The Mist

So. I'll never be looking at mist the same again. ( )

First of all, buy Skeleton Crew, not this book - Skeleton Crew has this exact story and many many many GREAT others. I bought this version after reading it in Skeleton Crew because I loved the story so much I wanted a copy of it separate from the other stories.

This has quickly become one of my all-time favorite books (ahem, novella, excuse me). I should point out that this may be largely due to the fact that I LOVE the original Silent Hill game series, and this is similar enough that I would highly recommend it to any and all fans of the Silent Hill series. Silent Hill taught me long before reading this, that: if a strange thick mist comes into town, try not to leave the building without at least taking a crowbar or something to defend yourself with. (A gun is preferable, but as most Silent Hill gamers know, ammunition is incredibly precious and hard to come by. So, have a back-up.)

However, added to the mix in *this* story is something (something I won't give away) that makes even a gun an impossibly futile form of defense. This "something" is directly on the lines of another interest of mine, which again, may be an influencing factor in why I love this book/novella so much.

I also enjoy this story because I enjoy survival horror/ghost novels where surviving becomes incredibly challenging and the main characters themselves almost revert to an animal-like existence. What I mean by that is they get used to going about their day as if each and every moment could be their last because at any moment they could be set upon by a predator who (like every other living thing) needs food to live. I like that "real-ness" - it adds a rationality to the actions of "the bad guys" that is completely believable, understandable, even universal, and nonetheless absolutely terrifying. Most people don't want to see a zebra or gazelle get overpowered and torn apart by lions, but it happens because lions need to eat like everything else. And I'm pretty sure a lot of people (or, at least some), like me, have wondered what it might feel like to be the zebra or gazelle in an absolutely hopeless situation. This book is kind of like that - it explores those possibilities.

Something great aside from all this is the fantastic example of "Murphy's Law" that occurs in the supermarket in one memorable scene. Everything that can go wrong... does... go... wrong...

And some might not like the lack of a "tied-up" ending, but I like when some endings are left ambiguous and this was one that worked for me. *Especially* the way it was worded. (Although, I must say, I very strongly disagree with Stephen King that "those two words" at the end of the novella sound ANYTHING alike, the way he claims they do.) ( )

Perhaps it's cheating to have this marked as a separate book, since I also have the book of short stories it's in, from the library. It's a novella, really, although it probably could've been more, given the open end to it. Stephen King is pretty good at writing apocalyptic fiction, and I'm really fond of the way he does characters. Worth reading! Although don't buy the novella, get [b:Skeleton Crew|13440|Skeleton Crew|Stephen King|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166552914s/13440.jpg|1814] -- more for your money. ( )

First of all, part of the reason that I started my library reread is because of this book, as it had been sitting on my shelves for about three years (now five) unread, because I saved it from work, and just never got around to reading it. And I didn’t want to get rid of it without reading it. And thus began the long haul that’s been going on for the past two years. (A fun long haul, but a long haul nonetheless.)

That aside. The Mist was a book I had wanted to read for some time—I actually haven’t read the entirety of Skeleton Crew—and I had heard various things about the movie. (Yes, I know how the movie ends.) And aside from the main character, I actually really liked it. There’s an incredibly slow build-up to the arrival of the mist and the creatures, and once the characters get inside of the grocery store, everything implodes. I also really liked that there’s no definite explanation for the creatures; while there’s speculation around the army base and Project Arrowhead, there’s never a real confirmation on what actually happened to cause the mist and the creatures. And both scenes inside and out of the grocery store are just horrifying. I loved that we never get to see the larger, tentacled creatures and the ones that do openly attack the grocery store are still extremely messed-up and they’re just the little ones. And oh god the scene in the drugstore…*shudders*.

The characters were okay. This is one of those books were the antagonistic forces—not only the monsters, but Ms. Carmody and her ever-growing cult—are the driving force of the book. I really didn’t like any of the main characters. I don’t mind flawed characters, but I don’t feel as invested with them unless I can sympathize with them. And this is my problem with David Drayton; I did sympathize with him and his need to get back home and make sure that his wife was okay and just to get his son out of that grocery store. And then he goes and has sex with Amanda Dumfries. I know it sounds like I’m nitpicking, but my problem is that I never get the idea that David has a moral problem with cheating on his wife—I get the need for letting off steam, and I get the psychological reasons for why they did it, I just don’t get the feeling that David feels remorse for cheating on Steff. (Oh, and he uses the “Oh, she’s probably dead by now” excuse to boot. I’m sorry, but I hate when characters do this in horror novels. No. Screw you.)

But aside from that one character issue, I did really enjoy the rest of the book for being a fun little horror read. (Although reading it on my lunch break, yeah that was a really bad idea. Ergh. There were a couple times that I had put it down just to eat.) It’s creepy and atmospheric, and even while I don’t like the lead characters, I still enjoyed their story and fight to get out of the Supermarket from Hell.
( )

The Mist is a great book. This book plays with the fear with the unknown. The book is about David Drayton and his son, Billy going to the federal store to get some things after a bad storm passed through. Leaving an ominous mist in its place. They get to the store along with a neighbor. The mist approaches closer and closer. Everyone, curious about the mist, go outside. But the mist brings death, hidden within. David wants to survive, like everyone else, but more importantly wants to protect his son from what is outside of the federal store. In some spots this book is mature but nonetheless a great book.