Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
GOBLINS a Spooky Treat, April 4, 2000
I was pleasantly surprised by this book. While it's not entirely terrific, it is in fact a mildly amusing read if solely due to its creativity and stealthy plot twists. I was also surprised by Grant's writing style, which is marginally better than what I expected, given the harsh reviews I've read in the past. GOBLINS is extremely easy to read, but at the same time does not insult the reader's intelligence by assaulting him with a barrage of simplistic discourse. I read the book in its entirety through the course of a day, off and on at a leisurely pace. Charles Grant holds the reader's attention, while not chaining him to the plot. In short, I rather enjoyed GOBLINS and I would definitely read more.The ambience of GOBLINS is rather refreshing, painting a haunting backdrop for the story. Grant effectively uses rainstorms, dimly lit rooms, hidden government bunkers and quaint, small town charm to achieve the perfect setting. The environment of GOBLINS exudes "X-Files" and works wonderfully with the characters and their interplay. Now, for what is wrong with the book. The characterization is a bit off, but not as off as Kevin Anderson's "GROUND ZERO"(Please, don't get me started on that one). I have to concur with other reviewers on the issue of Scully's compliance to Mulder's ideas. While it is a welcome change, it just isn't quite believable. Equally unbelievable are the new characters Grant introduces as "compliments" to Mulder and Scully's case. They seem to be nothing more than outlets for creative expression, a chance for Grant to showcase his descriptive talents. These two background characters create weak points in the story, especially when Grant tries to write them into the action. As deft and entertaining as the plot twists and "dual action story line" are, cohesion becomes a problem. I believe Grant errs by keeping the reader in the dark for so long. Had I known what was going on in the adjacent story line, I might have been a bit more interested, rather than becoming distracted by too many unresolved situations. While the overall freedom of the plot is a virtue, it also serves as a curse, tethering the reader too loosely to the story. There are a few more things that don't float my boat, but I won't nit-pick because I actually enjoyed this book. Grant does a nice job of pulling it all together, despite some shortcomings in fluency. While Goblins is no night on the town, it's infinitely better than a TV dinner and Nick at Nite.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
The first novel based on The X-Files, March 14, 2004
Published in 1994, Goblins was the very first novel based on The X-Files television series, which at that time was relatively new, original, and growing in popularity. The action, in this case, takes place not long after the X-Files had been shut down and then reopened by the FBI (which basically puts it somewhere in the second season time period). This is a book that has its good points and its bad points. It is not a bad story in and of itself, but it doesn't fully capture the X-Files spirit; its primary weakness is the addition of two unknown agents working beside Mulder and Scully on the case at hand: Hank Webber, a gung-ho agent of the annoying type, and Licia Andrews, a cold and disagreeable person who certainly doesn't seem to be made of FBI material. Webber's association with Mulder's new supervisor Arlen Douglas (who is not Mulder's biggest fan) is used to cast a suspicious backdrop to the story, but this little subplot doesn't go very far.The case that forms the framework of this novel consists of a series of brutal murders by an "invisible man" of sorts - witnesses, none of which are completely trustworthy, report seeing a hand and blade come out of nowhere and then disappear once the deed is done. An old reporter friend asks Mulder to investigate the first murder because the victim was his cousin's boyfriend, but Mulder has no real interest in the matter until Douglas sends him to New Jersey (alongside Scully, Webber, and Andrews) to investigate that very case; they soon meet with unexpected danger. There is basically a lot of running around talking to the locals, working with the local sheriff, and sniffing out the truth of a mysterious Department of Defense project associated with a nearby military base. Mulder comes up with his wild theory, Scully argues against it, etc. - the same drill you typically saw on the television series. Grant's characterization of Mulder and Scully is actually pretty commendable, but the other two agents are simply annoying, unrealistic, and a source of constant frustration for both Mulder and myself. Grant does keep the level of suspense at a nice level throughout the novel, largely by keeping the reader in the dark when it comes to the identity of the "goblin," and I think this makes the story much more entertaining than it would be otherwise. Looking back on the novel as a whole, the plot does hold together, but there are definitely some frayed ends and other imperfections evident in the craftsmanship. Goblins isn't likely to win The X-Files any new fans, but it makes for a fairly interesting diversion for those of us already devoted to the show and its characters.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not Bad for the First of Its Kind, May 30, 2004
Perhaps the greatest obstacle Charles Grant faced in writing this book was how to take Mulder and Scully and transport them from screen to print. On TV the director can show us Mulder cogitating for a couple seconds and then present his latest "out there" theory. Grant has the opportunity to let us inside Mulder's brain, but he also has the responsibility to keep us hooked once we get in there - what if Mulder doesn't think like we think he thinks? What if the story starts dragging? What if there's nothing there? Fortunately, Grant did a pretty good job of it, although Scully occasionally seemed a little flighty.The story, I thought, got off to a bit of a shaky start. With the first two victims being drunks, I was afraid the story was going to be a one-note moral symphony like X-Files: Ground Zero. The good news is that it doesn't. Unfortunately, the story lacks any clear Alien/Supernatural X-File connection. Human chameleons are an interesting story element, but there should at least be a suggestion of the use of "Area 42 Alien Technology (TM)". If we're to accept that it's just military research gone amok, there should be a wide range of chameleon mice, rats, dogs and monkeys. It may be the vogue thing to paint the military as pure evil, but beginning research with human test subjects is more poor science than it is sheer evilness. The book tries to be as sexy as the TV show, but never really generates any heat. Sure we get a shower scene with Scully (let your minds ponder that for a moment, lads), and Dr. Elkhorn has some kissy moments, but although rookie agent Licia Andrews is described sexily, her character never really goes anywhere with it. Not that the novel needs to get smutty, but it seems a conscious decision was made in describing her and nothing (either flirtyness or frigidity) comes of it. And, ladies, you just got a raw deal when Mulder slept in his suit; I feel for you. Maybe it's just that there are just some things you can do on Fox TV that publisher HarperPrism can't. Like any episode of The X-Files we're left with questions at the end of the book. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear we'll ever get answers to them. Pretty much everything that took place at the Jefferson Memorial remained unclear to me throughout the book. The Louisiana connection offered late in the book seemed sketchy to me, especially since it was never backed up from the military side. As this is the first novelization for the series, I can cut the author some slack (hence three stars instead of two). If it seems I expected a bit much of the first outing, it's only because I like(d) the series so much. Grant, in my opinion, certainly did a better job of this than did the author of Ground Zero. When you wear out your Season 9 DVDs and are looking for another adventure before the next theatrical release, this isn't a bad choice. It's not perfect, but it's definitely not worse than any of the more muddled TV episodes.
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