Evilution

by Shaun Jeffrey

Shrouded by fog for nearly two years, the picturesque village of Paradise harbours more than its share of secrets. Having won a cottage in a competition she can’t remember entering, Chase Black moves to Paradise, only to discover that its beauty is skin deep – murder and madness fester in its shadows. When her travelling companion, Jane mysteriously disappears, she starts asking questions. Why are the villagers behaving so oddly? Who are the strange figures she sees lurking in the fog? As Chase becomes afraid that something terrible has happened, events escalate dangerously out of control. A virtual prisoner; too late she discovers the real reason she’s there ...

Genres: Horror

300 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2003

About the author

Shaun Jeffrey was brought up in a house in a cemetery, so it was only natural for his prose to stray towards the dark side when he started writing. He has had five novels published, The Kult, Killers, Evilution, Fangtooth and Deadfall, and one collection of short stories, Voyeurs of Death. He has also had over 40 short stories published in places such as Dark Discoveries and Cemetery Dance. His novel The Kult was optioned for film.

Reviews

[Marvin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I believe this was the author's debut novel. It feels like one and not necessarily in a good way. I have previously read Jeffrey's novel, The Kult and while I liked it, I was concerned over the barely believable plot and the need to suspend disbelief way too often. Evilution has the same problem only more so. We are asked to believe that a supposedly smart woman would believe she won a free house, not remembering if she ever entered a contest, and then get on a helicopter with a mysterious man to see her prize. I bet she's replying to those Nigerian bank account e-mails too. We are also asked to believe that a village in England can be totally cut off from society by a eerie fog for two years and no one even bothers to call the press. This is only the tip of the iceberg in this cavalcade of unrealistic events. I really wanted to like this but by the umpteenth time I screamed, "Don't do that, you dimwit!" to the heroine who should have figured it all out by now, I realized this just wasn't going to be a novel I could take home to mother. So I kissed my Kindle and said goodbye to Evilution while making a note not to call this novel back for a second date.

[Lorraine Versini · Rating 4 out of 5]

First, I must say that my impression of this story is probably influenced by the fact that I did everything the wrong way round, reading Shaun's first novel last... So I'm used to faster-paced stories, which gave me the impression that this one started a bit slow. But then on the other side, I got really confused with what was going on, same as the character, and I'm just wondering if that was the reason why and maybe that was just a way of setting up the "atmosphere."
I really liked the idea behind the story, all that weird-science stuff is actually pretty scary... There are definitely a few points that make you think... Erm no, I'd rather not think about them actually !
Eventually the book did pick up, and I was so glad that it ended just the way I like a story to end ! (won't say anything else other than I'm not into the fluffy fairy kind of stuff)...
Although I didn't have a blast like I did with Shaun's other novels, I did enjoy this creepy read !

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

another fantastic book by Shaun Jeffrey.

[Mini · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this novel. Very suspenseful. Will write more when not on my iPad.

[Sheri White · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent story! Review to come from Morpheus Tales.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this one up after reading Jeffrey's THE KULT. Fast paced, thought-provoking read. (And that's saying something for a horror story!)

[Kathy Jacobs · Rating 2 out of 5]

Um...this is the second book I've read by the author, and it's not unenjoyable, but it suffers from even more glaring punctuation and grammar mistakes. I mean, they're pretty bad, and pull you out of the story and make you remember you're reading a book. No bueno. And then there are some more awkwardly-phrased bits: a pub is described as "list[ing] like a drunk" (the exact phrase used to describe a building in The Kult - surely there are other phrases to describe a slanty shanty); there's a line along the lines of "a luminous shape looming out of the fog;" and odd bits of repetition and redundancy that only serve to up the word count, not add to the ambience or anything. The title comes from a cringe-worthy retort served up by one of the protagonists - I didn't mind the title until I read the dialogue it comes from, but afterwards reading it, oof.

But I'm still reading the book, still caring about the characters, still waiting to see what else happens to them, even though the big reveal has already happened. So, all in all, I'd say it's another decent book, interesting plot concept. Just someone please get this man a better editor. His stories are good, and don't deserve to be dragged down by all the missing commas, apostrophes, and even punctuation marks at the end of dialogue. I've enjoyed the concepts behind the two books of his I've read, and I think he's got potential. A better (or more careful) editor would really give this book (and The Kult) more chance to shine, I think.

[Casey Raehtz · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can say with complete honesty that this is the first time that, while reading a book, I said to myself, "You can't be that stupid. You've got to be kidding me." That pretty much sums up this whole book. I can suspend my disbelief if a story is engaging, or even if the story line progresses with some interesting plot twists. This had none of that. I spent most of my time trying to figure out why these stupid characters were making such poor decisions, and wondering how many times a woman can faint at the end of a chapter. I do not recommend this one.

[Maicie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked "The Kult" better but this was one of Jeffrey's earlier books and he's grown since then. Good story.

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of Shaun's earlier works and a cracking read.

[Jeannie Sloan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story.It was a lot of fun to read./

[kannan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting flow and superb. great work by author...

[Rob Twinem · Rating 2 out of 5]

I started off really enjoying and then about half way through...the book became a very procedural..run of the mill...below average crime caper...ah well onto the next one :)

[Lee Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great collection of stories.

[Patricia Kaniasty · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not quite sure how to rate this story. It was just ok. Kinda slow and it dragged on. A little on the predictable side too. I was hoping that it would be scarier.