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The Bog

Michael Talbot

3.47 · Rating details · 358 ratings · 75 reviews

To a small English village, it is a vast organic presence, as ancient as time itself and seething with hidden life and forbidden legends...

To its victims, it is a nameless horror beyond description, a razor-toothed evil, rising up from the murky depths to feast on human prey...

To archaeologist David Macauley and his family, it is the ultimate scientific mystery -- and the ...more

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Paperback, 314 pages

Published July 1st 1987 by Jove (first published January 1st 1986)

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· 358 ratings · 75 reviews

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Apr 06, 2015 Char rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: creature-feature, dark-fiction, demons, 80-s-horror, valancourt-books-reviews, evil-in-a-small-town, magicians, wizardry

This book kicks ass! Any lover of horror, but especially fans of 80's horror, would totally dig this story.

What started off as a creature feature, (I had in mind something like the Swamp Thing), morphed into a story about wizards and demons and I couldn't have been more pleased with that turn. The only problem I had with the book was that the ending was a little predictable and for that I deducted one star.

Although this is a horror story, Michael Talbot always writes in a literary fashion. (S ...more

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Sep 20, 2016 Jack Tripper rated it liked it

Shelves: horror

(Here's the awesome interior stepback art from the 1987 Jove mass-market.)

I've been struggling between 3 stars and 4 for this one. The Bog is definitely an above-average example of 80s horror, with some super-creepy set-pieces and plot points I never saw coming, but at times I felt an emotional distance from the strange and crazy goings-on, due somewhat to the protagonist's seeming indifference to the horrors taking place.

It has a pretty typical setup, at first. American archaeologist David Macauley and his family move to a small, secluded English village so that David can study the gigantic bog in the area, where a couple of "bog bodies" (mummified corpses) have been discovered by a grad student of his. The bodies seem to date from ancient Roman times, and would be considered a momentous discovery once revealed. Even more interesting is evidence of the horrible and savage ways they died. The story periodically jumps back to the time in which the bog bodies were alive and breathing, which was very cool.

And what would a "evil in secluded town" story be without secretive, off-putting village folk to foreshadow what's to come? Their fantastical stories of what lies in wait in the bog don't seem quite so far-fetched once David and his family experience the terror first-hand. And what secrets are the decadent Marquis and his seductive companion Julia hiding? One or two of them you will have no trouble guessing, but the story takes off in a uniquely tripped-out direction in the latter portions.

All this is great, and kept me turning the pages, but I was entirely flummoxed at the fact that David didn't take this danger more seriously. I mean, I read that he was concerned for his family, but his actions didn't support this, nor did I feel it to be true. I also felt like many of the irrational decisions he makes were there only to induce drama, which felt forced and artificial at times. That's my main problem with the novel.

Still, it was an enjoyable read, with a number of pretty chilling moments, and you could certainly do worse when it comes to horror boom-era fiction. But after reading Talbot's masterful historical vampire epic, The Delicate Dependency, I guess I was expecting a little more.

3.5 Stars.

...more

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Jan 02, 2018 Montzalee Wittmann rated it it was amazing

The Bog
By: Michael Talbot
Narrated by: Matt Godfrey
This is an audible book I requested and the review is voluntary.
I am so glad I asked and received this book! This is a good creepy book with so many great characters and surprises. I loved the whole thing! The plot was wonderful, the characters were well developed, the story was creepy, and the town folk were even creepier! Great ending too! Lots of twists and turns...great story!
The narrator was wonderful! He did wonderful voices of women, chil ...more

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Jul 30, 2014 Jon Recluse rated it really liked it

Shelves: horror

An old school, creepy English village with a dark past tale that suddenly transforms into something completely unexpected as the author runs giggling into the bog. This is quintessential '80s horror, well written and well outside the box.

Highly recommended.
...more

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Mar 04, 2015 Kimberly rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: valancourt

A fantastic, literary gothic novel!

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Apr 23, 2018 John rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: owned-books

Good story! The story was easy to follow, not too unbelievable, and the characters didn't keep doing stupid shit (except maybe once when a father wasn't keeping his eye on his son closely enough).

(Lately, the characters in a few of the books I've read have been too clueless to be believable, I mean, "Duh?" clueless. So that's why the weird review.)

Anyway, I recommend this one! ...more

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Nov 13, 2020 Latasha rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audio-books, reads-for-reviews, books-i-own, horror

I really enjoyed this book! I would like to thank Valancourt for the copy of the audio book.

Archaeologist David Macauley and his associate, Brad ~~Majors~~ make the discovery of a lifetime. David specializes in bog bodies, They find one very, very well preserved and with a Roman comb which she should not have had. David moves his family to be near the bog so he and Brad can continue their research. But the bodies aren't they only thing in the bog. There's something really, really ancient there and ...more

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Nov 26, 2016 Kelly B rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: horror-80s-early-90s, horror-set-in-uk, horror-creatures, valancourt, horror-scifi

This "old school" creature feature centers around an interesting phenomenon: the almost perfectly preserved bog bodies occasionally found in Europe.

Professor David MacCauley and his assistant Brad unearth a bog body near a small village. After David and his family move there so he has easier access to the bog, he and his family start to realize that strange things are happening in the village and bog. The villagers are self-contained to the point of rudeness, and the local Marquis (with his old ...more

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Oct 24, 2018 Bill rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2018-mount-tbr-challange

Well damn…this was waaay more than I thought it was going to be. What looks to be your standard 80’s style creature feature from the cover gets all kinds of wild and crazy on the inside.

I dug it.

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Jun 02, 2018 Michael Hicks rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, horror, bought

My original THE BOG audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

The Bog is an old-school work of 1980s quiet horror. Michael Talbot slowly sets the stage, introducing archaeologist David Macauley and his family living abroad in the UK on a research grant. David specializes in studying bogs, particularly the corpses found preserved within. In a small English village, David uncovers not just a spate of bog bodies, but colorful legends – legends that point toward the true na My original THE BOG audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

The Bog is an old-school work of 1980s quiet horror. Michael Talbot slowly sets the stage, introducing archaeologist David Macauley and his family living abroad in the UK on a research grant. David specializes in studying bogs, particularly the corpses found preserved within. In a small English village, David uncovers not just a spate of bog bodies, but colorful legends – legends that point toward the true nature of an ancient evil responsible for the death of the bodies he is now unearthing. As readers slowly settle in for what first appears to be a creature feature, Talbot serves up a few interesting twists alongside a couple doses of personal tragedy and plenty of foreboding dread.

One of the things I most appreciated about The Bog was Talbot’s plotting. Even the most seemingly insignificant plot points and character beats play into the larger narrative and receive certain payoffs as the story resolves. A character’s veganism, a child’s fascination with the word ‘moxie’, a tavern’s clienteles apprehension over the appearance of a moth all lead to larger elements within the story, and the introduction of these minor points help to, in various ways, bring The Bog full-circle by book’s end. Throughout the story, Talbot introduces a number of concepts that I enjoyed quite a bit, particularly in regards to the nature of the evil infecting the small hamlet Macauley and his family find themselves inhabiting, which dovetails nicely with David’s work as a historian and scholar.

Reissued by Valancourt, The Bog is narrated by Matt Godfrey. I’ve only recently become familiar with Godfrey’s work, but he’s quickly earned with me the reputation of being a solid reader. I can expect a natural delivery complemented by subtle performances and distinct voice-work for each of the characters. In that regard, The Bog meets expectations. Each of the male and female characters presented here is clearly delineated and unmistakably unique. Listening to this book through my car’s audio system during my daily commute, I could not detect any flaws in the audio production, and the sound is crisp, clean, and well-modulated.

Readers looking for some high-end 80s horror should find a lot to enjoy in Talbot’s work. While The Bog is a bit of a slow-burn, it is ultimately quite enjoyable. Patient readers will be greatly rewarded by the way certain puzzle pieces of the plot align and snap into place as the story progresses. ...more

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Feb 01, 2017 Helen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, horror-fiction

Excellent classic '80s horror, really well written and reminded me of Phil Rickman's 'The Man in the Moss', since the starting point of the story features bog bodies. But there are far more obvious supernatural goings-on here, as well as strange native village folk and things that live in the darkest parts of the woods.

Recommended. ...more

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Jun 21, 2015 Doug rated it really liked it · review of another edition

My actual score for the book would be more like 3.5-stars. I quite liked it, but I also quite disliked certain portions of it, and so while the whole could be seen as something like a 4-star book, it is only with the admittance that certain of its negative qualities tick upon the back of my mind while thinking about it. Though the book ends up more bonkers than expected, in what way I cannot speak of, at all, without encroaching upon spoiler territory, I find the book manages to wear its bonkers My actual score for the book would be more like 3.5-stars. I quite liked it, but I also quite disliked certain portions of it, and so while the whole could be seen as something like a 4-star book, it is only with the admittance that certain of its negative qualities tick upon the back of my mind while thinking about it. Though the book ends up more bonkers than expected, in what way I cannot speak of, at all, without encroaching upon spoiler territory, I find the book manages to wear its bonkers content proudly enough to nearly work, an achievement in itself; for, it is often the bits of the book that do not clearly see themselves through that lets the book down. It is aware of the issues it is stirring, but ultimately brings them to life in a half-living state, and ends up feeling crowded while incomplete.

To give some context to my comments, the first third of the book is largely archeological curiosity mixed with "rural village in England and stay off the moors!" horror, dealing with the finding of bog-bodies [look them up, fascinating!] and a weird town full of insular, misshapen folks and sinister gentry. In the second third, we have introduced a few social issues: the wife of the protagonist realizes that she is putting her life on hold, indefinitely, for her family; there are talks of infidelity; we get a hint at child abuse and bullying; what would count as a rape though it is never quite described as such; and a few other bits. Nearly none of these are ever allowed to come to a proper head, so are frustratingly in the way of the final third of the book. The final third is bonkers, and embraces its own kookiness so well that I am obligated to give it a pass and even admit that I enjoyed it.

In the end, had the story been more about the wife instead of the husband, I think the middle third would have worked out much better. Imagine, rather than her being the housewife to a well-published expert drug along on another big find, she had been the person behind the dig, maybe on her first big break, and bringing along a reluctant husband who found her career an impediment to his own. Then the second third would have made more sense, and the finale would have been less a "save the dame!" plot and more a "save yourself!" one. With the husband the undisputed main focus and the wife largely discarded as anything more than a shrill mother/wife hybrid in the final third, it seems like it would best to largely skip the middle third because some of the issues brought up need nuance to work and the book barely gives them such.

In the end, the horror/action stuff is 4-stars, while the social/thinking stuff is lower, but one can imagine a similar story that better balanced the two and succeeding where this one did not, while also succeeding where this one did. ...more

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Jun 19, 2018 Cindy Newton rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: to-read-in-2016, horror

This is a pretty good horror listen (I used Audible). It does have the unsuspecting family, the townspeople who act mysteriously, and the brooding mansion that overlooks everything--especially the spooky bog. The Marquis who chooses to dwell in the mansion in the bog is a strange and disturbing figure--rude one day and charmingly attentive the next. His companion, an exotic young beauty by the name of Julia, has an ambiguous relationship with the older Marquis. Is she his wife? daughter? mistres ...more

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Jun 08, 2018 Katy rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, dnf, magic, abandoned, lost-interest, audiobooks, mystery, horror, wish-i-liked-this-more, scared-the-crap-out-of-me

DNF 48%

My DNFing of this book has much more to do with me than it does the actual book. After rhizotomy number two, I'm stuck in my bed looking something like this:

I started this audiobook right after rhizotomy number one (just shy of three weeks ago) and as I felt better, decided to save the second half for my second one, as these procedures make it difficult for me to hold a book or kindle for an extended period of time. Unfortunately, I think I waited too long to finish, I'm kind of over this ...more

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Feb 09, 2018 Claudia rated it did not like it

It is rare I actually get so annoyed about a book that I go to rate it but this drivel has compelled me to prevent anyone else from the miserable hours I spent listening to this on the commute to work. The amount of times I had to pause it just to take a break from the predictable monotony. Oh and also goodreaders - I blame you. An aggregate score of 3.8 meant I thought I had found a good one, lies!

Firstly, the characters - or lack thereof. The youngest is a precocious little twit who irritated ...more

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Feb 19, 2018 M.J. Sewall rated it liked it

The book was repackaged in 2017, but originally published in 1986. This explained the specific writing style and why a few elements felt dated. The author also used ly words – exhausted-ly, caressing-ly, etc. – to the point of distraction. That said, it is a well written and researched book. The story goes in crazy, wild directions. Most of these twists I saw coming, a few I did not. The hero is not flawless, which I liked. A flaw that was most unfortunate is the pacing. In the beginning, and mi ...more

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Jul 10, 2015 KeithGentles rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

The Bog

Excellent read! Have always been drawn to the horror genre but this is so much more. The weaving of the protagonist family trials and tribulations make for a compelling read that genuinely lets you feel for the characters.

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Dec 31, 2015 A.R. rated it it was amazing

Although this won't be the best horror novel you'll ever read, the ghoulish surprises, the wonderfully-written prose and the extent of terrible knowledge make it a book worth a look at. ...more

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May 03, 2020 Pat rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: horror

Nothing ground breaking, but this was a very fun read. I loved the myths and history that the author drew upon.

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Jan 28, 2020 J.B. rated it liked it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 27, 2019 Angela rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: horror

I'm a sucker for creepy insular settings and this was a fine example. An American archaeologist moves his family to some backwater village to study ancient "bog bodies". I had always wanted to be an archaeologist when I grew up so I particularly liked that extra shade to the plot. Predictably, with the dour villagers as foreshadowing, all is not well with the bog.

There was some truly creepy and heart-pounding shit here though I had qualms throughout with the main character's lack of judgement a ...more

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May 21, 2019 S.wagenaar rated it liked it

Fun read. Not gory with a high body count, but certainly creepy and atmospheric, with the bog itself the star character in my opinion. The science is good and presented in an interesting manner, and the story moves at a steady clip with no real lulls to bore the reader. The last quarter of the book takes a fantastical aspect I really didn’t expect, and surges to a satisfactory climax. Not particularly grim or downbeat, more like an 80’s horror/thriller movie with a happy ending that is a nice ch ...more

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Oct 20, 2017 Nate rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2017, valancourt, halloween-reads-2017

I loved every minute of The Bog by Michael Talbot. Night Things was the first Talbot book I read, and it will likely always be my favorite of his. However, The Bog is right up there and takes the same hard science approach to supernatural phenomena and turns science on its head by taking things so deep into the crazy yet explainable that the character's beliefs are all reconsidered. Loved this ride and highly recommended. ...more

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Jul 13, 2018 Rechan rated it liked it

Shelves: horror, urban-fantasy

Ultimately alright. I expected a bog standard creature feature, and while the first portion of the book does deal with a monster, it goes off in an entirely different direction. Normally I might have liked that direction if I knew that was what I was getting into, but even in that genre, it's only alright. While I wanted a little more horror, it's decent for what it is. ...more

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Mar 18, 2018 Bunny Gogo rated it liked it

don't get me wrong, I enjoy a creepy story. but I had some issues with the story. I can go into all the issues that I had with the story, but that would be a very long review. I just felt like the ending was not thought out, and it was too quick. a lot of the World building with lackluster. it was entertaining, but I highly doubt that I'll ever read this again. ...more

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Nov 21, 2017 Thomas rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: 2017, e-book, horror, valancourt

I've been looking for years for the definitive horror novel set in a bog. Neither Rick Hautala's Moonbog nor Phil Rickman's The Man in the Moss quite hit the mark, and I was hoping that Michael Talbot's The Bog -- featuring the actual bog bodies and enjoying a reprint by Valancourt Books -- would be the one. Alas, I'm still looking.

The story gets off to a good start, but it suffers for not being atmospheric and having weak characterization, and that the narrative itself feels very telly. The sto I've been looking for years for the definitive horror novel set in a bog. Neither Rick Hautala's Moonbog nor Phil Rickman's The Man in the Moss quite hit the mark, and I was hoping that Michael Talbot's The Bog -- featuring the actual bog bodies and enjoying a reprint by Valancourt Books -- would be the one. Alas, I'm still looking.

The story gets off to a good start, but it suffers for not being atmospheric and having weak characterization, and that the narrative itself feels very telly. The story also jumps all over the place, so that as soon as you start to get a handle on one part of the plot, Talbot introduces a different aspect of it and decides to make that the focus of his story.

It also doesn't help that this is another book featuring a character with an eidetic memory, which makes this the fourth book in the last three months to feature one. This isn't Talbot's fault -- if anything, this book has the earliest publication date of all four books -- but it is a tiresome device, and one that's still being reused. It just hurts that I've seen it so frequently in my latest reads.

Another aspect of the book that felt weak was the magic Talbot incorporated into the story. For me, what makes a magic system work is its rules; they have to hang together well, and the story has to be supported by those rules. Talbot explains all of the rules, but he doesn't do so until nearly the end of the book, so for much of the story we're wading about, trying to understand why things are happening the way they do. I think the story would have been stronger had we had those rules explained earlier in the book.

The Delicate Dependency was an odd book with fast-paced action interspersed with boring day-to-day minutiae, and I was expecting something similar with The Bog, Talbot's second book. Instead, what I got was an unfocused mess with a few points in its favor, but not enough to elevate it to the classic status I was expecting from a Valancourt reprint. Maybe I just let my expectations get the better of me. ...more

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Feb 18, 2017 Kylie rated it it was ok

Shelves: ha-2017-tbr-challenge, horror-and-paranormal

Sadly I did not care for this at all. Whether it was high expectations, as as Talbot also wrote the divine The Delicate Dependency, or what I can't say. I intensely disliked all of the characters, and while the ideas were interesting the plot was clunky and predictable even to me. ...more

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Mar 02, 2015 Matthew Bielawa rated it really liked it · review of another edition

When choosing a book, I'll check out the description...but with great care. I like to be surprised. Really surprised. So when a description starts to give out details, I stop reading. So going in, I knew the story centered around a bog, and small English village, with interesting, and scared, residents. That's all I needed. And boy, was I happily surprised. Talbot does such a good job telling a wild story. I love how he weaves a story with some great characters in a perfectly spooky setting. A b ...more

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Oct 04, 2015 Bibliophile rated it liked it

Shelves: horror

This seemingly standard horror story about bog bodies in the English countryside...

description

escalated quickly into derangement:

description

I liked it. ...more

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Dec 08, 2011 Coyle rated it really liked it

Michael Talbot has some very shallow ideas about some very important things. Fortunately, he is also well-read with a healthy imagination and a modicum of writing ability (shades of L. Ron Hubbard, I think). A fun story that made me think of the Bog monster in Calvin and Hobbes.

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Valancourt Books: The Bog (1986) by Michael Talbot	1	9	Mar 04, 2015 01:11PM

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About Michael Talbot

Michael Talbot

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Michael Talbot was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1953. As a young man, he moved to New York City, where he pursued a career as a freelance writer, publishing articles in Omni, The Village Voice, and others, often exploring the confluence between science and the spiritual.

Talbot published his first novel, The Delicate Dependency: A Novel of the Vampire Life as an Avon paperback original in 1982 ...more

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“She looked up to see a lovely enclosure of trees, wild cherry, fir, and willow with long golden catkins and slender, pointed green fronds swaying gracefully in the breeze. And in the center of the green cathedral of trees and surrounded by wildly untended hedges and what had once been a beautiful lawn, was one of the most picturesque cottages she had ever seen.” — 1 likes

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