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Ghoul N' the Cape
“The Naught is nigh,” the Cape tells Ghoul in a dark corner of a Manhattan tavern. The Naught – who the Cape claims to be a nefarious celestial entity capable of tipping the balance of good and bad for all on Earth.
They must leave at once, travel west. Will Ghoul go with him? Will Ghoul help the Cape outpace this horror while spreading the word of its arrival to all and everyone they meet?
So begins the adventure of a lifetime, as Ghoul and the Cape travel across America and beyond, picking up other eccentrics along the way, even as they duck the Naught’s many dark agents:
A destructor the size of a planet.
A man made entirely of flowing blood.
A knife that reflects Time and Space as it cuts.
From a haunted jail and a cowboy graveyard, to the home of the most famous actress in the world and the barge as it carries the Statue of Liberty to America, Ghoul n’ the Cape — equal parts thriller and meditation — is about people becoming more than what they thought themselves capable of being, about man’s place in the modern world: a world facing the irrevocable alterations of the Naught. An interstellar story, a slasher story, a late-bloomer coming-of-age story, and an American story, too. An unclassifiable, epic experience that promises to change the titular duo…even as it changes those who read it.
They must leave at once, travel west. Will Ghoul go with him? Will Ghoul help the Cape outpace this horror while spreading the word of its arrival to all and everyone they meet?
So begins the adventure of a lifetime, as Ghoul and the Cape travel across America and beyond, picking up other eccentrics along the way, even as they duck the Naught’s many dark agents:
A destructor the size of a planet.
A man made entirely of flowing blood.
A knife that reflects Time and Space as it cuts.
From a haunted jail and a cowboy graveyard, to the home of the most famous actress in the world and the barge as it carries the Statue of Liberty to America, Ghoul n’ the Cape — equal parts thriller and meditation — is about people becoming more than what they thought themselves capable of being, about man’s place in the modern world: a world facing the irrevocable alterations of the Naught. An interstellar story, a slasher story, a late-bloomer coming-of-age story, and an American story, too. An unclassifiable, epic experience that promises to change the titular duo…even as it changes those who read it.
727 pages, Hardcover
Published December 1, 2021
14 people are currently reading
545 people want to read
About the author
Josh Malerman
91 books8,415 followersJosh Malerman is the New York Times best selling author of BIRD BOX, MALORIE, GOBLIN, PEARL, GHOUL n THE CAPE, and more.
He's also one of two singer/songwriter for the rock band The High Strung.
He's also one of two singer/songwriter for the rock band The High Strung.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
October 4, 2021
Utterly brilliant - a masterpiece of epic proportions!
Well how can one describe something so brilliant?
It’s the task I have now and one that I love to do, but describing this book that traverses genre with ease is going to be a tough task, but I feel after leaving it a day I am now capable of speaking in coherent sentences.
Describing this book is almost as if I am trying to describe the beauty I find in a painting, in nature, in the small things my children do that make my heart melt – because beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and that’s what makes things special, spectacular and unforgettable for the one experiencing that moment in time.
How can I adequately put across the shimmering brilliance of this novel, the ebb and flow of the plot and characters, the transportive prowess of the wordsmith who helms this voyage into the unknown, the conductor whose symphony sings loud from the page and finds root in the readers heart and soul like a dandelion seed caught in a summers breeze, finding a place by chance to bed down, take root and bloom.
I’ve previously referred to Malerman as a chameleon, his books never the same, he adapts, he shakes things up, his books are canvasses each one a different time and place and genre – he’s not content in becoming stagnant, always searching for the next story or the next piece of art to create, and what we get with Ghoul N’ The Cape is his Sistine Chapel, his magnum opus – a literary opera that can’t be easily defined, because it’s a living breathing thing, a book that has a message, a book that is a new gospel, one that proves the power in words and storytelling, one that is transformative and revolutionary.
I messaged Josh when I was coming to the end of this book. I said he was writing as if he were possessed by the greats, and I meant every word. This book not only shows Malerman at his whimsically best, it shows him as a writer who has reached those heights of the greats that placed those stepping stones for him to traverse. There are notes of H.G. Wells, Hunter S Thompson, John Steinbeck, Stephen King, J.R.R. Tolkien, Roald Dahl, Richard Matheson, Ray Bradbury, Charles Bukowski and they’re just a few the list is endless. There are also the works of screen that one can’t help but reference, The Wizard of Oz, the Westerns of old, the madcap adventure films, War of the Worlds, Star Wars, Thelma and Louise and of course Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. But let me just say this, the comparisons are there, but this book is wholly Josh Malerman.
I have to mention the books length, at over 700 pages it’s the biggest book I’ve read in a long time, I sometimes feel a little daunted by large books, I fear them, not that they scare me as such, but more I’m concerned that I’m not going to be engaged, that somewhere along the way the book is going to run out of steam and having invested so much time in it that I’ll have to begrudgingly bring myself to finish it, rarely do I give up on a book. What I can say about Ghoul N’ The Cape is that not once did I feel like putting it down, there were no bumps in the road, the storytelling was crisp and beguiling. But there were times that I had to put it down, not because I was bored, but because I needed to eat and drink and sleep – Ghoul N’ The Cape has a habit of getting its claws into you and not relinquishing its grip.
Ghoul N’ The Cape gripped me from page one, the story opens with one of our protagonists Cape as he enters a bar in New York, it’s perfect scene setting by Malerman and I got serious Star Wars Cantina vibes, not with aliens and such, but the rogues gallery that is painted so well, where scoundrels lurk and criminals bed down, where if you look closely enough, you’ll find an odd looking specimen, one who’s given into the drink, his lot in life, the weight of people’s expectations – you’ll find Ghoul. From Cape and Ghoul’s first exchanges you soon realise that this is going to be one of the partnerships that people will talk about for years to come, a literary partnership that will span the decades, a Robin to a Batman so to speak.
There’s a sequence early on as Ghoul disappears into his own thoughts, a procession happening in his mind, the thirty plus years of his life and the faces and figures he’s met come to him in a kaleidoscopic haunting vision. It was at this point in the book, the energy to the prose, the awe I felt at reading Malerman’s words that I knew this book had me, it had ensnared me and I couldn’t be the same person I was when I started it, I’d be changed, I’d have my eyes opened and enjoy the ride, and what a ride it became.
This is a great American novel, in scope and landscape. We witness a road trip before our very eyes – we traverse our way from New York to the West coast, it’s a journey that delves into the heart of America and shows us many sights along the way, some good, some bad and some downright ugly.
Not long after setting out (fleeing Ghost Star / The Naught – I’ll let you find out about that yourself) Cape and Ghoul find themselves on a train, then in a counterfeit money laundering facility, we get given scraps to feed on, as I mentioned before the dandelion, these seeds bed down and are revealed in time, breadcrumbs on a journey of discovery. We have questions too, who is the man in the red flannel shirt, what’s under Cape’s cape and where on earth are we heading, who are we going to meet next and how on earth are our unlikely duo going to get out of this one alive?
Malerman takes us to places we never expect, and that’s the beauty of this road trip – we find ourselves traversing America and Malerman’s Ghoul and Cape are our tour guides, taking us off the beaten path and discovering the real America along the way. We find ourselves on trains, in planes, on boats and cars (Medley – what a stunning character in her own right, she sometimes steals the show for me). We go from caves in the mountains, to used car lots, to bars, haunted jails, cowboy graveyards, church, a retirement village, a biker club, homes of the rich and famous and a barge that carries the Statue of Liberty to America in pieces. And there are more, but the best thing about the book, is that you get to experience the length and breadth of America through Cape and Ghoul’s and Malerman’s eyes and the view is spectacular.
There is so much to talk about that I could spend an eternity (quite literally) talking about how brilliant this book is, but I just wanted to touch on one more singular part of the book before delving a little into the characters Malerman has crafted. There are three parts of the book that blew my socks off, the writing alone was crazed, poetic, frenzied and damned right masterful, I couldn’t look away and stood back in awe at what Malerman had accomplished (that word again… Awe!) – Part two through to four were just astounding, there are scenes in these parts that will stay with me for a long time, I won’t put any spoilers here but the Mary Finn sequence just unnerved me and had me slack jawed in appreciation of the writing and vision of Malerman. The Prison, Warden Fitch and what befalls our duo here is some incredible work too, and then we have the introduction of Sissy and the person keeping their appointment in the dive bar Ghoul finds himself. There are more brilliant scenes too, the Statue of Liberty section had fierce The Terror vibes that caused me to have moments of unease and dread, but there are more and as I said beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so I’m sure you will also find your own slices of brilliance along the way.
Characters. Well we know Malerman does characters well, he has a way of painting them so they literally step off the page or eventually live rent free in your mind, and well, my mind is now full of the eccentric characters from Ghoul N’ The Cape. We have our dynamic duo Ghoul and Cape, we have Sissy, Mary Finn, we have Cadaver Jack, Val Sherry, The Wyoming Green Skulls, not to mention the agents are harbingers of the Naught and not to forget the stranger in the bar. It’s exquisite, each adding to the story, each deserving their place in the half cosmic half vaudevillian vision that Malerman has deftly crafted.
Also the cover to this book contains many hidden gems for our cast of characters and the journey that is about to unfold, so pay attention and keep flipping back to the cover, it’s like a magic eye puzzle.
With a book this size there are opportunities for the reader to interpret the text as they see fit, guided slightly by the original author of the piece, there are a great many allegories to be found in this book, and ones that an invested reader may discover all by themselves, great books make you think, make you engage and this can be said for Ghoul N’ The Cape. One such thought I had is; no matter how small, damaged or different you may feel or how others see you, how the world tells you to be and act and engage, you can still be of use, you can still change things, you still matter. There are other deeper thoughts that spring to mind too concerning the agents of the Naught, the ignorance they spread, the lies, the death and destruction and the blurring of American history, the need to suppress, to forget, to consume and stay in place.
To quote David Foster Wallace “Good fiction’s job is to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.” And that’s what Malerman has managed to do here.
Malerman has crafted a modern-day epic masterpiece that cements himself as a raconteur for the ages, I stand in awe of his brilliance and fearless imagination.
Well how can one describe something so brilliant?
It’s the task I have now and one that I love to do, but describing this book that traverses genre with ease is going to be a tough task, but I feel after leaving it a day I am now capable of speaking in coherent sentences.
Describing this book is almost as if I am trying to describe the beauty I find in a painting, in nature, in the small things my children do that make my heart melt – because beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and that’s what makes things special, spectacular and unforgettable for the one experiencing that moment in time.
How can I adequately put across the shimmering brilliance of this novel, the ebb and flow of the plot and characters, the transportive prowess of the wordsmith who helms this voyage into the unknown, the conductor whose symphony sings loud from the page and finds root in the readers heart and soul like a dandelion seed caught in a summers breeze, finding a place by chance to bed down, take root and bloom.
I’ve previously referred to Malerman as a chameleon, his books never the same, he adapts, he shakes things up, his books are canvasses each one a different time and place and genre – he’s not content in becoming stagnant, always searching for the next story or the next piece of art to create, and what we get with Ghoul N’ The Cape is his Sistine Chapel, his magnum opus – a literary opera that can’t be easily defined, because it’s a living breathing thing, a book that has a message, a book that is a new gospel, one that proves the power in words and storytelling, one that is transformative and revolutionary.
I messaged Josh when I was coming to the end of this book. I said he was writing as if he were possessed by the greats, and I meant every word. This book not only shows Malerman at his whimsically best, it shows him as a writer who has reached those heights of the greats that placed those stepping stones for him to traverse. There are notes of H.G. Wells, Hunter S Thompson, John Steinbeck, Stephen King, J.R.R. Tolkien, Roald Dahl, Richard Matheson, Ray Bradbury, Charles Bukowski and they’re just a few the list is endless. There are also the works of screen that one can’t help but reference, The Wizard of Oz, the Westerns of old, the madcap adventure films, War of the Worlds, Star Wars, Thelma and Louise and of course Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. But let me just say this, the comparisons are there, but this book is wholly Josh Malerman.
I have to mention the books length, at over 700 pages it’s the biggest book I’ve read in a long time, I sometimes feel a little daunted by large books, I fear them, not that they scare me as such, but more I’m concerned that I’m not going to be engaged, that somewhere along the way the book is going to run out of steam and having invested so much time in it that I’ll have to begrudgingly bring myself to finish it, rarely do I give up on a book. What I can say about Ghoul N’ The Cape is that not once did I feel like putting it down, there were no bumps in the road, the storytelling was crisp and beguiling. But there were times that I had to put it down, not because I was bored, but because I needed to eat and drink and sleep – Ghoul N’ The Cape has a habit of getting its claws into you and not relinquishing its grip.
Ghoul N’ The Cape gripped me from page one, the story opens with one of our protagonists Cape as he enters a bar in New York, it’s perfect scene setting by Malerman and I got serious Star Wars Cantina vibes, not with aliens and such, but the rogues gallery that is painted so well, where scoundrels lurk and criminals bed down, where if you look closely enough, you’ll find an odd looking specimen, one who’s given into the drink, his lot in life, the weight of people’s expectations – you’ll find Ghoul. From Cape and Ghoul’s first exchanges you soon realise that this is going to be one of the partnerships that people will talk about for years to come, a literary partnership that will span the decades, a Robin to a Batman so to speak.
There’s a sequence early on as Ghoul disappears into his own thoughts, a procession happening in his mind, the thirty plus years of his life and the faces and figures he’s met come to him in a kaleidoscopic haunting vision. It was at this point in the book, the energy to the prose, the awe I felt at reading Malerman’s words that I knew this book had me, it had ensnared me and I couldn’t be the same person I was when I started it, I’d be changed, I’d have my eyes opened and enjoy the ride, and what a ride it became.
This is a great American novel, in scope and landscape. We witness a road trip before our very eyes – we traverse our way from New York to the West coast, it’s a journey that delves into the heart of America and shows us many sights along the way, some good, some bad and some downright ugly.
Not long after setting out (fleeing Ghost Star / The Naught – I’ll let you find out about that yourself) Cape and Ghoul find themselves on a train, then in a counterfeit money laundering facility, we get given scraps to feed on, as I mentioned before the dandelion, these seeds bed down and are revealed in time, breadcrumbs on a journey of discovery. We have questions too, who is the man in the red flannel shirt, what’s under Cape’s cape and where on earth are we heading, who are we going to meet next and how on earth are our unlikely duo going to get out of this one alive?
Malerman takes us to places we never expect, and that’s the beauty of this road trip – we find ourselves traversing America and Malerman’s Ghoul and Cape are our tour guides, taking us off the beaten path and discovering the real America along the way. We find ourselves on trains, in planes, on boats and cars (Medley – what a stunning character in her own right, she sometimes steals the show for me). We go from caves in the mountains, to used car lots, to bars, haunted jails, cowboy graveyards, church, a retirement village, a biker club, homes of the rich and famous and a barge that carries the Statue of Liberty to America in pieces. And there are more, but the best thing about the book, is that you get to experience the length and breadth of America through Cape and Ghoul’s and Malerman’s eyes and the view is spectacular.
There is so much to talk about that I could spend an eternity (quite literally) talking about how brilliant this book is, but I just wanted to touch on one more singular part of the book before delving a little into the characters Malerman has crafted. There are three parts of the book that blew my socks off, the writing alone was crazed, poetic, frenzied and damned right masterful, I couldn’t look away and stood back in awe at what Malerman had accomplished (that word again… Awe!) – Part two through to four were just astounding, there are scenes in these parts that will stay with me for a long time, I won’t put any spoilers here but the Mary Finn sequence just unnerved me and had me slack jawed in appreciation of the writing and vision of Malerman. The Prison, Warden Fitch and what befalls our duo here is some incredible work too, and then we have the introduction of Sissy and the person keeping their appointment in the dive bar Ghoul finds himself. There are more brilliant scenes too, the Statue of Liberty section had fierce The Terror vibes that caused me to have moments of unease and dread, but there are more and as I said beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so I’m sure you will also find your own slices of brilliance along the way.
Characters. Well we know Malerman does characters well, he has a way of painting them so they literally step off the page or eventually live rent free in your mind, and well, my mind is now full of the eccentric characters from Ghoul N’ The Cape. We have our dynamic duo Ghoul and Cape, we have Sissy, Mary Finn, we have Cadaver Jack, Val Sherry, The Wyoming Green Skulls, not to mention the agents are harbingers of the Naught and not to forget the stranger in the bar. It’s exquisite, each adding to the story, each deserving their place in the half cosmic half vaudevillian vision that Malerman has deftly crafted.
Also the cover to this book contains many hidden gems for our cast of characters and the journey that is about to unfold, so pay attention and keep flipping back to the cover, it’s like a magic eye puzzle.
With a book this size there are opportunities for the reader to interpret the text as they see fit, guided slightly by the original author of the piece, there are a great many allegories to be found in this book, and ones that an invested reader may discover all by themselves, great books make you think, make you engage and this can be said for Ghoul N’ The Cape. One such thought I had is; no matter how small, damaged or different you may feel or how others see you, how the world tells you to be and act and engage, you can still be of use, you can still change things, you still matter. There are other deeper thoughts that spring to mind too concerning the agents of the Naught, the ignorance they spread, the lies, the death and destruction and the blurring of American history, the need to suppress, to forget, to consume and stay in place.
To quote David Foster Wallace “Good fiction’s job is to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.” And that’s what Malerman has managed to do here.
Malerman has crafted a modern-day epic masterpiece that cements himself as a raconteur for the ages, I stand in awe of his brilliance and fearless imagination.
July 8, 2022
SPOILER-FREE Book Review
Essentially the book is about a guy named Cape and a guy named Ghoul fleeing from the Naught, a celestial entity that is eating America from east to west. The duo must escape from New York to California before they get eaten. This book is a trip. Literally and figuratively.
But it's more than a book.
It's a song.
It's a moment that unfolds forever.
It's a river that sweeps you away and you can't help being swept up.
It's a wild ride and the stuff that happens never stops happening.
This is Malerman's expansive imagination unleashed.
This is Malerman's Oz.
There are stories within stories in this novel. One reminded me of Clive Barker. Another of the time Bill Denborough beat the devil. There are even hints of Palahniuk's anti-authoritarianism throughout. But this is 100% Malerman American Folklore.
Ghoul N' the Cape is a love letter to America and a plea to Americans to fight ignorance and complacency.
It's a manifesto.
It's a cure for apathy.
It's a call to wedge a doorstop into the door of your mind so that it can never close, at least not all the way.
Test your beliefs. Watch a news channel you've never watched. Listen to someone you disagree with. Challenge what you think you know and see if your ideas stand up to scrutiny.
Fight back against ignorance. Stand up to the Naught.
I've heard this book referred to as a "specialty read" and I think that's the best way to categorize a book that defies labels. You need to trust Malerman before the Cape walks into Logan's and approaches Ghoul for the first time. You have to keep an open mind and go with the story. Flow with it. Get out of your head and trust the adventure. If you do, you'll love the journey. But if you're looking for a story that is only a retelling of events then this isn't for you.
I may have cried a little at the end.
I loved it. 5 full stars. And none of them are coming to eat us.
Essentially the book is about a guy named Cape and a guy named Ghoul fleeing from the Naught, a celestial entity that is eating America from east to west. The duo must escape from New York to California before they get eaten. This book is a trip. Literally and figuratively.
But it's more than a book.
It's a song.
It's a moment that unfolds forever.
It's a river that sweeps you away and you can't help being swept up.
It's a wild ride and the stuff that happens never stops happening.
This is Malerman's expansive imagination unleashed.
This is Malerman's Oz.
There are stories within stories in this novel. One reminded me of Clive Barker. Another of the time Bill Denborough beat the devil. There are even hints of Palahniuk's anti-authoritarianism throughout. But this is 100% Malerman American Folklore.
Ghoul N' the Cape is a love letter to America and a plea to Americans to fight ignorance and complacency.
It's a manifesto.
It's a cure for apathy.
It's a call to wedge a doorstop into the door of your mind so that it can never close, at least not all the way.
Test your beliefs. Watch a news channel you've never watched. Listen to someone you disagree with. Challenge what you think you know and see if your ideas stand up to scrutiny.
Fight back against ignorance. Stand up to the Naught.
I've heard this book referred to as a "specialty read" and I think that's the best way to categorize a book that defies labels. You need to trust Malerman before the Cape walks into Logan's and approaches Ghoul for the first time. You have to keep an open mind and go with the story. Flow with it. Get out of your head and trust the adventure. If you do, you'll love the journey. But if you're looking for a story that is only a retelling of events then this isn't for you.
I may have cried a little at the end.
I loved it. 5 full stars. And none of them are coming to eat us.
September 7, 2022
A Great American Novel. An otherworldly thrill ride. This is the apotheosis of all road stories and an odyssey unlike any you’ve ever read. It’s like a long-lost collaboration between John Steinbeck and Rod Serling, but it’s much more than that. It’s a writer with an imagination vaster than space, and a storytelling voice unbound by time. It’s unexpected. It’s surreal. It’s terrifying and funny and so full of heart that the love drips from the pages. You’ll meet characters you’ll never forget, hear tales that will curl your toes. You’ll gasp, you’ll hold your breath, and by the end you’ll catch yourself staring at the stars with wide-eyed dread. In short, this book is magic. With Ghoul N’ the Cape, Josh Malerman has spun a bona fide classic.
December 1, 2021
Well now this was the best fucking cross country road trip I've ever been on! As some of y'all know, I absolutely love Malerman's brilliant mind but always end up dislocating an eyeball when it came to the endings. But I also knew that I would forever read Malerman just for the mind fuck that always appears within his pages. Well, I am here to tell you that I have found the one that has broken the mold for me. May I introduce.... GHOUL N' THE CAPE.
I legitimately did not know what I was walking into. I just knew Malerman was a must read for me despite my disdain for the endings. And holy the Naught is nigh! This was worth every single word of the 700+ pages... where we cross the country with Ghoul... n' the Cape... and dammit, I love them. LOVE. THEM. To see them meet for the first time and wondering how the hell these two end up on a road trip of all time .. to where we get left off and how they complement and love each other so.. is there such a thing as a coming-of-middle-age story?
And y'all... the characters they meet along the way are such bright lights in what turns out to be a very somber journey. But the journey entails trust, stepping outside the comfort zone, grief, hope and the Ghost Star. THERE IS SO MUCH TO UNPACK HERE. I'll admit I did sliiiiightly roll my eye at one feeling I had about the ending... HOWEVER, this journey and just how amazing it is how people in your life really can change yours... I don't know how to explain it. And I don't think I could even if I tried. All I know is I ain't hating on it. It's less horror so much as this epic, fantastical, apocalyptic, cosmic, coming of middle age road trip... that you simply must put on your TBR.
I miss Medley....
I legitimately did not know what I was walking into. I just knew Malerman was a must read for me despite my disdain for the endings. And holy the Naught is nigh! This was worth every single word of the 700+ pages... where we cross the country with Ghoul... n' the Cape... and dammit, I love them. LOVE. THEM. To see them meet for the first time and wondering how the hell these two end up on a road trip of all time .. to where we get left off and how they complement and love each other so.. is there such a thing as a coming-of-middle-age story?
And y'all... the characters they meet along the way are such bright lights in what turns out to be a very somber journey. But the journey entails trust, stepping outside the comfort zone, grief, hope and the Ghost Star. THERE IS SO MUCH TO UNPACK HERE. I'll admit I did sliiiiightly roll my eye at one feeling I had about the ending... HOWEVER, this journey and just how amazing it is how people in your life really can change yours... I don't know how to explain it. And I don't think I could even if I tried. All I know is I ain't hating on it. It's less horror so much as this epic, fantastical, apocalyptic, cosmic, coming of middle age road trip... that you simply must put on your TBR.
I miss Medley....
February 24, 2023
THE NAUGHT IS NIGH!
I was only 200 pages into this 700 page behemoth when I suddenly knew this was going to end up being one of my favorite books of all time. I love that feeling of starting a new book and knowing right away that I’m reading something special, something that reminds me of why I love reading. That’s the kind of book this is. And when I finished the book, I knew my first instinct was correct: This is one of the greatest books I have ever read in my life.
Each character that gets introduced is deeply interesting almost immediately. Some start off by pontificating with a grand soliloquy, monologuing some profound outlook on their life or their position in it, and it's fascinating. Example: Early on we meet a used car salesman. I don't think I'm spoiling anything by saying this much. Anyway, this salesman waxes poetic for like 4 pages with his thoughts and history, like a mad philosopher, a drunk Bukowski, and it's beautiful to read, the words like music. Every character is fascinating, even the minor ones.
Calling this book "epic" is an understatement. If I had to compare the epic nature of this book to another story, the closest thing I could suggest would be Stephen King's DARK TOWER series. While GHOUL N' THE CAPE is not a horror story (although there are horror elements in it), it has a similar feel of a band of characters (Malerman's "ka-tet", if you will) who are traveling towards something, also away from something, and encountering strange people and impossible situations along the way, running from danger, fighting for their lives and for the lives of everyone in America.
It took a long time to get through this massive tome. I was taking my time, relishing every page, not wanting to hurry. It's such a fun ride and I didn't want to get off. I got irritated every time I had to put it down to go to work, go to sleep, do other things. I wanted to keep reading it, savoring it, excited for the next insane thing that awaited just a few more pages away.
It's an amazing, sprawling road adventure that blends genres together; it's full of science fiction, fantasy, Americana, poetry, music, action, magic, murder, hope, and wonder. It's all here, weaved together in a dance, an artful blend of character and story that never stops surprising the reader.
GHOUL N' THE CAPE is nothing short of a masterpiece. Seriously, 5/5 stars isn't enough, I want to give it 10 more stars.
Thank you to the publisher Earthling Publications for an advance reader copy in exchange for this honest review.
I was only 200 pages into this 700 page behemoth when I suddenly knew this was going to end up being one of my favorite books of all time. I love that feeling of starting a new book and knowing right away that I’m reading something special, something that reminds me of why I love reading. That’s the kind of book this is. And when I finished the book, I knew my first instinct was correct: This is one of the greatest books I have ever read in my life.
Each character that gets introduced is deeply interesting almost immediately. Some start off by pontificating with a grand soliloquy, monologuing some profound outlook on their life or their position in it, and it's fascinating. Example: Early on we meet a used car salesman. I don't think I'm spoiling anything by saying this much. Anyway, this salesman waxes poetic for like 4 pages with his thoughts and history, like a mad philosopher, a drunk Bukowski, and it's beautiful to read, the words like music. Every character is fascinating, even the minor ones.
Calling this book "epic" is an understatement. If I had to compare the epic nature of this book to another story, the closest thing I could suggest would be Stephen King's DARK TOWER series. While GHOUL N' THE CAPE is not a horror story (although there are horror elements in it), it has a similar feel of a band of characters (Malerman's "ka-tet", if you will) who are traveling towards something, also away from something, and encountering strange people and impossible situations along the way, running from danger, fighting for their lives and for the lives of everyone in America.
It took a long time to get through this massive tome. I was taking my time, relishing every page, not wanting to hurry. It's such a fun ride and I didn't want to get off. I got irritated every time I had to put it down to go to work, go to sleep, do other things. I wanted to keep reading it, savoring it, excited for the next insane thing that awaited just a few more pages away.
It's an amazing, sprawling road adventure that blends genres together; it's full of science fiction, fantasy, Americana, poetry, music, action, magic, murder, hope, and wonder. It's all here, weaved together in a dance, an artful blend of character and story that never stops surprising the reader.
GHOUL N' THE CAPE is nothing short of a masterpiece. Seriously, 5/5 stars isn't enough, I want to give it 10 more stars.
Thank you to the publisher Earthling Publications for an advance reader copy in exchange for this honest review.
October 26, 2021
AMAZING. EPIC. Full review to come.
November 22, 2021
Ghoul N’ the Cape by Josh Malerman
Artist David Palumbo is a genius. How does one create cover artwork for a novel that spans over seven hundred pages, taking the reader from coast to coast, bar to bar, and strange encounter to strange encounter? And yet, when tasked with creating the cover artwork for Josh Malerman’s Ghoul N’ the Cape, he managed to paint a collage using details from every facet of the lengthy novel. David Palumbo’s artwork is a masterpiece; it is the cherry on top of a sundae that some may find filling, while others may find it to be way too much.
With Ghoul N’ the Cape, Josh Malerman has written his longest novel to date. But he has also written his most polarizing novel to date. Some will see the novel as a sprawling American road novel and as the philosophical classic of the ages. Others will only see the novel as being a bit too “in your face” with its philosophies and may find it to be long strictly for length’s sake.
The novel touches many different genres, but it is a road trip novel at its heart. A seemingly crazy man wearing a cape (the titular Cape) enters a bar in New York City seeking several shots of vodka and a traveling companion. There he meets Ghoul, a seemingly homeless drunk who has lived his whole life in the city, whom he convinces to join him on his road trip to California. They may not actually be crazy or homeless, but they are most certainly both drunks. Their coast-to-coast journey features a great many stops, most of which are at bars.
The reason for their journey is to escape “The Naught”, a mysterious being that is coming to destroy America. “The Naught” comes in several forms, most notably being “Ghost Star”, a celestial body that will eat America from east to west, but at a very considerate speed that will only endanger our heroes when the plot needs to propel them forward to the next scene. Our heroes will also face other dangers including a man made entirely of blood, a man with a magical machete, and the growing concern of liver failure as our heroes down drink after drink.
The novel also serves as a midlife coming-of-age story for Ghoul as he leaves New York City for the first time in his whole life and grows as a person from each bizarre encounter they come across on their journey. Nearly every single one of these encounters features a character getting deeply philosophical over some aspect of their life, situation, or career. Through this, the novel attempts to also be a text on self-reflection or a meditation on life. Whether or not it succeeds in this aspect is likely to divide its readers.
The nature in which these characters reflect upon their lives and situations is reminiscent of a Socratic oratory. Malerman has a great number of topics to discuss and so each character in the novel is ready to wax poetic on one of these subjects at a moment’s notice. In one such example, the titular duo encounters a drunk used car salesman. With practically no lead in, the salesman goes on a multi-page soliloquy about the nature of his business, the rules of his business, the nature of money, how much he hates money, and how much he’d like to simply trade a car for the horse that the duo have with them. Some may find this to be a beautiful introspective on the nature of business and trade, while others may find the salesman to be a bit “too much”.
This exchange with the drunk salesman serves as a great litmus test for the remainder of the novel, as there are many philosophical dialogues in the remaining six hundred pages. Further conversations range from the nature of the devil to the concept of “celebrity”. The latter of these conversations is had with “the most famous woman in the world”, which is seriously the description given to one of the characters and is highly representative of the “on the head” style that the novel is filled to the brim with.
But the novel isn’t just seven hundred pages of road tripping from strange situation to strange situation. There are also two shorter works within the title! Both are presented as stories told to the titular duo during their travels. The longer of the two is a sixty-page novella called “Liberty in Pieces”. It tells the story of the Statue of Liberty being brought to America in pieces aboard three barges. When one of the crewmates turns up dead, it becomes apparent that there is someone or something dangerous aboard the barges. This tale of horror is perhaps the best tale in the whole novel, though it too delves deep into philosophical waters by its end.
The shorter piece is a thirty-page short story entitled “The Third Amendment”, which follows two extreme gun enthusiasts who are desperately afraid of people “taking their guns away”. It is reminiscent of Chuck Palahniuk’s style, though its characters would make any of Palahniuk’s protagonists seem level-headed by comparison. It also feels incredibly out of place. “Liberty in Pieces” at least fits in with the overall message and self-reflection of the whole novel, whereas “The Third Amendment” feels like it was just inserted to add some political humor and to increase the page count.
While “The Third Amendment” may be the only outwardly political piece of the whole novel, there are definitely political undertones that can be picked up throughout. To Malerman’s benefit, none of the characters are political and the diverse cast maintains a neutral tone throughout for the benefit of all humanity. However, it should be noted that the ultimate goal of “The Naught” does have very strong social and political insinuations that could easily split the opinions of some readers. But to say anymore on the subject would be to give too much away.
All in all, Ghoul N’ The Cape is a very divisive novel that is sure to lead to a combination of enlightenment and frustration, sparking discussions and disagreements. Is it “the great American novel”? To some it will be, whereas it will be a hard pass to others. It is certainly a “love it or hate it novel”. One camp will assuredly break it down and study it in the future, while the other camp will simply want to tear it apart. And through this dichotomy, this novel truly is “American.”
Ghoul N’ the Cape is currently only available as a signed and limited edition through Earthling Publications and it is due to be published in December of 2021. If you are an avid Malermaniac, please consider supporting the author and the small press. Thank you very much to Paul Miller for providing this reviewer with an advance reading copy of the title, in exchange for this brutally honest review.
The reviewer would like to acknowledge the irony that this thousand-plus word review may be viewed as being “long for length’s sake”. The reviewer also kindly asks that you do not revoke his Malermaniacs membership card. Thank you very much!
Artist David Palumbo is a genius. How does one create cover artwork for a novel that spans over seven hundred pages, taking the reader from coast to coast, bar to bar, and strange encounter to strange encounter? And yet, when tasked with creating the cover artwork for Josh Malerman’s Ghoul N’ the Cape, he managed to paint a collage using details from every facet of the lengthy novel. David Palumbo’s artwork is a masterpiece; it is the cherry on top of a sundae that some may find filling, while others may find it to be way too much.
With Ghoul N’ the Cape, Josh Malerman has written his longest novel to date. But he has also written his most polarizing novel to date. Some will see the novel as a sprawling American road novel and as the philosophical classic of the ages. Others will only see the novel as being a bit too “in your face” with its philosophies and may find it to be long strictly for length’s sake.
The novel touches many different genres, but it is a road trip novel at its heart. A seemingly crazy man wearing a cape (the titular Cape) enters a bar in New York City seeking several shots of vodka and a traveling companion. There he meets Ghoul, a seemingly homeless drunk who has lived his whole life in the city, whom he convinces to join him on his road trip to California. They may not actually be crazy or homeless, but they are most certainly both drunks. Their coast-to-coast journey features a great many stops, most of which are at bars.
The reason for their journey is to escape “The Naught”, a mysterious being that is coming to destroy America. “The Naught” comes in several forms, most notably being “Ghost Star”, a celestial body that will eat America from east to west, but at a very considerate speed that will only endanger our heroes when the plot needs to propel them forward to the next scene. Our heroes will also face other dangers including a man made entirely of blood, a man with a magical machete, and the growing concern of liver failure as our heroes down drink after drink.
The novel also serves as a midlife coming-of-age story for Ghoul as he leaves New York City for the first time in his whole life and grows as a person from each bizarre encounter they come across on their journey. Nearly every single one of these encounters features a character getting deeply philosophical over some aspect of their life, situation, or career. Through this, the novel attempts to also be a text on self-reflection or a meditation on life. Whether or not it succeeds in this aspect is likely to divide its readers.
The nature in which these characters reflect upon their lives and situations is reminiscent of a Socratic oratory. Malerman has a great number of topics to discuss and so each character in the novel is ready to wax poetic on one of these subjects at a moment’s notice. In one such example, the titular duo encounters a drunk used car salesman. With practically no lead in, the salesman goes on a multi-page soliloquy about the nature of his business, the rules of his business, the nature of money, how much he hates money, and how much he’d like to simply trade a car for the horse that the duo have with them. Some may find this to be a beautiful introspective on the nature of business and trade, while others may find the salesman to be a bit “too much”.
This exchange with the drunk salesman serves as a great litmus test for the remainder of the novel, as there are many philosophical dialogues in the remaining six hundred pages. Further conversations range from the nature of the devil to the concept of “celebrity”. The latter of these conversations is had with “the most famous woman in the world”, which is seriously the description given to one of the characters and is highly representative of the “on the head” style that the novel is filled to the brim with.
But the novel isn’t just seven hundred pages of road tripping from strange situation to strange situation. There are also two shorter works within the title! Both are presented as stories told to the titular duo during their travels. The longer of the two is a sixty-page novella called “Liberty in Pieces”. It tells the story of the Statue of Liberty being brought to America in pieces aboard three barges. When one of the crewmates turns up dead, it becomes apparent that there is someone or something dangerous aboard the barges. This tale of horror is perhaps the best tale in the whole novel, though it too delves deep into philosophical waters by its end.
The shorter piece is a thirty-page short story entitled “The Third Amendment”, which follows two extreme gun enthusiasts who are desperately afraid of people “taking their guns away”. It is reminiscent of Chuck Palahniuk’s style, though its characters would make any of Palahniuk’s protagonists seem level-headed by comparison. It also feels incredibly out of place. “Liberty in Pieces” at least fits in with the overall message and self-reflection of the whole novel, whereas “The Third Amendment” feels like it was just inserted to add some political humor and to increase the page count.
While “The Third Amendment” may be the only outwardly political piece of the whole novel, there are definitely political undertones that can be picked up throughout. To Malerman’s benefit, none of the characters are political and the diverse cast maintains a neutral tone throughout for the benefit of all humanity. However, it should be noted that the ultimate goal of “The Naught” does have very strong social and political insinuations that could easily split the opinions of some readers. But to say anymore on the subject would be to give too much away.
All in all, Ghoul N’ The Cape is a very divisive novel that is sure to lead to a combination of enlightenment and frustration, sparking discussions and disagreements. Is it “the great American novel”? To some it will be, whereas it will be a hard pass to others. It is certainly a “love it or hate it novel”. One camp will assuredly break it down and study it in the future, while the other camp will simply want to tear it apart. And through this dichotomy, this novel truly is “American.”
Ghoul N’ the Cape is currently only available as a signed and limited edition through Earthling Publications and it is due to be published in December of 2021. If you are an avid Malermaniac, please consider supporting the author and the small press. Thank you very much to Paul Miller for providing this reviewer with an advance reading copy of the title, in exchange for this brutally honest review.
The reviewer would like to acknowledge the irony that this thousand-plus word review may be viewed as being “long for length’s sake”. The reviewer also kindly asks that you do not revoke his Malermaniacs membership card. Thank you very much!
July 19, 2022
At the beginning of this book, The Cape walks into a bar and convinces Ghoul to travel with him on an epic adventure. In many ways, this is what Josh Malerman does to the reader. You’re either going to trust him enough to go along with him on this crazy, wild journey, or you won’t. And you’re going to need to trust him to get through this tome because it takes many turns and deviations, the characters go off on strange side-adventure, people show up and tell lengthy stories unrelated (except thematically) to the central narrative, and for much of the book it’s unclear if the threat is the fantasy of a madman or not.
If this sounds like I didn’t enjoy it, that is not the case at all. This epic odyssey made me think, laugh, and cheer at points. It is also perhaps the truest expression of Malerman’s voice as an author to date. It really did feel as though he was sitting next to me in a bar during the wee hours of the morning energetically reciting this rambling tale. But this book won’t be for everyone and it is likely not the first Malerman novel you’ll want to read.
If this sounds like I didn’t enjoy it, that is not the case at all. This epic odyssey made me think, laugh, and cheer at points. It is also perhaps the truest expression of Malerman’s voice as an author to date. It really did feel as though he was sitting next to me in a bar during the wee hours of the morning energetically reciting this rambling tale. But this book won’t be for everyone and it is likely not the first Malerman novel you’ll want to read.
May 6, 2022
By any measurable standard this is a career defining novel.Ill admit to knowing of but never reading anything by Josh Malerman.After reading this book that is definitely going to change.Im in awe of the brilliance of this book.Such a completely unique read.Both Ghoul n Cape are two of my favorite characters ever.To think that the story basically started with "a man walks into a bar" and to see where this journey takes them was really something to behold.I go so far as to say that for a stand alone book the journey couldnt be any more epic.This story was made up of many stories and the characters within (even those who only lasted a page or two) were incredibly memorable.What the character Sissy brought to the book was so powerful i felt i have known her all her life.If you are wondering why i have not shared any details of the actual story the answer is simple.Its not my story/stories to tell but no worries Ghoul N Cape want to spread the word.So pull up a chair get comfortable but not to comfortable because after all "The Naught Is Nigh"
November 29, 2024
Truly Malerman’s magnum opus. Such an ambitious story and he killed it.
December 12, 2021
Wow, wow, wow. What to say about this epic novel. I could fill the space of an entire review just trying to classify Malerman’s latest effort into a genre. Fans of Malerman’s horror will find horrific elements within. Fans of sprawling, imaginative storytelling will find everything to love here. Want great characters? Check. Humor? Check. The current, past, and future state of America condensed to 720 pages. Check.
Let’s talk character first. Malerman makes the bold move to start with a man walking into a bar and we’re introduced to the Cape, an enigmatic, silver-haired eccentric that the reader doesn’t quite know what to make up at first, but we’re intrigued, oh yes. Enter Ghoul, the perfect foil to Cape’s relentless optimism, he plays the straight man. One thing I believe makes a great horror story is when the horror elements are removed, we still want to see what the characters are up to. Well, let me tell you, if Malerman never left the first bar, I’d still be reading whatever these two wanted to chat about. From there, the two travel across America meeting a host of personalities along their journey, all of which are interesting and sympathetic, and we grieve a little bit when our time is done with them.
The scope of Ghoul n’ the Cape is massive, starting in New York City and working westward to escape an imminent threat. Malerman’s time seeing the country with The High Strung is on full display here. Everywhere the story goes, the sights, sounds, and people spring to life around the scene. Sprinkled in is backstory that never feels tedious and a smattering of folk tales and original stories that add to the mythos created.
Ghoul n’ the Cape feels at times like Joseph Heller, Stephen King, and John Steinbeck, but always like Josh Malerman. His frenetic energy pervades the storytelling here to create a story that has no idea how to drag. Malerman has created something truly special and unique here, something that has every chance to stand the test of time.
Let’s talk character first. Malerman makes the bold move to start with a man walking into a bar and we’re introduced to the Cape, an enigmatic, silver-haired eccentric that the reader doesn’t quite know what to make up at first, but we’re intrigued, oh yes. Enter Ghoul, the perfect foil to Cape’s relentless optimism, he plays the straight man. One thing I believe makes a great horror story is when the horror elements are removed, we still want to see what the characters are up to. Well, let me tell you, if Malerman never left the first bar, I’d still be reading whatever these two wanted to chat about. From there, the two travel across America meeting a host of personalities along their journey, all of which are interesting and sympathetic, and we grieve a little bit when our time is done with them.
The scope of Ghoul n’ the Cape is massive, starting in New York City and working westward to escape an imminent threat. Malerman’s time seeing the country with The High Strung is on full display here. Everywhere the story goes, the sights, sounds, and people spring to life around the scene. Sprinkled in is backstory that never feels tedious and a smattering of folk tales and original stories that add to the mythos created.
Ghoul n’ the Cape feels at times like Joseph Heller, Stephen King, and John Steinbeck, but always like Josh Malerman. His frenetic energy pervades the storytelling here to create a story that has no idea how to drag. Malerman has created something truly special and unique here, something that has every chance to stand the test of time.
December 24, 2021
Like many others, I hadn’t heard of Josh Malerman until I came across Bird Box. This was several years ago, too, back before the Netflix movie had even been announced. Someone simply recommended the book to me online, and the title caught my attention. I quickly Googled it, then borrowed it from the library at my next opportunity, and started it immediately. I got so sucked in that it was nice, because that doesn’t always happen for me due to a myriad of factors, and I now consider it to be one of the better books I’ve ever read.
Thus, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Josh Malerman cemented himself as one of my favourite authors on that day, or during that week as I should say. Since then, I’ve gone on to try to read all of his works, and just have four left. One is Unbury Carol, which I bought from a cheap bookseller and have high on my massive to-read-soon list, and another is Pearl, which was previously published as On This, The Day of the Pig. I’ve got its recent reissue out from the library, and need to get to it soon. The same is basically true of both Black, Mad Wheel and Malorie, the sequel to Bird Box.
I intend to read them all soon, and look forward to doing so.
Even if you’re someone who’s somehow never heard of Bird Box, or any of the author’s other works, there’s still a chance he’s impacted your life without you realizing it. You see, Josh Malerman is also a musician, and his band — The High Strung — were responsible for the theme song to the American version of TV’s Shameless.
Needless to say, he’s got a lot going on.
Enter Ghoul N’ The Cape, which is another massive endeavor that is just about to see the light of day. Then again, the word massive may not be big enough to describe it.
Coming from Earthling Publications, Ghoul N’ The Cape is a novel with a title that suggests it’s a comic book. It’s fitting, though, because this gigantic story is odd, unique and downright colourful. It’s unlike anything you’ve likely ever read, and that’s not a bad thing at all.
I was lucky enough to get an Advanced Reading Copy (or ARC) of Ghoul N’ The Cape, and have spent quite a while reading what will now go down as being the longest book I’ve ever read. Prior to this it was Stephen King’s Under the Dome, which was well over 1000 pages when I read it upon release.
At first, it wasn’t obvious that Mr. Malerman’s latest was longer than Mr. King’s epic, but I looked things up and it seems to be true. Then again, I had an inkling when I opened the package and set eyes upon this oversized paperback for the first time. Not only is it larger in height and general width than any other book I’ve read, but it’s also 710 pages long, with type that isn’t that large. Hell, it’s almost like reading a textbook. Not in terms of substance, but in look and feel.
Side note: Only the ARC is in paperback form. If you order Earthling Publications’ first edition, you’ll receive what is described as being an autographed ‘oversized hardcover,’ containing paintings and approximately 750 pages. The price? Seventy-five American dollars.
Good thing there’s a lot of bang for one’s buck here.
Although Josh Malerman is typically known as one of the horror genre’s best and brightest ‘new’ and ‘upcoming’ authors, Ghoul N’ The Cape isn’t something I’d classify as fitting snug within that genre. In fact, this is more of a strange fiction experience, in which two eccentrics meet and begin a road trip across America. Sure, there are scary moments and strange happenings, but not in the same vein as Bird Box, A House at the Bottom of a Lake or Goblin.
Like Inspection — my favourite of Josh’s books thus far — this is something different.
This lengthy, quirky and unforgettable tale begins in an otherwise forgettable dive bar on New York City’s Water Street. It’s there where a white haired eccentric wearing a black cape is first introduced to the reader, as he walks inside and orders a drink. Shortly after his, the strange man ambles over to a booth where a small, oddly proportioned man is passed out in a booth. After betting the nice bartender that he can wake this man up, the Cape does his best to do so, before offering the stranger a drink and trying to entice him into going on a trip.
You see, the Naught is nigh. You can also call it the Ghost Star, but both names belong to the same creature: A massive being that is en route to our planet, with intentions of eating the United States of America. Thus, the Cape is headed west, and he wants everyone else to do so, including this strange, homeless drunk named Ghoul.
Yes, that is his name.
After showing Ghoul the Naught’s position in the sky, the Cape finally entices his new friend to accompany him west, after promising free drinks and a suitcase full of $21,000, which just so happens to be located on some warm beach. Thus begins one of the most unique and memorable road trips in the history of fiction.
There’s honestly not a lot more that I can say about this plot without threatening to ruin it. So much happens over the course of the next seven hundred pages, and a lot of it is unexpected, not to mention strange and surreal. Together, Ghoul and the Cape meet some very colourful people, and find themselves in strange situations that not only threaten their safety but their lives as well. All the while, they’re trailed by the Cape’s mysterious Naught, and its different agents, one of which is a man carrying a massive knife.
Just know that this is a lengthy proposition you won’t regret accepting. Once you finish this book, you’ll wonder what you just read and likely have a hard time not thinking about it. This weird road trip novel is as original as it is memorable, and it’s another home run from a talented author.
Josh Malerman adopted a different writing style for this particular book, but it works. At times, it can be very stream of consciousness, and employs characters who like to think and opine about the world around them. Both of its main characters are eccentrics who happen to attract the same type of people as they cross the United States from east to west, telling everyone who’ll listen to head west.
Ghoul N’ the Cape could also easily be considered a character study, despite its leads’ eccentricities. As the author described them, the Cape is a man with urgency about him and Ghoul is someone who needs change despite being afraid of it and not necessarily knowing. Although he’s happy sleeping in a booth at the back of pub, life has other things in mind for him. Meeting the Cape really brings something new out in a man who’s had a hard life due to bad luck and physical deformities he didn’t ask for, and meeting Ghoul also does a lot for Cape in return. Together, they form a very interesting and unlikely duo. Ghoul isn’t someone who’s readily willing to believe in conspiracies, though, and it’s up to the Cape to prove that what he says is threatening America is actually real.
It’s also important to note that what’s found within is a statement about modern day America. As such, the story (and it’s author’s) politics become obvious. I didn’t mind, though, and thought this turned out to be an interesting long form take on society, ignorance and generations.
Alas, I’m going to stop this lengthy review here because, as I said above, there’s not a lot more I can say without risking spoilers. Once this book gets going, it really gets going, and it hooks you despite its daunting length. At 300,000 words it asks a lot from its readers, but is well worth the necessary time investment.
Check out Ghoul N’ the Cape by Josh Malerman when you can, because you won’t regret it!
**This review is based on an advanced copy of the book that we were provided with. Receiving a free copy did not sway our opinion or our review.**
Thus, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Josh Malerman cemented himself as one of my favourite authors on that day, or during that week as I should say. Since then, I’ve gone on to try to read all of his works, and just have four left. One is Unbury Carol, which I bought from a cheap bookseller and have high on my massive to-read-soon list, and another is Pearl, which was previously published as On This, The Day of the Pig. I’ve got its recent reissue out from the library, and need to get to it soon. The same is basically true of both Black, Mad Wheel and Malorie, the sequel to Bird Box.
I intend to read them all soon, and look forward to doing so.
Even if you’re someone who’s somehow never heard of Bird Box, or any of the author’s other works, there’s still a chance he’s impacted your life without you realizing it. You see, Josh Malerman is also a musician, and his band — The High Strung — were responsible for the theme song to the American version of TV’s Shameless.
Needless to say, he’s got a lot going on.
Enter Ghoul N’ The Cape, which is another massive endeavor that is just about to see the light of day. Then again, the word massive may not be big enough to describe it.
Coming from Earthling Publications, Ghoul N’ The Cape is a novel with a title that suggests it’s a comic book. It’s fitting, though, because this gigantic story is odd, unique and downright colourful. It’s unlike anything you’ve likely ever read, and that’s not a bad thing at all.
I was lucky enough to get an Advanced Reading Copy (or ARC) of Ghoul N’ The Cape, and have spent quite a while reading what will now go down as being the longest book I’ve ever read. Prior to this it was Stephen King’s Under the Dome, which was well over 1000 pages when I read it upon release.
At first, it wasn’t obvious that Mr. Malerman’s latest was longer than Mr. King’s epic, but I looked things up and it seems to be true. Then again, I had an inkling when I opened the package and set eyes upon this oversized paperback for the first time. Not only is it larger in height and general width than any other book I’ve read, but it’s also 710 pages long, with type that isn’t that large. Hell, it’s almost like reading a textbook. Not in terms of substance, but in look and feel.
Side note: Only the ARC is in paperback form. If you order Earthling Publications’ first edition, you’ll receive what is described as being an autographed ‘oversized hardcover,’ containing paintings and approximately 750 pages. The price? Seventy-five American dollars.
Good thing there’s a lot of bang for one’s buck here.
Although Josh Malerman is typically known as one of the horror genre’s best and brightest ‘new’ and ‘upcoming’ authors, Ghoul N’ The Cape isn’t something I’d classify as fitting snug within that genre. In fact, this is more of a strange fiction experience, in which two eccentrics meet and begin a road trip across America. Sure, there are scary moments and strange happenings, but not in the same vein as Bird Box, A House at the Bottom of a Lake or Goblin.
Like Inspection — my favourite of Josh’s books thus far — this is something different.
This lengthy, quirky and unforgettable tale begins in an otherwise forgettable dive bar on New York City’s Water Street. It’s there where a white haired eccentric wearing a black cape is first introduced to the reader, as he walks inside and orders a drink. Shortly after his, the strange man ambles over to a booth where a small, oddly proportioned man is passed out in a booth. After betting the nice bartender that he can wake this man up, the Cape does his best to do so, before offering the stranger a drink and trying to entice him into going on a trip.
You see, the Naught is nigh. You can also call it the Ghost Star, but both names belong to the same creature: A massive being that is en route to our planet, with intentions of eating the United States of America. Thus, the Cape is headed west, and he wants everyone else to do so, including this strange, homeless drunk named Ghoul.
Yes, that is his name.
After showing Ghoul the Naught’s position in the sky, the Cape finally entices his new friend to accompany him west, after promising free drinks and a suitcase full of $21,000, which just so happens to be located on some warm beach. Thus begins one of the most unique and memorable road trips in the history of fiction.
There’s honestly not a lot more that I can say about this plot without threatening to ruin it. So much happens over the course of the next seven hundred pages, and a lot of it is unexpected, not to mention strange and surreal. Together, Ghoul and the Cape meet some very colourful people, and find themselves in strange situations that not only threaten their safety but their lives as well. All the while, they’re trailed by the Cape’s mysterious Naught, and its different agents, one of which is a man carrying a massive knife.
Just know that this is a lengthy proposition you won’t regret accepting. Once you finish this book, you’ll wonder what you just read and likely have a hard time not thinking about it. This weird road trip novel is as original as it is memorable, and it’s another home run from a talented author.
Josh Malerman adopted a different writing style for this particular book, but it works. At times, it can be very stream of consciousness, and employs characters who like to think and opine about the world around them. Both of its main characters are eccentrics who happen to attract the same type of people as they cross the United States from east to west, telling everyone who’ll listen to head west.
Ghoul N’ the Cape could also easily be considered a character study, despite its leads’ eccentricities. As the author described them, the Cape is a man with urgency about him and Ghoul is someone who needs change despite being afraid of it and not necessarily knowing. Although he’s happy sleeping in a booth at the back of pub, life has other things in mind for him. Meeting the Cape really brings something new out in a man who’s had a hard life due to bad luck and physical deformities he didn’t ask for, and meeting Ghoul also does a lot for Cape in return. Together, they form a very interesting and unlikely duo. Ghoul isn’t someone who’s readily willing to believe in conspiracies, though, and it’s up to the Cape to prove that what he says is threatening America is actually real.
It’s also important to note that what’s found within is a statement about modern day America. As such, the story (and it’s author’s) politics become obvious. I didn’t mind, though, and thought this turned out to be an interesting long form take on society, ignorance and generations.
Alas, I’m going to stop this lengthy review here because, as I said above, there’s not a lot more I can say without risking spoilers. Once this book gets going, it really gets going, and it hooks you despite its daunting length. At 300,000 words it asks a lot from its readers, but is well worth the necessary time investment.
Check out Ghoul N’ the Cape by Josh Malerman when you can, because you won’t regret it!
**This review is based on an advanced copy of the book that we were provided with. Receiving a free copy did not sway our opinion or our review.**
January 30, 2024
Epic!
It is a crime that this book is super rare and limited to just over a thousand copies. Also the price of people selling this on. JM has to mass release this on Kindle and Paperback!
Wow.
It is a crime that this book is super rare and limited to just over a thousand copies. Also the price of people selling this on. JM has to mass release this on Kindle and Paperback!
Wow.
December 30, 2024
I read Josh Malerman’s GHOUL N’ THE CAPE when it was first released, and I loved it. This year, after reading INCIDENTS AROUND THE HOUSE, I decided it was time to re-enter the Malerman universe and re-read as many of his book as I could. As of today, I’m at a total of 8 books (7 re-reads and INCIDENTS AROUND THE HOUSE).
I decided to re-read GHOUL N’ THE CAPE around November. I would pick it up, but life would get in the way (work, reviews that were required, etc.) so I decided to re-start my re-read during my winter break from work. This was a great decision. The last few days, you could find me curled up on our couch or on my office floor reading this book, completely absorbed in the world that Malerman had created.
There is so much to unpack and discuss with a book like GHOUL N’ THE CAPE. For starters, the physical book is quite large – it’s 727 pages but honestly, I wish it were more. At no point does GHOUL N’ THE CAPE feel like a book that is long to be long – each word, space, character, and plot point serves a particular purpose, and the story moves in a way that you forget the length because you are transfixed and mesmerized by the story that Malerman is telling you.
The characters in GHOUL N’ THE CAPE are rich, vibrant, and complex; each character (including side characters) is carefully developed. Each character serves a purpose, even if we only see them on the page for a short time. The world building is some of Malerman’s finest, with stunning and realistic imagery that transports you into the page and into this adventure.
I can’t box GHOUL N’ THE CAPE into one genre, which is something I often say about Malerman’s books and it’s one of the highest compliments that I can pay to an author because I could recommend the book to any kind of reader; to me, GHOUL N’ THE CAPE is a classic and timeless novel. There is so much heart in GHOUL N’ THE CAPE - this is a great American novel. I laughed and cried and took so many photos of passages that I have an album titled “GnC” on my phone. I really wanted to stay in this world that Malerman created with Ghoul and the Cape a bit longer.
Within GHOUL N’ THE CAPE there’s precious and timely advice and wisdom; the importance of remaining kind even when faced with adversity, the value of challenging your viewpoints and remaining curious (and exploring that curiosity) and at times, skeptical of what you are being told, the consequences of deciding to stay comfortable and follow the status quo, the encouragement to follow your dreams live in the moment, the value of both youth and age and how we can learn so much from the young and older, the cyclical nature of history where each generation thinks they are wiser than those before it but we are repeating the same mistakes, the significance of championing our friends and those we know because it highlights the best parts of them and makes them believe in the best parts of themselves.
And yes, while there is so much heart in GHOUL N’ THE CAPE, there is also horror. The Naught’s agents are terrifying and there are brutal and grisly scenes throughout that are written with vivid imagery; then there is the real-life horror of what happens to our world if the Naught succeeds? There are moments throughout GHOUL N’ THE CAPE where I was literally on the edge of my seat to see what would happen next, the tension and suspense ebbing and flowing throughout in the perfect manner.
I can’t talk about GHOUL N’ THE CAPE without talking about music. When I picture Malerman, I picture music and writing combined in a way that is difficult to explain but comes through in his books and is particularly clear in GHOUL N’ THE CAPE. There is music throughout this book both literally from the songs contained within to the rhythm that characters speak and interact. And just as GHOUL N’ THE CAPE as a novel is genre defying, the music contained within it is too. I heard blues, rock, pop, country, gospel, and more while reading GHOUL N’ THE CAPE which further speaks to how talented Malerman is.
I decided to re-read GHOUL N’ THE CAPE around November. I would pick it up, but life would get in the way (work, reviews that were required, etc.) so I decided to re-start my re-read during my winter break from work. This was a great decision. The last few days, you could find me curled up on our couch or on my office floor reading this book, completely absorbed in the world that Malerman had created.
There is so much to unpack and discuss with a book like GHOUL N’ THE CAPE. For starters, the physical book is quite large – it’s 727 pages but honestly, I wish it were more. At no point does GHOUL N’ THE CAPE feel like a book that is long to be long – each word, space, character, and plot point serves a particular purpose, and the story moves in a way that you forget the length because you are transfixed and mesmerized by the story that Malerman is telling you.
The characters in GHOUL N’ THE CAPE are rich, vibrant, and complex; each character (including side characters) is carefully developed. Each character serves a purpose, even if we only see them on the page for a short time. The world building is some of Malerman’s finest, with stunning and realistic imagery that transports you into the page and into this adventure.
I can’t box GHOUL N’ THE CAPE into one genre, which is something I often say about Malerman’s books and it’s one of the highest compliments that I can pay to an author because I could recommend the book to any kind of reader; to me, GHOUL N’ THE CAPE is a classic and timeless novel. There is so much heart in GHOUL N’ THE CAPE - this is a great American novel. I laughed and cried and took so many photos of passages that I have an album titled “GnC” on my phone. I really wanted to stay in this world that Malerman created with Ghoul and the Cape a bit longer.
Within GHOUL N’ THE CAPE there’s precious and timely advice and wisdom; the importance of remaining kind even when faced with adversity, the value of challenging your viewpoints and remaining curious (and exploring that curiosity) and at times, skeptical of what you are being told, the consequences of deciding to stay comfortable and follow the status quo, the encouragement to follow your dreams live in the moment, the value of both youth and age and how we can learn so much from the young and older, the cyclical nature of history where each generation thinks they are wiser than those before it but we are repeating the same mistakes, the significance of championing our friends and those we know because it highlights the best parts of them and makes them believe in the best parts of themselves.
And yes, while there is so much heart in GHOUL N’ THE CAPE, there is also horror. The Naught’s agents are terrifying and there are brutal and grisly scenes throughout that are written with vivid imagery; then there is the real-life horror of what happens to our world if the Naught succeeds? There are moments throughout GHOUL N’ THE CAPE where I was literally on the edge of my seat to see what would happen next, the tension and suspense ebbing and flowing throughout in the perfect manner.
I can’t talk about GHOUL N’ THE CAPE without talking about music. When I picture Malerman, I picture music and writing combined in a way that is difficult to explain but comes through in his books and is particularly clear in GHOUL N’ THE CAPE. There is music throughout this book both literally from the songs contained within to the rhythm that characters speak and interact. And just as GHOUL N’ THE CAPE as a novel is genre defying, the music contained within it is too. I heard blues, rock, pop, country, gospel, and more while reading GHOUL N’ THE CAPE which further speaks to how talented Malerman is.
February 22, 2024
Woah! There’s a lot to take in this massive book. This book begins very two odd characters who have this mystique from the moment you meet them both. A story of Cape and the Ghoul trying to outpace The Naught and its agents that is trying set back a new generation back into ignorance as it has countless of times before and after. Leaving Americans to argue about the same issues and subjects that have stunt our growth as a country. But this story is also much more than just that. You’ll find inspiration in Cape, Ghoul, Sissy & Val. There was times where I found a little of myself in both Cape and Ghoul. There are stories within stories in this book. Characters they encountered from the run from East to West. Like the bandits, the used car sales man, the guy who people befriend before dying, the church, the bar Illy-Noisy where they meet the devil or someone very close to him, the barn shed, Iowa Penn, the bikers, Marcel and Libby, the crazy cop and many more interesting that help them along the way. The Naught Agents: Ghost Star, The Celestian Man, The Shadowed Faced Man & The Crone. There’s a lot to unpack! Highly recommend this novel trying to read a great American Novel.
July 7, 2022
This is the most epic, once in a lifetime road trip you'll ever take in a book. The book has a little bit of everything and it's really something that needs to be experienced to understand it. At it's core, it's a couple of guys on a cross country trip to save America, but it is SO MUCH MORE. The book starts off firing and really never lets up.....across 700+ pages. When there is downtime, it is usually filled with singing or drinking, mostly drinking, and sometimes singing while drinking. It's filled with friends and enemies you meet along the way and you will get attached to some of them. There are thrills, chills, heartbrake, trains, planes, frankencars, biker gangs, psychics, national monuments, haunted prisons and cowboy graveyards. Like I said, epic road trip.
Can't recommend this one enough, I've never read anything like it.
Can't recommend this one enough, I've never read anything like it.
March 31, 2023
After reading a couple of shorter books that were fast reads without much character building, I wanted to dive into something a bit meatier. Ghoul N' the Cape delivered on that front. This is an epic roadtrip story that takes you across America in 700+ pages, riding alongside the main characters, Ghoul and the Cape. It is a book that insists that you slow your reading pace and pay attention. This story can't be boxed in. Approach with an open mind for rambling down the road, and enjoy the sights and sounds along the way.
February 6, 2022
The road novel is a good chance for an author to linger and explore. It can be a fun exercise and allow for a ton of characters. I understand the appeal and appreciate it. However, for me this one had some bumps in the road. There were some stops that just didn't do it for me and the ending left me dissapointed.
March 9, 2022
A masterpiece. Definitely my new favorite Malerman book. I loved the little side stories within the main story, and I loved going on such an epic adventure with Ghoul and the Cape. 700 pages and I wish there were 700 more.
March 18, 2022
This was a road trip of a lifetime. The best adventure I’ve ever been on while reading a book. I loved this book so much. Definitely is one of my favorites reads ever.
April 21, 2024
Packed full of Josh Malerman goodness. Epic. Amazing. Reading the afterward was like gift wrapping this whole experience, complete with a ribbon and a bow. What more is there to say?
February 17, 2025
An epic adventure!
August 25, 2022
This was a very fun book to read. I enjoyed the story line and the characters. Actually felt like you were really taking the trip with them and feeling the urgency to keep moving and don't slow down. It ended really good too.
June 6, 2024
“The Naught is nigh”
——————————————
A man walks into a bar and tells another the world is about to end due to a very hungry entity, then offers him 20K to join him in a road trip across the country as they try to stop it. What follows is a wild ride to the west in which they encounter all manners of interesting characters; be they murderous nun-pretenders, potential Devils.. you name it. This story is hard to pin down genre-wise; it could be described as something as wild as a cosmic existential/philosophical noir-fantasy road trip-tale, with oft-times lyrical prose and a Wild West-feel to it. It’s as much of a mashup of literary parts and quirks as the car Medley trying to outpace the Naught and it’s agents.
Whatever it might be, it’s unlike anything else I’ve read and highly moreish. I snacked on this book more than my stash of chips (and I’m a chips addict).
——————————————
A man walks into a bar and tells another the world is about to end due to a very hungry entity, then offers him 20K to join him in a road trip across the country as they try to stop it. What follows is a wild ride to the west in which they encounter all manners of interesting characters; be they murderous nun-pretenders, potential Devils.. you name it. This story is hard to pin down genre-wise; it could be described as something as wild as a cosmic existential/philosophical noir-fantasy road trip-tale, with oft-times lyrical prose and a Wild West-feel to it. It’s as much of a mashup of literary parts and quirks as the car Medley trying to outpace the Naught and it’s agents.
Whatever it might be, it’s unlike anything else I’ve read and highly moreish. I snacked on this book more than my stash of chips (and I’m a chips addict).
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