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The Fog

3.79 of 5 stars 3.79 · rating details · 6,536 ratings · 111 reviews

A peaceful village in Wiltshire is shattered by a disaster which strikes without reason or explanation, leaving behind a trail of misery and horror. A yawning, bottomless crack spreads through the earth, out of which creeps a fog that resembles no other. Whatever it is, it must be controlled.

Paperback, 345 pages

Published April 1st 1999 by Macmillan UK (first published 1975)

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Apr 29, 2012 Blake rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

Clearly Herbert intends to deliver sharp kicks to the stomach here, but he only succeeds in a few of the more minor incidences of people coming into contact with the fog early on and one or two late in the story. The more visceral sections are quite good, but they're not sustained for long and the author is not operating at a level near them for much of the book. Apart from some successes with minor characters, this is never really engrossing at a character level, despite the focus on the human...more

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Dec 21, 2012 Si Barron rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Great book- very readable.
I discovered this in an old cupboard, a blast from the past- this is probably the first 'novel' I ever read. I'm not entirely sure how it cam into my possession as an impressionable 12 year old- but to me it came, I know my best friend a t the time read it too but as to who gave it who I can't remember. Anyway it left a massive impression on me. So I hadn't read it for about 30 years, I thought I give it a go.
The standout gory bits early on it the book I remembered (in...more

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Oct 16, 2011 Red Heaven rated it 4 of 5 stars

I've had mixed results with Herbert so far, but this is a very acceptable effort. It's more fun near the beginning, when the explanation of the fog is unknown. It's the same way in other stories that offer up an intriguing mystery; the explanation, while entirely plausible, may come as a let down.

Any horror fan who likes gore can't be too upset here, as there are many instances of people going crazy and killing others in splendidly horrific ways, or committing suicide. The Bournemouth scene was...more I've had mixed results with Herbert so far, but this is a very acceptable effort. It's more fun near the beginning, when the explanation of the fog is unknown. It's the same way in other stories that offer up an intriguing mystery; the explanation, while entirely plausible, may come as a let down.

Any horror fan who likes gore can't be too upset here, as there are many instances of people going crazy and killing others in splendidly horrific ways, or committing suicide. The Bournemouth scene was particularly chilling, and strangely familiar although I haven't read the book before. This scene, however, contains an example of one of the book's biggest downfalls; WAY too much backstory on minor characters who, nine times out of ten, you know are not long for this world. The same afflicts the school scene, with much exposition about the teacher's sexual proclivities during World War II. I understand that if he doesn't flesh them out, he will be accused of making the characters too one dimensional, but these are the equivalent of movie extras; fog fodder whose only function in the story is to kill or be killed in a gruesome way. This excessive backstorying brought early and mid period Stephen King to mind.

The story does tend to slow down, too, when the fog gets to London, and the hero's trek across the city is not particularly exciting, despite the continued horrors that he sees and, in some cases, gets roped into. Around the beginning of this section, there hadn't been any gore for a while, and then Herbert seems to remember he's writing a splatter horror story, and gets back to it. Along the way there is a scene where the fog - the source of madness and murder - "hides" in a cathedral, near the altar. Earlier, a vicar affected by the fog, does a perverse act in front of his congregation. I'm hoping these weren't deliberate commentary on the church's influence on society - not because I'm particularly religious, but because the analogy is clunky in an otherwise fairly straightforward tale. (less)

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Sep 14, 2011 Doug rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I've heard of James Herbert for a bit, always showing up on the edge of my Google/Amazon searches involving horror novels. I knew nothing about him outside of some quick "The Stephen King of Britain" style blurbs. I know those are referring more to his bestselling status and less to his style but if you were to take King, Michael Crichton him up a bit, drop about half the pop references [and all the references to old TV shows and slogans], and then set it all in southern England, you'd get somet...more I've heard of James Herbert for a bit, always showing up on the edge of my Google/Amazon searches involving horror novels. I knew nothing about him outside of some quick "The Stephen King of Britain" style blurbs. I know those are referring more to his bestselling status and less to his style but if you were to take King, Michael Crichton him up a bit, drop about half the pop references [and all the references to old TV shows and slogans], and then set it all in southern England, you'd get something like this.

You've got the just slightly fight-the-man lower middle class sort of fellow [John Holman], his jeune fille of love interest [whom he nicknames Casey], a few higher uppity-ups who are well-meaning but powerless, and a few people who are begging for a chance to abuse power. As the novel progresses, you get a short but standard list of experts [medical types mostly, but others dealing with different government departments, chemical and biological threats, etc]. Then you get a menagerie of folks with simple lives doing various things like poaching, being a drunk who misses his pigeons, driving buses, and flying planes despite marital difficulties (most of which show up just to come to bloody end as soon as possible).

The villain of the piece is a fog, released by an earthquake [yes, in southern England], that travels across the country side infecting people and turning them various degrees crazy. Many of its victims become homicidal or suicidal (or both) though others, like a small town's vicar, turn to other insanities such as pissing on their congregation. You get scenes of pedophilia, joyous genital mutilation, some bloody chop-ups, vehicular homicide, and even plane crashes. It affects animals as well as humans, and an early scene with homicidal cows should be a delight (though one of the two later scenes with homicidal pigeons comes across as more believable). As it spreads, it grows, covering more and more area and it is only a matter of time before it reaches a big city.

On the plus side, the novel has enough pop-horror meat to chew on for a while. You have a few fog drenched scenes, some back country versus city street contrasts, some police work. It changes from more of a crazies-in-the-woods to a disaster novel as it goes, a transition that works in this case. Despite bouts of cowardice, moments of testiness, and what feels like Herbert shoving in lip service to the mental strain on the main protag, Holman is a likeable guy. And despite his and Casey's relationship weirdness--she is initial painted as needy and emotionally damaged, with a father that seems to like his daughter a little too much--the end romance felt sweet enough to me that I liked it.

Herbert's willingness to write out characters and their back-stories whether they are cameo level bit parts, destined for an immediate bodybag, or main characters, makes for a good combination: you get the benefit of character back-story with the mix of not knowing exactly who to root for (after a bit, you pick up the style enough that the latter stops working). A bit of a spoiler, maybe, but the first chapter introduces a little town full of cute little lives, and before a few pages has passed, most of them have been wiped out. Most novels would have only put that much effort into the town if the events of the first chapter was to be spread out for the whole thing.

This tendency does backfire a bit when Herbert sometimes introduces a short story worth of detail only to have it barely tied into the main plot, and it gives the book a padded feel. It is a device that almost works, and almost fails. For example, around the middle, we get a lesbian who has just had a relationship end. We get a few pages of her life, including how she realized she was a lesbian and how she fell in love with the woman who recently left her. Perhaps the longest love making scene in the book is here [lesbian fetishists, take note!] as well as some potentially interesting commentary about being gay in a society that considers gayness at least mostly wrong even when it accepts the presence of homosexuals. She contemplates suicide, starts to change her mind... and then we get the most visually chilling scene in the whole book: an entire city's worth of people march out across a beach and drown themselves due to the illness caused by the fog. I could easily picture the hundred-thousand plus people walking quietly, blankly, into the ocean. The disjoint between the chapter mostly about lesbian friends and this great self-induced massacre is typical of several of the books vignettes.

Likewise, there are a few issues with science/physics/biology of everything presented, as well as the way the Herbert changes out rules as needed. The kind of stuff you can mostly ignore, but will probably at least once go "Hey...what?"

Overall, I gave it four stars because while it wasn't what I expected [nationalistically, I was expecting something a bit more quaintly British, and I don't know why] it did have some decent moments and I stayed entertained throughout and I do recommend it. Moreover, I will be picking up a couple more of Herbert's books. The novel's infamous grotequeness, by the way, is largely exaggerated. There are only a couple of scenes of true goriness. The rest of the book is more thriller than horror, give or take, so don't go expecting something that will push the limits of good taste. I won't say the book is *in* good taste, but some of its initial reviews [that declared Herbert was writing sick degenerate fiction] mostly missed the joke, I think.(less)

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Apr 28, 2013 Linda Branham Greenwell rated it 4 of 5 stars

One of those good horror stories from the 1970's
The story takes place in foggy, England, but a special deadly fog - dense, and yellowish in color - suddenly arises from a split in the earth, and begins to infiltrate the minds of all whom it comes into contact with. Suddenly, formerly sane individuals find themselves acting as if they were monsters.

As the fog moves from place to place, it leaves behind it a path of horrible devastation, as murder, rape, mass suicide, and looting become a way of l...more

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Jan 21, 2012 F.R. rated it 4 of 5 stars

Reading a James Herbert directly after a Neil Gaiman is perhaps an odd choice for me. It’s following a writer who is genuinely funny, with one whose biggest flaw is – in my opinion – his distinct lack of humour. I generally find Herbert’s books entertaining, but moments of light relief, let alone jokes, tend to be few and far between. However, even though I didn’t give it the best preparation, I thoroughly enjoyed ‘The Fog’.

As the author’s preface (written in 1988) points out, Herbert considers...more Reading a James Herbert directly after a Neil Gaiman is perhaps an odd choice for me. It’s following a writer who is genuinely funny, with one whose biggest flaw is – in my opinion – his distinct lack of humour. I generally find Herbert’s books entertaining, but moments of light relief, let alone jokes, tend to be few and far between. However, even though I didn’t give it the best preparation, I thoroughly enjoyed ‘The Fog’.

As the author’s preface (written in 1988) points out, Herbert considers his second novel to be somewhat roar. It earned a lot of criticism apparently for its excessive violence and while Herbert doesn’t quite concede that, he does acknowledge problems with its dialogue and characterisation. Both those points are fair criticism, with some of the dialogue being of a level Agatha Christie would have turned her nose up at, while the characterisation is no more than puddle deep. And yet when you’re reading ‘The Fog’ you forget all of that, as it’s just so much horrible fun.

Taking the lead from John Wyndham, Herbert creates a huge problem which threatens the whole of mankind in general, but more particularly Britain. After an earthquake in the West Country a giant fog rises up, which sends anyone who comes in contact with it stark staring mad. Soon entire communities are murdering each other and committing suicide with gleeful looks on their faces. (H.G. Wells is another forefather. Whereas Wells had great fun destroying Surrey, Herbert enjoys himself wreaking havoc on Dorset). Yes, it’s overly brutal , chaotic and even the central characters are little better than ciphers, but it’s filled with a kind of youthful exuberance that writers tend to lose as they get older and more serious. ‘The Fog’ doesn’t go for depth, but it does have an absolute certainty that if there’s a truly gory passage, people won’t want to read on but they won’t want to put it down either.

‘The Fog’ is clearly far from a great novel, but if you do still have some macabre teenage horror fan lurking at the centre of you, then this is definitely recommended.(less)

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Jan 30, 2013 Sarah Adams rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jul 30, 2011 David rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A weak plot with unrelated incidents of 'insanity' botched on to fill a few extra pages. I literally had to force myself through this one. Was expecting more after reading '48 which was a far better book.

Also, how does the sergeant at the end check his watch when he is wearing a cumbersome lead lined suit?

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May 04, 2011 Mark rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror

When an apparent earthquake, in a sleepy Wiltshire town, creates a rupture in the road, a fog escapes. Holman, a government worker looking into potential misdeeds by the MOD, breathes it in and turns insane, before being successfully treated. The fog then makes its way along the south coast, turning everyone who encounters it into a maniac, until it reaches London. Published in 1975, my memories of this (read when I was in my teens) encompass three key set pieces – the gym, the pigeon fancier an...more

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Aug 29, 2009 Kristy rated it 4 of 5 stars

In this 1970s horror novel, an unusual earthquake hits a small British town. John Holman's car falls into the crack in the earth, but as he tries to get back to the surface a strange yellow fog escapes from the earth and envelops him. When the rescuers pull him out, he is completely insane. After a blood transfusion and some rest, John gets back to normal, but the fog continues to prowl the British countryside, and any person or animal who comes into contact with it goes crazy -- sometimes right...more

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Jan 31, 2013 Benjamin Stahl rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Stephen King speaks highly of this in his non-fiction book 'Danse Macabre', where he praises the extremities of violence which are apparently exploited so shamelessly in 'The Fog'.
The thought of an old lady being eaten by her many pet cats sounded excellently disturbing, and very typical for the depraved imagination of James Herbert. However, when I actually read this book, I found it to be mostly just a mess. The prose is clunky and chaotic (this is early Herbert, so it's kind of understandabl...more

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Jul 15, 2007 Robert Burnett rated it 4 of 5 stars

When I was twelve years old the sex and violence in this book was a tremendous turn on. I haven't read it since then, but I'm sure the years have diminished its power.

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May 21, 2013 Sarah rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horror

I had high hopes for this book, but I was a little disappointed actually. I liked the fact that there was action right away and it seemed like every chapter at first there was more action, death and murder, among other things getting more and more intense the further I read. I felt like I was experiencing each scene vividly in my mind.

I found the plot pretty strong for the most part, dipped a little between 60 and 80 % where I found I had to force my way through it a little bit. I actually foun...more

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May 14, 2013 Wilson rated it 2 of 5 stars

The Fog has a really enjoyable set-up, the first 100 pages or so, where the characters and theme are introduced, Herbert's character sketches are the most punchy and satisfying and sequence in school, what The Fog is most infamous for, happens; this absolutely gruesome fast paced beginning sets a good tone for The Fog being an entertaining chiller. Unfortunately, the novel grinds to a halt amid the introduction of the government, the nationalisation of the fog and the underlining of some really...more

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Jan 03, 2010 John rated it 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this book, it's look into one possible scenario of a biological weapon release upon an unsuspecting population was disturbing. The story had a nice pace, though it drags in a few areas. One problem that I had was the naive personality of the main character. Though I may be unrealistic with my assessment of how fast a person would stop trusting potential psychopaths. Books that I would recommend that follow this thread: The white plague, Hiroshima, and Children of men. A book that I hav...more

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Jul 21, 2012 Kit★ rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horror

This author is recommended as one of the horror greats, so when I saw this book and The Rats on one of my Goodwill adventures, I had to get 'em. I really enjoy horror stories though I don't seem to read them as often as other types, but while looking for my next book to read, I saw this one and it just said to me, it's time. So I went with the flow and started reading, and was immediately drawn into the story, wanting to know what was going to happen next. To be honest, when I picked this book u...more This author is recommended as one of the horror greats, so when I saw this book and The Rats on one of my Goodwill adventures, I had to get 'em. I really enjoy horror stories though I don't seem to read them as often as other types, but while looking for my next book to read, I saw this one and it just said to me, it's time. So I went with the flow and started reading, and was immediately drawn into the story, wanting to know what was going to happen next. To be honest, when I picked this book up, I thought it was going to be the story that the movie was based off of, you know, that one with the shipwrecked lepers' ghosts coming back and killing people, etc. Mostly because the cover of my copy has a leper looking thing on it, so when it turned out this wasn't the same story, I was like, huh. But it was all good. I liked the idea of a fog full of microorganisms that get into peoples' brains and make 'em psycho, though I wouldn't want to experience it for myself! There were some highly entertaining scenes of people running amok, all kinds of crazy stuff happening, and it was just the right amount of gore for me, not too insane and off the wall, but not sunny buttercups. Some of the craziness even made me laugh, the way different people responded to the madness was intriguing, some went viciously psycho right away and some seemed normal up until they were trying to bite your face off. Especially that one guy Holman picked up in London there towards the end, the guy who seemed perfectly sane until he pointed out his wife's decapitated body in the backseat. The mass devastation the fog caused was sad if I stopped to think about it in any realistic way, really I just enjoyed the ride, the madness. I also liked how it wasn't anything supernatural, it was all scientific, and caused by the government no less. I came to care about Holman and Casey, and I was really happy that they got a good ending there, they weren't killed or split up or anything. I really enjoyed the author's writing style, it was super easy to get into the story and be interested in the characters, even the ones that were introduced and given backgrounds, only to be suddenly killed off. I kinda liked that way of characterization, reminded me of good ol' Stephen King. I will definitely be wanting to read more books by this author, no doubt about it! Can't wait to find some.(less)

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Aug 24, 2010 Kechelle rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, read-and-reviewed

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. James Herbert’s the Fog

First of all a warning. My reviews on any of Herbert’s novels may be slightly jaded. I’m a big fan.

Strange things are happening in England. A hole suddenly forms in the earth and a small village is sucked within the earth. Out of the hole comes an ominous fog. Wherever the fog goes a certain madness follows and England is slowly being sucked into the insanity.

The Good,

In my opinion James Herbert is a master of horror. He thrills and excites with this tale of societies da...more

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Dec 10, 2007 Ollie rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fans of Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace

I stopped reading this novel around page 90. Why? The main narrator beats up his girlfriend until she's unconscious, then ties her up with bedsheets. Police officers show up and suspect the man of being a crazy lunatic; they take the girl to a hospital and interrogate the main narrator at the police station. After a few hours, they decide not to charge him and set him free!

See, I have a problem with that. If you are going to write fantastical fiction, bending the rules is OK, but you have to sti...more

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Apr 23, 2013 Shaun rated it 3 of 5 stars

"The Fog" is the first James Herbert book I have read. After reading a number of disappointing books I found "the fog" a refreshing change. The story is easy to read and captivating. The pace of the book keeps the intrigue high and your attention.

The story follows the central character who saves a young girl who has fallen into a giant crack in the floor created by a tremor. The tremor is the least of there problems after they realise a fog like cloud has been released from under the earth. The...more

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May 28, 2011 Bettie rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Oct 01, 2012 Mathew rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Fog was the first James Herbert book I read and I was mightily impressed by it. As an author he does seem to have a definite hatred of London, as several of his books seem to go out of their way to utterly obliterate it! After a small earthquake a mysterious fog is released into the atmosphere. This seems to prey on peoples dreams and aspirations creating havoc across the land. It's riveting stuff and I was hooked after the first chapter.

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Aug 05, 2012 Madeleine.fowlerhotmail.com rated it 3 of 5 stars

If I'd have read this before The Dark then I'm sure I would have been impressed and given it a higher rating, but there seems to be the same storyline in each James Herbert book I've read: fog/ dark/ moon comes along, people go mad and kill each other in the most gruesome and sexually perverted way.
My advice would be only to read one James Herbert book ever because he does the storyline well, but you don't want to read it again and again!

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Mar 27, 2013 Ross Armstrong rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horror

The Fog is James Herbert's seconod book and one of his best. An earthquake releases a strange, yellowish fog which affects any who come into contact with it turning them into homicidal maniacs and as the affects wear off they are compelled to commit suicide. It is up to one man to warn those in its path. And it is on a direct path to London!
There are some images that just stay with you long after finishing the book, a mark of a really great book.

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Aug 01, 2011 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror

Okay, I admit it...I only bought this as a teenager as there were some interesting chapters which were being passed around the school yard. But it's mix of sex and violence certainly closed the door on children's fiction forever and did get me reading more. Twenty years on and I still have the images of severed heads and mass drownings in my head..Thank you Mr Herbert!

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Jul 30, 2012 Franki rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm a massive James Herbert fan and I thoroughly enjoyed this book- not as much as I enjoyed the Rats trilogy but this deals with a very different subject matter.
When explosive testing unearths a biological weapon hidden underground for decades, the whole of England becomes at risk from the deadly mind-altering substance that takes the shape of a fog. Anyone who comes into contact with it will steadily lose their mind and either kill themselves or others.
There's very much the same character ster...more

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May 24, 2010 La pointe de la sauce rated it 1 of 5 stars

Ministry of Defense-Investigator-Strange Fog- people turning into zombies, sprinkle in a bit of sex and you've got your classic 90s movie script.
Aimee recommended this, so if you're reading this Aimee, it was fantastic. For the rest of you, unless you are a Stephen King fan, don't bother.

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Jan 12, 2013 Derrick rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013, disturbing, fiction, thriller

I was under the impression that James Herbert wrote "horror". But after reading this, and his Others, I've come to the conclusion that Herbert writes about depravity.

No more James Herbert for me.

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Jan 04, 2012 Dan Henk rated it 3 of 5 stars

This story wasn't bad, but was a bit of a disappointment, considering the last piece I read by James Herbert was 48, and that novel was much better. This felt like a victim of it's era, a bit tame and stale, and good writing transcends the era. I know it was one of his early works, and I definitely noticed.

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Aug 21, 2009 Jak rated it 4 of 5 stars

Kick ass strait up horror. A fog roams around the English countryside turning anyone it envelopes into blood thirsty maniacs. And you then find out that it was a chemical weapon created by the government and is to a small extent self aware.

It’s never going to win any literary prizes but it was great run.

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Aug 04, 2011 Belinda added it

Not one of his best, and to the people who assume it is based on John Carpenter and Debra Hill's film you may want to check your dates. The book was written in 1975, the film made in 1979, the only similarity is the title.

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About James Herbert

James Herbert is Britain's number one bestselling writer (a position he has held ever since publication of his first novel) and one of the world's top writers of thriller/horror fiction.

He was one of our greatest popular novelists, whose books are sold in thirty-three other languages, including Russian and Chinese. Widely imitated and hugely influential, his nineteen novels have sold more than fo...more

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