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Mulgara: The Necromancer’s Will
How three fingers belong to one gnarled hand, so here do the tales to be told:
When Maecidion dies, the reading of the will is an outrage. Irion, the dead necromancer's kin, watches as coveted heirlooms are given to his enemies. Himself no stranger to black magic, Irion soon embarks on a bitter skirmish to retrieve what should rightfully be his.
A composite novel: Tinged with traces of horror and humor, erotica and satire, the world of Mulgara plays host to an ensemble of dark characters. Not only necromancers, but grave robbers, thieves, and a bubbly witch, all caught in a web of friend or foe, and through their tales, Maecidion's plan is ultimately revealed.
When Maecidion dies, the reading of the will is an outrage. Irion, the dead necromancer's kin, watches as coveted heirlooms are given to his enemies. Himself no stranger to black magic, Irion soon embarks on a bitter skirmish to retrieve what should rightfully be his.
A composite novel: Tinged with traces of horror and humor, erotica and satire, the world of Mulgara plays host to an ensemble of dark characters. Not only necromancers, but grave robbers, thieves, and a bubbly witch, all caught in a web of friend or foe, and through their tales, Maecidion's plan is ultimately revealed.
159 pages, Paperback
Published June 11, 2019
3 people are currently reading
110 people want to read
About the author
David Rose
14 books130 followersDavid Rose: author of No Joy and The Scrolls of Sin, among others.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
June 18, 2020
It has been a long time since I have walked through the pages of a dark fantasy novel. Perhaps my most recent foray was a Bracken MacLeod novelette titled, MOUSE AND OWL.
Horror has my heart but Dark Fantasy is a very close second. There's something about elaborate world-building, rich prose, and magical realms that can draw me in almost immediately.
David Rose is an interesting person. A quick Google search reveals that Rose is a Recon Marine veteran of the Iraq war.
He has released a book of short stories called, "NO JOY" which is a "transgressive memoir" and he journals/writes poetry.
So it's fascinating to me that Rose can employ a fantasy-textured narrative as well as dabble in all these other genres and writing styles.
Reminiscent of other fantasy books, this succinct tale is told in different, first-person POVs. I thought this was effective in offering the reader some change-ups and perspectives but it should be said none of the characters are relatable or even likable. There's a pretty large cast of characters for a novella weighing in at around 150 pages. It takes a minute to roll their names around in your mind before deciding on what to call them as you progress--but nothing too complicated (I hate ridiculous names in fantasy novels).
I enjoyed the plot: A necromancer, Maecidion, dies and leaves powerful heirlooms to various 'undeserving' people. Irion must seek out these people to claim his rightful ownership.
There is black magic and witchcraft
'Flesh peddlers'
Do-Gooders Row and Thunder Bustle
Gossip, debauchery, grave robbing, and all manner of things.
I enjoyed my time in this book. Even though it's a slim read, David Rose manages to make good use of every page. I'm eager to see what else he has up his sleeve.
Horror has my heart but Dark Fantasy is a very close second. There's something about elaborate world-building, rich prose, and magical realms that can draw me in almost immediately.
David Rose is an interesting person. A quick Google search reveals that Rose is a Recon Marine veteran of the Iraq war.
He has released a book of short stories called, "NO JOY" which is a "transgressive memoir" and he journals/writes poetry.
So it's fascinating to me that Rose can employ a fantasy-textured narrative as well as dabble in all these other genres and writing styles.
Reminiscent of other fantasy books, this succinct tale is told in different, first-person POVs. I thought this was effective in offering the reader some change-ups and perspectives but it should be said none of the characters are relatable or even likable. There's a pretty large cast of characters for a novella weighing in at around 150 pages. It takes a minute to roll their names around in your mind before deciding on what to call them as you progress--but nothing too complicated (I hate ridiculous names in fantasy novels).
I enjoyed the plot: A necromancer, Maecidion, dies and leaves powerful heirlooms to various 'undeserving' people. Irion must seek out these people to claim his rightful ownership.
There is black magic and witchcraft
'Flesh peddlers'
Do-Gooders Row and Thunder Bustle
Gossip, debauchery, grave robbing, and all manner of things.
I enjoyed my time in this book. Even though it's a slim read, David Rose manages to make good use of every page. I'm eager to see what else he has up his sleeve.
February 9, 2024
The suspense
June 22, 2019
David Rose has an ability unmatched from this era of authors. Not only to publish an award winning poetry collection or a rare form of honesty you will find in his memoir. His latest work Mulgara has fulfilled everything you could hope for in a fiction, I was there with the crowd on Do-Gooder’s Row to the abandoned house at the end of the street. The emotions flowed from the book to my flesh, and they are not in short supply.
So that’s three (3!!!) books each a different genre, each their own masterpiece.
So that’s three (3!!!) books each a different genre, each their own masterpiece.
February 23, 2021
I'm not quite sure what I just listened to...
Some of the characters in this book make Jorg from The Broken Empire look almost saintly. Almost.
This book is dark, brutal, and controversial. If you don't like dark, brutal, or controversial, don't read this book.
If you like dark fantasy with morally questionable characters that commit unsavory acts, then read this book.
Or, you know, listen to it caus Greg Tremblay is a kickass narrator.
Some of the characters in this book make Jorg from The Broken Empire look almost saintly. Almost.
This book is dark, brutal, and controversial. If you don't like dark, brutal, or controversial, don't read this book.
If you like dark fantasy with morally questionable characters that commit unsavory acts, then read this book.
Or, you know, listen to it caus Greg Tremblay is a kickass narrator.
June 28, 2019
This book blew me away. Trim yet dense. A one day read yet I can see myself rereading Mulgara for years to come. Spooky. Irreverent. Entertaining. Highly recommend.
June 22, 2019
David Rose has written the quintessential dark fantasy novel! As a fan of fantasy (especially dark fantasy), I was struck by his use of language and description, some of it bordering on poetry. The story itself is told from different points of view, each character's story interweaving with the others, forming a web of dark magic, necromancy, intrigue, murder, and revenge. It has become one of my favorite novels and I will recommend it to any fan of dark fantasy and horror!
December 14, 2019
Mulgara was a fun journey! The book was short, broken up into three distinct stories which intertwine to build a cruel, cold, fun, and imaginative horror-fantasy world. The use of magic in the book was creatively unique. Rose's prose is incredible, especially in the most crude parts of the book, testifying to his background as an overseas scholar and a US Marine. I recommend Mulgara to any adult looking for a unique and brilliant weekend literary adventure into a fantasy world. I have a feeling we will be seeing more of the Mulgara world.
January 21, 2022
I'm not sure what I expected, but he had me at "necromancy" :)
The book is a small series of tales that interweave to create a dark universe of intrigue, violence and thievery. The beginning draws you in, the middle keeps you going and the end ties it all up, but not as powerfully as you might have hoped.
I loved the dark and grossness of this book and I want more. This is exactly the type of world I would love to delve into for an elongated series :)
I only took away a star because the ending did pop as well as I would have liked.
The book is a small series of tales that interweave to create a dark universe of intrigue, violence and thievery. The beginning draws you in, the middle keeps you going and the end ties it all up, but not as powerfully as you might have hoped.
I loved the dark and grossness of this book and I want more. This is exactly the type of world I would love to delve into for an elongated series :)
I only took away a star because the ending did pop as well as I would have liked.
July 22, 2020
There are parts I loved and parts I didn't...
The writing style is descriptive and a bit flowery, but this is to be expected from a poet.
The beginning was great, it was dark, sinister, fast paced and funny (in a dark humor way).
The middle was quite a lull and made me crave more of the story that happens in the beginning.
The end ties things together but it didn't really have that pop that makes you say "woooooah!"
Glad that I read it, but this ones in the middle for me
The writing style is descriptive and a bit flowery, but this is to be expected from a poet.
The beginning was great, it was dark, sinister, fast paced and funny (in a dark humor way).
The middle was quite a lull and made me crave more of the story that happens in the beginning.
The end ties things together but it didn't really have that pop that makes you say "woooooah!"
Glad that I read it, but this ones in the middle for me
March 21, 2020
Well.... that was not how I wanted this to go.
Felt like the entire story was being told at me instead of me experiencing it. For some reason I immediately didn’t connect to the character’s voice and I am honestly not in the mood to give, even a short book, more of my time than it’s deserving of.
(DNF’d at 43%)
Felt like the entire story was being told at me instead of me experiencing it. For some reason I immediately didn’t connect to the character’s voice and I am honestly not in the mood to give, even a short book, more of my time than it’s deserving of.
(DNF’d at 43%)
November 23, 2019
A bit suspicious that the lower ratings have zero written reviews yet the highest ones are verbose—this book was a dark, macabre thriller! Rose writes with such vivid imagery that one feels as if one's a centipede on the ceiling immersed in what's unfolding below him... take the following passages for instance:
"Given the room's vastness and the excrement indicating hidden routes from the sewers, they'd be gnawed bones by the time anyone found them. But my thoughts were elsewhere."
"But the moon and stars this night were remarkably shy. Hiding our larger tools was probably as unnecessary as scaling the roots of an old oak to make our way through a hole in the cemetery fence."
Reading through this novel, one picks up on folsky, applicable aphorisms as well:
“...but a mind educated by both the works of scholars and the streets possesses the ability to cut through clout and inanities like a robber’s knife.”
“Purpose tends to be a cruel morning, waking you suddenly and thoroughly.”
Not only is this book eloquently written and intensely engaging, it also provides philosophical adages applied, one presumes, from the author's military experiences.
The plot possesses deep enigma, captivating the reader's palms' pores unconsciously forcing the sweat to ooze out of them. 5/5, 10/10.
"Given the room's vastness and the excrement indicating hidden routes from the sewers, they'd be gnawed bones by the time anyone found them. But my thoughts were elsewhere."
"But the moon and stars this night were remarkably shy. Hiding our larger tools was probably as unnecessary as scaling the roots of an old oak to make our way through a hole in the cemetery fence."
Reading through this novel, one picks up on folsky, applicable aphorisms as well:
“...but a mind educated by both the works of scholars and the streets possesses the ability to cut through clout and inanities like a robber’s knife.”
“Purpose tends to be a cruel morning, waking you suddenly and thoroughly.”
Not only is this book eloquently written and intensely engaging, it also provides philosophical adages applied, one presumes, from the author's military experiences.
The plot possesses deep enigma, captivating the reader's palms' pores unconsciously forcing the sweat to ooze out of them. 5/5, 10/10.
April 15, 2021
At first I wanted to rate this book initially lower... I wasn't sure what to make of this? What it a series of novellas that were interconnected? I finished it and wasn't sure what to think.
But after letting it marinate for a while I keep thinking about it. There are images that keep sticking and coming back to me about this book. I find myself liking it more and more and now want to go back and reread it.
It's dark, disturbing, rich and unique. Definitely worth a read if you like horror fantasy.
But after letting it marinate for a while I keep thinking about it. There are images that keep sticking and coming back to me about this book. I find myself liking it more and more and now want to go back and reread it.
It's dark, disturbing, rich and unique. Definitely worth a read if you like horror fantasy.
August 17, 2021
I loved the setting of Mulgara and how Rose borrowed bits and pieces from real life for inspiration and morphed them into something of his own. I have read a fair amount of History, but in a shallow, unsystematic way, so I’m no expert but I know just enough to hear some of the echoes to the past in his setting. For example, I liked the detail, which Rose developed in humorous fashion in places, where people related to this and that event based on the progress of the statues in Do-Gooder’s Row. When I read that the phrase ab urbe condita flashed in my mind.
As for the main characters, if I had to sum each of them up in one word, I’ll call them “Arrogance,” “Brutality,” and “Greed.” I didn’t sympathize with any of them, though I did enjoy the moments of dark humor such as when Seasmil expressed loyalty in curtailing his necrophiliac proclivities. What a guy! :) It seemed apparent to me that I wasn’t supposed to sympathize with any of the characters, which I found a litle challenging as a reader, because in most novels I’ve read there is usually at least one character, whatever his flaws, where there is a glimmer of something sympathetic. Made me think. In the end, Rose pulled it off and I kept reading. The understated humor went a long ways as well, as I said, my enjoyment of his setting.
At first I wasn’t sure about how I felt about the whole work being broken up into three first person narratives, but upon reflection this worked fine for me. Each character had a unique voice and on reflection the variety worked: I’m no sure if one unsympathetic character would have sustained me for 150 pages so the change was welcome, and there was enough in the way of interconnections between the narratives to where the whole ended up being greater than the sum of its parts.
I’m looking forward to David Rose’s future work and in the meantime I think I’ll go check out his poetry, since I’ve heard some good things about it.
As for the main characters, if I had to sum each of them up in one word, I’ll call them “Arrogance,” “Brutality,” and “Greed.” I didn’t sympathize with any of them, though I did enjoy the moments of dark humor such as when Seasmil expressed loyalty in curtailing his necrophiliac proclivities. What a guy! :) It seemed apparent to me that I wasn’t supposed to sympathize with any of the characters, which I found a litle challenging as a reader, because in most novels I’ve read there is usually at least one character, whatever his flaws, where there is a glimmer of something sympathetic. Made me think. In the end, Rose pulled it off and I kept reading. The understated humor went a long ways as well, as I said, my enjoyment of his setting.
At first I wasn’t sure about how I felt about the whole work being broken up into three first person narratives, but upon reflection this worked fine for me. Each character had a unique voice and on reflection the variety worked: I’m no sure if one unsympathetic character would have sustained me for 150 pages so the change was welcome, and there was enough in the way of interconnections between the narratives to where the whole ended up being greater than the sum of its parts.
I’m looking forward to David Rose’s future work and in the meantime I think I’ll go check out his poetry, since I’ve heard some good things about it.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews