'The Mist' – Stephen King (Hodder)

Page Count: 181 Pages

Just recently, pretty much all my reading has been 'low page count' stuff. Nothing against those chunky books you understand; time constraints have been a big factor recently so when I saw that there was a new edition of 'The Mist', I jumped on that one pretty much straight away. And then being me, I promptly went and lost it in the middle of a 'flat wide' book rearranging exercise... Yep, I know...

Well, I was rooting around in the loft last night, trying to tidy things up a little, and there was 'The Mist', all sat on top of a pile of books without a care in the world. I had some time on my hands so grabbed the book, before it could hide again, and settled down for a read...

A man staggered into the market . . . 'Something in the fog!' he screamed

Following a freak summer storm, David Drayton, his son Billy, and their neighbour Brent Norton join dozens of others and head to the local grocery store to replenish supplies.

Once there, they become trapped by a strange mist that has enveloped the town. Violent forces concealed in the mist are starting to emerge. And there is another shocking threat from within - one group of survivors, led by a religious zealot, is calling for a sacrifice.

Now David and his son must try to escape. But what's outside may be even more dangerous.

I watched the movie version of 'The Mist' once, and only once. If you've seen it then you know exactly why I can't watch it again; if you haven't... It's a great movie but be prepared for it to crush your feelings and leaving you sobbing in a ball (don't say I didn't warn you...) But anyway, mustn't get sidetracked again... ;o)

The novella though, that's a completely different story (pun not intended) and one that I don't re-read nearly enough. 'The Mist' is a very quick read, 181 pages of story, but uses the resulting brevity to keep nerves taut and the focus exactly where it needs to be as the plot burns along. It's the perfect blend of 'creature feature' horror and the evil that people can do when they find themselves in a spot with no way out...

You don't see much of the creatures in the Mist, funnily enough there are visibility issues... ;o) You don't really need to though and King lets us know how dangerous these beasts are through half glimpses and the damage that they leave behind. It's a chilling move as your imagination invariably fills in the gaps and you end up doing King's work for him. I wouldn't want to run in out there but I continue to have a lot of fun getting behind well drawn characters and what they find waiting for them out there...

David Drayton isn't really any different from any of King's other blue collar American heroes; he has a slightly better paid job (perhaps) but the same matter of fact outlook that swiftly translates into being able to get shit done when he has to. Drayton carries a hell of a burden throughout the book, knowing what has probably happened to his wife, but can be counted on to step up for his young son. And that's all you need from a 'King Hero' really, someone who can keep their head while everyone else is losing theirs. Drayton probably wouldn't notice but he inspires those around him to be a little better.

Mrs Carmody though... Her actions are what ultimately count but I'm struggling to work out where it comes from. She's not evil but encourages evil in others and while that keeps the plot on a certain path, I think there's more to her than meets the eye (the situation might just have made her crack or she might know more than she's letting on...) I'm going to have to think about that one a bit more.

If you haven't read 'The Mist' already then you really need to do something about that (you can buy it as a standalone edition or as part of the 'Skeleton Crew' collection). It does everything right, first time, and the end result is like I said, a story that I can't put down no matter how many times I re-read it. Give it a go and thank me later ;o)