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The Fourth Fog
"A book quite unlike any other in the genre... The Fourth Fog is more than recommended for those seeking something unique" (Hellnotes).
"A rather tense and at times unnerving novel... An original horror tale" (SFReader).
"A disturbing horror story that offers a lot more than a quick read" (The Deepening).
LCR Books presents a psycho-allegorical horror novel for the ages, starring God, Terror, Death, and (you guessed it!) KILLER FLIES...
Newlyweds Ben and Tula move to "C" to manage their careers and the makings of a family. But their new home is still reeling from recent terror attacks by a group called "The Remove," due to strike again at any moment. Ben gets caught up in living with such a constant threat and can't help but notice small but seemingly meaningful signs of mass hysteria all around him. As Tula sinks deeper into her work at a nearby nursing home, Ben withdraws into paranoia and becomes dependent on a mysterious drug known only as "Hal." Meanwhile, the chaos of the outside world is seeping into their home, their haven, and it is not long before Ben and Tula must face an evil far darker than the terrors of man.
"A rather tense and at times unnerving novel... An original horror tale" (SFReader).
"A disturbing horror story that offers a lot more than a quick read" (The Deepening).
LCR Books presents a psycho-allegorical horror novel for the ages, starring God, Terror, Death, and (you guessed it!) KILLER FLIES...
Newlyweds Ben and Tula move to "C" to manage their careers and the makings of a family. But their new home is still reeling from recent terror attacks by a group called "The Remove," due to strike again at any moment. Ben gets caught up in living with such a constant threat and can't help but notice small but seemingly meaningful signs of mass hysteria all around him. As Tula sinks deeper into her work at a nearby nursing home, Ben withdraws into paranoia and becomes dependent on a mysterious drug known only as "Hal." Meanwhile, the chaos of the outside world is seeping into their home, their haven, and it is not long before Ben and Tula must face an evil far darker than the terrors of man.
250 pages, Paperback
First published December 29, 2011
2 people are currently reading
789 people want to read
About the author
Chris Daniels
1 book4 followersChris Daniels writes magic realist tales of intrigue and suspense in the comments sections of Internet news sites. He also writes literary novels in popular genres. His horror novel, The Fourth Fog, was released in 2011. He is working on a sci-fi sequel.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
July 17, 2012
*Won through a goodreads giveaway*
I'm not sure what there is to say about this book. It's about a man named Ben. He and his wife Tula live in "C"... There was some talk about them once living in North but then had to move to East... so on and so forth. Wasn't something I could really make heads or tails of. Which is the general theme of this book. How does one make heads or tails out of what's going on?
Ben is possibly insane and also a drug addict to a drug named Hal. And there's also crazy flies eating peoples' flesh outside of his house. Flies I figured he brought on with his improper disposal of a mystery animal above his bedroom door. Oh yeah! Don't drink the water either says the news anchors. There's so much going on and enough reason for Ben to be paranoid.
Overall I can't say I didn't like the book because I was interested in it. I think I will have to read it again in order to be fair. Most of the book I thought wasn't really happening. I thought maybe it was all in Ben's head but... I don't know.
I'm not sure what there is to say about this book. It's about a man named Ben. He and his wife Tula live in "C"... There was some talk about them once living in North but then had to move to East... so on and so forth. Wasn't something I could really make heads or tails of. Which is the general theme of this book. How does one make heads or tails out of what's going on?
Ben is possibly insane and also a drug addict to a drug named Hal. And there's also crazy flies eating peoples' flesh outside of his house. Flies I figured he brought on with his improper disposal of a mystery animal above his bedroom door. Oh yeah! Don't drink the water either says the news anchors. There's so much going on and enough reason for Ben to be paranoid.
Overall I can't say I didn't like the book because I was interested in it. I think I will have to read it again in order to be fair. Most of the book I thought wasn't really happening. I thought maybe it was all in Ben's head but... I don't know.
September 20, 2012
The Fourth fog??? What an interesting title for this strange book! I would use the word wow most definitely to describe this book. I won it in a giveaway on "goodreads from firstreads" and decided to not only read it myself, but because of the synopsis I also had my son read this book as well trying to get two different opinions of it. The plot was bizarre in my opinion and quite creepy. I didn't have any problems breezing through the book the confusion pushed me through it pretty fast actually. The story is about a couple strange things like a drug addicted character named Ben who most definitely has mental illness issues, and flies outside the house eating people up was just plain goofy. I am not sure what I think about this book it's most definitely different then anything I have ever read. I rated the book 3 stars, although I didn't love the book my son thought it was great so It appeals to some people and just not others. I would recommend to anyone who likes strange and different styles of writing and stories.
July 14, 2012
I've been thinking long and hard about how to review this book. I'm still not entirely certain what I'm going to say.
Ben and his new wife move to C - which is clearly NYC, just not quite in our world. The terrorist group, "The Remove" had recently hit the city, and Ben is caught up in the paranoia, not helped by his dependence on a Drug called Hal.
On top of this, there is something living in Ben and Tula's ceiling, and when Ben sees it, he shoots it and plasters over the hole. This leads to some kind of demon fly invasion of the building. Hard, metallic bodied flies who can communicate in their desire to consume flesh.
...Freaky. In a word, "Freaky" sums up this book. They eat her for Godssake!
**I received this book through Goodreads Giveaways.
Ben and his new wife move to C - which is clearly NYC, just not quite in our world. The terrorist group, "The Remove" had recently hit the city, and Ben is caught up in the paranoia, not helped by his dependence on a Drug called Hal.
On top of this, there is something living in Ben and Tula's ceiling, and when Ben sees it, he shoots it and plasters over the hole. This leads to some kind of demon fly invasion of the building. Hard, metallic bodied flies who can communicate in their desire to consume flesh.
...Freaky. In a word, "Freaky" sums up this book. They eat her for Godssake!
**I received this book through Goodreads Giveaways.
July 8, 2013
About the book:
Story about a married couple, Ben and Tula who live in "C", a neighborhood of Ohside in East, a predominantly Irish/Korean community, 15 minutes to West on the blue train.
Tula is a nurse at Rosamond Nursing Facility, and Ben an Associate Copyeditor for a religious book at Summa Press.
Ben suffers from paranoia and is an addict of a substance called "HAL" which he uses as a coping mechanism and a Saturday-Sunday pastime and is just a tool he uses for his mental health.
There is a terror group in the area called The Remove, that has planted horror and rancor in everyone's hearts. People think they hate freedom, and refer to them as fascist pigs. -pg38
There is an outbreak of a disease called SADS-severe acute devolutionary syndrome, a contagious neuropathy. Most travel to the Asian countries and Canada has been banned.
Beneath all the details of this couple's everyday life, the story includes a sudden infestation of flies, due they believe to be caused by Ben's poisoning a rodent in the bedroom's ceiling. Ben's systematically been trying to rid the apartment of the pestering burdening flies by flushing them down the toilet, yet they seem to multiply very quickly.
Then while at work Ben gets assigned a publication edit of "the grief line", and he learns that his co-worker Oskar has rejected the assignment. In his anger at learning this Ben drops the pages between them and storms off. Upon returning to his cubicle, the manuscript "God and Death", sat on his desk with its pages crammed together out of order. There was no explosion of paper, so he thinks this strange, but he notices a chapter on Exodus that catches his eye. The chapter outlines signs and death plagues in Egypt when Moses orders Pharoah to let his people go. Ben sees this as relevant to what is happening and is suddenly awakened to his own situation, his own city, his home, the country, the world.
There seems to be a pattern (if I'm not mistaken) to the flies' appearance, and their method of attack. Those who harbor secrets, ill, or wickedness in their hearts seem to be victims.
This includes to some degree the other "plagues" such as the flesh eating diseases, etc. In the editing of "God and Death" the author argues that people who've witnessed the "plague" phenomena would enter a state of shock, causing social "stress factors" that would grow in intensity. The plagues of the book of Exodus are one of the first recorded cases of mass hysteria. In other words everyone who fears the plagues will eventually succumb to them. Its all about their own paranoia.
Not a book that I would normally read, but I enjoyed it. I would liken it to a King or Koontz. Some parts are really visually graphic. A good read.
Story about a married couple, Ben and Tula who live in "C", a neighborhood of Ohside in East, a predominantly Irish/Korean community, 15 minutes to West on the blue train.
Tula is a nurse at Rosamond Nursing Facility, and Ben an Associate Copyeditor for a religious book at Summa Press.
Ben suffers from paranoia and is an addict of a substance called "HAL" which he uses as a coping mechanism and a Saturday-Sunday pastime and is just a tool he uses for his mental health.
There is a terror group in the area called The Remove, that has planted horror and rancor in everyone's hearts. People think they hate freedom, and refer to them as fascist pigs. -pg38
There is an outbreak of a disease called SADS-severe acute devolutionary syndrome, a contagious neuropathy. Most travel to the Asian countries and Canada has been banned.
Beneath all the details of this couple's everyday life, the story includes a sudden infestation of flies, due they believe to be caused by Ben's poisoning a rodent in the bedroom's ceiling. Ben's systematically been trying to rid the apartment of the pestering burdening flies by flushing them down the toilet, yet they seem to multiply very quickly.
Then while at work Ben gets assigned a publication edit of "the grief line", and he learns that his co-worker Oskar has rejected the assignment. In his anger at learning this Ben drops the pages between them and storms off. Upon returning to his cubicle, the manuscript "God and Death", sat on his desk with its pages crammed together out of order. There was no explosion of paper, so he thinks this strange, but he notices a chapter on Exodus that catches his eye. The chapter outlines signs and death plagues in Egypt when Moses orders Pharoah to let his people go. Ben sees this as relevant to what is happening and is suddenly awakened to his own situation, his own city, his home, the country, the world.
There seems to be a pattern (if I'm not mistaken) to the flies' appearance, and their method of attack. Those who harbor secrets, ill, or wickedness in their hearts seem to be victims.
This includes to some degree the other "plagues" such as the flesh eating diseases, etc. In the editing of "God and Death" the author argues that people who've witnessed the "plague" phenomena would enter a state of shock, causing social "stress factors" that would grow in intensity. The plagues of the book of Exodus are one of the first recorded cases of mass hysteria. In other words everyone who fears the plagues will eventually succumb to them. Its all about their own paranoia.
Not a book that I would normally read, but I enjoyed it. I would liken it to a King or Koontz. Some parts are really visually graphic. A good read.
July 7, 2013
Following a Goodreads giveaway for this book (which I didn't actually win), I was contacted by the author of The Fourth Fog and was asked if I would still be interested in reading his book because a few copies remained in his possession for review purposes. Enthusiastically, I responded that I was grateful for the opportunity and began reading it as soon as it arrived through the mail. As with several of the other individuals who reviewed this book, I almost didn't know where to begin in offering an opinion. However, after taking a few days to kind of process some of the details in my mind, I felt a bit more confident in offering some commentary.
The Fourth Fog essentially drops us into the lives of Ben and his wife, Tula, who recently moved to a location only known and referred to as "C." Nonetheless, as details emerge regarding this area of residence, many eerie parallels to New York City post-9/11 seem to surface, in addition to highlighting what seems to be reminiscent of our society's collective post-9/11 paranoia/anxiety. From what is conveyed, Ben works as an editor for a company that "promotes" him to reviewing books revolving around the topics of grief, death, and loss which, in addition to his self-medication and his compounding gross perceptions of himself and society, begins to further dissociate him from reality. Thus, in a nutshell, we essentially journey into the darker recesses of Ben's mind as we read and follow him down the proverbial downward spiral where we begin to question, like Ben, what exactly is and isn't real - where does the mind end and "reality" begin?
Without spoiling the book for other potential readers, I won't elaborate on the plot of the story much more than that. But obviously, a review on this book wouldn't be complete if I didn't mention the carnivorous flies that appear throughout the book and makes one have to question, "What the hell is going on and why are these flies so pissed off!?" Again, however, it becomes increasingly difficult to figure out where the flies end and where Ben begins, particularly given the potential symbolism of the flies on many different levels.
All in all, I really enjoyed reading this book and it certainly drew me in because I was curious to find out where the plot was actually headed. The only downfall is that I feel like I should have been reading this with several other people, perhaps in a book club or educational type setting, so I could better appreciate what the author was truly attempting to convey in his writing. Nonetheless, coming up with my own theories has been especially enjoyable as well.
The Fourth Fog essentially drops us into the lives of Ben and his wife, Tula, who recently moved to a location only known and referred to as "C." Nonetheless, as details emerge regarding this area of residence, many eerie parallels to New York City post-9/11 seem to surface, in addition to highlighting what seems to be reminiscent of our society's collective post-9/11 paranoia/anxiety. From what is conveyed, Ben works as an editor for a company that "promotes" him to reviewing books revolving around the topics of grief, death, and loss which, in addition to his self-medication and his compounding gross perceptions of himself and society, begins to further dissociate him from reality. Thus, in a nutshell, we essentially journey into the darker recesses of Ben's mind as we read and follow him down the proverbial downward spiral where we begin to question, like Ben, what exactly is and isn't real - where does the mind end and "reality" begin?
Without spoiling the book for other potential readers, I won't elaborate on the plot of the story much more than that. But obviously, a review on this book wouldn't be complete if I didn't mention the carnivorous flies that appear throughout the book and makes one have to question, "What the hell is going on and why are these flies so pissed off!?" Again, however, it becomes increasingly difficult to figure out where the flies end and where Ben begins, particularly given the potential symbolism of the flies on many different levels.
All in all, I really enjoyed reading this book and it certainly drew me in because I was curious to find out where the plot was actually headed. The only downfall is that I feel like I should have been reading this with several other people, perhaps in a book club or educational type setting, so I could better appreciate what the author was truly attempting to convey in his writing. Nonetheless, coming up with my own theories has been especially enjoyable as well.
March 1, 2013
NOTE: I RECEIVED THIS BOOK FOR FREE THROUGH GOODREADS FIRST READS IN EXCHANGE FOR A HONEST REVIEW.
What can I say about this book? It really is about killer flies. I actually thought it was a joke at first when I read the description of the book, then when I started reading the book and there was the mention of them I just thought they would play a small part but as I continued reading the book I realised they were one of the main characters.
A very interesting book which I don't think I would pick up to read unless someone had recommended it to me. The cover wasn't interesting and neither was the title (which I still don't understand what the title has to do with the book).
The last 20 pages definitely had my attention. I'm not sure whether this was because I knew the book was ending or because it became a lot more interesting.
Don't get me wrong the book was interesting in some parts and that was what held my attention, but the author did like to make graphical points of when people were going to the toilet or other private matters.
Some parts were very detailed and descriptive (some of these points I loved, others I loathed) which let me picture in my mind what was going on.
What can I say about this book? It really is about killer flies. I actually thought it was a joke at first when I read the description of the book, then when I started reading the book and there was the mention of them I just thought they would play a small part but as I continued reading the book I realised they were one of the main characters.
A very interesting book which I don't think I would pick up to read unless someone had recommended it to me. The cover wasn't interesting and neither was the title (which I still don't understand what the title has to do with the book).
The last 20 pages definitely had my attention. I'm not sure whether this was because I knew the book was ending or because it became a lot more interesting.
Don't get me wrong the book was interesting in some parts and that was what held my attention, but the author did like to make graphical points of when people were going to the toilet or other private matters.
Some parts were very detailed and descriptive (some of these points I loved, others I loathed) which let me picture in my mind what was going on.
September 21, 2012
I recieved this book from the Goodreads giveaway and when I got it in the mail the first thought I had was that this was the most boring cover I've ever seen, if I was in a store I would have never had picked it up. When I finished the book the first thought I had was that the cover was not reflective of the book, it most definatly was not a boring book.
I wavered between giving this a 3 and a 4 star rating, if I could do half stars I would do 3.5 I think. I'm not sure that I can say I liked the book, but I can say that everytime I picked it up to read it I was immediatly sucked into it and didn't want to stop reading it. It is definatly not for everyone, but for those with the taste in books that this genre fulfills I think they would thoroughly enjoy it.
This book is completly random seeming at times, has some awesomely disgusting, creepy and disturbing moments and I am very glad that I won it and was able to read it and explore a genre that I normally don't read.
I wavered between giving this a 3 and a 4 star rating, if I could do half stars I would do 3.5 I think. I'm not sure that I can say I liked the book, but I can say that everytime I picked it up to read it I was immediatly sucked into it and didn't want to stop reading it. It is definatly not for everyone, but for those with the taste in books that this genre fulfills I think they would thoroughly enjoy it.
This book is completly random seeming at times, has some awesomely disgusting, creepy and disturbing moments and I am very glad that I won it and was able to read it and explore a genre that I normally don't read.
August 26, 2012
This book will make your skin crawl, very creepy. Can't look at insects around the house and yard without getting the chills.
The story was good and easy to read. I thought the synapses about the book was a little misleading. It was, however, amazing to be able to relate to such a disturbed character and his thoughts. There were a few areas where I felt the book jumped around and took too long to tie back together. Overall the book is definitely worth reading.
It should be noted that I received this book as a "goodreads first reads givaway". That being said I am a bit of a harsh critic and 3 stars for me is the equivalent of 4 stars for most people (judging by the ratings of most books). It is also nice to see some of the smaller publishers putting out good books that otherwise would never be read.
I do recommend both the author, Chris Daniels, and the publisher for future reading.
The story was good and easy to read. I thought the synapses about the book was a little misleading. It was, however, amazing to be able to relate to such a disturbed character and his thoughts. There were a few areas where I felt the book jumped around and took too long to tie back together. Overall the book is definitely worth reading.
It should be noted that I received this book as a "goodreads first reads givaway". That being said I am a bit of a harsh critic and 3 stars for me is the equivalent of 4 stars for most people (judging by the ratings of most books). It is also nice to see some of the smaller publishers putting out good books that otherwise would never be read.
I do recommend both the author, Chris Daniels, and the publisher for future reading.
November 28, 2012
I got this book through a Goodreads giveaway. It’s about a newly married couple relocating to a new city. This city had a terrorist attack several months before they moved there, don’ know what kind of attack, just know one happened. The husband, Ben, is addicted to a drug (HAL) and the wife, Tula, doesn’t seem to mind too much. It seems she is a workaholic and just likes to get out of the apartment. Now I couldn’t figure out whether he was hallucinating or whether there was a real infestation of flesh eating flies, but it seems they originated from their apartment when Ben poisoned some kind of animal (don’t know what kind) that was rooting around in their ceiling. There was also an incident in his childhood that was never explained fully. This was just an all-around strange book. If you like creepy this is for you.
September 2, 2013
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.
The Fourth Fog review at SFReader.com
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.
The Fourth Fog review at SFReader.com
November 13, 2012
I won this book through a first-reads giveaway. I was intrigued by the synopsis and couldn't wait to start reading. The book is about newlyweds Ben and Tula who move to "C". A terrorist group called "The Remove" recently hit the city and Ben (who almost definitely has a mental disorder) becomes addicted to a drug named "Hal", to deal with his paranoia. The plot is definitely the strangest I have ever read. It took me some time to understand what was happening, there was quite a bit of confusion involved. Though it wasn't the easiest book to read, I pushed through and in the end I can happily say that I enjoyed it! It had some very weird things happen during the story but that's what makes this book unique and enjoyable!
August 7, 2012
I enjoyed "The Fourth Fog." The pacing is good, but not constant. There is a nice mix of frantic, laid back, and everything in between. Flashback sequences are integrated flawlessly into the story. Horror scenes are well written and matter of fact without crossing over to "ultra gore." I would certainly recommend this book to fans of the horror or suspense genres.
*I received "The Fourth Fog" free through Goodreads First Reads.*
*I received "The Fourth Fog" free through Goodreads First Reads.*
August 31, 2012
**I won this book from a goodreads giveaway**
At first I didn't think I was going to like this book. It took me a while to get into it because the beginning was kind of slow and was choppy. From there the story stayed pretty choppy but it became so disturbing and detailed that I couldn't put it down. This book is definitely creepy and unique.
At first I didn't think I was going to like this book. It took me a while to get into it because the beginning was kind of slow and was choppy. From there the story stayed pretty choppy but it became so disturbing and detailed that I couldn't put it down. This book is definitely creepy and unique.
September 15, 2012
I was intrigued and compelled to keep reading by the bizarre plot. Upon finishing the novel, I was plunged into deep thought about the themes and imagery, about the fate of society, and the fear-mongering in our society. Killer flies are certainly a stretch, but the paranoia, fear, and disconnectedness are themes that I identified with on a personal level. Overall, this was a pretty good read.
October 29, 2012
I won this book as a Goodreads giveaway and all I can say is wow. It's certainly surreal and most definitely bizarre.
I was reminded of Orwells' 1984 in parts and everytime I read about the killer flies I began to itch.
This book has certainly made an impression on me and I intend on reading it a few more times, at least.
I was reminded of Orwells' 1984 in parts and everytime I read about the killer flies I began to itch.
This book has certainly made an impression on me and I intend on reading it a few more times, at least.
November 19, 2012
It's quite difficult to put into words what I thought of this book. I found the first half of the book quite lengthy and slow. However, the second half was exciting and hard to put down!
It is worth a read - and worth sticking with it to get to the second half. :)
(Won through Goodreads giveaways)
It is worth a read - and worth sticking with it to get to the second half. :)
(Won through Goodreads giveaways)
December 7, 2012
I won a copy of this book through Goodreads. I was certainly original and hard to classify in a genre. I thought it was mild for a horror novel and may fit better in the bizarro category but then again it was a bit mild for bizarro also. If you're looking for something different, you will find it here. The story didn't floor me but it was still enjoyable.
June 6, 2012
I won this book on a giveaway and although different from my normal book taste it kept my attention and had me to the very end. Thank you for expanding my reading scope and making my imagination run wild!!
July 8, 2012
I won this book on a goodreads giveaway.
The Fourth Fog was creepy, but not scary. Most of the time I was a little unsure if Benito was imagining things or if they were really happening to him. Overall it was a pretty good story and kept me interested throughout the whole book.
The Fourth Fog was creepy, but not scary. Most of the time I was a little unsure if Benito was imagining things or if they were really happening to him. Overall it was a pretty good story and kept me interested throughout the whole book.
April 10, 2012
A very unique and disturbing horror outing. Hellnotes review to follow ...
August 18, 2022
Excellent book!!!
November 5, 2012
Very enjoyable. Didn't do much in the horror category but definitely for tension. I'm still a bit confused in some specific areas, so I might just go back to it at a later date to satisfy it.
October 23, 2012
Significantly above average, but by no means amazing.
November 5, 2015
Very odd indeed and hard to get into.
October 22, 2012
THIS ONE KEPT ME ON THE EDGE OF MY SEAT. VERY IMPRESSIVE AT CAPTIVATING A READERS INTEREST !! NICE WORK !
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews