The Fog, by James Herbert

(pb; 1975)

From the back cover:

"In an exclusive school, students sexually assaulted and mutilated their teachers, then savagely turned on one another. . . in a great seaside resort, thousands of people joined in a monstrous act of self-destruction. . . in a lonely room, an old lady was shredded and eaten by her beloved pet cats. . . in the streets of the city, mass copulation and insane slaying spread from block to block.

"From the depths of the earth the fog had come -- to poison the deepest recesses of the human mind and soul. And as a group of scientists in an insulated underground laboratory worked around the clock to find out what this fog was and how to stop it, time was running out for mankind. . ."

Review:

Don't let the above, overly-familiar scenario turn you off from this brisk, exciting novel.

Herbert's writing is straightforward and solid, his characters are believable, and the scenario (as timely today as it was when the book was published), is intense.

The ending, simple and laugh-out-loud funny, maintains the sharp, intelligent feel of the rest of the novel.

Fun, hard to put down work: I read this in less than a day. Normally it takes me several days to read a book, given my schedule.

Check it out.