The Fourth Fog, by Chris Daniels
Book Review by Michael D. Griffiths
Have you read this book?
The Fourth Fog, by Chris Daniels is certainly a horror novel and has a
high body count to prove it, but in many respects it should be called an
Urban Horror. The Fourth Fog digs deep into the mind of a man named
Benito who lives in a huge metropolitan area. Its undercurrent is a
thread of urban panic—the feeling of being overwhelmed, but not allowing
anyone to see that you are.
Benito lives in a state of hopeless inquisitiveness. He has a lovely wife, but mostly behaves like a man playing a game more than living a life. Things change when rodent sounds in the wall lead to a hole over their bed. When Ben takes matters into his own hands and poisons the mysterious rodents himself, the flat develops a far worse problem. Flies.
These bloated giant flies are unexplained, possess a malicious instinct, and before long become killers in a variety of twisted ways. Having flies become the primary menace lends a unique angle to the novel and these flies quickly become something to be loathed and feared. Yet Benito and his wife have strangely been able to dodge the more fatal encounters that others fall victim too.
The fly issue multiples as Ben's life also becomes more complex. Set this against a city backdrop, where a recent terrorist attack has everyone on edge, creates a rather tense and at times unnerving novel. Daniels also does a good job explaining why the missing people have not created a stir, at least not at first. As the body count builds, the reader wonders if there is any way Ben and his wife can escape or could they be the case of all this death?
The book is well polished, but some things fell a bit short. A few times the flow of the narrative is lost. It could just be me, but the imagery blurred and I could not quite understand was had occurred. Some other things remained vague. Like the reader was expected to completely grasp things while taking others at face value without getting a complete explanation.
Still the drawbacks are few.The Fourth Fogpaints a bleak urban landscape. Like most of life, it has more questions than answers. Daniels takes a few risks and tries to bring fourth an original horror tale, which is something that is getting increasingly harder to do. He also gets a few bonus points by using flies as a primary villain.
Benito lives in a state of hopeless inquisitiveness. He has a lovely wife, but mostly behaves like a man playing a game more than living a life. Things change when rodent sounds in the wall lead to a hole over their bed. When Ben takes matters into his own hands and poisons the mysterious rodents himself, the flat develops a far worse problem. Flies.
These bloated giant flies are unexplained, possess a malicious instinct, and before long become killers in a variety of twisted ways. Having flies become the primary menace lends a unique angle to the novel and these flies quickly become something to be loathed and feared. Yet Benito and his wife have strangely been able to dodge the more fatal encounters that others fall victim too.
The fly issue multiples as Ben's life also becomes more complex. Set this against a city backdrop, where a recent terrorist attack has everyone on edge, creates a rather tense and at times unnerving novel. Daniels also does a good job explaining why the missing people have not created a stir, at least not at first. As the body count builds, the reader wonders if there is any way Ben and his wife can escape or could they be the case of all this death?
The book is well polished, but some things fell a bit short. A few times the flow of the narrative is lost. It could just be me, but the imagery blurred and I could not quite understand was had occurred. Some other things remained vague. Like the reader was expected to completely grasp things while taking others at face value without getting a complete explanation.
Still the drawbacks are few.The Fourth Fogpaints a bleak urban landscape. Like most of life, it has more questions than answers. Daniels takes a few risks and tries to bring fourth an original horror tale, which is something that is getting increasingly harder to do. He also gets a few bonus points by using flies as a primary villain.
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