Like it or not, I'm a child of the 80s (albeit in the UK, where we didn't really have malls until much later!) and this book manages to perfectly capture the vibe of that insane decade and the original movie that it spawned.

Reading this book was akin to travelling back in time; not to a 1980s that ever existed, but to the first time I saw 'Chopping Mall'. The colour, vibrancy, craziness and gonzo horror is here - but with his usual flair and skill, Josh adds little touches here and there to give extra background that felt like deleted scenes from an old DVD, as well as a little political and social commentary to make it seem relevant to the post-mall world of the mid-2020s. 

We may have moved on from such sci-fi futurism (or not, given the look of the Tesla tanks!), but this is more than just a novelization. It's a fun adventure that manages to capture the characters of the movie while drawing the reader in to relate more than perhaps we could with what were previously pretty shallow waters. 

I particularly appreciated (and chuckled) at the adapting of Asimov's First Law of Robotics, changing 'humans' to 'consumers'. Because what's a priority to a mall, if not consumers - or those who aren't? I see American friends commenting online that security staff usher those who aren't shopping out of malls these days - gone are the 'hang-out' places if you're not spending...

On-the-nose '80s-style slasher fun. 

I was kindly sent an early copy of this book but the above opinions are entirely my own.