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3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
"She was going to find a way to fix bipolar disorder. To siphon out the worst parts, and make the best parts boil to the top. She had to try something new, because foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds. The same efforts bring same results."
Kori has been suffering though her father's mental illness since she was a child. She witnessed his sudden mood swings and his pain until he was admitted in the Northville Psychiatric Hospital, and this is where she last saw him years ago. Now that the hospital is closed and its patients transferred to other facilities far away, Kori wants to visit his father and she finds him living in that very same abandones hospital. But he is not the person she expected, and he is not alone...
Let me start by saying that I was drawn to this book by its stunning cover, which caught my attention on bookstagram and brought me to Netgalley. And since there's scary werewolf holding a human heart in front of a huge red moon, I was expecting a nice horror story with hairy howling creatures. But The Hobgoblin of Little Minds turned out to be so much more: yes it's a horror story, but it also describes mental illness and bipolar disorder in a way that I personally found very respectful and real. There's action and tension, internal monologues and a very well written villain, which was also my favorite character.
I admit that I didn't immediately connect with Kori or the other characters, as I found the first third of the book a bit confusing (mostly because of the time jumps and my inability to remember names), but then I really enjoyed the story and loved the ending. I was also really happy when I found out that there is going to be a second book, I feel like this story has more to give and I can't wait to read it! 4 stars.
* Thank you to Wicked Run Press and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Kori has been suffering though her father's mental illness since she was a child. She witnessed his sudden mood swings and his pain until he was admitted in the Northville Psychiatric Hospital, and this is where she last saw him years ago. Now that the hospital is closed and its patients transferred to other facilities far away, Kori wants to visit his father and she finds him living in that very same abandones hospital. But he is not the person she expected, and he is not alone...
Let me start by saying that I was drawn to this book by its stunning cover, which caught my attention on bookstagram and brought me to Netgalley. And since there's scary werewolf holding a human heart in front of a huge red moon, I was expecting a nice horror story with hairy howling creatures. But The Hobgoblin of Little Minds turned out to be so much more: yes it's a horror story, but it also describes mental illness and bipolar disorder in a way that I personally found very respectful and real. There's action and tension, internal monologues and a very well written villain, which was also my favorite character.
I admit that I didn't immediately connect with Kori or the other characters, as I found the first third of the book a bit confusing (mostly because of the time jumps and my inability to remember names), but then I really enjoyed the story and loved the ending. I was also really happy when I found out that there is going to be a second book, I feel like this story has more to give and I can't wait to read it! 4 stars.
* Thank you to Wicked Run Press and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
As someone who loves someone with bipolar disorder, I found this a remarkable work of horror. It's a unique representation of mental illness, and it's left me with a lot to chew on. Hard to rate but glad I read. Also, another afterword worth sticking around for.
The Hobgoblin of Little Minds…just how on earth do you review something of such important magnitude? The implications, the research, and the depth of such a poetic narrative…it blew my mind. This is the type of book that authors spend their entire careers trying to pen. The depth of feeling took it to a higher level, the bar being set with flair and empathy. This is the kind of horror that gets my gears churning, there is nothing more horrifying than the human condition and Matthews handed me a hand grenade.
The Hobgoblin of Little Minds was a journey. Get that seatbelt locked in tight because you will suffer whiplash but it’s the kind of shock that is needed for you to fully get the message that Matthews is conveying. Just from the synopsis alone, I knew this was going to be a good read, this was an astounding read, however. We have many questions and themes interweaving to bring the reader an explosive plot. Religion, faith, guilt, mental health, and public perception. The book had quite the profound effect on me and wanted the read to last but also wanting to know what would happen next. Mr Matthews is very much the trickster!
This story does not beat around the bush…no it leads you up a secluded path and jumps out at you when you least expect it. A story that at its very core feels like more an investigation at how people are treated with mental illness and the implications of having such, socially. Be prepared for Matthews to transport you into the story, I always felt like I was there, walking the halls of the hospital, feeling the anguish, and feeling the pain the characters were in. it only takes a sentence for the author to bring everything to life.
Our Protagonist, Kori has had her fair share of heartache. Her father is diagnosed with bipolar Disorder. His medication doesn’t seem to be helping with his symptoms. Fully medicated he’s completely numb, nothing like she remembers him to be and when in mania, he is excitable, and they can have fun together…until he comes down again. He’s had multiple enforced stays in hospital but now he’s in permanently. His final stay in hospital has him meeting Dr Zita and well, his life will forever be changed.
The Hobgoblin of Little Minds obviously had Werewolves playing an integral part in the storytelling and let me tell you – these creatures were scary as all hell! It was a deep exploration of how mental and health and being an actual monster can be metaphorically connected. The closing of the book leaves you searching for answers to the questions that the reader wasn’t even aware were hidden in plain sight.
The Hobgoblin of Little Minds is disquieting and disturbing. Its how you want all psychological horror and Monster Horror to be crafted. It’s a story so deeply etched in desperation and pain, its masterful.
The Hobgoblin of Little Minds was a journey. Get that seatbelt locked in tight because you will suffer whiplash but it’s the kind of shock that is needed for you to fully get the message that Matthews is conveying. Just from the synopsis alone, I knew this was going to be a good read, this was an astounding read, however. We have many questions and themes interweaving to bring the reader an explosive plot. Religion, faith, guilt, mental health, and public perception. The book had quite the profound effect on me and wanted the read to last but also wanting to know what would happen next. Mr Matthews is very much the trickster!
This story does not beat around the bush…no it leads you up a secluded path and jumps out at you when you least expect it. A story that at its very core feels like more an investigation at how people are treated with mental illness and the implications of having such, socially. Be prepared for Matthews to transport you into the story, I always felt like I was there, walking the halls of the hospital, feeling the anguish, and feeling the pain the characters were in. it only takes a sentence for the author to bring everything to life.
Our Protagonist, Kori has had her fair share of heartache. Her father is diagnosed with bipolar Disorder. His medication doesn’t seem to be helping with his symptoms. Fully medicated he’s completely numb, nothing like she remembers him to be and when in mania, he is excitable, and they can have fun together…until he comes down again. He’s had multiple enforced stays in hospital but now he’s in permanently. His final stay in hospital has him meeting Dr Zita and well, his life will forever be changed.
The Hobgoblin of Little Minds obviously had Werewolves playing an integral part in the storytelling and let me tell you – these creatures were scary as all hell! It was a deep exploration of how mental and health and being an actual monster can be metaphorically connected. The closing of the book leaves you searching for answers to the questions that the reader wasn’t even aware were hidden in plain sight.
The Hobgoblin of Little Minds is disquieting and disturbing. Its how you want all psychological horror and Monster Horror to be crafted. It’s a story so deeply etched in desperation and pain, its masterful.
Review in January 2021 Horror Review column for Library Journal: https://www.libraryjournal.com/?reviewDetail=the-hobgoblin-of-little-minds
Three Words That Describe This Book: mental health, visceral, multiple points of view
Draft Review:
Framed by the well known Emerson quote referenced in the title and informed by Matthews’ 20+ years working in the mental health industry, this fast paced thriller, set in an abandoned mental hospital, tells the story of the effects of mental illness from the point of view of those who suffer and their families, but within the frame of a wholly original addition to the werewolf cannon. Readers will fall into the story quickly, connecting with the main characters as each point of view is explored. This is a tale that makes the reader squirm both because of the well executed, and visceral horror and because of the discomfort from a peek into the minds of people trying to live with mania. Verdict: Pairing an honest and respectful discussion of bi-polar disorder and how our current treatment options often fail its patients with a compelling, and action packed werewolf story, this is an obvious suggestion to fans of The Last Werewolf Trilogy by Duncan but also a great comp for thought provoking creature tales that contemplate the character’s trauma as part of the horror like Frankenstein in Baghdad by Saadawi.
Three Words That Describe This Book: mental health, visceral, multiple points of view
Draft Review:
Framed by the well known Emerson quote referenced in the title and informed by Matthews’ 20+ years working in the mental health industry, this fast paced thriller, set in an abandoned mental hospital, tells the story of the effects of mental illness from the point of view of those who suffer and their families, but within the frame of a wholly original addition to the werewolf cannon. Readers will fall into the story quickly, connecting with the main characters as each point of view is explored. This is a tale that makes the reader squirm both because of the well executed, and visceral horror and because of the discomfort from a peek into the minds of people trying to live with mania. Verdict: Pairing an honest and respectful discussion of bi-polar disorder and how our current treatment options often fail its patients with a compelling, and action packed werewolf story, this is an obvious suggestion to fans of The Last Werewolf Trilogy by Duncan but also a great comp for thought provoking creature tales that contemplate the character’s trauma as part of the horror like Frankenstein in Baghdad by Saadawi.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Kori’s father, Peter, suffers from bipolar disorder and he tried hard to do right by his family. However, one night Peter hurt Kori and was admitted to Northville Psychiatric Hospital, never to be heard from again.
Fifteen years after he was admitted, after the hospital was closed and abandoned, Kori wants to say a final goodbye before the building is demolished. What Kori discovers leaves her questioning everything she has been told.
Bipolar disorder is a transformation of the mind from mania, back and forth with depression, sometimes extreme in nature. Maybe sometimes the mind isn’t all that transforms. Sometimes science and genetics create a perfect vessel.
Mark Matthews knows the ramblings of a confused, distracted mind. He writes with sensitivity of those who society would consider “crazy”. He perfectly captures the deep regret that Kori feels for being the cause of her fathers institutionalization, making her somber, and nostalgic but determined.
Overall I did find this to be a difficult read even though I know this will stick with me. There is lots of internal monologue from those with mental health issues.
“The sun was just rising, golden eyelids over the horizon, birds happiest at this hour, and together they sing the song of the universe. Words he understands and they pull him along the sidewalk.”
This book would work well as a reread because you would know more of where the characters were coming from but for the first time through it gets confusing as to what may be important and what seems like mumbled nonsense.
Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of the ebook in exchange for an honest review
Fifteen years after he was admitted, after the hospital was closed and abandoned, Kori wants to say a final goodbye before the building is demolished. What Kori discovers leaves her questioning everything she has been told.
Bipolar disorder is a transformation of the mind from mania, back and forth with depression, sometimes extreme in nature. Maybe sometimes the mind isn’t all that transforms. Sometimes science and genetics create a perfect vessel.
Mark Matthews knows the ramblings of a confused, distracted mind. He writes with sensitivity of those who society would consider “crazy”. He perfectly captures the deep regret that Kori feels for being the cause of her fathers institutionalization, making her somber, and nostalgic but determined.
Overall I did find this to be a difficult read even though I know this will stick with me. There is lots of internal monologue from those with mental health issues.
“The sun was just rising, golden eyelids over the horizon, birds happiest at this hour, and together they sing the song of the universe. Words he understands and they pull him along the sidewalk.”
This book would work well as a reread because you would know more of where the characters were coming from but for the first time through it gets confusing as to what may be important and what seems like mumbled nonsense.
Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of the ebook in exchange for an honest review
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
I thought this book was disjointed and terribly hard to read. Horrible is the word that comes to mind.