Very gory for its age, and scary in parts. The big strength here is the unpredictability of the results. The fog isn't a zombie rage virus, the violence is as much external as internal, the motivations seem derived from personality and complexes. There's something in that idea that could have transcended genre, but as we get more detail about what it is and how it works it's really not that different from things you've seen already (a victim of cultural osmosis perhaps). [b:The Spear|1250307|The Spear|James Herbert|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328846840l/1250307._SY75_.jpg|448279] was better. ( )

One start. One glorious, glittering star.

There are bad writers.
There are bad books.
We all know and fear them: shallow, inconsistent plot, flat writing, unrelatable characters, character development absent or unbelievable. Uff.
Then, once in a Pope's death, as they say in my town, one stumbles upon bad writing pushed to the limits of the sublime.
If there is a firmament of the awful novelists, this Herbert guy shines there, next constellation to Giorgio Faletti, in the same hemisphere with the best of the worst of Thomas Harris (I am thinking Hannibal, here. He must have been on something nasty while writing that one, thanks to God for the laughs).
Plot? At the service of the manly man, intent in saving Britain from fog, madness and unmanliness.
Character development? Who needs it? Our manly man needs not changing a iota of his musky self. Women around him, on the other hand, being helpless and evidently dim-witted cannot develop by God's decree, if not in the nature of their adoration for the manly one: submissively erotic while young and desirable, maternal as soon as they start, ahem, wilting. Then, and only then, are they allowed to become intellectually gifted.
Even the Government with its Secret Departments cannot but capitulate in front of such a critical mass of testosterone and entrust him, and only him, with saving the world. Because any civilian who happens to be the only survivor immune to the effects of the fog would be left free to come and go from a secret government facility and asked to risk his life, just him, to get a sample of the evil mist. And why wouldn't they, my friends, why wouldn't they.
Style? Who needs style, when we can have body horror aplenty, the triumph of TELL WHAT YOU WANT BUT JAYSUS, NEVER SHOW, and possibly the purplest, most off-putting sex scenes ever written? Also: a bunch of possessed schoolboys lynching an ecstatic gay teacher (because gay and pedophiles are one, in Herbert's Little Britain); lesbian sex imagined by a countryside provost, and remember that lesbians will regret their mistake; and an impressive mass suicide scene.
Absolutely advised, for All the Wrong Reasons!
I will leave here some gold nuggets as soon as I can get a copy back from the library. ( )

One start. One glorious, glittering star.

There are bad writers.
There are bad books.
We all know and fear them: shallow, inconsistent plot, flat writing, unrelatable characters, character development absent or unbelievable. Uff.
Then, once in a Pope's death, as they say in my town, one stumbles upon bad writing pushed to the limits of the sublime.
If there is a firmament of the awful novelists, this Herbert guy shines there, next constellation to Giorgio Faletti, in the same hemisphere with the best of the worst of Thomas Harris (I am thinking Hannibal, here. He must have been on something nasty while writing that one, thanks to God for the laughs).
Plot? At the service of the manly man, intent in saving Britain from fog, madness and unmanliness.
Character development? Who needs it? Our manly man needs not changing a iota of his musky self. Women around him, on the other hand, being helpless and evidently dim-witted cannot develop by God's decree, if not in the nature of their adoration for the manly one: submissively erotic while young and desirable, maternal as soon as they start, ahem, wilting. Then, and only then, are they allowed to become intellectually gifted.
Even the Government with its Secret Departments cannot but capitulate in front of such a critical mass of testosterone and entrust him, and only him, with saving the world. Because any civilian who happens to be the only survivor immune to the effects of the fog would be left free to come and go from a secret government facility and asked to risk his life, just him, to get a sample of the evil mist. And why wouldn't they, my friends, why wouldn't they.
Style? Who needs style, when we can have body horror aplenty, the triumph of TELL WHAT YOU WANT BUT JAYSUS, NEVER SHOW, and possibly the purplest, most off-putting sex scenes ever written? Also: a bunch of possessed schoolboys lynching an ecstatic gay teacher (because gay and pedophiles are one, in Herbert's Little Britain); lesbian sex imagined by a countryside provost, and remember that lesbians will regret their mistake; and an impressive mass suicide scene.
Absolutely advised, for All the Wrong Reasons!
I will leave here some gold nuggets as soon as I can get a copy back from the library. ( )

The Fog was first published back in 1975 and even now, almost 50 years on it still stands the test of time, still highly relevant in todays horror genre, by an author who’s name will forever be cemented into one of the worlds top horror novelist’s.

As a large crack opens up the earth in an English town a deadly fog rises out of the fissure. Could it be vaporous cloud released from the earth itself or what else could it be? Is it something to do with the army who are based close to the rupture of the ground? It can’t have been an earthquake, not of that magnitude in England can it?

John Holman works for the same government as the army but he is working for the Department of the Environment, to investigate anything from polluted rivers to outbreaks of disease. Some might say that because of his job he was in the right place at the right time, but his encounter with the ground cracking open was not exactly fortuitous for John!

His car nosedives into the crack but he manages to escape the deep drop into the void, even managing to save a little girl at the same time.

That was his first encounter and exposure to this mysterious fog and from there on in, nothing will ever be the same again!

If you have read any of James Hurbet’s books before then you will know what you are letting yourself in for, however if you haven’t, be warned, this book is fairly graphic!

This is one of my all time favourite books of his books and he is a master storyteller who was ahead of his time with his tales of terror.

All horror fans should read at least one of his books in their lifetime and this one is a great introduction of his work. ( )

Drags a bit at times otherwise okay for this type of post-apocalypse thriller. This edition contained two Herbert short stories that were decent. ( )

This one was a little disappointing for me. I was expecting an element of the supernatural, but discovered that was not to be. I like James Herbert. I've read and enjoyed a few of his novels, but this whole 'The government did it' kind of vibe really just makes me sigh, and then wish I'd chosen something else to read instead.

Look, it was good for what it was. It was a good story revolving around a strange fog that is released due to the army performing underground explosive tests. There is no supernatural element to it at all, unless you count the fact that it seems at times to be actively hiding from it's pursuers. If you like your horror with limited mystery to it then you'll probably enjoy this. If however you prefer a little more of the unknown then I'd give this a miss. ( )

Bought in Bournemouth while on holiday, when I was 13. Fantastic, scary stuff. ( )

I really thought this would be a dud - fog is the bad guy? But it was recommended and...

It's pretty damn good! Surprisingly so! Something about the fog makes folks go insane. In Chapter 6, what happens at the boys school far surpasses insanity and boils over into an orgy of violence and horror that is a bit stomach churning! And the jetliner story is creepy when you consider that this book was written 26 years before 9/11! I liked that this is basically a bunch of stories about how the fog effects people, birds, and animals, and the little vignettes are almost always horrifying and disgusting! These stories are the book's strength! The science bits, and even the attack on the fog aren't that riveting. But, if you're looking for a horror story, this is the book! ( )

Great book about people going mad by the passage of a mysterious fog! 5 stars ( )

I was under the impression that James Herbert wrote horror". But after reading this, and his [b:Others|459869|Others|James Herbert|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348462673s/459869.jpg|1717211], I've come to the conclusion that Herbert writes about depravity.

No more James Herbert for me." ( )

Interesting story about a military experiment that goes wrong. A dangerous mind altering fog is released during an earthquake, turning its victims into homicidal maniacs.. This book definitely reminded me of horror of the 50s and early 60s. This was one for my horror group- thoroughly enjoyed it. The writing was straightforward, as was the story. There were no subplots or complicated story lines, just one man working with (or being used by, depending on how you look at it) the military as they try desperately to stop the fog before it destroys mankind. ( )

This an interesting concept and a pretty good book. Worth reading. ( )

I had hoped that this would be a light distraction from some of the heavier books I've been reading, and it was, to a degree. But I seriously doubt if I'm going to be reading any more of Herbert's books. This just wasn't good enough to consider putting myself through a similar experience. Many people compare him to Steve King, and I can see why - they've got a similar knack for storytelling, and both obviously write about similar things. Heck, King even got me to read this, because of his reviews of Herbert in Danse Macabre. But believe me, having read quite a bit of King, he is a much better writer than Herbert. Not to say King is a particularly good writer: he has a way of writing, and he usually sticks to it, outside of a few salubrious experiments in his shorter works. But as for Herbert, well, to quote A.E. Housman out of context, 'Terence, this is stupid stuff'.

Herbert's characters are just, well, cardboard compared to King's. I just didn't care for any of them. And the whole premise of the book is so absurd, especially Herbert's quasi-scientific explanations, that I couldn't help laughing at some of the things in the book. Which brings me to another problem with the book - it has no sense of humour, and is only funny by accident. The dialogue is also so stilted that I thought I was reading a bad translation into British English.

That said, the book is fairly entertaining - if you can forgive the inconsistencies and other faults. I couldn't. Maybe I've grown too critical - one can't expect too much from these books, obviously. The gruesome bits of the book are at least properly blood-curdling, but, because I didn't care about the characters, I just didn't feel anxious or sympathetic. I can see why it caused a big stir back in 1975, but, honestly, it just doesn't have the impact it should. Seeing the deaths of cardboard characters is pretty much comparable to watching reams of paper going through an industrial shedder - it left me quite indifferent.

I read this book because I'm interested in the history of speculative fiction. But this just goes to show that all oldies certainly aren't goodies. In Herbert's foreword to the 1988 edition, he says that he felt the temptation to 'smooth out the rougher edges, perhaps endow some of the characters with a little more depth.' He defends his choice not to by saying that 'change would be an unnecessary indulgence' on his part, and goes on to call the book 'a throwback to the fifties and much earlier', paying homage to H.G. Wells and John Wyndham. Well, that's fair enough, I guess. But it still doesn't excuse the bad writing found throughout the novel. ( )

John Holman is an investigator for the Department of the Environment who is driving back to London from a secret stakeout at a military installation in rural Britain. As he enters a small town, the ground starts shaking, the highway splits apart and his car falls into the crevasse in the earth. He manages to get out of his car and crawl towards safety, but on his way out he is surrounded by a strange yellow fog escaping from deep in the earth. When the rescuers finally pull him from the ground, he is completely violent and insane.

Holman is restrained in a hospital, gets a blood transfusion, and fights his demons for several days before returning to his regular self. His girlfriend stands by him, and the two of them begin the drive back to London. But as they drive, they run into a mysterious yellow fog -- and it is getting bigger.

This book was really well written and entertaining -- it ultimately moves between Holman who has to convince the government that the fog is dangerous, and who is quickly recognized as the only person who is immune to the effects of the fog, and a series of vignettes of the different people who come into contact with the fog with horrible results. This novel is part government conspiracy, part zombie attack, part creepy isolation, and a whole lot of yellowish fog that becomes a character in its own right.

[full review here: http://spacebeer.blogspot.com/2009/08/fog-1975.html ] ( )

http://bibliotheca.skynetblogs.be/post/6682418/fog-the-fog--james-herbert--1975 ( )

This was the first James Herbert book I read and I have always considered him the British Stephen King. Both have an acute storytelling talent that puts them above the average horros novel. The Fog scared the pants off me at the time and I recently found a similar thrill in the movie The Mist (2008), which greatly reminded me of the claustrophobic feel of The Fog. The idea of zombies roaming around outside was not a new one, but he managed to make it scarier than it had been before (IMHO). ( )