Hobgoblin by John Coyne (Ethiopia 1962-64) Republished by Dover Publications

My novel Hobgoblin (written in 1981) is being republished in November by Dover Publications. This is how is appears now on Amazon.com for pre-order.

Ancient magic and contemporary horror combine in this tale of a lonely boy’s increasing immersion into a sword-and-sorcery fantasy game. Within the isolation of a medieval Irish manor house rebuilt on the banks of the Hudson, Scott Gardiner drifts deeper into the myth-laden world of Hobgoblin as the line between nightmare and reality erodes. This novel was first published in 1981 at the height of Dungeons & Dragons’ popularity & soon after the intense media coverage of the Egbert steam tunnel incident (urban myths wherein roleplaying gamers enacting live action role-playing games perish, often in the utility tunnels below their university campuses).

Here are two reviews of the first edition from GoodRead. The book, by the way, received a 3.33 of 5 Stars from 39 reviews.

Jan 03, 2010 Vezlandia Day rated it 5 of 5 stars

I first got this book in high school. It’s about a kid who has this totally kick ass ‘dungeons and dragons’ character. He moves to a castle with his mom who does historical preservation work or something like that. You guessed it, weird things start happening. He has to battle the things that become real…or are they?  I will probably read this book 5 more time before I kick the bucket. There’s just something about it…

(And to balance that review, here’s another…..)

Rebecca rated it 1 of 5 stars

I think I know who John Coyne was, and it’s evident that he has no business writing female characters. The plot was taking forever to get going, the women were insipid, the main character undeveloped, and then it just got so bizarre and infuriating that I put it down.

No congratulations.

Read it at your own risk!