Review of Goblins on the Other Side by by Carlton Mellick III

A memorable read.

CM3 seems fond of depicting twisted afterlife scenarios, as in his Boy with a Chainsaw Heart and Ugly Heaven. He may be another atheist borrowing heavily from Christian imagery, but he has a unique imagination which is always striking, managing to revitalize tired tropes with elegant imagery and superb storytelling. This is one of his least grotesque books, with that whimsical Goosebumps vibe you will also find in Bad Box. He writes children characters convincingly, and their actions often lead to heartwarming and heartbreaking moments (see Sweet Story for the prime example). You won’t have to rinse your mind out after reading this, but it will likely stick with you for a while. His books often raise more questions than they answer, but the consistent perspective and page-turner pace have a similar effect on me to s-f short stories. The purpose of a short story or novella of this kind is to posit a chain of events and to play them out in an entertaining way. Loose ends will dangle and unexplained phenomena will always occur.

Goblins and a fantastical treehouse amid an afterlife town accessible to the living support the setting of this engaging one-sitting read.