The Bog

By: Michael Talbot

Narrated by: Matt Godfrey

Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

Hovern Bog. People live in terror of it - especially the residents of Fenchurch St. Jude, the little village located at its edge. They think of it as a living being. They've seen it reach out with sinewy tentacles... to take, entangle, and digest.

When 2,000-year-old bodies are recovered from the bog, perfectly preserved, it is the discovery of a lifetime for archaeologist David Macauley. But close examination of the corpses reveals a curious fact: all were cruelly, mysteriously murdered, gnawed to death by some unimaginable creature. Soon it becomes apparent that whatever tortured and killed the bodies from ancient times still roams the bog, and no one in Fenchurch St. Jude - especially David and his family - is safe.

In The Bog (1986), Michael Talbot (1953-1992), author of the vampire classic The Delicate Dependency and the chilling haunted house novel Night Things, delivers an exciting mix of science and the supernatural that will keep listeners guessing until the horrific climax.

"One of the better horror novels.... odd and risky mingling of pure science with fairy lore and gnashed bodies.... terrific." - Kirkus Reviews

"Exciting!" - Publishers Weekly

"Convincingly original!" - Ocala Star-Banner

©1986, 2017 Michael Talbot (P)2017 Valancourt Books, LLC

The Bog

The Bog is the kind of story that I would recommend to anyone that enjoys a good deal of histrofiction (patent pending ;o). I loved the archeological science, the historical bits, the way history was altered, the fantastical, and emotional parts of the book. I could easily imagine myself in this area being creeped out by the locals. It is tricky playing with such powerful characters, but Michael Talbot did a great job of balancing the respective aspects of light and dark so that even thought the story is wondrous, it didn't feel forced. I really enjoyed the way the story played out and almost all of the ending. And, as always, I thought Matt Godfrey killed it with his narration. Good job, guys.

This book was given to me for free at my request for my voluntary and unbiased review.

Very pleased

I really had no expectations when I started, once it started, I could not put it down. No spoilers, enjoy the ride. Well done

Loved it!!!

Narrator was amazing! The story was extremely well written and very entertaining. I loved it!!

If You Love Hammer Movies. . .

So, if you love Hammer, you will really love this book. If you love Christopher Lee (who is inarguably the inspiration for the baddy here), you will love this book.

As someone who looked forward to BBC 2's double feature every Saturday night, this was a blast from the past. (And to be fair, it is an old book.) That being said, be prepared for the "man knows best" nonsense here. You will want to scream at some of the stupid stuff he, David does, and the crap that his wife and his assistant put up with, but hey, think of it as one of those old Hammer features. ;-)

I love the Hammer movies. I love nostalgia. I love anything set in bogs, and to be honest, Michael Talbot does come up with some original ideas here I wasn't expecting. I can't help wondering why this never made it to the screen? It could work even today. Hammer has been resurrected with The Woman in Black. Someone needs to take a look at this book.

Love monster. Lost me at the twist..

Title says it all. Still worth it, just not as expected. For a credit, why not.

Now THIS is a GOOD STORY!

This was an extremely entertaining tale. I was screaming at the phone during the climax. If you have a road trip or knit, don’t pass up this supernatural thriller. I could not stop listening until the end!

Magic and Monsters

A pretty good tale about a Leviathan sort of monster that roams a bog where an archaeologist found a well-preserved body from Roman times. It has some creative plot twists, but is, for my taste, a little saccharine in its character development and family relationships. Entertaining, and well presented.

The Bog holds secrets

I really enjoyed the start of the book and thought it was headed to a great buildup of a creature feature style book. Didn't really go that route, more magic and wizardry than I prefer but was still a good story. Wouldn't call it horror at all but I assume for the time that this came out it was probably fairly scary. The start was more thriller and suspense with a
I have to say David started out in my mind as a jackass. Didn't like the type of father he was, dog owner, or husband really. Was actually pleased with the writing such that it could make me hate the main character. Although as the story progressed I sympathized with him more and began to root for him as opposed to just the rest of his family.
Matt Godfrey does a great job narrating. His voices are great for the characters and I'm sure my desire to keep listening to one more chapter is mainly owed to him.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

Loved the weirdness

This was definitely a slow build. It didn’t really hook me till halfway through. Still the story is well written. Loved the characters. And the general weirdness is definitely my thing. The narrator was fantastic, he really brings the story to life.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review.

Good & Bad

The narrator was great and it was easy to differentiate between which character was speaking. But I thought the characters themselves we're rather irksome. I felt like they dragged the story down a lot.