, and has had over 80 books published, David is best known for novelizations of popular movies and TV series including the Aliens, Gremlins, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and WarGames.
Born in Washington D.C. and now living in Eugene, Oregon, David Bischoff writes science fiction books, short stories, and scripts for television. Though he has been writing since the early 1970s, and has had over 80 books published, David is best known for novelizations of popular movies and TV series including the Aliens, Gremlins, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and WarGames.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
May 12, 2018
Really more like 2.5 stars. This book was amusing and ridiculous, probably like the movie. Not well written by any means, and the topical references to Donald Trump do make you go, "and who would have imagined this guy would be president of the United States some day." Oh boy. I'd give it 3 stars for amusement, but only 2 for actual writing quality (if that).
January 6, 2025
hands down the best thing ive ever found in a little free library. its gremlins 2 the new batch, novelized! its a shame they couldnt get hulk hogan in for a text cameo but at least brain gremlin was available to address the reader. fun, funny, & very stupid. its good!!
December 23, 2016
Geinig verhaal, geen donkere sfeer zoals in deel 1. Net zoals de film (Gremlins 2: The new batch) leest dit boek ook als een soort parodie op het origineel. Toch vind ik de film boeiender dan dit boek.
Op mijn blog ga ik er uitgebreider op in :)
Op mijn blog ga ik er uitgebreider op in :)
August 5, 2025
TL;DR: The novelization of Gremlins 2 by David Bischoff is pure 1-star garbage—bad writing, outdated takes, and a cringy Trump analog—but I still kinda loved it for the 80’s nostalgia.
Fun? Sure. Good? Absolutely not.
⸻
David Bischoff, who cranked out a ton of novelizations in the ’80s and ’90s, penned this one, and you can feel every bit of that era in the writing. He’s clearly a guy nostalgic for his own childhood—there’s more longing for 1950s black-and-white TV than for the neon-soaked chaos of the actual film. 🤣
The book reads like a muddled time capsule that never quite figured out who it was for. The story follows the basic setup of Gremlins 2: corporate skyscraper, chaotic gremlins, a genetically modified gremlin zoo—but stripped of the movie’s manic charm. Instead, we get a heavy-handed satire of tech, media, and business, all told through the eyes of a writer stuck in the past.
One detail that stuck out? Daniel Clamp, the tower’s creator, is very clearly modeled after a late-’80s Donald Trump—down to the name (Clamp/Trump, not exactly subtle). There’s even a joke about him becoming president. Reading that now? Let’s just say the chuckle curdled. What once passed as a quirky, wide-eyed nod to wealth and power now lands like a rotten egg in a microwave. I read to escape, not to trip into a proto-Trump admiration fantasy, thank you very much.
And yet…
I still had fun.
Not good fun, mind you, but nostalgic, “remember when cable was the future?” kind of fun. I was briefly transported back to the late ’80s/early ’90s—the dawn of cable TV, fax machines, and futuristic elevators. If you’re my age, you’ll probably feel that tickle of memory too.
Three Takeaways:
• Daniel Clamp is a Trump parody, and it hasn’t aged well—especially if you read for escape.
• The book’s nostalgia leans hard into the author’s 1950s roots, not just the movie’s 1980s setting.
• It’s dumb and poorly written, but hey, it was still a trip down memory lane.
So yeah—this one’s a solid one-star on quality, but maybe a sneaky three-star in spirit. I wouldn’t recommend it, but I did enjoy it in my own trash-loving, VHS-scented way. GarbAugust is off to a weird, wonderful start.
Fun? Sure. Good? Absolutely not.
⸻
David Bischoff, who cranked out a ton of novelizations in the ’80s and ’90s, penned this one, and you can feel every bit of that era in the writing. He’s clearly a guy nostalgic for his own childhood—there’s more longing for 1950s black-and-white TV than for the neon-soaked chaos of the actual film. 🤣
The book reads like a muddled time capsule that never quite figured out who it was for. The story follows the basic setup of Gremlins 2: corporate skyscraper, chaotic gremlins, a genetically modified gremlin zoo—but stripped of the movie’s manic charm. Instead, we get a heavy-handed satire of tech, media, and business, all told through the eyes of a writer stuck in the past.
One detail that stuck out? Daniel Clamp, the tower’s creator, is very clearly modeled after a late-’80s Donald Trump—down to the name (Clamp/Trump, not exactly subtle). There’s even a joke about him becoming president. Reading that now? Let’s just say the chuckle curdled. What once passed as a quirky, wide-eyed nod to wealth and power now lands like a rotten egg in a microwave. I read to escape, not to trip into a proto-Trump admiration fantasy, thank you very much.
And yet…
I still had fun.
Not good fun, mind you, but nostalgic, “remember when cable was the future?” kind of fun. I was briefly transported back to the late ’80s/early ’90s—the dawn of cable TV, fax machines, and futuristic elevators. If you’re my age, you’ll probably feel that tickle of memory too.
Three Takeaways:
• Daniel Clamp is a Trump parody, and it hasn’t aged well—especially if you read for escape.
• The book’s nostalgia leans hard into the author’s 1950s roots, not just the movie’s 1980s setting.
• It’s dumb and poorly written, but hey, it was still a trip down memory lane.
So yeah—this one’s a solid one-star on quality, but maybe a sneaky three-star in spirit. I wouldn’t recommend it, but I did enjoy it in my own trash-loving, VHS-scented way. GarbAugust is off to a weird, wonderful start.
May 1, 2022
David Bischoff handles the weirder elements of "Gremlins 2" (the reality-breaking moments that have the Gremlins with one foot in cinema land and one in our world) pretty well. At one point a Gremlin addresses the reader directly, in lieu of the scene where the Gremlins break the film (or video, depending on which version you're watching).
This isn't a YA book, but it feels like one, at times. There's an excess of exclamation marks throughout, and repetitive word use that calls attention to itself. But, it does sum up the movie fairly well and that, I'm sure, wasn't simple; "Gremlins 2" lends itself to the printed format less well than many other movies released in 1990.
This isn't a YA book, but it feels like one, at times. There's an excess of exclamation marks throughout, and repetitive word use that calls attention to itself. But, it does sum up the movie fairly well and that, I'm sure, wasn't simple; "Gremlins 2" lends itself to the printed format less well than many other movies released in 1990.
May 23, 2023
I love these books. The way it enriches the Gremlins story. So much the movie can’t show you. Of course, having watched the movie before reading the book, I visualized all the movie characters as I read.
But it was a fun read. The humor of these books is golden. I especially enjoyed the way the author handled the break of the 4th wall. While a book can’t include great cameos from 80’s pro wrestlers, the author finds unique and entertaining ways around it.
But it was a fun read. The humor of these books is golden. I especially enjoyed the way the author handled the break of the 4th wall. While a book can’t include great cameos from 80’s pro wrestlers, the author finds unique and entertaining ways around it.
August 18, 2018
I definitely preferred the movies, but it was still a pleasant, short read. Had it been 50 pages longer, I wouldn’t have gotten through it. The mix of office/business talk and classic Gremlin scenes was strange. There were also a few errors, for example “Gremlin” was sometimes capitalized, sometimes not.
I liked the fourth wall break near the end. That was entertaining.
I liked the fourth wall break near the end. That was entertaining.
May 10, 2023
The Gremlins certainly were among the most famous monsters in the 80s. Here we go back in time and see the further adventures of Billy Peltzer, Kate and Gizmo. Set in New York City again new cocoons will bring a new menace to town. Fast paced, witty, eerie undertones. This is the ideal supplement to the movie. No spoilers now, let the Gremlins take over. Highly recommended.
January 29, 2022
Pretty awful but some of the humour hits the right mark. As a novelisation it is pretty basic and is littered with spelling and grammar errors and in one case the name of a character is wrong leading to her talking to herself...
February 5, 2019
You don't need this if you've seen the movie, but I just bought it to frame the cover.
April 29, 2019
This was a nice quick read that is exactly like the movie. I’ve been wanting to rewatch the second movie for a long time now so reading the book was perfect.
February 9, 2021
Fun and easy. Stuck to the film better than the first book did for the first movie.
November 19, 2021
4 out of 5
May 2, 2023
It's not as good as the movie of course but enjoyed the little mr. glasses excerpt and the insight into Gizmo's thoughts & feelings.
September 11, 2023
It gets better every time I read it.
January 31, 2024
4,5⭐ solo perché amo il film e i Gremlins ma non è nulla di più che una telecronaca della pellicola. Meriterebbe molte meno stelle ma sono nostalgica 😂
February 21, 2024
One of my favourite films of all time, all the gags feel like old friends
April 12, 2024
silly and fun! + a great fourth wall break
June 23, 2008
I read this book in one weekend.. when I was 9 years old. That was impressive.
August 18, 2011
I read this back in the early 90's around the time the movie came out. Ridiculous but fun to read.
December 30, 2013
I liked it, but it is not as good as the first one. I liked all the background story they had in the first one. I wanted that in this one, but they didn't have it.
January 21, 2015
I read this book as a kid a couple of times. It's a good read as a kid. Now as an adult I'm not so sure, but you never know.
June 27, 2007
I did a book report on this in Sixth Grade.
April 28, 2017
Gizmo is back....
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews