(Blurb for The Fog from Goodreads) A peaceful village in Wiltshire is shattered by a disaster which strikes without reason or explanation, leaving behind a trail of misery and horror. A yawning, bottomless crack spreads through the earth, out of which creeps a fog that resembles no other. Whatever it is, it must be controlled.
I first read The Fog as a teenager while on holiday in Wales. As I browsed the bookshelves of a local newsagent (the only one for miles), I spotted the book which stood out from the others and purchased it. I was completely hooked, the pace and raw energy of the story were amazing. This book doesn’t just describe the violence committed by the infected, it screams and shouts it, with relish!
So onto the story which centres around our hero; John Holman, who is investigating a Ministry of Defence base near a sleepy village in Wiltshire. While there he is caught up in a localised earthquake which causes a crack to appear in the road. John’s car is swallowed up by the hole which takes him and some innocent bystanders with them. While trying to escape, John is engulfed by a yellowish mist which has appeared from the hole. When he emerges from the hole he has been driven insane and is taken away to a local hospital where he is touch-and-go for the next few days. In the meantime, the fog has begun drifting across the county of Wiltshire causing people and animals to go insane wherever it goes.
As to the book; James Herbert wasn’t the most Literary of writers, but he knew how to keep the reader hooked. As such, the pace of the book is frenetic, it doesn’t let up for one minute. As the fog moves across the country, ghoulish incidents are described in great detail, from the poacher decapitating the lord of the manor to a mass suicide on Bournemouth beach. Occasionally however Herbert does go overboard in his description of the sex and violence enacted by the infected. I also think that some of the views on homosexuality are a bit outdated in these days. But I wonder if The Fog would have had the same impact without it?
I’ve listened to a few books read by Sean Barrett so I knew that The Fog was in safe hands. In this book as with every other, his performance is excellent, his voice is perfect for raw gritty stories such as these.
