... "The Fog" is probably, alongside "The Rats", perhaps his best-known work and it was his second book to be published way back in 1975. Unfortunately although this is considered something of a classic by Herbert's huge army of horror fans, I found it to be a huge disappointment and definitely ... Read review
Advantages: Exciting ending. Disadvantages: Grusome but not scary.
...
John Holman is the environmental agency officer who is performing fieldwork in Wiltshire in an investigation against possible infringements by the Ministry of Defence. Driving into a country village a scene of tragedy unfolds before his eyes and the road splits asunder before him swallowing up a row of shops and several people. Holman leaps into the crevice to save a young girl who he heroically drags to safety. As soon as the girl is safe ... ...he storms back to the abyss and attempts to leap to his death, only the other rescue workers manage to save him from himself.
After recovering is hospital Holman remembers a strange yellowish mist that was emanating from the crack in the world and wonders if he was overcome with some sort of chemical reaction. He leaves hospital with his girlfriend, Casey, and as they are making their way back to London they find themselves caught ... more
Reading a James Herbert book for me at least, is very much like when I play darts, pretty much hit and miss. I'm sort of working my way through his back catalogue, in no particular order I must stress, and I have been both delighted and more than a little frustrated by his works. "The Fog" is probably, alongside "The Rats", perhaps his best-known work and it was his second book to be published way back in 1975. Unfortunately although this is considered something of a classic by Herbert's huge army of horror fans, I found it to be a huge disappointment and definitely a "miss".
John Holman is the environmental agency officer who is performing fieldwork in Wiltshire in an investigation against possible infringements by the Ministry of Defence. Driving into a country village a scene of tragedy unfolds before his eyes and the road splits asunder before him swallowing up a row of shops and several people. Holman leaps into the crevice to save a young girl who he heroically drags to safety. As soon as the girl is safe in the authorities arms a change comes over Holman and he storms back to the abyss and attempts to leap to his death, only the other rescue workers manage to save him from himself.
After recovering is hospital Holman remembers a strange yellowish mist that was emanating from the crack in the world and wonders if he was overcome with some sort of chemical reaction. He leaves hospital with his girlfriend, Casey, and as they are making their way back to London they find themselves caught in a cloud of the strange fog, along with a coach load of schoolboys. Although the journey continues without incident Casey shows signs of extreme disturbance the next day as she attacks Holman with intent to cause him serious injury. The police arrive and initially suspect Holman of being the instigator of the violence but Holman asks them to check out the fate of the party of schoolboys. When the police discover a gruesome and tragic happening at the school they start to believe Holman's story of the weird fog and the potential mind altering capabilities that it has. The only question is, where will the fog hit next and to what levels of depravity and madness will it cause those caught up in it to perform.
Mind you, I've just read this summary myself and I must admit that it sounds like an extremely intriguing and exciting premise for a story, and in many ways it is. If you want a book that is going to just leap from one startling piece of action to the next then this may well be the sort of writing you'll really enjoy. There is never a quiet moment, apart from action-man Holman racing around the country, battling the "un-physical" foe of the fog or having to argue his case with the authorities and political powers Herbert intersperses the story with snippets of happenings from minor characters and their own personal experiences at the hands of the fog.
But, and it's a big but, if you prefer writing that slows down the action with periods of reflection and steady thought then this is probably just going to annoy you. Herbert makes no attempt at any sort of character development or even character consistency. (Holman is an environmental officer and yet he is considered by the authorities to be the best man for the job for bringing down the effects of the fog?) The episodes he interrupts the main action with are a technique he has used in many other books and it suffers from the fact that it's so predictable, not only does the reader expect that this minor character is going to come to their demise by the end of the chapter but they then fail to engage with the character and no feelings of sympathy are therefore drawn out. But in this book Herbert goes one step further by having several similarities between the episodes themselves, once we've read out the pigeon fancier killed by his own birds, what do we really expect is going to happen with the lady that takes in stray cats?
The book is also written in what I consider to be quite a childish fashion. Apart from the fact that several episodes of supposedly scary fiction comes over as laughable, the bank manager kicking backsides all over the town or the "toilet break" taken by the vicar, there also seems to be an effort to appeal to the teenager in us all. What I mean by this is that the horror elements were just gruesome and grisly, they weren't scary or frightening. I can achieve the same effect by watching an operation on TV, it's not hard, the really skilful horror writer makes the mundane appear frightening, something Herbert did excellent well in "The Magic Cottage" for example. The sex elements in the book were also extremely juvenile in both their construction and usage. Apart from the fact that they never served to move the story on it was rather like a group of teenage boys poring over a dirty magazine behind the bike sheds. Sex for sex's sake isn't a good idea and even those that aren't bothered by a bit of erotic writing will be turned off by this one.
The final chapters were the best and they actually had some drive and purpose that was sadly lacking in the rest of the book. Interestingly Herbert prefaces the edition I have with a comment on the history of the book and how a re-write was considered. To be honest I really wished he had re-written it, I know he is capable of so much better writing and the book has not aged at all well, appearing very dated in its attitudes.
My edition has an ISBN of 0330366152 and cost £6.99. If you were looking to collect old copies of James Herbert's books then I would recommend trying to pick this up second hand.
Advantages: An extremely well written and action packed novel. Disadvantages: Not for those with a faint heart.
...was. I was captivated from the word go.
I came across the book whilst trying to make some room in my spare room. It was in one of my boyfriends boxes that he'd had since he lived with his mum. I asked him if he'd ever read it, as I was shocked to find a book in his possesion; he isn't much of a reader. He said no but he'd seen the film. I too had seen the film as a young teenager. I thought it was great then, but at that age anything with blood ... ...to my mum) is that the book is always so much better than the film, (in this case, not a difficult task) so I started to read.
From the first page I was entranced. I had never read a James Herbert book before. My only exposure to his work was when my next door neighbour read an extract from 'The Rats'. I was ten at the time and it was the most x-rated thing I had heard up until then.
I completed the book within the week which is an accomplishment ...
amber24 18.05.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Fog - James Herbert
Advantages: Great for lovers of gore, Amazing story line and really easy to get into Disadvantages: I guess the gore if you aren't it to that type of thing!
...am a huge fan of the author James Herbert and was bought a load of his books for my birthday. I decided to read this one first and I am so glad I did. I found the book really gripping and was able to finish the book in a matter of days. Althought this isn't one of my favourite James Herbert books I did find it very readable and couldn't really put it down. Unfortunately with books I always try and guess the ending but I was unable to guess the correct ... ...the gore just heightened my interest. I really enjoyed the fact that you got to learn about the characters in the book rather than having to guess what went on in their lives. The attention to detail on the characters was amazing, it really made you feel that you understood what the character was going through. I would definitely recommend this book to others and I have already started giving out the ones I have already read! ...
Little-Princess 16.05.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of The Fog - James Herbert
Advantages: Amazing perefectly writen book Disadvantages: none at all
The Fog by James Herbert is one of horrors classics, and for good reason. James Herbert is a writer now up in the leagues with Stephen King; this is probably his most successful piece. Not to be confused with the film"The Fog" which os somewhat different, a big sea fog and ghost pirates.
A tiny village in Wiltshire, England is shacked one morning by what is believed my the local people to be an earthquake. A huge crack opens in the earth releasing ... ...most of england.
Wherever the strange gas(which turns out to be a biological weapon) goes it engulfs whole towns and cities as if it was alive.
Anyone who breaths in the gas quickly turns insane and goes on a looney rampage of killing/ suicide.
The book follows the character of Holman as he tries to save his girlfriend from the fog and help the military to destroy it.
This is a fantastic book which I reed cover to cover it under a week which ...
tomseear 28.04.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of The Fog - James Herbert
...charity shop but i think the rrp is £2.50. The basic plot of the story is some fog escapes from inside the earth during an earthquake. The fog drives people to do things they wouldn't normally do such as murder. This fog slowly spreads and engulfs London. It is up to John Holman , the main character of the novel and his collegues to prevent the fog affecting any more people. It is the type of novel where you feel that you really know the characters ... ...You feel that you're in the middle of London with thick yellow fog swirling around you, whilst crazed people close in on you... James Herbert is a truely talented author who i think is highly underrated. The fog is one of Herberts stronger works, i feel, having read other novels by him. This book is hard to describe but if you're into horror-then read this. ...
Aldanti 16.10.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of The Fog - James Herbert
Advantages: good suspense Disadvantages: nightmare possibilty
...book as its nothing like the film the book starts in a completely different way to the film and has a very eerie feel to it. I would reccomend watching the film if yo have not seen it and comparing the stories as they are really not the same.
A really gripping story line. Of a tiny village being under seige by a devastaing fog. It keeps you wondering right till the end.
I find it easy to keep picking up and starting again as i have read it a few ...
melody99 13.01.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of The Fog - James Herbert
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Advantages: So apt for our current climate change Disadvantages: Don't read it at bedtime, the night will pass quickly, and you'll still be reading when it's time to goto work
I read this book some time ago, but it has always stuck in my mind it was that good as far as I'm concerned.
I first encountered JamesHerbert's literary prowess when I was a teenager with The Fog, then I went onto read The Rats and Lair.
During the last 2 years I picked up his books again and have gone through quite a few, catching up on his style which seems to be good winning over evil.
In Portent the world is a changing place, unexplained phenomena are occuring all over with disasterous results for the humans living on this planet, but as Herbert says the planet is trying to heal itself.
Mixed in to the storyline are a set of gypsy twins, Mama Pitie a dark and foreboding figure hell bent on getting to the twins, James Rivers a Doctor working for the NOAA (National Oceananic and Atmospheric Administration, The Dream Man ...
Advantages: Easy to follow gripping story lines Disadvantages: Can't put the book down
I have never been a good reader and find it hard to set aside time to pick up a book. On occasions I find I need something to relax me which is usually when my brain is over loaded with work and life in the real world.
I bought a second hand JamesHerbert book and set to reading it. I quickly covered the Rats and moved on the the Fog, followed closely by Domain. I found that I could not put the books down. I really enjoyed The Magic Cottage and the Spear was excellent. For someone who does not read I was impressed with how he managed to captivate me. I found the text easy to follow and the storylines were not predicatable.
I am not a creamish person at all but my sister, who can't watch horror films read the Rats and had to sleep with the light on for a week.
I can't compare him to other writers because he is all I have ...
Advantages: It is a great book Disadvantages: None
the bird that comes to there kitchen window every morning and then other animals start turniong up.When Midge and Mike move into the cottage strange things happen Midge illustrations come to life and when Mike plays it sounds so beautiful. There is a group of synigists that are after the cottage these synigists are people who believe in peace and that sort of thing.
The characters in the book are great Midge and Mike have been written into the book superbly Midge and Mike are characters that you like and you enjoy reading about them. JamesHerbert is a great writer and has written some excellent books such as the fog, others, the ghosts of sleath and the haunted and a few others.
My opinion of the magic cottage is that it is a book that i would recommend people to read. It is an excellent book it is one of those books where you can pick ...
This tale of horror comes from the author of "The Rats" and "The Sepulchre", among many others. In a peaceful village in Wiltshire, life is predictable until there is a minor earthquake and a gas escapes from the earth. This fog drives people insane in a very violent and unpleasant way.
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