The Mist by Stephen King

This is my eighth Stephen King book. I’ve at least enjoyed all of them (except for The Green Mile) and really loved Misery, The Shining and a few of the stories in Everything’s Eventual. I’d add this novella to that list.

Having finally read more than a couple of Lovecraft’s works, I’m planning on rereading Lovecraft influenced stuff I’ve read in the past and try out some new to me works. This is the latter, and it really  works. As great as something epic like IT can be in moments, I like King at this length (150 pages). This felt like the crisp hour long thriller like the Hitch Hiker next to something that is really good but bloated, like Infinity War.

The novella opens with a terrible storm that damages several houses. An illustrator, his son and his neighbor with whom he quarrels go into town for supplies. Before they leave they see a mysterious mist crawling across the lake. The mist catches up to them in town, and they are trapped in a crowded grocery store. People who walk into the mist get snatched away. The tension ratchets up nicely, and it ends with a little more hope that Lovecraft would have done, I think. But there are the gigantic lovecraftian things dimly seen in addition to the smaller monsters that add that awe-filled creeping terror that is my favorite kind of horror.

Highly Recommended