Ghoul

By: Brian Keene

Narrated by: Chet Williamson

Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

There is something in the local cemetery that comes out at night. Something that is unearthing corpses and killing people. It’s the summer of 1984 and Timmy and his friends are looking forward to no school, comic books, and adventure. But instead they will be fighting for their lives.

The ghoul has smelled their blood and it is after them.But that’s not the only monster they will face this summer....

From award-winning horror master Brian Keene comes a novel of monsters, murder, and the loss of innocence.

©2007 Brian Keene (P)2017 David N. WIlson

awesome story. definitely worth a listen

100 % recommend. great story, start to finish. if you're a fan of Brian keene this is one of his best works through and through. I love how his stories are inter connected. if you've read ghost walk and dark hallow prior you'll recognize some names and locations. chet Williamson is a great narrator as well.

Both scary and heartwrenching

This book has a way of messing with your head. Expecting a non-stop gorefest with lots of expendable characters, instead I got a heartfelt coming-of-age story about three friends going through some terrible times in their young life. The side story is the actual monster itself, and it worked. Some of the humans in the story were far more terrifying than the monster. Don't go into this one expecting a shallow horror read. This one is a bit of a heart-breaker.

Who's the real monster

I am a new found Brian Keene fan! Over the past several weeks I have basically bought every one of his books on Audible and devoured them. This was good but NOT his best.

Mr. Keene's style - jump in and forget the small talk, lets get to the meat of the story now - is still there. There's very little fat on the bone and the result is still a good story.

Unfortunately, I didn't like the fact the monster talks like a mid 17th century Englishman (though there is kind of a tie in there).

The push of the story, that often times ADULTS/PARENTS are the monsters and that children are shaped into who they are a lot of times by the PARENT-MONSTERS is a good one and that when you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back are both really good themes but I just couldn't get over the monster's talking. Still a good story if you are into LEAN, get right into it, horror. Warning, there is major mature content (rape, ...) so buyer beware. I was surprised by it when it showed up 1/2 way thru the book, but by that time I was hooked and had to see how it was going to turn out. The ending is a punch to the stomach and drives home the theme of the book. Well done Mr. Keene, but if you are new to him, I'd suggest starting with EARTHWORMS.

What's in a graveyard? You don't want to know

Sometimes there are more than bodies in a graveyard.

I read this book years ago, and had to get the audiobook. Keene has quickly grown to outshine many in the horror field. I often say he is the true King of horror, and mean it every time.

This is a dark and disturbing novel on many levels, sometimes having nothing to do with the ghoul itself. I even watched the Sci-Fi channel movie before it became SYFY, and it was a disappointment. The audiobook though, its freaking solid gold. Williamson and Keene make a great pair.

This novel is deeper than a six foot grave. Trust me. The horror his on multiple levels. It's a great stand alone novel.

There are all kinds of monsters in here...

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

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

4 Stars rounded up to 5 because of the way that Keene handled the extreme dysfunction of the relationship between Doug and his mother. It could have been horribly exploited (like a lot of this kind of thing often is), but it was not.

One of the best coming of age stories

This is my first book by Brian Keene and so far I'm really enjoying it. The narrator did a wonderful job of bringing the story to life. This novel in particular has a very heavy 80's nostalgia to it. This is a coming of age story of 3 boys in their early teens that also contains monsters both supernatural and of the human kind. And also touches upon heavy themes such as mortality and abuse, physical, emotional and sexual.
Description- There is something in the local cemetery that comes out at night. Something that is unearthing corpses and killing people. It's the summer of 1984 and Timmy and his friends are looking forward to no school, comic books, and adventure. But instead they will be fighting for their lives. The ghoul has smelled their blood and it is after them. But that's not the only monster they will face this summer-
If your into Horror I would definitely suggest this book to add to your TBR List

Thundarr

Thundarr was only on for 2 season in 1980-1981 and then rerun on NBC Saturday morning cartoons in 1983.. so not in the summer of 1984. Also there were other things just encompassed for 1984 when If they were just “80s things” and not necessarily happening in 1984. It made some of the “nostalgia” seem forced. But all in all a good book.

I love a good monster book!

Great book! If you like monsters, ghouls and vampires where THEY are the main character instead of an accessory then this is the book for you! It's set in the late 80's early 90's and I LOVED LOVED LOVED that! I feel like the three main protagonists are familiar (as well as their families, neighborhood bullies and demon dog they have to get past each day) and I can't figure out which book they remind me of....fun none the less. Timmy, Doug and Barry. Three childhood/neighborhood 12 year old friends. Timmy has loving parents, overweight Doug has dysfunctional mother & awol father and Barry has abusive/drunk graveyard caretaker father. The three boys play in the cemetery and unbeknownst to them a ghoul has secretly been released. It comes out at night and wreaks havoc on all who ventures in its path. People get killed.......but.........the ghoul has a human helper! Great fun and an awesome throwback to true horror. I LOVED it!!!!

Fans of IT will love this

If you haven't read Brian Keene before, you're missing out. This book, The Rising books, The Earthworm Gods, etc are all amazing.

I was 10 years old in 1984.

A solid 80s horror movie put in audio form sprinkled with tons of pop culture of the time. Not earth shattering or original but a fun read or listen.