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Mad Amos
MOVE OVER, PAUL BUNYAN--MAKE WAY FOR MAD AMOS MALONE!
Strange things lurk up in the mountains and out in the plains and deserts of the West, but few are as unique as the giant mountain man named Amos Malone, the man some call Mad Amos, though not to his face. But when the world gets weird, there's no one who's better to have on your side...
Is a renegade dragon harassing the men laying the rails of the great railroad? Are headless Indian spirits driving you from your land? Is that volcano threatening to destroy your settlement? Then Mad Amos is the man for you.
Plus, two new, never-before-published stories in the Mad Amos canon:
NEITHER A BORROWER BE: When a horse thief sets his sights on stealing Amos' faithful mount Worthless, he gets more than he expects...for Worthless isn't exactly an ordinary horse...
THE PURL OF THE PACIFIC: Mad Amos takes to the high seas on a whale of an adventure and thwarts a vengeful South Pacific island shaman at his own game...
Ten delightful stories of dragons, jackalopes, snake-oil salesmen, iron horses, and, of course, the incomparable Mad Amos Malone from the incredible imagination of world-class storyteller and bestselling author Alan Dean Foster!
Strange things lurk up in the mountains and out in the plains and deserts of the West, but few are as unique as the giant mountain man named Amos Malone, the man some call Mad Amos, though not to his face. But when the world gets weird, there's no one who's better to have on your side...
Is a renegade dragon harassing the men laying the rails of the great railroad? Are headless Indian spirits driving you from your land? Is that volcano threatening to destroy your settlement? Then Mad Amos is the man for you.
Plus, two new, never-before-published stories in the Mad Amos canon:
NEITHER A BORROWER BE: When a horse thief sets his sights on stealing Amos' faithful mount Worthless, he gets more than he expects...for Worthless isn't exactly an ordinary horse...
THE PURL OF THE PACIFIC: Mad Amos takes to the high seas on a whale of an adventure and thwarts a vengeful South Pacific island shaman at his own game...
Ten delightful stories of dragons, jackalopes, snake-oil salesmen, iron horses, and, of course, the incomparable Mad Amos Malone from the incredible imagination of world-class storyteller and bestselling author Alan Dean Foster!
282 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 31, 1996
239 people want to read
About the author
Alan Dean Foster
499 books2,035 followersBestselling science fiction writer Alan Dean Foster was born in New York City in 1946, but raised mainly in California. He received a B.A. in Political Science from UCLA in 1968, and a M.F.A. in 1969. Foster lives in Arizona with his wife, but he enjoys traveling because it gives him opportunities to meet new people and explore new places and cultures. This interest is carried over to his writing, but with a twist: the new places encountered in his books are likely to be on another planet, and the people may belong to an alien race.
Foster began his career as an author when a letter he sent to Arkham Collection was purchased by the editor and published in the magazine in 1968. His first novel, The Tar-Aiym Krang, introduced the Humanx Commonwealth, a galactic alliance between humans and an insectlike race called Thranx. Several other novels, including the Icerigger trilogy, are also set in the world of the Commonwealth. The Tar-Aiym Krang also marked the first appearance of Flinx, a young man with paranormal abilities, who reappears in other books, including Orphan Star, For Love of Mother-Not, and Flinx in Flux.
Foster has also written The Damned series and the Spellsinger series, which includes The Hour of the Gate, The Moment of the Magician, The Paths of the Perambulator, and Son of Spellsinger, among others. Other books include novelizations of science fiction movies and television shows such as Star Trek, The Black Hole, Starman, Star Wars, and the Alien movies. Splinter of the Mind's Eye, a bestselling novel based on the Star Wars movies, received the Galaxy Award in 1979. The book Cyber Way won the Southwest Book Award for Fiction in 1990. His novel Our Lady of the Machine won him the UPC Award (Spain) in 1993. He also won the Ignotus Award (Spain) in 1994 and the Stannik Award (Russia) in 2000.
Foster began his career as an author when a letter he sent to Arkham Collection was purchased by the editor and published in the magazine in 1968. His first novel, The Tar-Aiym Krang, introduced the Humanx Commonwealth, a galactic alliance between humans and an insectlike race called Thranx. Several other novels, including the Icerigger trilogy, are also set in the world of the Commonwealth. The Tar-Aiym Krang also marked the first appearance of Flinx, a young man with paranormal abilities, who reappears in other books, including Orphan Star, For Love of Mother-Not, and Flinx in Flux.
Foster has also written The Damned series and the Spellsinger series, which includes The Hour of the Gate, The Moment of the Magician, The Paths of the Perambulator, and Son of Spellsinger, among others. Other books include novelizations of science fiction movies and television shows such as Star Trek, The Black Hole, Starman, Star Wars, and the Alien movies. Splinter of the Mind's Eye, a bestselling novel based on the Star Wars movies, received the Galaxy Award in 1979. The book Cyber Way won the Southwest Book Award for Fiction in 1990. His novel Our Lady of the Machine won him the UPC Award (Spain) in 1993. He also won the Ignotus Award (Spain) in 1994 and the Stannik Award (Russia) in 2000.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
July 10, 2021
This is a fun collection of tongue-in-cheek stories that feature Mad Amos, a larger than life character in the tradition of Paul Bunyan or Robert E. Howard's Breckenridge Elkins. Foster was ahead of his time in seeing the possibilities and appeal of the "Weird-Western" sub-genre. It's a very entertaining and amusing book.
March 21, 2011
A quirky collection of sci-fi western stories featuring Mad Amos, a character closely resembling the love-child of Paul Bunyan and Pecos Bill.
If you're looking for a tounge-in-cheek, laugh-out-loud reading experience that has dragons, headless Indian spirits, ghosts, and even a pirate, this is your chance to find it all in one title.
RECOMMENDED (IF YOU HAVE AN AFTERNOON TO WASTE)
If you're looking for a tounge-in-cheek, laugh-out-loud reading experience that has dragons, headless Indian spirits, ghosts, and even a pirate, this is your chance to find it all in one title.
RECOMMENDED (IF YOU HAVE AN AFTERNOON TO WASTE)
December 14, 2011
For me, Alan Dean Foster is a very hit-and-miss kind of author. Some of his stuff--like this anthology--I really, really like. Other stuff is okay, and some stuff is just meh. But Mad Amos is easily my favorite book by him, and it's a setting I really wish he'd write more in. Frankly, it's a setting I wish more authors *period* would write in: the Fantasy West. This collection of tales reminds me--in a good way--of the tall tales of my childhood, such as Paul Bunyan or Johnny Appleseed or Pecos Bill. Mad Amos is quite at home amongst their ranks: a hairy, grizzly mountain man of uncertain age, uncertain lineage (he may or may not even be human), who rides a foul-tempered unicorn named Worthless (Amos keeps the unicorn's horn filed down and slaps a patch over it to keep it from growing back) and has a number of astonishing adventures across the Old West, ranging from the truth behind jackalopes (and what kind of animal hunts them)to a Chinese sorcerer and his dragon, to an actual kitchen-witch (no, not one of those thingies you hang on the pantry door). I can't help but feel (having read several ADF novels) that, like Orson Scott Card, Foster's talents as a writer truly shine more in short fiction than in novel-length format. But that is only my opinion, and regardless I recommend this excellent anthology.
I just wish we had *more* Mad Amos...
I just wish we had *more* Mad Amos...
May 1, 2011
The "Weird West" genre is not too well-defined. Basically, any story that takes the form of a western, but contains incongruous elements (such as fantasy, science fiction, or the like) is lumped in with the rest as "Weird." As can be supposed, this is a huge field in which to play.
Alan Dean Foster has previously written both a successful comedic fantasy series (Spellsinger, The Hour of the Gate, The Day of the Dissonance, etc.) and a successful sci-fi series (The Tar-Aiym Krang (Pip & Flinx Adventures, #1), Orphan Star, The End of the Matter, and so on). From 1982 to 1996, he wrote a number of Weird West stories; much like in his other series, the stories center on one individual, the magical mountain man "Mad" Amos Malone. Along with his unicornhorse Worthless, he travels across the Wild West (and, in the last story, to Hawaii) and deals with otherworldly manifestations and locally-grown spooks with his wits, determination, and the arcane lore he has gathered through a lifetime of strange adventures.
The stories cover a wide variety of weird "magical traditions," from ancient Chinese dragons to Native American spirits, to a pulp super-science agricultural scientist. For the most part, the stories are well-written, and I could easily see Mad Amos having his own series, much like the aforementioned ones authored by Foster. They won't be for everyone - cognitive dissonance is going to make some people shy away, and I understand the stories were not the most popular. But they gave me something for reading them, were well-plotted, and never dragged too long, spinning each yarn precisely and carefully ending it before it got old; and that's really all you can ask for.
I cottoned onto this collection from reading a few western pulp stories, which I started reading after watching the movie True Grit. It's a long strange trip, but if you like mixing fantasy genres, or are a devotee of the old west and like seeing where it can go, or if you just enjoy Alan Dean Foster stories, this is probably a good pick for you.
Alan Dean Foster has previously written both a successful comedic fantasy series (Spellsinger, The Hour of the Gate, The Day of the Dissonance, etc.) and a successful sci-fi series (The Tar-Aiym Krang (Pip & Flinx Adventures, #1), Orphan Star, The End of the Matter, and so on). From 1982 to 1996, he wrote a number of Weird West stories; much like in his other series, the stories center on one individual, the magical mountain man "Mad" Amos Malone. Along with his unicornhorse Worthless, he travels across the Wild West (and, in the last story, to Hawaii) and deals with otherworldly manifestations and locally-grown spooks with his wits, determination, and the arcane lore he has gathered through a lifetime of strange adventures.
The stories cover a wide variety of weird "magical traditions," from ancient Chinese dragons to Native American spirits, to a pulp super-science agricultural scientist. For the most part, the stories are well-written, and I could easily see Mad Amos having his own series, much like the aforementioned ones authored by Foster. They won't be for everyone - cognitive dissonance is going to make some people shy away, and I understand the stories were not the most popular. But they gave me something for reading them, were well-plotted, and never dragged too long, spinning each yarn precisely and carefully ending it before it got old; and that's really all you can ask for.
I cottoned onto this collection from reading a few western pulp stories, which I started reading after watching the movie True Grit. It's a long strange trip, but if you like mixing fantasy genres, or are a devotee of the old west and like seeing where it can go, or if you just enjoy Alan Dean Foster stories, this is probably a good pick for you.
March 17, 2014
I honestly wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but thoroughly enjoyed reading it nonetheless. Mad Amos is a BIG man, moving around the Wild West and sorting out problems that have a 'weird' twist to them. Dragons, witches, avenging spirits, even a hint of time travel, all have their place in this story collection. My favourites were 'Ferrohippus' and 'Never A Borrower Be', the last one because Worthless is such a cheeky character - I'm sure my horse is related to him in some way! The only slightly negative thing was the author's introduction to each story - I found them slightly distracting and a bit intrusive - authors should be read and not heard. But overall I'm glad I spent a couple of days in Amos' company.
August 6, 2020
What a marvelous book! Having grown up with stories of Paul Bunyon, Mike Fink, Pecos Bill and others, I was immediately enchanted by these wonderful stories. I've been a huge fan of Mr. Foster for decades and I think that he honestly surpassed himself with this work. It remains in period while subtly (and sometimes not so subtly) weaving in actual places and people from the period. The stories, like all good fables, are mostly serious but proceed with tongue planted firmly in cheek. Okay, some aren't so serious. The only two characters that are consistent throughout are Amos and his mount Worthless. I must refer to him as a mount, as Mr. Foster mentions many times that Worthless has, as many heroes do, dubious or questionable "ancestry". Worthless is no less a major character than Amos and actually has one story pretty much to himself. I found my self smiling as I read each of these stories. Truly Entertaining.
June 22, 2023
Rating between 4 & 4.5
I found all of these short stories enjoyable and good fun.
They remind the reader that for all the movie adaptations/tie-ins that ADF has written his own stories are so much better.
Well worth tracking down I think, some might find them not cowboy western enough, and some might say they’re not weird enough but for me they were just right.
Good entertaining and none outstayed their welcome.
Why not 5 stars, difficult for me to really read the a short collection that highly. A couple of the stories were close but the average rating meant a 4.
A very definite recommendation.
I found all of these short stories enjoyable and good fun.
They remind the reader that for all the movie adaptations/tie-ins that ADF has written his own stories are so much better.
Well worth tracking down I think, some might find them not cowboy western enough, and some might say they’re not weird enough but for me they were just right.
Good entertaining and none outstayed their welcome.
Why not 5 stars, difficult for me to really read the a short collection that highly. A couple of the stories were close but the average rating meant a 4.
A very definite recommendation.
April 6, 2020
Incorporating historical figures as well as a hefty dose of legends of the old west, Mr Foster takes us around the world following the exploits of Mad Amos. Never admitting to an age, he is a legend unto himself.
I can not recommend this enough and won’t waste words trying. Just go read it!
I can not recommend this enough and won’t waste words trying. Just go read it!
August 3, 2022
Very amusing little stories, some didn't exactly age well in their references but overall very entertaining and what an idea for a story!
November 14, 2015
I quite enjoyed these tall tales about an relatively moderate and powerful mountain man. Being tall tales set in the wild west, they are far-fetched, and always entertaining. Some of the endings are quite a surprise, and one even made me roar out laughing at the pun used in the last sentence (Agrarian Deform).
As with every Alan Dean Foster book that I have read, I quite enjoyed sitting down and delving into the world he creates. I could not but help think of Paul Bunyon and Babe when I was reading these and thinking that mad Amos would be quite a match for him.
So, if you want to try something a little different that has a little Fantasy, mixed with some Western, and topped off with some Tale Tales, Mad Amos is the book for you.
I rated this book and 8 out of 10.
As with every Alan Dean Foster book that I have read, I quite enjoyed sitting down and delving into the world he creates. I could not but help think of Paul Bunyon and Babe when I was reading these and thinking that mad Amos would be quite a match for him.
So, if you want to try something a little different that has a little Fantasy, mixed with some Western, and topped off with some Tale Tales, Mad Amos is the book for you.
I rated this book and 8 out of 10.
November 24, 2011
A lighthearted set of whimsical short stories set in the Old West but involving fantasy-like elements with the mythical "Mountain Man" known by the name of "Mad" Amos Malone. Fun, but probably more suitable as beach/vacation reading. The stories remind me of Paul Bunyan-like tall tales with more fantasy elements.
Foster adds his usual panache to the stories, and the Malone character actually reminds me a lot of his protagonist from the Carnivores of Light and Darkness series. I think fantasy fans, especially those that don't mind a Western here or there, will really enjoy. Others should probably take a pass.
Foster adds his usual panache to the stories, and the Malone character actually reminds me a lot of his protagonist from the Carnivores of Light and Darkness series. I think fantasy fans, especially those that don't mind a Western here or there, will really enjoy. Others should probably take a pass.
April 17, 2013
This is my least favorite book by Alan Dean Foster. It took me forever to finish it, despite the convenient short story format. Mad Amos Malone is just too foreign of a character to empathize. Foster doesn't allow you to get inside his head, for the sake of surprise twist endings, but it just made me not care. The fantasy/old west mashups were cute, but not enough to save the stories in the end.
December 4, 2012
Fun, but sort of uneven. The idea is cool, but some of the stories seem surprisingly mundane. They're at their best when they try to capture that wild-west over-the-top Paul Bunyan feeling. But only some of the stories actually do this.
February 25, 2008
fun book with short stories using a western setting with a sci fi, fantasy twist.
October 25, 2015
G
One of the best collections of short stories in the world. It has the honor of being the most "barrowed/stolen" book in my parent's library. My desperate wish is to see another like it.
One of the best collections of short stories in the world. It has the honor of being the most "barrowed/stolen" book in my parent's library. My desperate wish is to see another like it.
January 9, 2010
These were a very fun, entertaining series of short stories.
August 15, 2012
This is a great collection of shorts stories!
May 1, 2013
It is interesting but after a reading a few stories got bored, moved on to another book.
November 4, 2013
I enjoyed this book, and could not put it down.
May 25, 2015
Liked the shortness of some in collection, but would have loved the expanding of other stories.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 14, 2023
An excellent book, but now all included in "the complete mad Amos"
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews