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Surviving the Fog #1
Surviving the Fog
Have you ever been to summer camp? What would you do if almost all of the adults left “for a few hours” and did not return? What would you do if the cell phones stopped working and your parents never showed up to take you home? What would you do if you discovered that the Earth was covered by a mysterious, dangerous brown fog? How would you survive the winter? How would you get more to eat?
This is what Mike, John, Desi and the other campers have to contend with in Surviving the Fog.
Warning: sexual situations, cursing, brief violence
This is what Mike, John, Desi and the other campers have to contend with in Surviving the Fog.
Warning: sexual situations, cursing, brief violence
391 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 14, 2009
80 people are currently reading
638 people want to read
About the author
Stan Morris
17 books64 followersStan Morris was born in Lynwood, California, during the Stalin/Truman era. His family moved to Concord, California, at the beginning of Reagan Mania of which his family was a part. As a teenager his pivotal moment came as a result of the 1968 Martin Luther King, Jr. Tragedy/Triumph.
He was educated during his wandering phase, receiving his BS degree when he was 25 (despite the claims of some sycophants/critics who say it was at the moment of birth.)
He married a girl with alien roots, and subsequently she became pregnant and delivered The Boy With the Longest Name.
They had another child just after they retreated to Maui.
He now writes, gardens, watches way too many organized non-killing sporting events, and eats foods for which there is no Anglic translation.
He was educated during his wandering phase, receiving his BS degree when he was 25 (despite the claims of some sycophants/critics who say it was at the moment of birth.)
He married a girl with alien roots, and subsequently she became pregnant and delivered The Boy With the Longest Name.
They had another child just after they retreated to Maui.
He now writes, gardens, watches way too many organized non-killing sporting events, and eats foods for which there is no Anglic translation.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 80 reviews
October 13, 2022
Surviving The Fog #1
Have you ever been to summer camp? What would you do if almost all of the adults left "for a few hours" and did not return? What would you do if the cell phones stopped working and your parents showed up to take you home? What would you do if the earth was covered by a mysterious brown fog?
I would say this is more of a YA book, but it does have some adult content in it. A group of pre and teenage children are left behind when the adults go to get supplies. The story can be a little far-fetched at times so you will have to suspend your beliefs whilst reading. Simply written, but that seems to make the story more credible. A story of teenagers and the relationships they have. There is some sex and violence, but it's not descriptively written about.
#KindleFreeBook
Have you ever been to summer camp? What would you do if almost all of the adults left "for a few hours" and did not return? What would you do if the cell phones stopped working and your parents showed up to take you home? What would you do if the earth was covered by a mysterious brown fog?
I would say this is more of a YA book, but it does have some adult content in it. A group of pre and teenage children are left behind when the adults go to get supplies. The story can be a little far-fetched at times so you will have to suspend your beliefs whilst reading. Simply written, but that seems to make the story more credible. A story of teenagers and the relationships they have. There is some sex and violence, but it's not descriptively written about.
#KindleFreeBook
November 20, 2022
I sort of don't know how to feel about this book. I have the Kindle edition; the spelling errors, punctuation issues and word substitutions were very numerous and sometimes hard to overlook.
The writing seems amateurish; if I had to guess, I'd say it was written by a very young man/teenage boy. The narrative is very "And then, and then, and then..." with little description and absolutely no metaphors, similes or obvious symbolism anywhere. Just very straight-forward. I found it interesting that, in a third-person narrative, the author never broke in with his own voice or as an omniscient narrator; the story was only ever told through the eyes of the characters. Nearly every character, in fact- although the story starts out through the eyes of the Chief, Mike, we end up seeing the story at some point from the perspective of almost everyone in the book. There is definitely an obsession with sex throughout the whole story, which is odd but never graphic or lewd.
I shouldn't have liked this book. The writing is technically, probably, terrible. The mystery that kicks off the whole story is barely explained and the ending just sort of kicks you out of the story more than it wraps it up. Some of the character interactions are laughable, episodes are unbelievable, premises are ridiculous. But somehow it doesn't even matter, because there was SOMETHING about this book that kept me reading and even enjoying it. A few heartwarming moments, an honest and unpretentious narrative, characters who are intriguing and likable if not necessarily realistic. And, let's face it- it's fun to imagine (aside from the devastating loss of friends and family that go hand in hand with every post-apocalyptic story, of course) what it would be like to be a kid in a tribe of kids building their own society.
Due to the episodic feel of the storytelling, the large cast of characters and the way the situation changes and grows throughout the book, I feel like this story would have been explored very well in a miniseries or even a TV show. If they make it, I'll watch it!
The writing seems amateurish; if I had to guess, I'd say it was written by a very young man/teenage boy. The narrative is very "And then, and then, and then..." with little description and absolutely no metaphors, similes or obvious symbolism anywhere. Just very straight-forward. I found it interesting that, in a third-person narrative, the author never broke in with his own voice or as an omniscient narrator; the story was only ever told through the eyes of the characters. Nearly every character, in fact- although the story starts out through the eyes of the Chief, Mike, we end up seeing the story at some point from the perspective of almost everyone in the book. There is definitely an obsession with sex throughout the whole story, which is odd but never graphic or lewd.
I shouldn't have liked this book. The writing is technically, probably, terrible. The mystery that kicks off the whole story is barely explained and the ending just sort of kicks you out of the story more than it wraps it up. Some of the character interactions are laughable, episodes are unbelievable, premises are ridiculous. But somehow it doesn't even matter, because there was SOMETHING about this book that kept me reading and even enjoying it. A few heartwarming moments, an honest and unpretentious narrative, characters who are intriguing and likable if not necessarily realistic. And, let's face it- it's fun to imagine (aside from the devastating loss of friends and family that go hand in hand with every post-apocalyptic story, of course) what it would be like to be a kid in a tribe of kids building their own society.
Due to the episodic feel of the storytelling, the large cast of characters and the way the situation changes and grows throughout the book, I feel like this story would have been explored very well in a miniseries or even a TV show. If they make it, I'll watch it!
August 22, 2012
Review from http://indiebookclub.wordpress.com/
- - -
Plot:
The premise of Surviving the Fog is a solid one. A group of young adults, trapped in a mountainside retreat after their guardians leave to get supplies, find themselves cut-off after a strange fog envelopes them. They must use what few skills they have to survive, whilst endeavouring to find out what is going on in the outside world. Along the way, they learn about themselves, their desires and their boundaries.
The prelude leaves you in no doubt that something other-worldly is behind the fog, and this setup is simple, yet effective.
The reader is not overly challenged by the early story, and this aids in making the first thirty or so pages, a gentle drift into what appears to be a deeper storyline.
Unfortunately, after this intriguing opening, the book dissolves into the usual mash of formula and contrived scenario that too many young adult books fall into. There just isn’t enough interplay between the youths to keep you believing they are going to do anything meaningful, and the ‘twists’, the few there are, can be seen coming from some distance.
At moments the plot seems to disappear entirely, and the reasons for the actions of the youths in the scenarios they keep haplessly wandering into are scant or missing.
The ending, which is neatly recovered from the rest of the story, is not groundbreaking (but I would not have expected it to be – as I knew roughly where we were headed after page two-hundred), but does justice to the overall feel that this book was written by an intelligent person, trying to simplify their language to a mid-teen level for sales and readership.
In all, it’s a shame to lose the interest of the opening to storylines that have been done before, but I do understand the attempt and the premise is solid enough.
Plot Rating: (3/5)
- – -
Character:
The characters in the novel are the usual mix of teen angst: The fearless leader, the doting, yet strong, girl, the angry young man, the lost child… The mix is pretty much what you would expect from a teen thriller.
The characters are all moderately well drawn, and nothing glaring stands out from their actions that would have you conceive as being too old for them.
However, due to the lack of intelligent interplay in the early interchanges, the characters often find themselves in situations where the reader has no concept of how they characters would react and sometimes these moments are so contrived that even the author realises that the only way out is to have a helpful ‘outsider’ appear in nick of time to make any of the sequences make sense.
In these ‘brand-new-hardship-to-overcome’ style books, it is always interesting to see how characters evolve as their circumstances change, forcing them to react. In some ways during the book, this is expertly done, with certain characters developing well, as expectations of them, and around them, change. But all too often, this modification in action is overlooked for all but the important few, and it leaves the reader frustrated.
The dialogue between the characters is basic (sometimes overtly so) and most of the conversations drag the storyline along, rather than adding to it.
However, to be fair, the characterisations are clearly defined, and I had no struggle in visualising each member of the group as the story progressed.
Character Rating: (2.5/5)
- – -
Style:
The style of Surviving the Fog is that of a simplified teen drama. It’s written from a distinct, disassociated, third person viewpoint (which occasionally changes to directed first person for no specific reason I can fathom).
It’s language is easy, and the choice of wording is an obvious tip of the hat to its intended audience of teens and ‘Potter-dults’.
Sometimes the pace and the language changes appropriately (measured by scene and graphic content), and the tempered approach to its handling of sensitive topics (of which there are a few), is satisfying, if not particularly gripping.
If there was to be a critique of anything stylistic, it would be that there is an overuse of ‘had’ in any descriptive scenes of the past. If it were truly possible to become ‘had-blind’ whilst reading a book, I am certain at moments during this I would have done just that. But that really would be it. This book sets out to be written in a style matching its audience of young-adults and pretty much nails that mark from start to finish.
Style Rating: (4/5)
- – -
Impact:
Some of the scenes in Surviving the Fog have a great deal of emotional impact. Not wanting to post spoilers, but death scenes are very well written and the fact that it is some of the better drawn characters who bite the dust pulls the reader’s heart-strings even more.
In other places, there are events that have little significance to plot and the main characters journey’s that almost seem to be put in to fill pages. I’m sure this wasn’t the intent, but the impact (due to lack of any involvement in those characters and the fact that there is no knock-on effect to anybody important) is negligible and thus it renders them redundant. Which is a shame, because Mr. Morris definitely has a flair with sombre, descriptive tempo.
The tribulations of the group are captured well, and even though these events do not always materialise into character modifications (as they should do), the writing of the moments is clear and the sense of foreboding and lost innocence is neatly encapsulated.
There should be softened moments of tenderness to counterpoint these danger moments and some are tried, but often fail to drag the reader further into the sometimes flawed characters. This is a shame, because a couple of pivotal moments lack the real impact they should have because of this weakness.
Overall, the sense of overarching dread and helplessness is well cast throughout the book, with the scenes vivid enough to hold attention, but lacking in quality character depth to relay the impact they should have.
Impact Rating: (3/5)
- – -
Readability:
The novel’s vision is clear, the writing is well presented (if not entirely grammatically polished), and the style is easy and relaxed.
The content does not challenge the reader, and the prose is of a low enough crystal mark that anyone over the age of eleven should be able to digest the content without complaint.
At moments, and they are infrequent, the dialogue does descend to the banal, and at other times the rationale of the characters disappears if the story requires moving along. These issues are trying, and force the reader to reassess the believability of the storyline.
The chapters are about the right length and often end with the correct level of suspense to create natural break points. However, this is not always the case, and many chapters seem to be collections of numerous, interlocked chapters, thrown together into stodgy wholes for reasons that are not clear in the narrative.
Other than a few minor foibles, the readability of the book is high, the writing craft is good and the use of pace and dramatic pause is acceptable.
Readability Rating: (3.5/5)
- – -
Overall Rating
(3.2/5)
A good teen thriller, with some excellent sections and an interesting premise, which is let down by too many minor issues, a lack of strong characters and an ending you could see coming from space.
- - -
Paul Anderson (22/08/2012)
http://indiebookclub.wordpress.com/
- - -
Plot:
The premise of Surviving the Fog is a solid one. A group of young adults, trapped in a mountainside retreat after their guardians leave to get supplies, find themselves cut-off after a strange fog envelopes them. They must use what few skills they have to survive, whilst endeavouring to find out what is going on in the outside world. Along the way, they learn about themselves, their desires and their boundaries.
The prelude leaves you in no doubt that something other-worldly is behind the fog, and this setup is simple, yet effective.
The reader is not overly challenged by the early story, and this aids in making the first thirty or so pages, a gentle drift into what appears to be a deeper storyline.
Unfortunately, after this intriguing opening, the book dissolves into the usual mash of formula and contrived scenario that too many young adult books fall into. There just isn’t enough interplay between the youths to keep you believing they are going to do anything meaningful, and the ‘twists’, the few there are, can be seen coming from some distance.
At moments the plot seems to disappear entirely, and the reasons for the actions of the youths in the scenarios they keep haplessly wandering into are scant or missing.
The ending, which is neatly recovered from the rest of the story, is not groundbreaking (but I would not have expected it to be – as I knew roughly where we were headed after page two-hundred), but does justice to the overall feel that this book was written by an intelligent person, trying to simplify their language to a mid-teen level for sales and readership.
In all, it’s a shame to lose the interest of the opening to storylines that have been done before, but I do understand the attempt and the premise is solid enough.
Plot Rating: (3/5)
- – -
Character:
The characters in the novel are the usual mix of teen angst: The fearless leader, the doting, yet strong, girl, the angry young man, the lost child… The mix is pretty much what you would expect from a teen thriller.
The characters are all moderately well drawn, and nothing glaring stands out from their actions that would have you conceive as being too old for them.
However, due to the lack of intelligent interplay in the early interchanges, the characters often find themselves in situations where the reader has no concept of how they characters would react and sometimes these moments are so contrived that even the author realises that the only way out is to have a helpful ‘outsider’ appear in nick of time to make any of the sequences make sense.
In these ‘brand-new-hardship-to-overcome’ style books, it is always interesting to see how characters evolve as their circumstances change, forcing them to react. In some ways during the book, this is expertly done, with certain characters developing well, as expectations of them, and around them, change. But all too often, this modification in action is overlooked for all but the important few, and it leaves the reader frustrated.
The dialogue between the characters is basic (sometimes overtly so) and most of the conversations drag the storyline along, rather than adding to it.
However, to be fair, the characterisations are clearly defined, and I had no struggle in visualising each member of the group as the story progressed.
Character Rating: (2.5/5)
- – -
Style:
The style of Surviving the Fog is that of a simplified teen drama. It’s written from a distinct, disassociated, third person viewpoint (which occasionally changes to directed first person for no specific reason I can fathom).
It’s language is easy, and the choice of wording is an obvious tip of the hat to its intended audience of teens and ‘Potter-dults’.
Sometimes the pace and the language changes appropriately (measured by scene and graphic content), and the tempered approach to its handling of sensitive topics (of which there are a few), is satisfying, if not particularly gripping.
If there was to be a critique of anything stylistic, it would be that there is an overuse of ‘had’ in any descriptive scenes of the past. If it were truly possible to become ‘had-blind’ whilst reading a book, I am certain at moments during this I would have done just that. But that really would be it. This book sets out to be written in a style matching its audience of young-adults and pretty much nails that mark from start to finish.
Style Rating: (4/5)
- – -
Impact:
Some of the scenes in Surviving the Fog have a great deal of emotional impact. Not wanting to post spoilers, but death scenes are very well written and the fact that it is some of the better drawn characters who bite the dust pulls the reader’s heart-strings even more.
In other places, there are events that have little significance to plot and the main characters journey’s that almost seem to be put in to fill pages. I’m sure this wasn’t the intent, but the impact (due to lack of any involvement in those characters and the fact that there is no knock-on effect to anybody important) is negligible and thus it renders them redundant. Which is a shame, because Mr. Morris definitely has a flair with sombre, descriptive tempo.
The tribulations of the group are captured well, and even though these events do not always materialise into character modifications (as they should do), the writing of the moments is clear and the sense of foreboding and lost innocence is neatly encapsulated.
There should be softened moments of tenderness to counterpoint these danger moments and some are tried, but often fail to drag the reader further into the sometimes flawed characters. This is a shame, because a couple of pivotal moments lack the real impact they should have because of this weakness.
Overall, the sense of overarching dread and helplessness is well cast throughout the book, with the scenes vivid enough to hold attention, but lacking in quality character depth to relay the impact they should have.
Impact Rating: (3/5)
- – -
Readability:
The novel’s vision is clear, the writing is well presented (if not entirely grammatically polished), and the style is easy and relaxed.
The content does not challenge the reader, and the prose is of a low enough crystal mark that anyone over the age of eleven should be able to digest the content without complaint.
At moments, and they are infrequent, the dialogue does descend to the banal, and at other times the rationale of the characters disappears if the story requires moving along. These issues are trying, and force the reader to reassess the believability of the storyline.
The chapters are about the right length and often end with the correct level of suspense to create natural break points. However, this is not always the case, and many chapters seem to be collections of numerous, interlocked chapters, thrown together into stodgy wholes for reasons that are not clear in the narrative.
Other than a few minor foibles, the readability of the book is high, the writing craft is good and the use of pace and dramatic pause is acceptable.
Readability Rating: (3.5/5)
- – -
Overall Rating
(3.2/5)
A good teen thriller, with some excellent sections and an interesting premise, which is let down by too many minor issues, a lack of strong characters and an ending you could see coming from space.
- - -
Paul Anderson (22/08/2012)
http://indiebookclub.wordpress.com/
July 13, 2011
I was strangely taken by this book, despite it appearing like (and me kind of expecting) a post-apocolyptic/end of the world story when it really isn't. This follows the fortunes of a group of young teens as they try to survive following the appearance of a strange and deadly fog that has covered much of the planet (it can't go above a certain altitude) that has resulted in the 'disappearance' of the adults that run the camp. Ultimately this is a story of survival and of how, given the right leadership and tools, even the youngest can survive the most extreme situations.
The writing was descriptive and engaging and created the right mix of tension, fear, hope and optimism to give credence to the work and the possibility that kids really could do this. But some of the more difficult situations and how they're resolved didn't quite sit right given what we know about the kids present. They not at a survival training or outdoor activity camp, it is in fact a sexual abstenance and education camp so the fact that every kid/teen present is able to use spears, bow and arrow, hunt etc to some extent does at times seems a little streched at times (especially when taking on 'bad men'). However this does not detract from the story too much as Morris' writing makes it somehow okay, acceptable and strangely believable.
The writing was descriptive and engaging and created the right mix of tension, fear, hope and optimism to give credence to the work and the possibility that kids really could do this. But some of the more difficult situations and how they're resolved didn't quite sit right given what we know about the kids present. They not at a survival training or outdoor activity camp, it is in fact a sexual abstenance and education camp so the fact that every kid/teen present is able to use spears, bow and arrow, hunt etc to some extent does at times seems a little streched at times (especially when taking on 'bad men'). However this does not detract from the story too much as Morris' writing makes it somehow okay, acceptable and strangely believable.
February 8, 2013
Oh gosh. Where do i even start? I mean is anyone else even remotely bothered that almost every single one of the main teens ends up hooking up wi t h an adult??? The worst one for me was the 14 (and a half!) Year old girl with a 23 year old man. But don't worry. There is a rule in place: no hanky panky until 16 years of age. Phew. A 16 year old sleeping with a 25 year old is soooooo much better! (I sure hope everyone can sense my extreme sarcasm.) And the predicaments these teens and couples get into... the author seems to be projecting any fantasy he ever had as a teenage boy into his book (soap opera-y...so maybe more along the lines of a teenage GIRL'S fantasy). It is so over the top silly. And a 13 year old boy who is the "chief"? I just couldn't take anything in this book seriously. The idea was a great one, but the delivery and writing were amateur (at best). I swear it wasn't even edited. So many mistakes! The plus side was the author skipped over the sex wit hout much detail at all, so that was nice... that's about the only positive for me. How this book even got published I'll never know. (Forgive my typing mistakes - on my tablet... so not the worlds best keyboard. )
May 16, 2011
When I began this book, I immediately thought "Lord of the Flies." Boy was I wrong. The story is about a group of children (age 12 and up) at a three-week mountain sleepaway camp for teaching abstinence and prevention of pregnancy in teens who suddenly find themselves without adult supervision and a mysterious killer fog surrounding the area that leads back to "civilization." I really enjoyed reading how they coped and survived...great character development for the main teens in the story. While the initial concept is sci-fi, the survival and moral themes found in this book impact us all. By the end of the book, I found myself crying and wanting more.
June 8, 2011
I found this really tough going. As I have previously mentioned, the story line has great potential and would have done better spanning a series of books.
I had real trouble connecting with the characters and found that it wasnt until the last couple of chapters that I felt I started to get to know them.
Reading over a couple of other reviews, there was upset over the underlying sexual tension etc etc, but seriously, if you are reading about a bunch of 'horny' teenagers thrust into unsupervised circumstances then you woulndnt expect any less!
This turned out to be not such a bad book in the end.I would love to see this re-written/re-worked.
I had real trouble connecting with the characters and found that it wasnt until the last couple of chapters that I felt I started to get to know them.
Reading over a couple of other reviews, there was upset over the underlying sexual tension etc etc, but seriously, if you are reading about a bunch of 'horny' teenagers thrust into unsupervised circumstances then you woulndnt expect any less!
This turned out to be not such a bad book in the end.I would love to see this re-written/re-worked.
July 17, 2013
“Surviving the Fog” is ostensibly about a group of kids stranded at summer camp who are forced to build a mini-civilization due to some vaguely environmental, vaguely alien end-of-the-world weather phenomenon.
Unfortunately, the book is filled predominantly with shallow conversation between the 7 million forgettable characters. There are so many grammatical and spelling errors in this book that I am not sure if it was even edited. The writing-style is choppy to the point that it’s almost robotic in nature, for some reason there are very few contractions. This is a YA book so the simple-speak is understandable, but the way the characters in this book interact with and speak to one another is not at all like a real group of teenagers would.
Most of the characters have plain, forgettable names, and there are so many of them that are introduced with a single characteristic such as “an Asian-American girl” that you forget all but 3 or 4 almost immediately. Often, months pass in a single sentence, and even when dynamic events happen the reader is simply told about them (i.e. Luis was murdered) rather than allowed to live them with the characters.
The idea for this book was a good one, I was hoping for a modern-day Lord of the Flies-type story, but The Fog is only mentioned a couple of times. Almost no character development and utterly un-engaging, I wanted to quit reading this more than once, but I kept holding out hope that something interesting would happen at the end to wrap up the good idea that had thus far been poorly executed. It didn’t.
Unfortunately, the book is filled predominantly with shallow conversation between the 7 million forgettable characters. There are so many grammatical and spelling errors in this book that I am not sure if it was even edited. The writing-style is choppy to the point that it’s almost robotic in nature, for some reason there are very few contractions. This is a YA book so the simple-speak is understandable, but the way the characters in this book interact with and speak to one another is not at all like a real group of teenagers would.
Most of the characters have plain, forgettable names, and there are so many of them that are introduced with a single characteristic such as “an Asian-American girl” that you forget all but 3 or 4 almost immediately. Often, months pass in a single sentence, and even when dynamic events happen the reader is simply told about them (i.e. Luis was murdered) rather than allowed to live them with the characters.
The idea for this book was a good one, I was hoping for a modern-day Lord of the Flies-type story, but The Fog is only mentioned a couple of times. Almost no character development and utterly un-engaging, I wanted to quit reading this more than once, but I kept holding out hope that something interesting would happen at the end to wrap up the good idea that had thus far been poorly executed. It didn’t.
May 24, 2011
Good story telling, but maybe not he best writing. It almost seemed like it should be a two or three part book, then we could really get to know the characters. Also, with sequels the writer could really take his time with the story.
Overall, great potential in this writer, and totally worth the free book price!
Overall, great potential in this writer, and totally worth the free book price!
May 16, 2015
I'd like to give this 0 stars.
I love a good horror novel, and I consider myself to be something of an expert at suspending my disbelief. However, this story is so implausible that I spent most of the time rolling my eyes and wishing the fog would finish its job in fewer pages. The plot has so many holes, and so many things that just didn't add up. Like why is set so specifically at a non-religious abstinence summer camp? And why, if it's an abstinence camp, does the author mention that there are condoms and diaphragms aplenty? That's not how this works.
That's now how any of this works.
I'm going to spoiler alert you right here, just in case you want to be surprised and underwhelmed, instead of merely underwhelmed.
So you have a group of young teens who think and act exactly like adults. These kids are freaking amazing, I tell you what! They're led by Mike, AKA "Chief," who's the worst Gary Stu this side of some Harry Potter fanfic. There's some serious wish-fulfillment going on with this character, as he always has the (correct) answer at his fingertips and can somehow command a whole camp full of older teenagers to do his bidding, completely unchallenged, all while having the personality of wet cardboard. As someone who has tried to get teenagers to pay attention for even two seconds, I have to say that this would take Damien the Antichrist-level charisma. Is Mike particularly cool? Nope. Is he funny? Not unless you're laughing at his robotic dialogue. Is he strong? Not particularly.
Regardless of his size, can he throw a fucking homemade spear through a grown man's throat? Yep.
Because that's a thing that can happen, sure.
The rest of the campers are just as poorly characterized. The lone dissenter is swiftly dealt with, and then he falls in line and everything is smooth sailing. When it becomes clear that no grownups are coming, do the rest of the kids cry and worry, or fight amongst themselves like kids do? Nope! They miraculously figure out how to forge weapons and start immediately planning for the winter, which is like 6 months away. They also have the uncanny presence of mind to worry about rationing food and propane. Has the author ever met a 13-year old boy? They eat everything. They're like locusts, and they're always hungry.
Aside from the poorly-characterized boys, there's also some hilariously transparent misogyny going on here. The token Asian chick can hang with the boys while the rest of the girls are left to mindlessly bow and scrape to the teenage dirtbags in charge. Who cooks and cleans? The girls. Who gets dragged off and raped? The girls. And through it all, they remain docile and completely devoid of personality or originality. Thirteen-year old girls would not just roll over and let those boys stay in charge; there'd definitely be a power struggle. Especially at that age, when boys and girls are closer in physical size.
So much of this story just feels like a really long set-up for inappropriate adult-child relationships. And if you're wondering about the fog, get in line because it's never explained. It's vaguely touched upon, but that's it.
Arguably the worst thing (aside from the punctuation/grammar issues and amateurish writing style) is that the author completely destroys the suspense by tacking on information about things that happen much later in time, seemingly as an afterthought. As an example, when the kids hang the biker the author finishes the paragraph by talking about what Mike does with his bones the following spring. We're reading and wondering if they're going to survive the winter, and you ruin everything in the first quarter talking about the spring? Are you fucking kidding me?
The author also spends a whole lot of time over-explaining some aspects of the plot, to the point where everything that happens starts to feel like it's just oh-so-convenient. There's no real sense of tension, because the author refuses to allow conflict to develop and rise without a swift and easy resolution. Every single thing is dealt with and wrapped up within a couple of paragraphs, and then it's on to the next issue. Like with the bikers. They showed up, took two girls hostage (so they were obviously proficient in kidnapping girls and murdering people, yet they later died so easily?), shot a kid, drove off, got hunted down, confronted, and murdered/hanged for their crimes all within like 3 pages. There was no plotting, no agonizing over what to do, no real conflict. No pacing.
I wish I could unread this garbage. Get an editor next time, for the love of god. The initial premise was great, the execution was a complete joke.
I love a good horror novel, and I consider myself to be something of an expert at suspending my disbelief. However, this story is so implausible that I spent most of the time rolling my eyes and wishing the fog would finish its job in fewer pages. The plot has so many holes, and so many things that just didn't add up. Like why is set so specifically at a non-religious abstinence summer camp? And why, if it's an abstinence camp, does the author mention that there are condoms and diaphragms aplenty? That's not how this works.
That's now how any of this works.
I'm going to spoiler alert you right here, just in case you want to be surprised and underwhelmed, instead of merely underwhelmed.
So you have a group of young teens who think and act exactly like adults. These kids are freaking amazing, I tell you what! They're led by Mike, AKA "Chief," who's the worst Gary Stu this side of some Harry Potter fanfic. There's some serious wish-fulfillment going on with this character, as he always has the (correct) answer at his fingertips and can somehow command a whole camp full of older teenagers to do his bidding, completely unchallenged, all while having the personality of wet cardboard. As someone who has tried to get teenagers to pay attention for even two seconds, I have to say that this would take Damien the Antichrist-level charisma. Is Mike particularly cool? Nope. Is he funny? Not unless you're laughing at his robotic dialogue. Is he strong? Not particularly.
Regardless of his size, can he throw a fucking homemade spear through a grown man's throat? Yep.
Because that's a thing that can happen, sure.
The rest of the campers are just as poorly characterized. The lone dissenter is swiftly dealt with, and then he falls in line and everything is smooth sailing. When it becomes clear that no grownups are coming, do the rest of the kids cry and worry, or fight amongst themselves like kids do? Nope! They miraculously figure out how to forge weapons and start immediately planning for the winter, which is like 6 months away. They also have the uncanny presence of mind to worry about rationing food and propane. Has the author ever met a 13-year old boy? They eat everything. They're like locusts, and they're always hungry.
Aside from the poorly-characterized boys, there's also some hilariously transparent misogyny going on here. The token Asian chick can hang with the boys while the rest of the girls are left to mindlessly bow and scrape to the teenage dirtbags in charge. Who cooks and cleans? The girls. Who gets dragged off and raped? The girls. And through it all, they remain docile and completely devoid of personality or originality. Thirteen-year old girls would not just roll over and let those boys stay in charge; there'd definitely be a power struggle. Especially at that age, when boys and girls are closer in physical size.
So much of this story just feels like a really long set-up for inappropriate adult-child relationships. And if you're wondering about the fog, get in line because it's never explained. It's vaguely touched upon, but that's it.
Arguably the worst thing (aside from the punctuation/grammar issues and amateurish writing style) is that the author completely destroys the suspense by tacking on information about things that happen much later in time, seemingly as an afterthought. As an example, when the kids hang the biker the author finishes the paragraph by talking about what Mike does with his bones the following spring. We're reading and wondering if they're going to survive the winter, and you ruin everything in the first quarter talking about the spring? Are you fucking kidding me?
The author also spends a whole lot of time over-explaining some aspects of the plot, to the point where everything that happens starts to feel like it's just oh-so-convenient. There's no real sense of tension, because the author refuses to allow conflict to develop and rise without a swift and easy resolution. Every single thing is dealt with and wrapped up within a couple of paragraphs, and then it's on to the next issue. Like with the bikers. They showed up, took two girls hostage (so they were obviously proficient in kidnapping girls and murdering people, yet they later died so easily?), shot a kid, drove off, got hunted down, confronted, and murdered/hanged for their crimes all within like 3 pages. There was no plotting, no agonizing over what to do, no real conflict. No pacing.
I wish I could unread this garbage. Get an editor next time, for the love of god. The initial premise was great, the execution was a complete joke.
July 29, 2014
While the overall story was interesting there are some flaws that would keep this from being a success and definitely detracted from my enjoyment.
First and foremost is the dialog. It is very stiff. The speaker's names are repeated and over. People just do not talk this way. In the book everyone uses full names. There are no nicknames or slang. Howard is Howard. How many teenage boys call each other by their full names? How many teenagers call their friend Howard, Howard? Every teenager I hear is saying 'Dude', 'Bro', asswipe, or at the least 'Howie'.
Then there is the matter of sex. The whole premise of the story is that 50 some teenage boys and girls are at a camp and then abandoned to fend for themselves. Now what kind of camp might they be at, you might ask yourself. Well, it's a sex camp! Yep, the teenage boys and girls are at a camp designed to teach them contraceptive use or abstinence. Now I don't know what universe the author lives in but in my universe I can't see any normal parents sending their teenage boys- and GIRLS to such a camp. None of it makes any sense.
And it just gets weirder from there. None of these teenagers are allowed to have sex between themselves-in fact the girls act like it's a fate worse than death (though they're at a sex camp remember) and the boys are scared to death of the girls, but later as we found out, it's perfectly okay for adults of 21-25 to have sex with 14-16 year olds. To make matters worse, the adults initially think salacious and rather crude thoughts about the young girls (what a rack on that 16 year old, what a nice ass on that 14 year old), then chastise themselves for those thoughts, as if to assuage their conscious before they actually do have sex with them. It's all pretty darn creepy.
Look, under the circumstances I'm not saying it's completely wrong for this to transpire. If most of humanity is dead then someone has to procreate and carry on. It's just the way it all goes about. Why make all this fuss about not having sex and then go and do it anyway, over and over. The book seems to have the outlook of a 13 year old boy.
And speaking of 13 year old boys, that is exactly what brought the curtain down for me. Mike, 13 years old, is the leader. Okay, no problem. Maybe, just maybe, he could really hold his own against 16-17 year olds. I doubt it but it's a far out possibility. But when older adults show up, including the ARMY, I seriously doubt if any 13 year old kid, no matter how responsible and mature and intelligent, is still going to be in charge.
If the sex was handled with more class and honesty and the Mike situation changed to maybe where he revolted and took some of his loyal followers with him, it could have the makings of a great book here.
First and foremost is the dialog. It is very stiff. The speaker's names are repeated and over. People just do not talk this way. In the book everyone uses full names. There are no nicknames or slang. Howard is Howard. How many teenage boys call each other by their full names? How many teenagers call their friend Howard, Howard? Every teenager I hear is saying 'Dude', 'Bro', asswipe, or at the least 'Howie'.
Then there is the matter of sex. The whole premise of the story is that 50 some teenage boys and girls are at a camp and then abandoned to fend for themselves. Now what kind of camp might they be at, you might ask yourself. Well, it's a sex camp! Yep, the teenage boys and girls are at a camp designed to teach them contraceptive use or abstinence. Now I don't know what universe the author lives in but in my universe I can't see any normal parents sending their teenage boys- and GIRLS to such a camp. None of it makes any sense.
And it just gets weirder from there. None of these teenagers are allowed to have sex between themselves-in fact the girls act like it's a fate worse than death (though they're at a sex camp remember) and the boys are scared to death of the girls, but later as we found out, it's perfectly okay for adults of 21-25 to have sex with 14-16 year olds. To make matters worse, the adults initially think salacious and rather crude thoughts about the young girls (what a rack on that 16 year old, what a nice ass on that 14 year old), then chastise themselves for those thoughts, as if to assuage their conscious before they actually do have sex with them. It's all pretty darn creepy.
Look, under the circumstances I'm not saying it's completely wrong for this to transpire. If most of humanity is dead then someone has to procreate and carry on. It's just the way it all goes about. Why make all this fuss about not having sex and then go and do it anyway, over and over. The book seems to have the outlook of a 13 year old boy.
And speaking of 13 year old boys, that is exactly what brought the curtain down for me. Mike, 13 years old, is the leader. Okay, no problem. Maybe, just maybe, he could really hold his own against 16-17 year olds. I doubt it but it's a far out possibility. But when older adults show up, including the ARMY, I seriously doubt if any 13 year old kid, no matter how responsible and mature and intelligent, is still going to be in charge.
If the sex was handled with more class and honesty and the Mike situation changed to maybe where he revolted and took some of his loyal followers with him, it could have the makings of a great book here.
December 10, 2013
Definitely not the greatest book I have ever read but something about this book kept me coming back.
At times the writing was very... immature? Transitions were poorly done almost like a child’s book. Things like 'they knew there would be a problem. And one day there was.' As I stated thought I could not stop reading this book. Maybe it was the idea that it was going somewhere or at some point the fog might actually play a part in the book?
There was a LOT of odd sexual relationships in this book. 14 and 15 year olds dating adults but it was considered normal in this "new world" as long as you waited until you were 16 to actually have sex. I was a little put off by the overtly sexual descriptions of the kids and I guess I just never understood what the point was or why it needed to be included. Everyone understands that if you put guys and girls together there will eventually be hookups but describing how a 14 year old girls’ underwear were riding up her but while a 23 year old man was looking up her skirt seems out of place in a survival book.
Moving on... if you decide to read this book you will have let go of a lot of reality. 1st thing is you will have to understand that a 13 year old kid leads a group of kids and adults. You will have to accept that the fog generally causes them no problems. You will have to accept that if a 16 year old kids meets a 20+ year old adult they are going to have sex. You have to further accept that there is no closure to this book... it just kind of ends in a happily ever after.
There is a second book but it is described as the 1st book from another point of view. I will consider reading it in the future
At times the writing was very... immature? Transitions were poorly done almost like a child’s book. Things like 'they knew there would be a problem. And one day there was.' As I stated thought I could not stop reading this book. Maybe it was the idea that it was going somewhere or at some point the fog might actually play a part in the book?
There was a LOT of odd sexual relationships in this book. 14 and 15 year olds dating adults but it was considered normal in this "new world" as long as you waited until you were 16 to actually have sex. I was a little put off by the overtly sexual descriptions of the kids and I guess I just never understood what the point was or why it needed to be included. Everyone understands that if you put guys and girls together there will eventually be hookups but describing how a 14 year old girls’ underwear were riding up her but while a 23 year old man was looking up her skirt seems out of place in a survival book.
Moving on... if you decide to read this book you will have let go of a lot of reality. 1st thing is you will have to understand that a 13 year old kid leads a group of kids and adults. You will have to accept that the fog generally causes them no problems. You will have to accept that if a 16 year old kids meets a 20+ year old adult they are going to have sex. You have to further accept that there is no closure to this book... it just kind of ends in a happily ever after.
There is a second book but it is described as the 1st book from another point of view. I will consider reading it in the future
September 16, 2012
A feel good read. Teens face challenges to survive, chose a leader, fall in love and rebuild their own utopian society. There are a few nail biting moments and a lot of "aww, how sweet" moments. It's nothing deep but a good read. It left me with a positive feeling, life is good and we will all fall in love and live happily ever after,
November 21, 2012
i absolutely loved this story! it wasn't my typical read, yet i couldn't put it down. my only problem was that the story got quite confusing at times, like something was added or edited out but not completely so you didn't understand where the line came from or what it referred to. But definitely a great read!
May 26, 2011
Had this as a freebie, really enjoyed it. Obviously you suspend your disbelief, but I found it an easy good read, still an end of the world storyline which is alright by me. One of a few little gems I will read again
April 20, 2011
Seemed to be written by a particularly boring child. Did not finish.
February 13, 2018
I think the idea behind this book has great potential, however I don't feel that potential is fully reached. The opening pages with information about the fog and with the two characters discussing the ongoing situation are good and piques your interest.
The teenagers behaviour feels perhaps a little dated and at times stretches the imagination a little too much. I would be hard pressed to find female teenagers who submit so readily to the rule of a young teenage boy in my area of the world. I do appreciate that I live in a different country and behaviour will vary, but I did feel a bit like I was in a sexed-up version of Enid Blyton at times. Perhaps it is set at an earlier period and I just missed the date?
Teenagers are designed by nature to be horny and rebellious. If this situation were real I genuinely think there would be a situation a little closer to Lord of the Flies with horny teens trying it on. I'm not sure that there would be many paying attention to a rule about sex for 16 and over's only - and that applies to the girls as well as the lads. We girls get horny too, it just isn't as obvious ;) However, yes, I understand that this may well be for the comfort of the reader as most people would feel uncomfortable with teenage sex.
One of the elements I struggle with is the idea of adults accepting that a bunch of teens are 'ruling' themselves, particularly the idea of a lad in his early teens. I just can't see any armed forces personnel accepting that.
The teenagers behaviour feels perhaps a little dated and at times stretches the imagination a little too much. I would be hard pressed to find female teenagers who submit so readily to the rule of a young teenage boy in my area of the world. I do appreciate that I live in a different country and behaviour will vary, but I did feel a bit like I was in a sexed-up version of Enid Blyton at times. Perhaps it is set at an earlier period and I just missed the date?
Teenagers are designed by nature to be horny and rebellious. If this situation were real I genuinely think there would be a situation a little closer to Lord of the Flies with horny teens trying it on. I'm not sure that there would be many paying attention to a rule about sex for 16 and over's only - and that applies to the girls as well as the lads. We girls get horny too, it just isn't as obvious ;) However, yes, I understand that this may well be for the comfort of the reader as most people would feel uncomfortable with teenage sex.
One of the elements I struggle with is the idea of adults accepting that a bunch of teens are 'ruling' themselves, particularly the idea of a lad in his early teens. I just can't see any armed forces personnel accepting that.
September 17, 2017
I'm not going to have a spoiler as another reviewer did but I will say I enjoyed this book, and it reminded me a little of "Alas Babylon" but with a new science fiction twist. As someone who spent many summers at camp, I could put myself into some of the character's shoes and relate. If you're looking for a good story, and something that to me is worth good value for the dollar sales price, this will be worth your time with an interesting story and characters. The characters could have more development, and the author kind of left it open in the end with the possibility of a sequel which I would like to read if it is written. I did take away one star for a few grammatical and formatting errors, but it by no means takes away from the overall enjoyment. Nice first book from an independent author
February 23, 2024
I know this book has had both positive and negative reviews,so decided I had to give it a go.My honest opinion is,it has a good storyline,but was too slow for me.Too many characters that it was a job to keep up with and far too much unnecessary and prolonged detail regarding the construction of the campers accommodation.Yawn yawn.
Although being free for kindle,it was too much of an underwhelming read for my taste,and this is only the first of four "surviving the fog" books,the other 3 are buyable,so it's time to get your wallet out folks.Will I be purchasing 2,3&4? Doubtful.
Although being free for kindle,it was too much of an underwhelming read for my taste,and this is only the first of four "surviving the fog" books,the other 3 are buyable,so it's time to get your wallet out folks.Will I be purchasing 2,3&4? Doubtful.
August 7, 2019
I enjoyed this lengthy book. As the title suggests, a fog descends across the globe and kills everything [human and animal] who enter it.
The books starts by telling the story of a large group of children who were sent to summer camp by their parents. The story tells of their survival and maturing over a spell of nearly five years
The books starts by telling the story of a large group of children who were sent to summer camp by their parents. The story tells of their survival and maturing over a spell of nearly five years
November 7, 2017
Easy reading, quite fluffy. A bit of naive way of things, but would read more from this author. Rather captivating all and all.
September 15, 2023
It's been years since I read this book, but I still think about it. It's great. Even if it is dark, it is a "cosy" read. Reminds me a little of Lord of the Flies, but more adventurous.
July 19, 2016
I didn't think this book was categorized as young adult, so I had to come back and check when I started to read it and found it to be written at about the 8th grade level: short sentences, simple vocabulary, and stereotypical characters. This is not a terrible book, but it is not a good book either. The premise is good: an abstinence and birth control camp for teenagers in the mountains is isolated without adults after the rest of the world is covered in fog. Anything in the fog dies, so they aren't going anywhere. In the beginning, you're wondering if this will turn into a "Lord of the Flies" situation or if the kids will find a way to survive.
Here are some good things about the book:
1. The kids are smart and come up with interesting and ingenious ways to improve the camp to survive the winters.
2. The kids don't "devolve" into savages, as usually happens to adults in post-apocalyptic books
3. You are able to see some of the kids mature and grow into responsible adults
Now some not-so-good things:
1. Why does a camp about abstinence and birth control include kids between the ages of 11 and 17? There is a huge difference in understanding between those ages. Older kids may be obsessed with sex, while the younger ones might not even by thinking about it yet. The wide gap in ages makes no sense.
2. There is no way--NO WAY--that older teenagers are going to accept the leadership and orders of a 13-year-old boy. In the real world, this kid would get beaten up by the older boys, but, here, he says he's the leader so he's the leader. What?
3. The kids don't spend much time mourning the end of the world and the loss of their families and friends. There are brief mentions of it, but it doesn't get anywhere near the gravity it deserves.
4. They are in a camp about abstinence, but as soon as all the adults are gone, they start having sex. Not unexpected. Then the leader makes a rule that no one under 16 can have sex--and the other kids adhere to it. What? No way. It's the end of the world and they are a group of teenagers with no one to supervise them.
5. There are stereotypical bad guys on the mountain--bikers in leather jackets who find the women and rape them. These guys have guns and attack the kids, but things don't turn out very well for them.
6. The kids find a group of army engineers and rangers on the mountain and go on a mission with them to rescue people from the bad guys. Really? A major in the armed services would let a groups of teenagers go on a mission with them? I don't think so.
7. Especially in the beginning, most of the girls are treated as weak and the boys have to take care of them. Then they are assigned typical girl tasks--cooking, cleaning, organizing, and whatever. It made me sick. They find a strong adult woman who comes back to camp with them, but she makes a deal to "obey" the boy who rescued her just once, which turns into more than once, and then they get married.
8. The girls are constantly being ogled. A couple of them are referred to over and over again as having "huge racks", but they don't seem to mind.
9. They find an adult male. He's Hispanic, and, of course, he's an illegal immigrant. Really. Come on. He is also a genius at building things and makes the camp more livable. He also has no problems taking orders from the 13-year-old. There are also other stereotyped minorities: a Japanese girl, a Muslim boy, and an Indian boy. The 13-year-old leader is actually African-American, so we're making some progress in this world.
10. The army guys don't have problems taking orders from the 13-year-old because they're supposed to report to civilian authority and the kid is the civilian authority. Give me a break.
11. Is there anything Mary, the adult widow at the farm house, can't do? She cooks, cleans, takes care of her kids, farms, raises chickens, helps cows give birth, makes butter and bread and takes tons of food to the camp, all while she is falling in love with a kid ten years younger than her. Now, age probably wouldn't mean much in the apocalypse, so I don't have a problem with that. It's just that you know it's going to happen as soon as the boy moves in with her and her kids (who also call him dad).
12. They never have food shortages. Thanks to Mary and one of the kids who goes out and brings back deer for them to eat.
13. They plant wheat and oats and potatoes and tons of vegetables and not one kid complains about eating vegetables.
14. There are so many kids at the camp that it is difficult to keep track of who they all are.
15. The kids don't wonder very much about the fog that destroyed the entire world! Wouldn't they all be very curious, at the very least?
I'm stopping at 15. I'm not sure why I even finished this book. It was so completely unrealistic that I kept saying, "Oh, come on!" over and over again. Kids might enjoy this book, but it needs to be categorized correctly so they find it.
I don't recommend this book for anyone over the age of 15-16.
Here are some good things about the book:
1. The kids are smart and come up with interesting and ingenious ways to improve the camp to survive the winters.
2. The kids don't "devolve" into savages, as usually happens to adults in post-apocalyptic books
3. You are able to see some of the kids mature and grow into responsible adults
Now some not-so-good things:
1. Why does a camp about abstinence and birth control include kids between the ages of 11 and 17? There is a huge difference in understanding between those ages. Older kids may be obsessed with sex, while the younger ones might not even by thinking about it yet. The wide gap in ages makes no sense.
2. There is no way--NO WAY--that older teenagers are going to accept the leadership and orders of a 13-year-old boy. In the real world, this kid would get beaten up by the older boys, but, here, he says he's the leader so he's the leader. What?
3. The kids don't spend much time mourning the end of the world and the loss of their families and friends. There are brief mentions of it, but it doesn't get anywhere near the gravity it deserves.
4. They are in a camp about abstinence, but as soon as all the adults are gone, they start having sex. Not unexpected. Then the leader makes a rule that no one under 16 can have sex--and the other kids adhere to it. What? No way. It's the end of the world and they are a group of teenagers with no one to supervise them.
5. There are stereotypical bad guys on the mountain--bikers in leather jackets who find the women and rape them. These guys have guns and attack the kids, but things don't turn out very well for them.
6. The kids find a group of army engineers and rangers on the mountain and go on a mission with them to rescue people from the bad guys. Really? A major in the armed services would let a groups of teenagers go on a mission with them? I don't think so.
7. Especially in the beginning, most of the girls are treated as weak and the boys have to take care of them. Then they are assigned typical girl tasks--cooking, cleaning, organizing, and whatever. It made me sick. They find a strong adult woman who comes back to camp with them, but she makes a deal to "obey" the boy who rescued her just once, which turns into more than once, and then they get married.
8. The girls are constantly being ogled. A couple of them are referred to over and over again as having "huge racks", but they don't seem to mind.
9. They find an adult male. He's Hispanic, and, of course, he's an illegal immigrant. Really. Come on. He is also a genius at building things and makes the camp more livable. He also has no problems taking orders from the 13-year-old. There are also other stereotyped minorities: a Japanese girl, a Muslim boy, and an Indian boy. The 13-year-old leader is actually African-American, so we're making some progress in this world.
10. The army guys don't have problems taking orders from the 13-year-old because they're supposed to report to civilian authority and the kid is the civilian authority. Give me a break.
11. Is there anything Mary, the adult widow at the farm house, can't do? She cooks, cleans, takes care of her kids, farms, raises chickens, helps cows give birth, makes butter and bread and takes tons of food to the camp, all while she is falling in love with a kid ten years younger than her. Now, age probably wouldn't mean much in the apocalypse, so I don't have a problem with that. It's just that you know it's going to happen as soon as the boy moves in with her and her kids (who also call him dad).
12. They never have food shortages. Thanks to Mary and one of the kids who goes out and brings back deer for them to eat.
13. They plant wheat and oats and potatoes and tons of vegetables and not one kid complains about eating vegetables.
14. There are so many kids at the camp that it is difficult to keep track of who they all are.
15. The kids don't wonder very much about the fog that destroyed the entire world! Wouldn't they all be very curious, at the very least?
I'm stopping at 15. I'm not sure why I even finished this book. It was so completely unrealistic that I kept saying, "Oh, come on!" over and over again. Kids might enjoy this book, but it needs to be categorized correctly so they find it.
I don't recommend this book for anyone over the age of 15-16.
May 7, 2014
"Jeeze, he hangs one guy and no one ever lets him forget it."
The problem with reading Indie authors is that you're really taking a gamble with them. You never know what kind of editing to expect, and usually you're going to be grinding your teeth by the time you're done deciphering the book. This is one of these books.
The other problems you may encounter with these types of books is the lack of structure. The plot can get really crazy or even lost. Timelines can be overlooked, creating confusion for the reader. These issues are why there are editors. And I understand that they might be expensive, but they really can be worth the money when it comes to delivering a complete novel that makes sense. At the very least, proof reading should be something every author should take the time to do. In the case of this book, there were mixed up names on top of other grammatical errors.
The prologue made this book sound like something you might read by King. So, my expectations were way off. I had this book pegged to go a completely different route. I was thinking that the fog was going to play a major role in the story. I was under the impression, given the prologue, that there was going to be more understanding about this fog and what it could do. I was left to wonder why it only rose so high. I was left to wonder what was in it. I was left to wonder why it was receding. And perhaps these questions may be answered later, but I have a feeling that the fog is supposed to stay in the background.
Now, the title is Surviving the Fog--and well, technically, that's exactly what it is about. I just wasn't prepared for it to be all about construction and farming. There is nothing in the description or prologue of the book that even hints that this would be the plot.
The timeline is awkward. It will talk about things that are happening now, and then tell you things that will happen in the future, but then you're still in current time while you're thinking you've moved on. It made it difficult to keep up with where you were.
The pacing was awkward also. I was really bored for the majority of the book. The exciting stuff was really awkward too.
The romance, though. Oh, it was disturbing. Rather than writing it in a way that you kind of get used to the idea, or that you could understand things of the like happening--major age differences in relationships--the way they came up was just wrong. The kids accepted it without any issues, which I found to be inaccurate. A grown man having sexual thoughts about a 14 year old girl is gross no matter which way you try to swing it.
The fact that Mary treated Ralph like a child added to the inappropriateness of their relationship also. It left me feeling angry at the adults in the book. Especially since there were other adults for them to choose from.
I'm not sure why this book is part of a series other than because as the fog recedes, I suppose there is room for something to be said about it. But really, this book is just too bland. There's not enough happening throughout it other than creepy adult/child relationship drama.
I will not be reading the next book in the series because I just don't think it will be able to hold my attention well. I was not really attached to any of the characters. The way the book was written just didn't work for me.
The problem with reading Indie authors is that you're really taking a gamble with them. You never know what kind of editing to expect, and usually you're going to be grinding your teeth by the time you're done deciphering the book. This is one of these books.
The other problems you may encounter with these types of books is the lack of structure. The plot can get really crazy or even lost. Timelines can be overlooked, creating confusion for the reader. These issues are why there are editors. And I understand that they might be expensive, but they really can be worth the money when it comes to delivering a complete novel that makes sense. At the very least, proof reading should be something every author should take the time to do. In the case of this book, there were mixed up names on top of other grammatical errors.
The prologue made this book sound like something you might read by King. So, my expectations were way off. I had this book pegged to go a completely different route. I was thinking that the fog was going to play a major role in the story. I was under the impression, given the prologue, that there was going to be more understanding about this fog and what it could do. I was left to wonder why it only rose so high. I was left to wonder what was in it. I was left to wonder why it was receding. And perhaps these questions may be answered later, but I have a feeling that the fog is supposed to stay in the background.
Now, the title is Surviving the Fog--and well, technically, that's exactly what it is about. I just wasn't prepared for it to be all about construction and farming. There is nothing in the description or prologue of the book that even hints that this would be the plot.
The timeline is awkward. It will talk about things that are happening now, and then tell you things that will happen in the future, but then you're still in current time while you're thinking you've moved on. It made it difficult to keep up with where you were.
The pacing was awkward also. I was really bored for the majority of the book. The exciting stuff was really awkward too.
The romance, though. Oh, it was disturbing. Rather than writing it in a way that you kind of get used to the idea, or that you could understand things of the like happening--major age differences in relationships--the way they came up was just wrong. The kids accepted it without any issues, which I found to be inaccurate. A grown man having sexual thoughts about a 14 year old girl is gross no matter which way you try to swing it.
The fact that Mary treated Ralph like a child added to the inappropriateness of their relationship also. It left me feeling angry at the adults in the book. Especially since there were other adults for them to choose from.
I'm not sure why this book is part of a series other than because as the fog recedes, I suppose there is room for something to be said about it. But really, this book is just too bland. There's not enough happening throughout it other than creepy adult/child relationship drama.
I will not be reading the next book in the series because I just don't think it will be able to hold my attention well. I was not really attached to any of the characters. The way the book was written just didn't work for me.
April 14, 2012
I have mixed feelings about this book. I feel that the idea of the book was a good one (what would survival after a catastrophic event look like).
However I felt the characters were not appropriate for the adversity and the challenging experiences that the author wanted to explore.
Let me say that I felt there was a fair amount of thought put into the steps needed to have the characters survive. This was a strong plus towards making the book creditable, if not for the characters ages.
I liked that the book took place over two and a half year time frame, giving opportunities for us (the readers) to see how the characters lives might unfold and what other issues would come up.
What I did not like about the book can be narrowed down to two things.
One (and this was the biggest) was that the age of the characters was simply too young to cover the issues that the author was trying to tackle, making it all seem less believable.
For example, our main character 'Chief' Mike. At age 13 and a half, he takes on the role of leader of the surviving teenagers. The concerns and decisions that he comes up with are far greater then what a 13 year old would come up with. Even given that he might be more 'mature' emotionally then others his age, then there should have been an explanation as to why he would be more mature, but there was none. So his 'judgements' and 'rules' do not sit right with reality. I am left to say, "That's pretty wise for an early teenager, and where is his teen emotions?"
I could do this same break down with the remaining characters, but you can get the idea with this one and I shouldn't go on and on about that.
The next issue that I have with the book is that often the mini-crises in the story do not flow with the over all story. They seem (to me) to be cut and pasted into the storyline. It would have been more realistic to have less events play out then to have the extra mini-crises.
For example: the whole lodge situation, it was announced, then left until the last part of the book to be hastily played out. I felt it was poorly played out leaving me feeling flat about its resolution.
..So what do I think of the story and do I recommend it?
I think it is worth the read, but one should have low expectations, just as you would for a 'made for T.V.' movie as opposed to a 'made for the theater' movie. If you lower your expectations you probably will enjoy this book. Because I actually did enjoy it once I finally decided just to let the 'issues' be and imagine the characters say five years older (each).
Due to some of the content (rape, murder and violence) within the book, I would recommend it to readers above the age of 16.
I would like to see other works by this author, as I enjoyed the storyline, and feel that maybe in time the author will improve his craft.
However I felt the characters were not appropriate for the adversity and the challenging experiences that the author wanted to explore.
Let me say that I felt there was a fair amount of thought put into the steps needed to have the characters survive. This was a strong plus towards making the book creditable, if not for the characters ages.
I liked that the book took place over two and a half year time frame, giving opportunities for us (the readers) to see how the characters lives might unfold and what other issues would come up.
What I did not like about the book can be narrowed down to two things.
One (and this was the biggest) was that the age of the characters was simply too young to cover the issues that the author was trying to tackle, making it all seem less believable.
For example, our main character 'Chief' Mike. At age 13 and a half, he takes on the role of leader of the surviving teenagers. The concerns and decisions that he comes up with are far greater then what a 13 year old would come up with. Even given that he might be more 'mature' emotionally then others his age, then there should have been an explanation as to why he would be more mature, but there was none. So his 'judgements' and 'rules' do not sit right with reality. I am left to say, "That's pretty wise for an early teenager, and where is his teen emotions?"
I could do this same break down with the remaining characters, but you can get the idea with this one and I shouldn't go on and on about that.
The next issue that I have with the book is that often the mini-crises in the story do not flow with the over all story. They seem (to me) to be cut and pasted into the storyline. It would have been more realistic to have less events play out then to have the extra mini-crises.
For example: the whole lodge situation, it was announced, then left until the last part of the book to be hastily played out. I felt it was poorly played out leaving me feeling flat about its resolution.
..So what do I think of the story and do I recommend it?
I think it is worth the read, but one should have low expectations, just as you would for a 'made for T.V.' movie as opposed to a 'made for the theater' movie. If you lower your expectations you probably will enjoy this book. Because I actually did enjoy it once I finally decided just to let the 'issues' be and imagine the characters say five years older (each).
Due to some of the content (rape, murder and violence) within the book, I would recommend it to readers above the age of 16.
I would like to see other works by this author, as I enjoyed the storyline, and feel that maybe in time the author will improve his craft.
April 13, 2014
This book starts off really great with a plausible description of what the fog is, before moving on to a good scene of two lead characters discussing how they became cut off by it.
However, from there things tend to fall apart. There are just too many issues with the premise from then on. I can accept that one kid would take charge, and perhaps even that the kid in question would be only thirteen, but that only one older teenager would disagree, and then only briefly, isn't.
The main problem though is that despite the opening preface, and being the title character, the fog itself is pretty much forgotten for nearly the entire length of the book, with everyone just accepting it for whatever it is.
Then there's the character's themselves. Some of those in the camp are nicely developed, but not really enough to care about them. And let's not get started on the adults that eventually turn up all of whom can't seem to wait to hook up with a teenager. Oh and don't get me started on the way the bikers are depicted, or even the US Army for that matter.
Still, don't get me wrong, there is a great story nestling somewhere in this book despite all the issues, with continuity and a somewhat flexible time line which oddly has no sense of time about it so could be well worth a read if you enjoy the genres that are covered here.
However, from there things tend to fall apart. There are just too many issues with the premise from then on. I can accept that one kid would take charge, and perhaps even that the kid in question would be only thirteen, but that only one older teenager would disagree, and then only briefly, isn't.
The main problem though is that despite the opening preface, and being the title character, the fog itself is pretty much forgotten for nearly the entire length of the book, with everyone just accepting it for whatever it is.
Then there's the character's themselves. Some of those in the camp are nicely developed, but not really enough to care about them. And let's not get started on the adults that eventually turn up all of whom can't seem to wait to hook up with a teenager. Oh and don't get me started on the way the bikers are depicted, or even the US Army for that matter.
Still, don't get me wrong, there is a great story nestling somewhere in this book despite all the issues, with continuity and a somewhat flexible time line which oddly has no sense of time about it so could be well worth a read if you enjoy the genres that are covered here.
January 31, 2015
First of all, what camp of 50+ kids do you know of where EVERY adult leaves to check out the mysterious fog? Then you have a fourteen year old who takes charge. But then every other adult they come in contact with is all "yeah, he's the Chief."
The idea of this book sounded good but it didn't really follow through. The start of the story gives you the idea of some alien life procreating on earth. Then you never hear about it again. The whole book is about a camp of young teens and what they did to survive and that, fellow readers, sounds more interesting than it was. It takes place over two years where lots of events happened but they were clipped and never fleshed out. Even the "big" confrontations came off easily felt with and moved on.
I get it. there's a bunch if teenagers, there's going to be hook-ups on and off all over the place but all the relationships were awkward not to mention the fact that almost every major character ended up hooking up with the random adults that showed up. But of course! Don't forget the rule of no sex till your sixteen. Cause a sixteen year old in a relationship (meaning babies and marriage) with a twenty-something year old is better?
At the end, the writer mentions that he has another book, which is the exact same story(!) but told by one if the female characters. Ugh!
The idea of this book sounded good but it didn't really follow through. The start of the story gives you the idea of some alien life procreating on earth. Then you never hear about it again. The whole book is about a camp of young teens and what they did to survive and that, fellow readers, sounds more interesting than it was. It takes place over two years where lots of events happened but they were clipped and never fleshed out. Even the "big" confrontations came off easily felt with and moved on.
I get it. there's a bunch if teenagers, there's going to be hook-ups on and off all over the place but all the relationships were awkward not to mention the fact that almost every major character ended up hooking up with the random adults that showed up. But of course! Don't forget the rule of no sex till your sixteen. Cause a sixteen year old in a relationship (meaning babies and marriage) with a twenty-something year old is better?
At the end, the writer mentions that he has another book, which is the exact same story(!) but told by one if the female characters. Ugh!
January 10, 2014
Despite it being a good story... too many unrealistic things in book:
1) Camp full of kids all between ages of 10 - 16
2) Leader/Chief of camp is run by a 14 year old, and all kids except one follow orders.
3) there are no behave like kids and do stupid kid stuff or rebel
4) kids are able to overtake a camp that is ran by bikers
The fog... there was maybe like 2 lines in the whole book that gave a smidgen of what "might" have happened and that was at end of the book.
And it was more of assumptions and not based facts. Hey STAN MORRIS .. would have loved to read more about the fog.
There is second book,, based on this book " Surviving the Fog" ... its Kathy's story about it and time on the camp "recollections"- I dont think I"ll take time to read it.
I will be basically reading the same storyline but just her impression of it... so basically I would be re-reading story again but her version, and Ive read books like that before and Ive just ended up skipping pages and just getting all together bored by it.
Anyway ... Mr. Morris has you given a nice part of this book to the fog ( since that is what this is all about ) probably would have gotten 4 stars
5 stars had you written about the way adolescent kids, young teens REALLY act and tend to rebel :-)
1) Camp full of kids all between ages of 10 - 16
2) Leader/Chief of camp is run by a 14 year old, and all kids except one follow orders.
3) there are no behave like kids and do stupid kid stuff or rebel
4) kids are able to overtake a camp that is ran by bikers
The fog... there was maybe like 2 lines in the whole book that gave a smidgen of what "might" have happened and that was at end of the book.
And it was more of assumptions and not based facts. Hey STAN MORRIS .. would have loved to read more about the fog.
There is second book,, based on this book " Surviving the Fog" ... its Kathy's story about it and time on the camp "recollections"- I dont think I"ll take time to read it.
I will be basically reading the same storyline but just her impression of it... so basically I would be re-reading story again but her version, and Ive read books like that before and Ive just ended up skipping pages and just getting all together bored by it.
Anyway ... Mr. Morris has you given a nice part of this book to the fog ( since that is what this is all about ) probably would have gotten 4 stars
5 stars had you written about the way adolescent kids, young teens REALLY act and tend to rebel :-)
July 22, 2016
Stan Morris writes a thrilling Science Fiction tale of an apocalyptic end of human society. A small group of survivors at a youth camp in the Sierra Nevada Mountains notice something has happened when the adults who traveled into the nearest town never return. All attempts to contact to the outside world are met with failure. Left to their own devices a handful of campers take over responsibility for long term survivability in the isolated region with little chance of rescue. A meandering tale of endurance and the building of a village by a young person of incredible individual strength and moral fiber, fills the pages of Surviving The Fog.
To see my review of Surviving the Fog please check out Weekend Pick Me Up - Surviving The Fog by Stan Morris.
#SurvivingTheFog #KathysRecollections #StanMorris #IndependentAuthor #WordSlinger #YoungAdultNovel #ScienceFictionNovel
Also check out Stan Morris's Weekly Indie Word Slinger's Profile on All The Things Between.
To see my review of Surviving the Fog please check out Weekend Pick Me Up - Surviving The Fog by Stan Morris.
#SurvivingTheFog #KathysRecollections #StanMorris #IndependentAuthor #WordSlinger #YoungAdultNovel #ScienceFictionNovel
Also check out Stan Morris's Weekly Indie Word Slinger's Profile on All The Things Between.
May 23, 2025
Slow burn, but really sucks you in!
Okay, I love 'end of the world' type books, movies, etc. But usually, I lean towards the heavier stories, the kind of stories where no punches are pulled, and the shock value is just part of the story. This book is nothing like that. Yes, there's the end of the world aspect, and there's definitely elements of struggles and violence, but it's told in a more subtle way. Even so, I love this book so much. I've actually come back to this book and reread it multiple times over the years, including Kathy's story (which is essentially the same elements as the first, just told from a different point of view, and I've reread that one multiple times, too). There is just something about the way these books are written. It's a fascinating and well told story that just keeps pulling me in, over and over. And the characters are well written, too, I found it easy to empathize and even relate to alot of them. I very much enjoy this book, I highly recommend it, very well written!
Okay, I love 'end of the world' type books, movies, etc. But usually, I lean towards the heavier stories, the kind of stories where no punches are pulled, and the shock value is just part of the story. This book is nothing like that. Yes, there's the end of the world aspect, and there's definitely elements of struggles and violence, but it's told in a more subtle way. Even so, I love this book so much. I've actually come back to this book and reread it multiple times over the years, including Kathy's story (which is essentially the same elements as the first, just told from a different point of view, and I've reread that one multiple times, too). There is just something about the way these books are written. It's a fascinating and well told story that just keeps pulling me in, over and over. And the characters are well written, too, I found it easy to empathize and even relate to alot of them. I very much enjoy this book, I highly recommend it, very well written!
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