The Fog, 50th Anniversary Edition by James Herbert

Book Review

Sarah Deeming

An earthquake in a sleepy village in southern England’s countryside unleashes a strange, poisonous fog that turns everyone caught in it into a rabid murderer without inhibitions. It moves around the country without the help of the wind, and instead of dissipating under sunlight, it grows bigger and stronger with each village, town or city it covers.

John Holmon is the only person to have gone into the fog and out the other side with no lasting insanity. As the only person with a potential immunity to the fog’s effects, he is tasked with travelling into the heart of the fog to discover what’s driving it and, hopefully, a way to stop it before it grows too big and covers the whole country.

Originally released in 1975, a 50^th anniversary edition of The Fog has been re-released with a foreword written by James Herbert. I think it’s important to start this review with an obvious statement – this book was written in the mid-70s and so has some aspects that today’s audience might struggle with. I’ll cover these first to get them out of the way. The first is the attitude towards women. The only regularly recurring female is Casey, Holmon’s girlfriend. She is referred to as “the girl” by everyone, including Holmon, despite being a full-grown woman. Her real name isn’t even Casey; it’s Christine, but Holmon changed it because he doesn’t like her relationship with her father. She exists in the book as motivation for Holmon, with no wants and desires of her own. There are also large info dumps telling us rather than showing us characteristics and personalities. In that respect, it is very much of its time. In the foreword, Herbert states that he had considered rewriting it with the skills he has developed since the original release, but chose to leave it as it was. Issues with Casey aside, I am glad that I read it in the intended, visceral tale.

Right, now that bit is over with, it’s time to talk about the book. The Fog is a brutal horror with some unforgettable scenes of suicide, murder, and sexual violence designed to shock the audience. There is a scene with a group of young boys who go insane after being in the fog, which will definitely stay with me for the rest of my life. You were warned. Not every scene is like this. Some are more discreet than this, leaving a lot to the reader’s imagination, and other acts committed by people affected by the fog are only seen after the event in police reports. The combination of graphic and hinted-at atrocities works together, building suspense and fear.

The growing suspense also benefits from the Fog’s rural location. When the police begin to suspect something bigger is going on than one random occurrence involving Harry, a trickle of reports becomes a flood of reports from all the affected tiny villages, ramping up the pace until London is engulfed by the fog, and then everything descends into chaos.

But it isn’t all scenes of brutality. There are mad scientists, government cover-ups and secret underground bunkers. I won’t go into too much detail so I don’t spoil the book for people who haven’t read the book before, but there are mad scientists, government cover-ups and secret underground bunkers. There are also stories of desperation as the fog reaches London, but people can’t escape before it hits them. One of Holmon’s work colleagues takes extreme measures to protect his family from the fog, hoping they will be found and saved afterwards. In the midst of all the nastiness and violence, that stood out, increasing the book’s tone of dread.

Holmon is an interesting character as he is an everyman who just happens to be immune to the fog. Although he works for the Department of Environment, he has no special connections or skills, and that means he is capable of making mistakes and failing. And the stakes couldn’t be higher because the only person who has successfully been treated with a vaccine for the fog’s effects is Casey, so if Holmon fails, she will be sent in next to try to save the world. God help us all. He also has a complex relationship with Barrow, a detective who has been assigned to Holmon as a bodyguard. The tension between the two starts at the beginning of the book and continues through, providing another layer to the story.

I enjoyed The Fog despite my issues with Casey. It was shocking in the right places, the pace ramped up, then subsided, giving a false sense of security before hitting the reader with new atrocities. The subject matter and the government cover-up reminded me of Stephen King’s The Mist, and it is the perfect read for these dark winter nights, even though it is set in the summer. Highly recommended.