The Mist

I was talking with a friend the other day online about how she'd just finished reading It, and how I hadn't read all that much of Stephen King's work myself--just It, Cujo, and The Shining. Out of general curiosity, and since I saw the recently released edition that ties in with the movie that's come out, I decided to tackle The Mist.

It's official: this is a tight little story, and pretty creepy as well. The prose is very spare and very clean, which is exactly right for the overall atmosphere of the plot. There's just enough setup to give you an idea of the protagonist, his wife, and his son, and how they've got an ongoing conflict with a neighbor about boundary disputes between their properties. Then a savage band of storms flattens their quiet community, and in its wake comes something even stranger: a mist filled with horrific monsters. The protagonist, his son, their neighbor, and dozens of others are trapped in a supermarket. Death, doom, and destruction ensue.

What really makes this tale work for me, I think, is the ambiguity of what the characters are facing. There's speculation about what causes the mist and its monsters--but nothing is ever proven. And yeah, the comparison of the monsters against the chilling behavior of some of the survivors is effective. My only quibble is that the ending feels a little rushed and weak to me. But then, I think that's also my automatic looking for resolution in a plot kicking in there. That there isn't any resolution to speak of, in this particular instance, is all part of the point. So: four stars!