Somewhere South of Midnight

by Stephen Laws

On a motorway, miles from anywhere, just after midnight, something collides head-on with the southbound traffic, creating a scene of the most terrible carnage. There are only seven survivors, all of whom emerged unscathed, but somehow different.

Genres: Horror, Fiction

496 pages, Paperback

First published December 2, 2012

About the author

Stephen Laws is a full-time novelist, born in Newcastle upon Tyne. Married, with three children, he lives and works in his birthplace. The author of 11 novels, numerous short stories, (collected in THE MIDNIGHT MAN) columnist, reviewer, film-festival interviewer, pianist and recipient of a number of awards, Stephen Laws recently wrote and starred in the short horror movie THE SECRET.

Reviews

[Jam Sinclair · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stephen Laws is so good. He is probably the only other horror author I've enjoyed as much as King or Barker. His stories have it all.
If you are a Stephen King fan (especially fans of The Stand and Desperation) you will definitely enjoy this.

[Lu · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fantastic thriller/horror. I loved it's locations all around britain as a result of the initial shock being on the A1. Certainly some disturbing chapters, but fantastic combination of sci-fi and horror.

[Chris Dalley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent book by SL - if you haven't seen any of his other books 'Chasm' and 'Darkfall' are thoroughly recommended.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've had this books for nearly 2 years this christmas so decided that being on holiday would be the perfect time to read it. I was really enjoying it until near the end and the capture and escape happened, I found it boring and it went on for too many chapters. I did find some of the characters I didn't enjoy reading about so I took it in but didn't really care, I guess this will happen though when you have a few leading characters. Overall though I liked some of the characters and even though again I wasn't keen on the end it still didn't make sense until the last pages so it kept me guessing. I've read Daemonic before and loved that so I will continue to try and find more from Stephen Laws and read them all.

[Steve822 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really did want to finish this book but gave up 7/8ths of the way through. It just started getting a bit far-fetched, the situations contrived, I just didn't care about the characters and there are plenty of other books to be read. As others have said, it is a lengthy book which could have done with some pruning.

[Krait · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise is OK, but the book could have done with some better editing. It's so long-winded, I had to force myself to keep reading. Horror aspects are again just OK for my taste - not as in-your-face as Stephen King or as subtle as Dan Simmons or Peter Straub. Some of the more "horrorfying" aspects are as "run-of-the-mill" as a torture scene, although there are some rather well done psychological and physical abuse episodes to two of the characters, which they get their own back for in due course.

[Elana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a weakness for traditional British horror, so I probably rated this book higher than I should out of sheer nostalgia. Written in 1996, it has no cellphones or ride-sharing. When you want to get from point A to point B, you take a night bus. When your bus collides with a supernatural force and you have to call the police, you walk until you get to the phone box. How can a bus collide with a supernatural force, you ask. This is never actually explained but the novel is so long-winded that by the time you get to the end, you are just happy it is over. Still, there are some nice moments, and some engaging characters. As a ride back to the 90s, it'll get you where you want to go.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting horror book. I picked it up because it was recommended by Stephen King. The plot was original and creative. It's worth picking up.