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Amden Bog: A Novel in Stories
Loner, bumpkin, self-destructive teenager, Matina thought her life’s adventures would reach no further than paddling under night cypress or falling through the parchment of a good book. But she owns a great secret, one coming with her approaching womanhood like the mouths of gnashing teeth.
Boraor Rehton, the inept shaman, would love nothing more than to leave this wretched town, continuously appointing him their spiritual leader. He knows little about the earthly arts, but the same cannot be said for black magic; tools he uses, which, if caught, would earn him a place on Amden’s impaling stakes.
Add Pauthor Quithot, recluse, Grubilius Motty, lowlife drunkard, and other malcontents all involved with a mysterious force let loose upon the bog. As the force’s mystery wanes, old feuds are inflamed, murder is ready to run rampant, and the threshold separating the living from the dead is hopped over with wicked glee.
The second book to expose the grim world of Mulgara: Alluring, unpredictable, dripping with idiosyncratic folk, AMDEN BOG is dark fantasy where beauty and brutality often hang from the same sagging vine.
Boraor Rehton, the inept shaman, would love nothing more than to leave this wretched town, continuously appointing him their spiritual leader. He knows little about the earthly arts, but the same cannot be said for black magic; tools he uses, which, if caught, would earn him a place on Amden’s impaling stakes.
Add Pauthor Quithot, recluse, Grubilius Motty, lowlife drunkard, and other malcontents all involved with a mysterious force let loose upon the bog. As the force’s mystery wanes, old feuds are inflamed, murder is ready to run rampant, and the threshold separating the living from the dead is hopped over with wicked glee.
The second book to expose the grim world of Mulgara: Alluring, unpredictable, dripping with idiosyncratic folk, AMDEN BOG is dark fantasy where beauty and brutality often hang from the same sagging vine.
220 pages, Paperback
Published September 15, 2020
5 people are currently reading
1059 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 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 22, 2021
A refreshingly weird blend of southern gothic and dark fantasy.
AMDEN BOG is a twisted maze of interconnected tales concerning the denizens of the titular Bog, a backwater swamp town where people farm fungus and get stoned on the chemical by-products of dying frogs.
This book is very innovative and I enjoyed it a lot. Structurally it is reminiscent of Brian McNaughton's THRONE OF BONES, consisting of a number of interconnected stories woven around a central idea. In this case the central idea appears to be the Bog itself, a gloriously sinister locale loaded with gothic atmosphere. This structure, reminiscent of a maze, a knot, or a tangle of thorns, is a refreshing diversion from many of the standard linear fantasy narratives.
In terms of atmosphere it reminded me of southern gothic stories like "Jean-ah Poquelin" by George Washington Cable, or Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily." This combination of southern gothic and dark fantasy is something I've never seen before, and the whole effort felt pleasingly unique. The world-building is first-class. Amden Bog is a very well-realized setting, with a unique atmosphere and a sense of breathing reality about it.
Thematically the story is very dark, with all the gothic trappings - madness, murder, horror, and depravity. Wry doses of dark humour prevent the story from descending into portentous grimdark territory, whilst also lending the narrative a sense of verisimilitude that can only arise from the darkly ridiculous. Like McNaughton, David Rose is fairly ruthless with his characters, thrusting them into various sinister and ironic fates. AMDEN BOG is gleefully nihilistic. There is very little emotional succour to be had here, save perhaps for the cynic or the demon.
In terms of the prose and dialogue, David Rose has clearly taken pains to craft a unique product. The residents of Amden Bog have their own idiosyncrasies of speech that makes them feel even more unique, and the narration is filled with novel compositions demonstrating a dedication to linguistic creativity and the poetry of prose. My only real criticism of the book is that the prose can sometimes feel too ornate, convoluted, and idiosyncratic. This is a matter of personal taste: I believe it is usually preferable to sacrifice style for the sake of clarity.
Stylistic quibbles aside, I greatly enjoyed this book overall and look forward to reading Rose's next book, THE SCROLLS OF SIN.
AMDEN BOG is a twisted maze of interconnected tales concerning the denizens of the titular Bog, a backwater swamp town where people farm fungus and get stoned on the chemical by-products of dying frogs.
This book is very innovative and I enjoyed it a lot. Structurally it is reminiscent of Brian McNaughton's THRONE OF BONES, consisting of a number of interconnected stories woven around a central idea. In this case the central idea appears to be the Bog itself, a gloriously sinister locale loaded with gothic atmosphere. This structure, reminiscent of a maze, a knot, or a tangle of thorns, is a refreshing diversion from many of the standard linear fantasy narratives.
In terms of atmosphere it reminded me of southern gothic stories like "Jean-ah Poquelin" by George Washington Cable, or Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily." This combination of southern gothic and dark fantasy is something I've never seen before, and the whole effort felt pleasingly unique. The world-building is first-class. Amden Bog is a very well-realized setting, with a unique atmosphere and a sense of breathing reality about it.
Thematically the story is very dark, with all the gothic trappings - madness, murder, horror, and depravity. Wry doses of dark humour prevent the story from descending into portentous grimdark territory, whilst also lending the narrative a sense of verisimilitude that can only arise from the darkly ridiculous. Like McNaughton, David Rose is fairly ruthless with his characters, thrusting them into various sinister and ironic fates. AMDEN BOG is gleefully nihilistic. There is very little emotional succour to be had here, save perhaps for the cynic or the demon.
In terms of the prose and dialogue, David Rose has clearly taken pains to craft a unique product. The residents of Amden Bog have their own idiosyncrasies of speech that makes them feel even more unique, and the narration is filled with novel compositions demonstrating a dedication to linguistic creativity and the poetry of prose. My only real criticism of the book is that the prose can sometimes feel too ornate, convoluted, and idiosyncratic. This is a matter of personal taste: I believe it is usually preferable to sacrifice style for the sake of clarity.
Stylistic quibbles aside, I greatly enjoyed this book overall and look forward to reading Rose's next book, THE SCROLLS OF SIN.
December 27, 2020
Welcome to the complex world of Amden Bog. A land of magic, monsters, potions, shape shifters, cultists, and resurrection, all with a southern flare. It is kind of the Middle Ages in the swamps.
I picture falling down huts with dirt floors and thatched roofs, candles and lanterns burning to push away the dark, herbs and spider webs hanging from support beams, and rivers for roads.
This is a collection of short tales that weave together to tell the whole story. With reoccurring characters but with no real main character or overall subject except the bog and those living around it. There were lots of characters and I wish I had made some more notes. Sometimes it took me awhile to remember who someone was.
David Rose does a great job with these separated stories and getting into the character. The first story is told in first person from an uneducated young woman without a lot of description because that is how Matina is. Where the second story is the opposite and there are paragraphs dedicated to small things.
Overall this was a story I had to work at to keep track of what was going on. The end result was a good story but was more of a fantasy than the horror that I was looking for. Perhaps I should have read the authors other book, Mulgara, first. 3.5 stars
I picture falling down huts with dirt floors and thatched roofs, candles and lanterns burning to push away the dark, herbs and spider webs hanging from support beams, and rivers for roads.
This is a collection of short tales that weave together to tell the whole story. With reoccurring characters but with no real main character or overall subject except the bog and those living around it. There were lots of characters and I wish I had made some more notes. Sometimes it took me awhile to remember who someone was.
David Rose does a great job with these separated stories and getting into the character. The first story is told in first person from an uneducated young woman without a lot of description because that is how Matina is. Where the second story is the opposite and there are paragraphs dedicated to small things.
Overall this was a story I had to work at to keep track of what was going on. The end result was a good story but was more of a fantasy than the horror that I was looking for. Perhaps I should have read the authors other book, Mulgara, first. 3.5 stars
October 15, 2020
Amden Bog is a brilliant, creative, fast-paced thriller I could easily recommend to anyone interested in the genre. I read Mulgara last year kind of at a whim and was pleasantly surprised by the dark humor and unique, diverse characters. Amden Bog most certainly lived up to its predecessor. The characters were delightfully crooked, and Rose's poetic prose made the pages flow like tributaries to the Bog itself. If you mixed backwoods rural Louisiana with HP Lovecraft and Skyrim, you'd have the beautifully dreadful journey of Amden Bog!!!
July 20, 2023
Perfect fall book! Somehow, even in a dark fiction, there is the "Rose" cathartic and ineffable forms of communication through this book. Magically transported to the Bog while finding pieces of yourself with the characters. Do yourself a favor and enjoy this experience.
November 19, 2020
Great plot line & characters. But couldn't get past the jumble of letters used for nonsensical names of characters, towns & countries in the book.
November 2, 2020
As a lover of dark fantasy, I highly recommend Amden Big, the second novel from David Rose that takes place in the world of Mulgara, a land filled with dark magic, necromancy, and debauchery. The journeys of the main characters intertwine and violently clash together by the end, keeping me as the reader constantly on my toes and wondering what was going to happen next. I can't wait til the next installment that takes place in this world, it's just so fascinating!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews