Review | Soon by Lois Murphy

Nine months ago, mists descended on the town of Nebulah. Those who venture into the mists end up dead, and return as something worse. The mists only appear after dusk so the townspeople learn to only venture during the day. But the mists have a way of calling to them. Now, only six people remain. When an outsider arrives, everything changes.

There was talk at one stage that some bright spark wanted to do a reality show out here. That would have been a laugh. What would they do, an eviction each week, send them out into the mist and see what they come back as? Last one left alive gets out to leave.

Soon is partly inspired by the true story of the Australian town of Wittenoom, an abestos-contaminated site where three residents still remain. Why do they stay? This book is a fictional account of what might be, only here the town of Nebulah dies after a mystery mist arrives. Whoever goes into the mist is devoured, and returns in another form. The concept is similar to Stephen King’s The Mist but the book focuses on the loss and loneliness of a group of six people relying on each other for survival.

The protagonist, Pete, is a retired former police officer, estranged from his family. The story deals with his guilt and depression, his desire to protect others as their safety circle gets tighter. There are flashbacks to his past as we learn why he still stays in Nebulah. His relationship with the other town inhabitants is also described in detail. I found the writing poetic and the location atmospheric. I thought the threat of the mists is convincing, and there are some unnerving scenes when they are unleashed.

What didn’t work for me was I felt the ending flouts the previously established rules of the mists in order to ramp up the scares. I was like “Wait, it can do that now?” which took me out of the story. Then again, the mists isn’t fully explained. While I don’t mind leaving things to the imagination, the book drops hints at the origins of the mists so I waited for an explanation. This doesn’t come, however.

Overall, Soon is a character study in a story of survival and friendship rather than a straight up horror story. I think it’s fair to say you need to be in the right mood to read this. I found the isolation and loneliness experienced by the characters more terrifying than the mists.

Note: contains scenes of suicides and animal deaths

I received a copy from the publisher for review purposes.

About the author: Lois Murphy

Photo by Yonghyun Lee