CLIFFORD D. SIMAK – The Goblin Reservation. G. P. Putnam’s Sons, hardcover, 1968. Berkley, paperback, 1969. Serialized earlier in Galaxy SF, April & June 1968. Nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel of the Year. Reprinted by DAW Books, paperback, 1982.

   To an Earth where goblins, trolls, banshees, et al., are now known to exist and are subject to study, and time travel has brought Alley Oop, a Neanderthaler, and William Shakespeare from the past, Professor Peter Maxwell returns from a mysterious crystal planet to discover that “he” has already returned and died.

   The pastoral effect [that author Clifford Simak’s writings are well known for] is in full force, and indeed it may intrude a bit too often. There may be a primal need for man to return to the pleasures of the past, one of Simak’s main themes of this book, but my thought is ’tis overdone.

   The crystal planet; the Wheelers, who wish to purchase a strange Artifact (brought back from the Jurassic age); and the supernatural folk described above, are all eventually tied together, along with points and ideas worth additional pursuit, this time.

   Still – enjoyable, light entertainment, with a master’s touch..

Rating: ****½