NEW-The Mist

by Stephen King

In the wake of a summer storm, terror descends...David Drayton, his son Billy, and their neighbor Brent Norton join dozens of others and head to the local grocery store to replenish supplies following a freak storm. Once there, they become trapped by a strange mist that has enveloped the town. As the confinement takes its toll on their nerves, a religious zealot, Mrs. Carmody, begins to play on their fears to convince them that this is God’s vengeance for their sins. She insists a sacrifice must be made and two groups—those for and those against—are aligned. Clearly, staying in the store may prove fatal, and the Draytons, along with store employee Ollie Weeks, Amanda Dumfries, Irene Reppler, and Dan Miller, attempt to make their escape. But what’s out there may be worse than what they left behind. This exhilarating novella explores the horror in both the enemy you know—and the one you can only imagine.

Genres: Horror

176 pages, Paperback

About the author

Stephen Edwin King was born the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. After his father left them when Stephen was two, he and his older brother, David, were raised by his mother. Parts of his childhood were spent in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where his father's family was at the time, and in Stratford, Connecticut. When Stephen was eleven, his mother brought her children back to Durham, Maine, for good. Her parents, Guy and Nellie Pillsbury, had become incapacitated with old age, and Ruth King was persuaded by her sisters to take over the physical care of them. Other family members provided a small house in Durham and financial support. After Stephen's grandparents passed away, Mrs. King found work in the kitchens of Pineland, a nearby residential facility for the mentally challenged.

Stephen attended the grammar school in Durham and Lisbon Falls High School, graduating in 1966. From his sophomore year at the University of Maine at Orono, he wrote a weekly column for the school newspaper, THE MAINE CAMPUS. He was also active in student politics, serving as a member of the Student Senate. He came to support the anti-war movement on the Orono campus, arriving at his stance from a conservative view that the war in Vietnam was unconstitutional. He graduated in 1970, with a B.A. in English and qualified to teach on the high school level. A draft board examination immediately post-graduation found him 4-F on grounds of high blood pressure, limited vision, flat feet, and punctured eardrums.

He met Tabitha Spruce in the stacks of the Fogler Library at the University, where they both worked as students; they married in January of 1971. As Stephen was unable to find placement as a teacher immediately, the Kings lived on his earnings as a laborer at an industrial laundry, and her student loan and savings, with an occasional boost from a short story sale to men's magazines.

Stephen made his first professional short story sale ("The Glass Floor") to Startling Mystery Stories in 1967. Throughout the early years of his marriage, he continued to sell stories to men's magazines. Many were gathered into the Night Shift collection or appeared in other anthologies.

In the fall of 1971, Stephen began teaching English at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels.

Reviews

[D'Asia · Rating 2 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️ It took me nearly a month to read 165 pages. When i picked this book up a month ago, i thought it would be a quick thriller/suspense novella. The wording in this book was long winded. The ending wasn’t an ending. There was so many things that happened that it would take me weeks to go back over and explain thoroughly. Definitely would not recommend. Hopefully the movie is good.

[Mannie Alvarez · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story honestly was pretty good till it got to the end, was a bit disappointed on how anticlimactic it was. Would have given it a 5 if the ending was better. Was a great short story to read, now have to watch the movie next.

[Adrien · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to start off by saying that my reason for reading this book is because it has been an inspiration for the original Silent Hill video game. I can say that while I enjoy Silent Hill’s world more, I absolutely adore The Mist. From the description to Norton failing to start a chainsaw, to the mad ramblings of a woman claiming death to all, it’s just so all well written that I couldn’t put the book down at all.
Now take this next part with a large grain of salt cause as of Jan 8,2024, I have the flu, and towards the last few chapters, specifically when they attempt to go to the drug store, I did throw up. Despite that though I wanted to keep reading I wanted to know what happened next and that’s the highest praise I can give this book. Usually Horror stories don’t get me, never to the point of physically throwing up, so far only two pieces has been able to do that to me. The Mist (book) and Quarantine 2 (movie) and honestly if a story can make you feel that way I say they’re doing something right.
Now for monster designs in this book, I think the one I enjoyed the most was the slug/bird monsters, they were more Silent Hill like to me. Tentacle monster? Eh I’ve seen that many times before, doesn’t shock me. Spider design was pretty cool but definitely didn’t scream “Silent Hill” to me
Yes, again, like I said, I read this book because of Silent Hill, the main trilogy to be exact, and I love how much this book is a perfect base ground for those games. Like this book made an amazing horror filled world and people took that building blocks and made amazing games out of this world. I recommend this book if you’re a Silent Hill fan or you’re just looking for something that’s mainly contained in one spot throughout the whole book as you watch everyone decent into madness :)

[Luis Sd · Rating 5 out of 5]

First Stephen King’s book this year and it was solid.

I’ve heard a lot about the movie based on this book and honestly I think I heard a little too much about it up to the point where I actually believed the book would end as the movie did. It doesn’t. (Or at least I think it doesn’t, I haven’t seen it)

However the book is great, I do believe it would’ve been better if the things in the mist were kept a mystery and their descriptions were a little less detailed. The part that makes things so scary is often the way each of us imagine them, so by having a clear picture of the things we kind of had a new mental image that didn’t really scare anymore.

But anyway, great book, quick read, great way to start the year or get out of a slump in your reading challenge.

[Yael · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great short novel with a very Lovecraftian and mysterious feel that stayed with me after every read. The sense of despair and powerlessness from the characters in it really help land the horror element.

I am generally not a fan of horror, but Stephen King really nailed at atmosphere here that even can enjoy despite not loving the genre

[Francine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Horror movies are my forte. This movie's ending absolutely defies what horror is about. IMO. The ending I'm sure we all fell completely in David's shoes and torn heart. Ollie was a bad ass. Ollie in the book, not as such, but still a sigh of relief. The book ending still lived up to my expectations. Thank you Evelynn for this Christmas gift!

[Nicole Fincannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m glad I watched the movie first as some of the creatures in the book I could not have imagined otherwise. The ending tin the movie, while heart wrenching, I preferred. However, it was still a good read.

[Michael Di Pietro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reminds me of John Carpenter's The Fog film.

Take the doom and gloom of The Stand and shroud it with some unearthly foggy substance.
Albeit one location in The Mist, but the rest is spot on.

In my opinion, the ending of this short story is by far one of the best by SK.

[Kelly Shamrock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now that's a horror novel. Pure tension and I couldn't put it down. So well written and easy to digest. Love the movie too, almost spot on.