Ghoul

by Brian Keene

June 1984. Timmy Graco is looking forward to summer vacation, taking it easy and hanging out with his buddies. Instead his summer will be filled with terror and a life-and-death battle against a nightmarish creature that few will believe even exists. Timmy learns that the person who s been unearthing fresh graves in the cemetery isn t a person at all. It s a thing. And it s after Timmy and his friends. If Timmy hopes to live to see September, he ll have to escape the...GHOUL.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Coming Of Age, Zombies, Paranormal, Fantasy, Adult

323 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

BRIAN KEENE writes novels, comic books, short fiction, and occasional journalism for money. He is the author of over forty books, mostly in the horror, crime, and dark fantasy genres. His 2003 novel, The Rising, is often credited (along with Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead comic and Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later film) with inspiring pop culture’s current interest in zombies. Keene’s novels have been translated into German, Spanish, Polish, Italian, French, Taiwanese, and many more. In addition to his own original work, Keene has written for media properties such as Doctor Who, Hellboy, Masters of the Universe, and Superman.

Several of Keene’s novels have been developed for film, including Ghoul, The Ties That Bind, and Fast Zombies Suck. Several more are in-development or under option. Keene also serves as Executive Producer for the independent film studio Drunken Tentacle Productions.

Keene also oversees Maelstrom, his own small press publishing imprint specializing in collectible limited editions, via Thunderstorm Books.

Keene’s work has been praised in such diverse places as The New York Times, The History Channel, The Howard Stern Show, CNN.com, Publisher’s Weekly, Media Bistro, Fangoria Magazine, and Rue Morgue Magazine. He has won numerous awards and honors, including the World Horror 2014 Grand Master Award, two Bram Stoker Awards, and a recognition from Whiteman A.F.B. (home of the B-2 Stealth Bomber) for his outreach to U.S. troops serving both overseas and abroad. A prolific public speaker, Keene has delivered talks at conventions, college campuses, theaters, and inside Central Intelligence Agency headquarters in Langley, VA.

The father of two sons, Keene lives in rural Pennsylvania.

Reviews

[Jakob J. 🎃 · Rating 5 out of 5]

As we all know, there is this patronizing line people use when they are ashamed of liking something. They may refer to is as a guilty pleasure, and then, as if to indemnify themselves from humiliation, will cowardly mutter something along the lines of ‘I liked it for what it was’. Well, no shit! Does anybody like something for what it isn’t? Perhaps they do. (Oh that Camus and his sanguine romps!) After all, the best thing about some books is that they aren’t by James Patterson, or one of his ghostwriters, or some new-same woke-and-heartbroke Instagram pseudo-poetry. But my point is easily understood, I think, and probably well advertised.

Having said all that, I do seem to employ different criteria for my pulpier selections, because I more-or-less have an idea of what I am indulging in, though Keene doesn’t always fit cozily in the exclusive Pulp description as I understand it, as his characters are often as authentically uninhibited as our childhood selves were. His situations as well, because although I reject (or am at least limitlessly skeptical of) any supernatural explanations of events, I am not detached from the frightened enticement of it in childhood when something mysterious happens, or when we swear to God that we saw a monster lurking about. That is the sort of affection I possess for this novel, and the writer over all. Who among us has not consulted our comics and accumulated imaginative bestiaries for interpretational guidance in strange goings-on? I won’t do the hackneyed thing, yet, and deem this a genre-defying work, but it is a solid genre piece that happens to contain people like yourself, or people you used to know, involved in situations you once thought your experiences may have been leading up to. Some aspects of a couple of the young characters were certainly not as typical (e.g. a mother’s incestuous drunkenness after being left by her husband), but other sad and harrowing aspects of the novel such as fathers abandoning their families, abusive fathers, dead grandparents, are often things that children have to face, and are treated with more delicate compassion than one might expect from their average pulp or exploitation piece.

Now, I’m afraid I do have to make a hackneyed pronouncement. This is a coming-of-age tale. The story is straightforward and linear (god should forbid such shameless pre-postmodernism) and even the allegory is explained through Timmy Graco’s thoughts; a pleasant, sci-fi-and-horror-obsessed-but-otherwise-mostly-normal, and kindhearted 12 year old boy who comes to fancy himself a modern-day (well, 1980’s) Tom Sawyer, with one significant alteration; a demonic, corpse-devouring, female-defiling, graveyard skulking, midnight-thriving fiend replacing the role of Injun Joe. I loved revisiting that adventurous-cum-slightly-mischievous spirit, which was so appropriately and reverently implemented. The other coming-of-age element is one that has been expressed most angstily—and perhaps poignantly—in The Breakfast Club, but again, the candor of it in the context of these boys’ journey just works: is there any way to avoid ending up like our parents? Returning to the cemetery where all the horror was experienced, not only to bury your father, but also to discover that your best childhood friend has been treating his son with the same cruel dominance that he experienced at the hands of his own father is a grim moment of clarity indeed. In preparation to battle the evil foe, Timmy quotes his late grandfather quoting, more like paraphrasing, Nietzsche (pronounced Nacho, he thinks), “When you battle monsters, you have to be careful or else you’ll turn into a monster yourself.” This is a convenient use for such a quote, but I can’t really think of a way to quote Nietzsche that isn’t. Literal monsters, societal monsters, inner monsters; they will eventually devour it all.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Life goes on, after the thrill of living has gone" so goes a famous John Cougar Mellencamp song ("Jack and Diane") referred to in this brilliant coming of age novel. We're back in 1984 (great music, Dio, Iron Maiden, Prince) and see three 12 year old boys spending their summer holidays. The book starts with a great sex scene on a cemetery describing the characters involved in an outstanding way (no kidding). Then something is set free within and terrifies the living and the dead. Well, over the chapters you'll learn that nothing in life is endless and who the real monsters are: abusive parents (Barry's drunk dad or Dough's mother) and parents who don't want to believe in what their kids say (e.g. Timmy's father who destroys his son's comic book collection). Will the kids get rid of the monster? How will their future lives be? The author definitely brings the reader back into 1984. What a fantastic novel with many heart warming scenes. Since I grew up in the 80s I could absolutely identify with the novel and remember my summer back then. It was phenomenal. Highly recommended!

[Jonathan Janz · Rating 5 out of 5]

To avoid becoming monsters, we must be aware of how profoundly our programming affects us.

There are two scenes in GHOUL that keep me up at night, neither of which deal with the actual ghoul (which was extremely scary). The scenes involve a young man named Barry, and…

…and it might be time for you to stop reading if you want to remain unspoiled. I mean, I'll try not to get TOO specific, but to make my point…yeah. Minor (or, arguably, major) spoilers.

The first scene involves the three boys and their vengeance on a very ill-tempered and aggressive dog. Timmy (the protagonist) and Doug gleefully give the dog his comeuppance, but Barry takes it a step further. And further. And further.

It left me sleepless.

The denouement of the book is even more haunting. In fact, it's probably my favorite Keene ending. Not because I liked it--I *didn't* like it. I hated it.

It's my favorite because it had integrity. It was *true*. It was--and yes, I'm using this word to describe the resolution of a contemporary horror novel, because some horror novels are far more than what most people give them credit for being--important.

It was important because we need to be aware of what we've been exposed to and conditioned by in our formative years. Unfortunately, there are an awful lot of people who don't think about these things. There *have* to be a great many people like this; otherwise, there wouldn't be abused children and battered spouses.

But we know there are. And that's why I love the ending of this book.

Brian Keene is known for a lot of things. Suspense, violence, a wry sense of humor.

But what calls me back to his books the most compellingly is emotion. The emotions I felt at the end of GHOUL and continue to feel are complicated. At first I felt desolate. Then I felt angry. Soon after that, I felt blessed that I had escaped my own programming, or at least suppressed it enough to treat my own children better than my biological father treated me.

Now? I feel resolve. Resolve to continue to call out abusive behavior when I see it. Resolve to continue seeking the truth in my own stories.

At its core, that's what GHOUL is.

Truth.

Painful, unvarnished truth.

And that's why it's important.

[Sadie Hartmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review originally appeared at Cemetery Dance: June 28th, 2019
“Boys have scars”, he thought. “Some of them fade—and others don’t. Some scars stay with us for life.”—Brian Keene, Ghoul

Even though this book was originally published some years ago, stories this good are timeless and a well-written book can find its audience yesterday, today and tomorrow. Ghoul will now join the ranks of my favorite coming-of-age horror tales. And I know what some of you are thinking right now, “We know all about Brian Keene and Ghoul, Sadie. You’re a little late to the party!”

But hear me, my friends: I’m a bookish introvert and I’m always late to the party, if I even show up at all—so good for you that you read this forever ago, but even better for me that I got to read it in this season of my horror-fiction-loving-lifestyle right now!

The premise is a good one: Three twelve-year-old boys are looking forward to spending the summer in their hidden fort, eating junk food, reading comics and talking about girls. Things are going according to plan until the boys are faced with having to battle monsters—both real life monsters in their own homes and an ancient terror that has taken up residence in their town’s cemetery: a ghoul.

The reason I love coming-of-age horror so much is that it’s such a definitive, epic time in each one of our lives. When you’re twelve years old, everything seems larger than life and even the smallest drama can feel like the end of the world. Young adults are the perfect protagonists for a horror story because even though they are growing into adulthood and learning how to make decisions for themselves, so much of their existence depends on the adults in their lives. If something paranormal, supernatural, extraterrestrial or demonic threatens their lives, they have to tell the adults and they are NEVER believed! It’s so frustrating! If I’ve learned anything really important from coming-of-age horror, it’s that children are always to be believed—even if they tell you that there is a glowing, naked ghoul hell-bent on impregnating women in its subterranean lair under the town cemetery!

But even worse than this horny, corpse-eating ghoul is the home lives of two of the protagonists, Doug and Barry. I won’t go into detail because that’s part of the intimate reader’s discovery that I don’t want to spoil for anyone desiring to pick this up for the first time. But honestly, you’ll go into this book expecting a creature-feature offering only blood and carnage, but you close the book with tears in your eyes and your heart torn in two and a hollow feeling in your guts, meaning you’ve experienced some real feelings.

Brian Keene took me on a journey with Ghoul, and it was visceral and painful and emotional and I’ll never forget it. Truly, an amazing introduction to his writing. I’m so thankful for all of Keene’s fans that pointed me to this book. They knew exactly which one of his works would cement Keene as a new favorite for me and they were so right.

I can’t wait to go on many more dark journeys from Keene’s mind. This is only the beginning, and if you, fellow horror fiction lover, haven’t gone on those journeys yet either and you want to join me, let’s do so together. It’s this reader’s opinion you start with Ghoul.

[Gianfranco Mancini · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Orwell was wrong," his grand-father said.
"Who's that?"
"George Orwell. He was a famous writer. You'll probably learn about him when you get a little older. He wrote a book called 1984.
Took place now, but back then, it was the future, of course. Society was supposed to be a bad place by the year 1984. Not a good time to be alive. But he was wrong. These are the best times of them all."

Brian Keene's Ghoul was a real blast of a read for me, a touching, intense, and sometimes disturbing coming of age tale set in the 80s with strong Stephen King's IT and The Body/Stand by me vibes, an opening scene in a graveyard setting a very nice Phantasm (1979) style atmosphere, and so many nostalgia fueled pop culture references that this book could be considered the Ready Player One of horror novels.



"His father was an abusive drunk, and Barry had the scars, both physical and mental, to prove it.
But his father didn't seem drunk now. He seemed... apprehensive.
And as the sun sank lower, his agitation increased.
He kept glancing around the cemetery, as if looking for something...
or someone.

More a 4 stars read because some of the themes touched here are not likeable at all (violence on animals, abusive fathers, incestous drunk mothers, rape and more...) and sometimes the 80s references overload seemed a bit forced to me, but the friendship of Timmy, Barry and Doug, was a real heart warming one, reminding me a lot my summers spent with friends when I was of their age.



"I can't remember the guy's name.
Nacho or something. He was German, I think."
"Nacho doesn't sound very German."
"It doesn't matter. Anyway, Grandpa explained it to me and then told me a few other things this guy had said. I always remembered the one, because I thought it sounded cool."
"What was it?"
"When you battle monsters, you have to be careful or else you'll turn into a monster yourself."

And that bittersweet ending, so wrong but so true at the same time, is going to stay with me forever together with a few other unforgetable moments, so I'm going to rise up my final review to full five stars.



Katie liked him. Katie had said they were going together.
Katie had held his hand. Somehow, the other things paled in comparison. Life was not endless. He knew that now. But summers were. Or, at least it seemed that way.
Fear was a strong emotion, but so was love.

[Ivy H · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars.


This is a coming-of-age horror story, set in a small Maryland town, in 1984.



It's a re-read of one of my favourite horror novels, by one of my favourite horror novelists. Most horror enthusiasts favour Stephen King as one of their favourites (if not the favourite) authors, in this genre. But my triad of fav horror novelists are Edward Lee, the late Richard Laymon and Brian Keene.


Timmy (the protagonist) and his best friends Barry and Doug, lived in a more innocent era:


🔹When there was no internet or cell phones;


🔹When MTV was the fuel of a new generation;


🔹When Michael Jackson, Duran Duran, Metallica, Madonna, Iron Maiden and Prince, were some of the more popular musicians.



The story begins in the summer of 1984...



"Orwell was wrong," his grandfather said.

"Who's that?"

"George Orwell. He was a famous writer. You'll probably learn about him when you get a little older. He wrote a book called 1984. Took place now, but back then, it was the future, of course. Society was supposed to be a bad place by the year 1984. Not a good time to be alive. But he was wrong. These are the best times of them all."



The boys are primed for a summer of adventure, spending lots of time in their cosy, secret underground fort, called The Dugout.





The Dugout is located at the edge of the nearby cemetery.









The boys have filled it with their favourite toys, comic books and small items of discarded furniture.


Little do they know that their innocent little haven will soon be disrupted when an ancient evil ghoul, who’s been trapped in an underground tomb, is unleashed.



Then the thing' s hairless, pointed head emerged from the rippling dirt like a pale, rotten, oversized gourd.


Monsters have always been little kids’ kryptonite, especially if those kids are 12-year-old boys with overactive imaginations and comic book obsessions.


But in this novel, the supernatural ghoul isn’t the only monster that Keene portrays. He’s the most obvious monster – the one that’s gross, huge, ugly, fetid and easiest to classify and destroy. However, it’s the human monsters who wreak the most lasting havoc on these kids’ lives, because they’re the ones who can operate, in daylight, with impunity, abusing little kids and using emotional blackmail to force these children to keep their dark secrets.


Timmy, the protagonist, is the only one of the 3 boys, whose family is stable and loving.


Barry’s dad Clark is the alcoholic groundskeeper of the cemetery, who uses his wife and son as punching bags for his weekly exercise sessions. But it’s poor little Doug, who must live with a more insidious type of abuse, because his alcoholic mother, who lives on welfare, comes into his room at night and sexually abuses him.


Both Barry and Doug, are reluctant to tell on their abusers because they don’t want to be placed into foster homes.


The ghoul, who has been trapped underground in the cemetery, for more than a couple centuries, is freed when the drunken Clark Smeltzer accidentally breaks the Sigil protected tombstone, that binds it to its earthly prison.




The newly freed demon is desperate to feed and reproduce, so it makes a deal with the groundskeeper: it would spare his life and reward him with whatever jewellery it harvests from dead bodies, if he agrees to let it feed on the corpses and brings him young fertile women, to bear his offspring.


His kind were condemned to feed on the cold, rotting corpses of the dead -the scraps from the Creator's table. Warm flesh was forbidden to them, and they could only shred it with their claws, empty it of blood and organs and wait for it to turn rancid. The Creator's commandment was that they not taste warm blood or flesh. They could slay, of course, in self-defense or just sheer malice. But they could not feast upon the living.


Since the ghoul had been cursed, by the Creator, to die if it’s ever exposed to sunlight, it’s only able to come out at night-time.





Keene’s prose is simple, and his pacing is good, as this story progresses steadily without lapsing into irrelevant or boring bits of storytelling, that do little to further the developing plot. That’s one problem I always have with Stephen King and especially Dean Koontz, because I tend to lose interest when horror novelists spend tons of time prosing on about life’s little philosophical intricacies and whatnot.


It's always a bummer to spoil a horror or mystery novel, so I’ll refrain from doing so in a detailed manner.


But I will say that this is a book that’s easy to finish in a day or two and although some of the good characters end up dying, as always happens in every horror story, at least the ghoul gets destroyed permanently while the boys are able to save one of the girls who’d been kidnapped and held, as a sexual slave, by the creature.


The saddest part of the story, however, is that one of the boys ends up growing up to become the same type of monster as his abusive parent. It’s not Timmy, though ; )

[Vicki Herbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ghoulash!...

GHOUL by Brian Keene

No spoilers. 2 1/2 stars. I read this novel for the first time some years ago, when it first came out, and it seemed to me that I remembered liking it...

So...

When it was released on Kindle, I read it again, and I definitely experienced the lost weekend trying to finish it this time round...

As other reviewers before me have already written, waaaaay too much 80s references... Come on now!... The 80s weren't all that great...

The story is about three 12 year old boys spending summer vacation together, but a ghoul in the cemetery spoils all their fun...

The ghoul (in theory) can only eat dead human flesh, so he has a living human accomplice, the grave digger, who cleans up the feeding mess the ghoul makes in exchange for grave plunder...

The boys have made an underground clubhouse by digging it out of part of the cemetery grounds... bet you can see where this is heading...

As you've probably already guessed, the ghoul is going to eventually graduate to eating live flesh... oh, and him want woman!...

Ghoulash!...

As others have said, and I agree, I believe this was meant to be a coming-of-age story as well as horror, but I've read better. I also found the novel to be slow-moving and, at times, outright boring.

Also, a gimmicky trend in 70s and 80s books and movies was to have everything end on a depressing, downer note just for the shock value, and this book followed that trend.

If you're looking for a good coming-of-age horror story, try HOODOO by Ronald L. Smith or ROTTERS by Daniel Kraus or PHANTOM NIGHTS by John Farris.

BTW, the movie was pretty decent.

[Dirk Grobbelaar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somebody was watching them.
A figure crouched atop a tombstone twenty yards away. The darkness hid its features.

This is my first Brian Keene novel. As such I don’t know how representative it is of the rest of his work. I will say that he doesn’t muck around when it comes to the grim factor. Right from the opening chapter of this novel things get violent, although to be fair, there is a bit of a plateau in the middle. I appreciated the fact that the author manages to tell a lot of story in not so many pages. This novel contains all the setting- and character building you would expect, in just a little more than 300 pages. No wasted space. Admirable.

Summers were endless. Life was not.

Something that often pops up in these horror tales that take place in the 80s, is the nostalgia factor, and this author has it down pat. This played no small part in the story’s ability to pull me in. I was a kid in the era depicted, and even though I’m not from the States, I could identify strongly with everything here. The hard rock musical references also appealed to me, because I recognized all of them and it brought home some fond memories. In fact, I still listen to quite a few of these albums / bands.

Light wisps of mist curled around the bases of the tombstones and trees. The moon seemed frozen overhead, bright and full, offering radiance, but no warmth.

It’s a pretty atmospheric story. The creature of the title is not the only vile character in the book, and the behaviour of the adults in the story (notably towards their own children) is every bit as reprehensible. This is a theme that Keene builds on as the novel progresses.

A cemetery will of course always be a pretty creepy setting for a story and Keene obviously capitalizes on that. Expect goose bumps.

It was lonely.
It was angry.
And above all else, it was ravenous.

I read one specific passage to my wife, who asked me to stop. And she really isn’t squeamish, but there are some aspects here that won’t appeal to everybody. One of which being what the Ghoul has in store for his female victims. Fortunately, this particular aspect is never described in any detail, only (strongly) hinted at.

I enjoyed Ghoul, and it could easily have been a 4-star or even a 5-star read, but (in my opinion) the ball was fumbled towards the end. The final showdown was a bit of an anti-climax and, well, just a bit bland and not very scary. I’m giving it 3.5 rounded down, but I would still recommend it to horror fans.

Behind him, something squealed like a monstrous, enraged pig.

Edit: It’s been a week or so since I’ve finished Ghoul and I’ve decided to up my rating to 4. For the simple reason this book isn’t leaving me alone; it’s constantly lurking in my mind and I keep replaying some of the themes Keene touched on, and especially the way the epilogue was set up. I may have missed the point (to some extent) initially, but it’s certainly hitting home now.

[Nicole Seremeti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent story, highly recommended!!!

[Kenneth McKinley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finally plucked this one off of my TBR list and I’m kicking myself for not doing it much sooner. Our story takes us back to 1984 Central Pennsylvania, as we follow the adventures of a trio of twelve-year-olds, Timmy, Doug, and Barry. The boys spend their summer hanging out in their underground clubhouse located in the unused part of a cemetery and away from their parents, some of which are abusive alcoholics. Barry’s dad is the worst of the bunch, and just so happens to be the cemetery’s caretaker. When headstones start to sink into the ground and Barry’s notoriously poor parents stop complaining about being broke and start wearing unfamiliar jewelry, the boys’ suspicions are raised. When they stumble on the car of a pair of missing teenagers hidden in the woods by the cemetery, events start to spiral out of control and they soon realize there’s more going on than some headstones sinking into the ground.

Keene weaves an effective and engrossing tale with Ghoul. The characters are so well-done and multi-layered, you can’t help but to be engaged in their exploits from cover to cover. No matter what era you grew up in, there’s something so universally familiar with the cast in Ghoul, that you’ll immediately find connections here you can relate to. And that’s where Keene is so good. The storytelling and pacing flows without a hitch, but the relatable characters are where he really gets you. Even without the horrific happenings here, you’d still want to read this story and follow the trio around for the summer.



4.5 Milky, Mucous-Lined Tunnels out of 5


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https://intothemacabre.com

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[Rachel (TheShadesofOrange) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars
This is a good coming of age story that addresses some dark subject matter. I would recommend this one to readers who love this genre.

[11811 (Eleven) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Brian Keene is like a generic version of my favorite splatterpunk authors. Guys like Laymon, Ketchum, and Lee have such distinctive voices I can almost guess the author identity after reading a few random pages. Reading Keene makes me guess the author could be anyone. The writing is dry, flat, and ordinary.

No offense to everyone who disagrees.

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Am I ever glad I gave Brian Keene another shot. I had read The Rising a few years ago and although there were several typos in that publication, it was still a very gripping read.
So now a colleague of mine had been ripping through his books and told me that Ghoul was awesome.
Well yeah, it pretty much was.

It seems that Keene is channeling Stephen King with his nostalgic depiction of three 12 year-old buddies, and he does this quite well. Although, as some reviewers are keen (sorry) to point out, he does get rather heavy handed with the nostalgic references, once he snaps out of that the story is a very absorbing read. There are some very dark things happening here, and not from where you would think from the title.
Because this is such a tightly delivered story, one that has kept me late from other commitments, and one that resolves very nicely, I am loathe to dock it any stars. I haven't read a whole lot of really good horror lately so five stars for hitting me when I needed it.

Sheer reading pleasure, and the type of brain candy that deserves beach time.
I'll read more of this guy for sure.

[Corrina Morse · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic coming of age story! Loved it 🖤

[Sjgomzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was expecting to like this, my first Brian Keene novel. What I wasn’t expecting, was this to be, not only one of my favorite books of the year, but one of my favorite books of all time! I kid you not. This book is that good. I experienced an emotional maelstrom reading this book. I cheered, I cried. The ending shattered my heart. This novel was a perfect snapshot of my middle school years. I loved the characters Timmy, Doug, and Barry so damn much, seeing so much of myself in them. I wished I could reach into the book to tell them things were going to be okay. But this is a horror novel, and Keene is not afraid to take it to the extreme. This novel made me a Brian Keene fan for life, and I can’t wait to dive further into his extensive back catalog. Read this book. You won’t be sorry!😉

[Laurie (barksbooks) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a nice retro coming of age horror story. Though the 80's references were way too heavy handed during the first section of the novel (nearly one, sometimes two every line) the author lightened up on the music and tv references and got on with the story. It's about a young boy and his two best friends and the summer when they must deal with everyday monsters as well as a slimy, corpse-eating ghoul. It's a fun monster book with a realistic ending if you're in the mood for such things.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I dug this one even though it was heavy handed with 80’s pop culture references at times.

There are all kinds of monsters in here...and not just the ones that live underground. The human ones can be just as bad, or even worse.

3.5 Stars rounded up to 4 because of the way that Keene handled the extreme dysfunction of the relationship between Doug and his mother. It could have been horribly exploited (like a lot of this kind of thing often is), but it was not.

[Johann (jobis89) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I normally love coming of age horror, but something just didn’t click for me.

[Fabiano · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oggi parlo nuovamente di Brian Keene presentandovi il romanzo “Ghoul”. Una piccola chicca, l’opera migliore tra quelle che ho letto dell’autore.

“Ghoul” è uno di quei libri nostalgici, uno di quei libri che rievoca tempi passati che non torneranno mai più, un libro denso di rimpianto. È il 1984, ci troviamo in una cittadina della Pensylvania, Timmy e i suoi due amici, Doug e Barry, si apprestano a vivere un’estate all’insegna dell’avventura e dell’esplorazione. Per un gruppo di dodicenni è il miglior periodo dell’anno, tuttavia un antico male si è risvegliato ed è pronto a rovinare i loro piani.

Non fatevi ingannare dalle apparenze, “Ghoul” è un libro molto crudo. L’innocenza e l’ingenuità impersonate da Timmy, Doug e Barry si contrappongono a una realtà dura e inquietante. Non sempre i mostri sono creature soprannaturali, il più delle volte albergano in persone comuni o in noi stessi. Le scorrazzate in bicicletta, le audiocassette, i fumetti, i videogiochi, il cinema incarnano la parte buona, ma esiste anche un lato oscuro rappresentato da violenza domestica, abusi e dipendenze. I tre adolescenti entrano in contatto con il mondo degli adulti nei modi peggiori. Una ferita intima e profonda da cui sgorgano fiumi di incubi e demoni.

Una narrazione viscerale e dolorosa da un lato, ma emozionante e intensa dall’altro. Ho amato la prosa di Keene, spensierata e tagliente, ricca di riferimenti alla cultura pop degli anni ‘80. “Ghoul” è una storia di formazione che non ha eguali, una storia che fa male e commuove. Capolavoro? Sì, credo proprio di sì.

“Niente era infinito. Niente durava per sempre. Niente era eterno. Non la vita. Non l’estate. Non l’amicizia. Nemmeno l’amore. Perchè i demoni li rosicchiavano finché non rimaneva più nulla. Le uniche cose che durano per sempre sono le cicatrici e i mostri.”

[Gatorman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terrific coming-of-age story about three young boys growing up in the 1980's who must battle an underground-dwelling ghoul to save their town and overcome their own fears, which are caused largely in part from their own personal demons. Keene's writing is sharp and smart and the relationship between the three friends is well-developed. My only criticisms concern the dialogue of the ghoul, which comes across as corny and not very scary. It would have been better if the creature kept quiet. Plus, the epilogue felt rushed and should have wrapped up the story with more details on the aftermath. Otherwise, this is great entertainment. Highly recommended.

[Trever · Rating 4 out of 5]

A considerably darker, more horror-ish version of Stranger Things. In 1984, three 12yo friends discover, and battle, a ghoul in their local graveyard, and also family and life problems. It mostly lacks the sentimentality of these sorts of "Boys' Own Adventure" stories, replacing it with straight horror. I enjoyed it very much.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

From FALKNER REVIEWS

You don't have to be 34 (as I am in 2007 at the time of this review) to enjoy Brian Keene's "Ghoul" but it certainly helps.

In the summer of 1984, best friends, Timmy, Doug, and Barry are looking forward to a fabulous vacation, reading comics and girlie mags, watching cartoons and late night horror flicks, riding their bikes, trading pranks with their arch enemies, and hanging out in their dugout fort, which just happens to flank their local cemetery... a cemetery in which a rather nasty resident has woken from an ancient slumber.

"Ghoul" is a nostalgic novel. It's a look back at a time when - if you were eleven in 1984, as I was - you felt invincible and the summer seemed like it would never end. It's a look back at the things that made being a child in the mid-eighties particularly fantastic. The mention of things like Thundarr the Barbarian, Trapper Keepers, G.I. Joe, "Mad" magazine, Skeletor, "Hill Street Blues", Greedo, Spy Hunter, and "The Defenders" - to name a few - gave me a front row seat on a blissfull ride down memory lane.

Oh, and there's a horror story here, too. A good one.

The monsters in Keene's books - both the human and inhuman - have a genuine bite. The monster in this one is particularly diabolical, and I love how Keene never shrinks away from giving us an insight into his antagonist's point of view - as in it's not just a mindless threat. Oh, and there's a morality tale as well. I won't give away too much, but the book really, really takes an unflinching look at how the actions of adults can have penetrating effects on the impressionable psyches of children.

In short, the book made me want to be a better parent.

A great book by a first rate writer, "Ghoul" is highly recommended, (especially if you're 34). You can check out Brian Keene's website HERE.

BY THE WAY, if you have read the book, or after you do, there's a passage on page 214 of the Leisure Paperback that is one of best passages in a book I've read in recent memory. It starts out, "He believed in Bigfoot. He believed in Ghosts." and goes on through the next page. Excellence, my friends. Excellence.

[Karl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is copy 348 of 500 hardcover copies printed and signed and numbered by Brian Keene.

[thevampireslibrary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Timmy are you OK? Are you OK? Are you OK Timmy? My only regret is I didn't read this sooner, I think I may have to shelve this with my favourite books of all time, it was reminiscent of IT, Children of the Dark and Stand By Me which was why I maybe loved it so much, I'm just a sucker for a small town honestly, it's my favourite thing, a coming of age story that has terror and heart in equal measure, lots of fun 80s pop culture references too, like a goblin gremlin hybrid I will be greedily reading more by Brian, so sorry to become a fan so late, also sorry I'm a fan, I'm very annoying. We're friends now.

[DeAnna Knippling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid. I rolled my eyes all the way through the first chapter--it reads like a movie of the week. But after the first chapter, the book settles into some honest, moving territory. I liked the ending, but found the epilogue rushed and skimming across interesting depths. A definite page turner, but not a masterpiece.

[Victoria Gilbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow just wow. Think this is my first 5 star this year! This book has everything.. Nostalgia to my childhood, pop culture references, coming of age, long summer holidays, a small town, a cemetery, action, laughter, tears, gore, challenging storylines that are uncomfortable but are dealt with so well, loveable characters and the worst kinds of monsters!! I will be thinking on this book for a while. I even have post-its in it!!
Why haven’t I read Keene before? (Well I don’t think I have) I hope his other work is as good as this. Read it!

[Chrissie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es hat wirklich Spaß gemacht, diese Mischung aus Horror und Coming of Age zu lesen.
In einem kleinen Ort spielt sich das Leben von Timmy, Doug und Barry rund um den Friedhof ab. Plötzlich sinken dort Grabsteine ein und Menschen verschwinden. Dahinter steckt etwas Grausiges, Unheimliches und nur die Kinder können dieses Ungeheuerliche bekämpfen.
Keene hat hier eine Coming of Age Geschichte abgeliefert, welche stellenweise stark an "ES" von King denken lässt, alleine das Clubhaus der drei Freunde ist eine kaum zu leugnende Hommage. Zugleich haben wir es hier aber mit einem grausamen Monster zu tun, welches nur an Tod und Verderben interessiert ist und nicht wie Pennywise an der Angst der Kinder. Fressen tun aber beide gerne. Zudem gibt es hier noch eine andere Art Horror und eine andere Art Monster, was viel realer ist als der eigentliche Leichenfresser.
Keene hält sich hier auch an keine Tabus, so dass es selbst für mich Horrortante Szenen gab, die ich als heftig empfand.
Was ich schade fand war die Tatsache, dass es hier keine wirklich positive Moral von der Geschichte gab. Kindesmisbrauch etc. ist hier ebenfalls ein Thema und hier hätte ich mir gewünscht, dass mehr thematisiert worden wäre, dass man hier nicht wegschauen darf, sondern handeln muss. Auch wenn dies nicht unbedingt der Realität entspricht, so wäre ein solcher Lichtstreifen am Horizont gerade bei diesem schweren Thema schön gewesen. So liest man zwar begeistert die Geschichte, fühlt sich aber irgendwo auch schlecht, weil es kein Happy End zu geben scheint aus der realen Hölle, in der manche Kinder und Erwachsene leben müssen. Dies ging mir jedenfalls sehr Nahe, gerade auch nach dem Epilog.
Alles in allem aber eine wirklich lohnende, wenn auch stellenweise heftige Horrorstory im Gewand des Coming of Age.
Ich sollte mal wieder mehr Brian Keene lesen.

[Matt · Rating 1 out of 5]

Whether it’s read as a straight up horror novel or a study on parents abusing children, Ghoul fails on any level. While the situation itself is horrific, and the thought of a corpse eating, grave robbing, rapist monster should be frightening, the traditional horror elements fall completely flat. The ghoul is depicted in such an infantile, Saturday morning cartoon way that it largely becomes laughable. It’s dialogue would fit side by side with Skeletor, and the physical description is almost exactly Gollum with claws. The pop references are too numerous and specific, and they are more of a distraction than anything. A name drop of a band or comic book title would have sufficed. Letting us know how much the author remembers about 1984 detracts from the story. However all of this pales in comparison to the massive failure with writing the kids and their relationships with their parents.

It takes an author with a considerable amount of skill, tact and sensitivity to tackle such heart wrenching topics as severe child abuse and incest. Brian Keene is not skilled enough as a writer to look at these things without them coming across as simply a shock angle. I’m highly disappointed with Ghoul and really think I’m done reading Keene’s books.

[Shawn Thornton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one. A coming of age story set in the the 80's. I'm also listening to Brian Keene's horror pod cast a lot lately and he comes across as a pretty good guy who is very honest about about being a horror writer. I would recommend this book and his podcast to anyone with an interest in horror. l have also discovered some new author s through this podcast which is is always a good thing.

[Janine Pipe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my most favourite books I have ever read. I just loved every single second of it.