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Soon
An almost deserted town in the middle of nowhere, Nebulah's days of mining and farming prosperity - if they ever truly existed - are long gone. These days even the name on the road sign into town has been removed. Yet for Pete, an ex-policeman, Milly, Li and a small band of others, it's the only place they have ever felt at home. One winter solstice, a strange residual and mysterious mist arrives, that makes even birds disappear. It is a real and potent force, yet also strangely emblematic of the complacency and unease that afflicts so many of our small towns, and the country that Murphy knows so well. Partly inspired by the true story of Wittenoom, the ill-fated West Australia asbestos town, Soon is the story of the death of a haunted town, and the plight of the people who either won't, or simply can't, abandon all they have ever had. With finely wrought characters and brilliant plotting, it is a taut and original novel, where the people we come to know, and those who are drawn to the town's intrigue, must ultimately fight for survival.
288 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 269 reviews
September 26, 2024
The Sooner
The Better...
SOON
by Lous Murphy
No spoilers. 5 stars. Nebulah, Australia is typically dying, but nowhere near dead...
The handful of citizens still "living" there must be inside their home with doors and windows locked...
... before nightfall and the arrival of the mist with its shuffling figures and howling faces and reaching arms snatching at people gleefully behind locked windows...
Nebulah's cemetery is closed for business...
The dead buried there rise each night with the mist, so no more burials are allowed in city limits...
The Aboriginal population, reading the land through the soles of their feet, have long avoided the area...
There are several possible explanations for the phenomena of Nebulah, but no one is sure of its origin...
What is known for sure: the last handful of people must get out...
And soon...
The sooner, the better...
What a stellar novel! There was some repetitiveness that could have shortened it a little, but not overly so.
This story reminded me of three old horror movies: THE LAST MAN ON EARTH starring Vincent Price and CHILDREN SHOULDN'T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS and maybe just a little of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD.
This is one of the few effectively delivered fog stories I've ever read. Most people agree that the fog carries menace, but few can put that dread into a story (or movie) conveying the horror.
The Better...
SOON
by Lous Murphy
No spoilers. 5 stars. Nebulah, Australia is typically dying, but nowhere near dead...
The handful of citizens still "living" there must be inside their home with doors and windows locked...
... before nightfall and the arrival of the mist with its shuffling figures and howling faces and reaching arms snatching at people gleefully behind locked windows...
Nebulah's cemetery is closed for business...
The dead buried there rise each night with the mist, so no more burials are allowed in city limits...
The Aboriginal population, reading the land through the soles of their feet, have long avoided the area...
There are several possible explanations for the phenomena of Nebulah, but no one is sure of its origin...
What is known for sure: the last handful of people must get out...
And soon...
The sooner, the better...
What a stellar novel! There was some repetitiveness that could have shortened it a little, but not overly so.
This story reminded me of three old horror movies: THE LAST MAN ON EARTH starring Vincent Price and CHILDREN SHOULDN'T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS and maybe just a little of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD.
This is one of the few effectively delivered fog stories I've ever read. Most people agree that the fog carries menace, but few can put that dread into a story (or movie) conveying the horror.
May 13, 2024
I never heard of this book or author until someone on Facebook said the audiobook was free on Audible. Rarely able to pass up a bargain, I snatched it up and began listening to David Linski's narration of the remote Australian town of Nebulah. And I'm so glad I did!
Without any spoilers, this is one of those supernatural books where the characters feel real, their actions and deeds never falling into contrived territory. I understood and believed them even though their situation was incredible.
The first half was a bit of a slow burn but the second half picked and ended with one hell of a bang. 5 stars!
Without any spoilers, this is one of those supernatural books where the characters feel real, their actions and deeds never falling into contrived territory. I understood and believed them even though their situation was incredible.
The first half was a bit of a slow burn but the second half picked and ended with one hell of a bang. 5 stars!
February 26, 2024
This was a bit of a slow burn, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. There’s lots of great care to build, and you read about people who seem real and everything they go through your experience with them.
I found there was no real highlight points to this book, though. It was a smoothie, but just not a very exciting read even when things were supposed to be exciting they were OK just not great.
I found there was no real highlight points to this book, though. It was a smoothie, but just not a very exciting read even when things were supposed to be exciting they were OK just not great.
August 4, 2018
Well, that was the scariest book I've read in a long, long time. It's also beautifully written, with well-developed characters - a brilliant, terrifying debut novel.
I sat down on the couch and started reading at 7.00 pm; it's now 2.30 am and I've just finished. I think I'll be sleeping with all the lights on tonight.
I sat down on the couch and started reading at 7.00 pm; it's now 2.30 am and I've just finished. I think I'll be sleeping with all the lights on tonight.
June 28, 2020
Terrific horror tale from Murphy about a group of last-remaining residents of a dying town that has been overcome by a deadly mist that comes out at night and traps them indoors. The mist has claimed many former residents and animals and is relentless in its efforts to claim the final survivors. Murphy takes a unique approach to the mist, leaving a lot of the killing to the minds of the readers and infusing tremendous depth to her characters as they come to grips with their harrowing existences. The peripheral characters are fleshed out as well. I was engaged from beginning to powerful end. Very well-written with a creepy sense of foreboding throughout. 4.5 stars. Highly recommended.
January 18, 2020
This was an okay read. Nothing particularly new or frightening here. There are a few well written sections but they didn’t salvage the overall story for me.
March 4, 2022
2 stars
A moody, character-driven horror novella trapped in a bloated novel, Soon has great beginning and ending, but the middle drags with irrelevant backstories and pointless secondary characters introduced merely to boost kill count.
Lois Murphy's writing reminds me of Jane Harper, excels at depicting authentic candidness in delicate, mellow composition with a foreboding undertone. Soon is intentionally vague with the cause of its supernatural manifestation, which would've worked well in short form, but feels stagnant and unresolved, when after 300+ pages, we learned nothing more than what was already established in chapter 1. The lack of a deeper lore also makes for some obvious plot holes (If the 'haunting' was so consistent and plainly observable by everyone, how was it written off so easily by the world at large? The characters were all very mobile, yet the novel never made a convincing case regarding why they chose to remain in the affected area).
For the first 1/3 of Soon, I thought I have stumbled upon a hidden gem, a more poetic take on the 'monster-in-the-mist' story; but as the book progresses, it becomes clear there was no focus, and the character study material feels grossly detached from its core narrative. By the time it reaches the bleak ending (which is a great one judging on its own), the whole experience feels like a deflated fever dream.
Too bad, because the atmosphere is there, and the vintage-inspired cover art is spot-on (I would like a poster of that)!
A moody, character-driven horror novella trapped in a bloated novel, Soon has great beginning and ending, but the middle drags with irrelevant backstories and pointless secondary characters introduced merely to boost kill count.
Lois Murphy's writing reminds me of Jane Harper, excels at depicting authentic candidness in delicate, mellow composition with a foreboding undertone. Soon is intentionally vague with the cause of its supernatural manifestation, which would've worked well in short form, but feels stagnant and unresolved, when after 300+ pages, we learned nothing more than what was already established in chapter 1. The lack of a deeper lore also makes for some obvious plot holes (If the 'haunting' was so consistent and plainly observable by everyone, how was it written off so easily by the world at large? The characters were all very mobile, yet the novel never made a convincing case regarding why they chose to remain in the affected area).
For the first 1/3 of Soon, I thought I have stumbled upon a hidden gem, a more poetic take on the 'monster-in-the-mist' story; but as the book progresses, it becomes clear there was no focus, and the character study material feels grossly detached from its core narrative. By the time it reaches the bleak ending (which is a great one judging on its own), the whole experience feels like a deflated fever dream.
Too bad, because the atmosphere is there, and the vintage-inspired cover art is spot-on (I would like a poster of that)!
July 21, 2020
** Edited as review is now live on Kendall Reviews! **
‘Soon‘ was a book that I completely failed on reviewing.
What I mean by that, was at one point it had been selected by a fellow reviewer in our group chat for Kendall Reviews, but for whatever reason wasn’t reviewed. (That person has subsequently left Team KR). Gavin reached out and asked if I’d review it, which I said ‘absolutely, it looks great,’ but after he sent it, I somehow forgot to add it to my list or missed it being loaded and, so, my sincerest apologies to Lois Murphy and Titan Books. I believe this has been on my Kindle since October of 2019.
Now, you may wonder – ‘Steve, how did you rediscover it?’
The answer is sadly BORING! I was clearing my Kindle from DNF files and saw it sitting in my document folder. My eyes went wide when I saw it and realized I had missed it long ago.
What I liked: So, now that we’re done with my apology and we’ve moved onto something resembling a review – ‘Soon‘ initially struck me in a similar way to the book ‘Hex.’ In ‘Hex‘ a town is self-isolated from the world because a witch lives amongst them and they’ve created a symbiotic living arrangement. In ‘Soon,’ the small town of Nebulah has self-isolated itself from the outside world, because every night, a ravenous, killing mist descends on the town, dispatching any living being that is out once the sun goes down.
The story follows retired police officer Pete. Pete moved to Nebulah years before the mist descended, trying to remove himself from the hectic cop life of a big city as well as the failings of his personal life.
Murphy does a great job of making Pete a real character, someone with faults that almost outweigh his positives. We meet the small contingent of survivors, or stragglers. The last people who’ve stayed behind, abandoned by the government and unable to relocate. This group had some fantastic dynamics and Murphy made sure to play each of them perfectly, pitting their own strengths and weaknesses against each other as well as inwards when necessary.
One thing I found was that throughout, the idea of the night arriving and the mist coming for those outside was enthralling. You knew it would happen over and over again, but you absolutely dreaded when it arrived.
What I didn’t like: While the mist arriving was always dreaded, we didn’t get much page time with it actually doing anything. Part of it was from the style that Murphy told the story, while the other part seemed to be a theatrical way of building up the suspense of the ‘what’ of the mist.
I found the character of Xandrea to be completely annoying – which was the point – but to the degree of almost derailing the story at the stage she was introduced, and the others that came with her and I felt Alice was borderline unnecessary.
Why you should buy it: ‘Soon‘ is a book that you’ll know if it’s for you from the synopsis. While I did compare it momentarily to ‘Hex,’ fear not – ‘Soon‘ is night and day superior to what ‘Hex‘ delivered. I found I was constantly pulled back into the story and Murphy created some truly ‘real’ characters, characters that were far from perfect. This allowed me to connect and root for or against them.
At the end of the day, I really messed up by missing this one, and now that I’ve read it, I really hope others out there push this up their TBR
‘Soon‘ was a book that I completely failed on reviewing.
What I mean by that, was at one point it had been selected by a fellow reviewer in our group chat for Kendall Reviews, but for whatever reason wasn’t reviewed. (That person has subsequently left Team KR). Gavin reached out and asked if I’d review it, which I said ‘absolutely, it looks great,’ but after he sent it, I somehow forgot to add it to my list or missed it being loaded and, so, my sincerest apologies to Lois Murphy and Titan Books. I believe this has been on my Kindle since October of 2019.
Now, you may wonder – ‘Steve, how did you rediscover it?’
The answer is sadly BORING! I was clearing my Kindle from DNF files and saw it sitting in my document folder. My eyes went wide when I saw it and realized I had missed it long ago.
What I liked: So, now that we’re done with my apology and we’ve moved onto something resembling a review – ‘Soon‘ initially struck me in a similar way to the book ‘Hex.’ In ‘Hex‘ a town is self-isolated from the world because a witch lives amongst them and they’ve created a symbiotic living arrangement. In ‘Soon,’ the small town of Nebulah has self-isolated itself from the outside world, because every night, a ravenous, killing mist descends on the town, dispatching any living being that is out once the sun goes down.
The story follows retired police officer Pete. Pete moved to Nebulah years before the mist descended, trying to remove himself from the hectic cop life of a big city as well as the failings of his personal life.
Murphy does a great job of making Pete a real character, someone with faults that almost outweigh his positives. We meet the small contingent of survivors, or stragglers. The last people who’ve stayed behind, abandoned by the government and unable to relocate. This group had some fantastic dynamics and Murphy made sure to play each of them perfectly, pitting their own strengths and weaknesses against each other as well as inwards when necessary.
One thing I found was that throughout, the idea of the night arriving and the mist coming for those outside was enthralling. You knew it would happen over and over again, but you absolutely dreaded when it arrived.
What I didn’t like: While the mist arriving was always dreaded, we didn’t get much page time with it actually doing anything. Part of it was from the style that Murphy told the story, while the other part seemed to be a theatrical way of building up the suspense of the ‘what’ of the mist.
I found the character of Xandrea to be completely annoying – which was the point – but to the degree of almost derailing the story at the stage she was introduced, and the others that came with her and I felt Alice was borderline unnecessary.
Why you should buy it: ‘Soon‘ is a book that you’ll know if it’s for you from the synopsis. While I did compare it momentarily to ‘Hex,’ fear not – ‘Soon‘ is night and day superior to what ‘Hex‘ delivered. I found I was constantly pulled back into the story and Murphy created some truly ‘real’ characters, characters that were far from perfect. This allowed me to connect and root for or against them.
At the end of the day, I really messed up by missing this one, and now that I’ve read it, I really hope others out there push this up their TBR
October 14, 2021
Audio - 5 Stars
Story 2.5 Stars
Story 2.5 Stars
March 30, 2024
A slow burn horror that shows itself at the edges, but is never fully revealed.
The characters are physically trapped by the deadly mist that surrounds their town each night, but the true fetters are psychological. Murphy deftly explores the connections that exist between people, the ebb and flow of friendship and love, and asks the reader to consider what are the ties that bind us to places, to each other, and to the image we have of ourselves.
In our lives, it's words that really have the power to wound us. Everything physical, all those highly emotional or unutterably painful experiences retreat from memory, their visceral substance unable to be retained in any other way than by their translation into language. We condense their intensity into tiny capsules, the essence of existence contained within the shell of words. Hardened slugs with the potency of bullets.
Read if you like character driven horror written with literary flair.
The characters are physically trapped by the deadly mist that surrounds their town each night, but the true fetters are psychological. Murphy deftly explores the connections that exist between people, the ebb and flow of friendship and love, and asks the reader to consider what are the ties that bind us to places, to each other, and to the image we have of ourselves.
In our lives, it's words that really have the power to wound us. Everything physical, all those highly emotional or unutterably painful experiences retreat from memory, their visceral substance unable to be retained in any other way than by their translation into language. We condense their intensity into tiny capsules, the essence of existence contained within the shell of words. Hardened slugs with the potency of bullets.
Read if you like character driven horror written with literary flair.
October 29, 2019
I was asked to blurb this book at a particularly busy time, but I found I couldn't stay away from it! A dystopian set in Australia that transcends the genre, with great characters. The characters are endearing, the situation feels very real. The horror part is unresolved, like Josh Malerman's Bird Box, but that doesn't detract from the story one bit.
January 1, 2018
Finished this whole book in one sitting. It was riveting - a unique story with thoroughly-drawn characters. The prose was elegant and descriptive, and yet flowed very easily. It was also terrifying! It's wonderful to see such great work from another Australian author. Highly recommended.
March 13, 2021
This is a solid 2*, I quite liked it but it’s not good. It’s neither scary or creepy, it’s fairly psychological, but the origin of the mystery/horror element is never explained or even hinted at and I found it deeply unsatisfying. I found when I started reading it was easy to take in and I didn’t want to stop, but equally when I put it down nothing motivated me to pick it back up. I’m a real wuss but this almost makes me want to read more horror to see how scared I can get.
It’s well characterised EXCEPT for the narrator. People are neither good or bad, have interesting motivations or are plain stupid, and then there’s the total void that is the narrator. We find out almost nothing about him except he’s a massive ratbag. He abandons and scorns his mentally ill wife and NEVER expresses any regret for how he neglected her, and it’s hard to tell if he’s supposed to be written as racist or if the author hasn’t read up on Orientalism. The description of the Cambodian characters made me squirm, probably the most horrible element of the whole book.
SPOILER AHEAD!!!!
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All the dogs die.
It’s well characterised EXCEPT for the narrator. People are neither good or bad, have interesting motivations or are plain stupid, and then there’s the total void that is the narrator. We find out almost nothing about him except he’s a massive ratbag. He abandons and scorns his mentally ill wife and NEVER expresses any regret for how he neglected her, and it’s hard to tell if he’s supposed to be written as racist or if the author hasn’t read up on Orientalism. The description of the Cambodian characters made me squirm, probably the most horrible element of the whole book.
SPOILER AHEAD!!!!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
All the dogs die.
February 1, 2020
Well I guess the 13th is as fitting a day as any (except maybe the winter solstice) to read this cover to cover.
On the one hand it’s so predictable it hurts: there’s nothing here I hadn’t seen before in terms of plot beats (even tho I rarely engage with horror in any medium). On the other, it works because of its needle-sharp focus on tragic characters and their baggage, and its evocation of a remote, fading township abandoned by almost everyone with a duty to care about it.
I was engaged in spite of myself (hence reading it in one absorbed day), altho it’s probably one for the literary thrillseeker / occasional horror tourist rather than a true genre aficionado.
Full review
3.5 stars
I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Content note: pet deaths
On the one hand it’s so predictable it hurts: there’s nothing here I hadn’t seen before in terms of plot beats (even tho I rarely engage with horror in any medium). On the other, it works because of its needle-sharp focus on tragic characters and their baggage, and its evocation of a remote, fading township abandoned by almost everyone with a duty to care about it.
I was engaged in spite of myself (hence reading it in one absorbed day), altho it’s probably one for the literary thrillseeker / occasional horror tourist rather than a true genre aficionado.
Full review
3.5 stars
I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Content note: pet deaths
August 31, 2017
‘Nebulah’ – with its echoes of ‘nebulous’ – is a clever name for the fictional inland town in Western Australia where the action takes place. It is very remote, three hours drive away from the nearest town of Woodford, which is also small and remote, and itself a good long drive from Mandurah. The story begins with the suicide of an old man called Rolf who couldn’t go on with the loneliness of eking out a living in a dying town.
Twelve months before, Nebulah had a population of just over 500. Like many small rural towns its days were numbered, but it was clinging to survival. But this stoic population fled after the arrival of a mysterious mist which arrives each night at dusk to terrorise the inhabitants. And now the diehards who refused to leave have had a shocking blow though they knew it was inevitable: Liz, a single mother who stayed because she had nowhere else to go, has finally had enough and fled with her children, and her departure was the last straw for Rolf. From eleven people sticking it out, they are now down to six.
Pete, an ex-policeman who narrates the story, is a fine example of how Murphy has subverted familiar genres. Yes, he’s world-weary, and yes, he specialises in failed relationships, and yes, he smokes and drinks to excess. But he’s not a detective trying to solve a crime. As it says in the blurb, inspired in part by the diehards who refuse to leave the tragic town of Wittenoom even though they risk a fatal disease and an horrific death from mesothelioma, the interest in this novel is the characters who remain in the face of an insistent danger. Pete stays because he has bonded with two women, and they won’t leave. The widow Milly won’t leave the home she had with Gavin who died in a road smash twelve years ago, and Li is a Cambodian refugee from the Khmer Rouge who has painstakingly rebuilt her life by growing organic produce for the co-op in Woodford. Although Milly and Li are both staunchly independent women and don’t need his protection, Pete, Milly and Li have formed a kind of protective network – along with a neurotic couple called Gail and Tom and a dubious character nicknamed Stick, who has a different kind of crop well-suited to being grown in an isolated place.
The only horror I’ve ever read is by Edgar Allan Poe and that just made me laugh, so I Googled ‘tropes of horror fiction’ to see if I could identify how Lois Murphy has managed to subvert the horror genre.
To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2017/08/31/s...
Twelve months before, Nebulah had a population of just over 500. Like many small rural towns its days were numbered, but it was clinging to survival. But this stoic population fled after the arrival of a mysterious mist which arrives each night at dusk to terrorise the inhabitants. And now the diehards who refused to leave have had a shocking blow though they knew it was inevitable: Liz, a single mother who stayed because she had nowhere else to go, has finally had enough and fled with her children, and her departure was the last straw for Rolf. From eleven people sticking it out, they are now down to six.
Pete, an ex-policeman who narrates the story, is a fine example of how Murphy has subverted familiar genres. Yes, he’s world-weary, and yes, he specialises in failed relationships, and yes, he smokes and drinks to excess. But he’s not a detective trying to solve a crime. As it says in the blurb, inspired in part by the diehards who refuse to leave the tragic town of Wittenoom even though they risk a fatal disease and an horrific death from mesothelioma, the interest in this novel is the characters who remain in the face of an insistent danger. Pete stays because he has bonded with two women, and they won’t leave. The widow Milly won’t leave the home she had with Gavin who died in a road smash twelve years ago, and Li is a Cambodian refugee from the Khmer Rouge who has painstakingly rebuilt her life by growing organic produce for the co-op in Woodford. Although Milly and Li are both staunchly independent women and don’t need his protection, Pete, Milly and Li have formed a kind of protective network – along with a neurotic couple called Gail and Tom and a dubious character nicknamed Stick, who has a different kind of crop well-suited to being grown in an isolated place.
The only horror I’ve ever read is by Edgar Allan Poe and that just made me laugh, so I Googled ‘tropes of horror fiction’ to see if I could identify how Lois Murphy has managed to subvert the horror genre.
To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2017/08/31/s...
August 14, 2023
Despite being misled by the cover and synopsis into thinking this one was going to be a snowy horror, I still ended up loving this Australian based literary horror novel.
This novel is set in a small Aus town in the middle of nowhere, with only 5 remaining residents, that is plagued by murderous mist... sounds stupid when you say it out loud but it's actually a very well written and disturbing story.
The isolation element of the story is something I love in books, its the perfect scenario for bad things to happen and gives the whole book that 'on edge' feeling that you want from a horror novel, and it was done really well in this instance!
This definitely felt more like a literary-horror fiction novel than it did just pure horror. It was very character focused throughout. It takes you through the life and emotions of our main character, Pete, in a really real and raw way. So many of the thoughts and feelings Pete went through were totally relatable, from fear, loneliness, and family estrangement to true happiness, friendship, and love. All were detailed so well and, as a reader, I could easily put myself in the characters shoes.
I am deducting one star based purely on the fact that there we several incidences in which Pete's narrative held some outdated opinions and views that I think could have been left of out the novel without affecting the story. For example, likening having depression to being an 'invalid', noting a woman didn't have 'usual female interests', and pointedly staring at a man reading a magazine with the word 'metrosexual' on the cover. It was all unnecessary and uncomfortable to read.
Overall, I really enjoyed this novel. It was a slow starter for me, but once I got into it I was hooked! It certainly wasn't full of scares, but the few scenes of horror that there were, were beautifully creepy!
This novel is set in a small Aus town in the middle of nowhere, with only 5 remaining residents, that is plagued by murderous mist... sounds stupid when you say it out loud but it's actually a very well written and disturbing story.
The isolation element of the story is something I love in books, its the perfect scenario for bad things to happen and gives the whole book that 'on edge' feeling that you want from a horror novel, and it was done really well in this instance!
This definitely felt more like a literary-horror fiction novel than it did just pure horror. It was very character focused throughout. It takes you through the life and emotions of our main character, Pete, in a really real and raw way. So many of the thoughts and feelings Pete went through were totally relatable, from fear, loneliness, and family estrangement to true happiness, friendship, and love. All were detailed so well and, as a reader, I could easily put myself in the characters shoes.
I am deducting one star based purely on the fact that there we several incidences in which Pete's narrative held some outdated opinions and views that I think could have been left of out the novel without affecting the story. For example, likening having depression to being an 'invalid', noting a woman didn't have 'usual female interests', and pointedly staring at a man reading a magazine with the word 'metrosexual' on the cover. It was all unnecessary and uncomfortable to read.
Overall, I really enjoyed this novel. It was a slow starter for me, but once I got into it I was hooked! It certainly wasn't full of scares, but the few scenes of horror that there were, were beautifully creepy!
October 18, 2019
READ THIS BOOK PLEASE! If you’re attention span only reached this far, at least I got the main message across. Read. This. I would’ve give it 6 stars if I could.
So why should you?
How is this her first book? It’s such an expertly written novel. Incredible prose. Exhilarating suspense. And a main character so fully realized I forget he is fiction. It’s a unique premise, a little reminiscent of Bird Box, but I prefer this novel over that. She writes with such grace and confidence, conjuring up the power that Stephen King has done over the decades. I was on the edge of my seat reading this and I want more people to discover her. I want her to write more books. Especially suspenseful horror stuff like this.
A new master of horror? A new Stephen King?
So why should you?
How is this her first book? It’s such an expertly written novel. Incredible prose. Exhilarating suspense. And a main character so fully realized I forget he is fiction. It’s a unique premise, a little reminiscent of Bird Box, but I prefer this novel over that. She writes with such grace and confidence, conjuring up the power that Stephen King has done over the decades. I was on the edge of my seat reading this and I want more people to discover her. I want her to write more books. Especially suspenseful horror stuff like this.
A new master of horror? A new Stephen King?
November 23, 2019
3.5 Soon is partly inspired by the true story of the Australian town of Wittenoom, an abestos-contaminated site where three residents still remain. This book is a fictional account of what might be, only here the town of Nebulah dies after a mystery mist arrives. The concept is similar to Stephen King’s The Mist but the book focuses on the loss and loneliness of a group of six people relying on each other for survival.
The protagonist, Pete, is a retired former police officer, estranged from his family. The story deals with his guilt and depression, his desire to protect others as their safety circle gets tighter. There are flashbacks to his past as we learn why he still stays in Nebulah. His relationship with the other town inhabitants is also described in detail. I found the writing poetic and the location atmospheric. I thought the threat of the mists is convincing, and there are some unnerving scenes when they are unleashed.
What didn’t work for me was I felt the ending flouts the previously established rules of the mists in order to ramp up the scares. I was like “Wait, it can do that now?” which took me out of the story. Then again, the mists isn’t fully explained. Overall, this book is a character study in a story of survival and friendship rather than a straight up horror story. I found the isolation and loneliness experienced by the characters more terrifying than the mists. (Note: this book contains multiple scenes of suicides and animal deaths)
Thank you to the publisher for a review copy.
book blog | twitter | instagram
The protagonist, Pete, is a retired former police officer, estranged from his family. The story deals with his guilt and depression, his desire to protect others as their safety circle gets tighter. There are flashbacks to his past as we learn why he still stays in Nebulah. His relationship with the other town inhabitants is also described in detail. I found the writing poetic and the location atmospheric. I thought the threat of the mists is convincing, and there are some unnerving scenes when they are unleashed.
What didn’t work for me was I felt the ending flouts the previously established rules of the mists in order to ramp up the scares. I was like “Wait, it can do that now?” which took me out of the story. Then again, the mists isn’t fully explained. Overall, this book is a character study in a story of survival and friendship rather than a straight up horror story. I found the isolation and loneliness experienced by the characters more terrifying than the mists. (Note: this book contains multiple scenes of suicides and animal deaths)
Thank you to the publisher for a review copy.
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November 28, 2017
Yikes, horror/speculative fiction, what was I thinking?! This book is really a five star read, I just couldn't bring myself to say I admired horror that much. Set in rural Western Australia, it tells the story of a (shrinking) group of people facing terrible danger every night. Mists, ghosts, over-imagination, who knows? It's brilliantly written, a 99% normal world is set up, full of interesting characters. The plot is clever, I couldn't see what was coming next, but it led me on from page to page until I finished it in one night. It was very late, very dark and quiet, I had to get up and make a cuppa, do something else to avoid going to bed with such cataclysmic things on my mind. I can see why this writing won the Tasmanian prize for unpublished script this year.
July 16, 2021
This was the perfect binge read for me. It has everything I look for in horror. I loved it and am forcing my dad to do a mini-book club with me because I think he will love it too.
October 27, 2019
**Review originally posted HERE on Sci-Fi & Scary**
I had to take a bit to process between finishing this book and writing my review. Soon hit me in a way I was not at all anticipating and has left me with a rare (for me) and profound book hangover. I’ve actually had a hard time getting my thoughts on this one down, because really all I want to do is cry about it for a bit, and then scream at all of you to read this gorgeous, horrifying book!
The town of Nebulah, reduced to six residents, is plagued by a violent mist which appears each night to torment those who remain. From dusk until dawn, they are besieged in their own homes, the locks on their doors and windows the only protection they have from the beings in the mist, eager to destroy them. The last few residents are desperate to hold onto their homes, having nowhere else to go. But as their numbers continue to dwindle and a stranger arrives with an ominous warning of death, Pete must consider whether life in Nebulah is worth dying for.
I found myself absolutely riveted to the story, and once I hit a certain point, I could not put it down! It’s been a while since I’ve had a book completely sink its claws into me, and it’s reassuring to know that it can still happen. The setup for this novel is extremely atmospheric. Much like the mist itself, the plot lulled me into a sense of calm, only to sneak up and absolutely demolish me with terror and devastation. This book is not only scary as hell, but it packs one emotional blow after another. The ambiguity surrounding the mist added an extra layer of terror to the story, keeping its origins and motivations unknown and therefore unpredictable. The relationships between the characters were wonderfully fleshed out, especially with the friendship between Pete, Milly and Li. This book is definitely filled with horror, enough so that I found myself jumping at noises in the night a couple of times, but there is so, so much heart and warmth at its core, and that made the events of the novel all the more terrifying.
Soon is an extremely effective bit of psychological horror, with just enough of a supernatural element to keep things fresh. I know that this is a novel that will stay with me for a long, long time. This will for sure be in my top 5 at the end of the year, and I cannot recommend it enough!
I had to take a bit to process between finishing this book and writing my review. Soon hit me in a way I was not at all anticipating and has left me with a rare (for me) and profound book hangover. I’ve actually had a hard time getting my thoughts on this one down, because really all I want to do is cry about it for a bit, and then scream at all of you to read this gorgeous, horrifying book!
The town of Nebulah, reduced to six residents, is plagued by a violent mist which appears each night to torment those who remain. From dusk until dawn, they are besieged in their own homes, the locks on their doors and windows the only protection they have from the beings in the mist, eager to destroy them. The last few residents are desperate to hold onto their homes, having nowhere else to go. But as their numbers continue to dwindle and a stranger arrives with an ominous warning of death, Pete must consider whether life in Nebulah is worth dying for.
I found myself absolutely riveted to the story, and once I hit a certain point, I could not put it down! It’s been a while since I’ve had a book completely sink its claws into me, and it’s reassuring to know that it can still happen. The setup for this novel is extremely atmospheric. Much like the mist itself, the plot lulled me into a sense of calm, only to sneak up and absolutely demolish me with terror and devastation. This book is not only scary as hell, but it packs one emotional blow after another. The ambiguity surrounding the mist added an extra layer of terror to the story, keeping its origins and motivations unknown and therefore unpredictable. The relationships between the characters were wonderfully fleshed out, especially with the friendship between Pete, Milly and Li. This book is definitely filled with horror, enough so that I found myself jumping at noises in the night a couple of times, but there is so, so much heart and warmth at its core, and that made the events of the novel all the more terrifying.
Soon is an extremely effective bit of psychological horror, with just enough of a supernatural element to keep things fresh. I know that this is a novel that will stay with me for a long, long time. This will for sure be in my top 5 at the end of the year, and I cannot recommend it enough!
October 28, 2019
This is marketed as a horror and I think that's a bit of a stretch. Really I think this book is more of a literary fiction book.
I really didn't like this book. I found it incredibly dull and tedious. I really couldn't connect to the writing at all.
On the back of the book it is described as being a cross between Jane Harper's the dry and bird box. It really isn't like bird box and the only reason its compared to the dry is because it's set in Australia.
I think a better comparison would be the mist by Stephen king. I think this book may have even been inspired by the short story because there was a lot of similarities.
I also didn't like the fact there was no chapters. It just dragged and it was hard to follow the story.
I didn't know whose perspective I was reading from half the time. Granted I didn't really like or connect to any of the characters.
This book has a good idea but tbe execution was poor. It's nothing like bird box and I would have never compared the two together.
Overall, this was a disappointing read as the concept was cool but the execution missed the mark
I really didn't like this book. I found it incredibly dull and tedious. I really couldn't connect to the writing at all.
On the back of the book it is described as being a cross between Jane Harper's the dry and bird box. It really isn't like bird box and the only reason its compared to the dry is because it's set in Australia.
I think a better comparison would be the mist by Stephen king. I think this book may have even been inspired by the short story because there was a lot of similarities.
I also didn't like the fact there was no chapters. It just dragged and it was hard to follow the story.
I didn't know whose perspective I was reading from half the time. Granted I didn't really like or connect to any of the characters.
This book has a good idea but tbe execution was poor. It's nothing like bird box and I would have never compared the two together.
Overall, this was a disappointing read as the concept was cool but the execution missed the mark
May 28, 2022
This was a creepy, engaging surprise pleasure. I picked this up at random and I'm so glad I did. The town of Nebula, Australia has been removed from maps and road signs after mysterious visitors trigger nightly occurrences both unnatural and deadly. As the horrors increase, people able to relocate do so. But a small group of survivors remains, tied to their homes due to finances, stubbornness, or emotional ties. Staying in town - and staying alive - means always being behind locked doors before nightfall, and ignoring the voices that plead and seduce you after dark.
The storyline hooked me quickly, then took its time teasing out the details and backstory, each reveal building the terror and tension. The main character is both fallible and likable, and the setting in rural Australia adds to the creepy atmosphere. A definite page-turner!
The storyline hooked me quickly, then took its time teasing out the details and backstory, each reveal building the terror and tension. The main character is both fallible and likable, and the setting in rural Australia adds to the creepy atmosphere. A definite page-turner!
November 13, 2020
Soon is a melancholic slice of supernatural outback angst. There are a couple spooky moments but not really a lot of story. A depressed divorced guy lives in a dwindling small town cursed by night creatures who grab you after dark. You’d think more people would leave; but some people just exist to live on the fringes of things. There’s an interesting social metaphor going on about self destruction, class, personal responsibility and such and it goes down pretty smooth but it’s pretty light on action and suspense.
January 2, 2023
Beautiful, sad, haunting. The atmosphere of this book is absolutely impeccable, I found myself going rigid when I was reading about the mist as if it were right outside my house. I loved all the twists, the plot in general was so well-crafted. And the characters were quite complex, I got sucked right into the story, and the book wouldn’t loosen the grip on me. Just like the mist.
October 7, 2021
What a joy! A wonderfully written character driven novel. So beautifully observed. I never wanted it end. A truly chilling and clever climax. More please!
January 1, 2021
The three remaining townspeople of Nebulah, haunted by killer mists, become two.
This wasn't really scary to me and I was reading it for a good scare. The characters were interesting, and I could almost understand why they'd be willing to stay in a town like this, but mostly I just thought they should have gotten out of there. The blatant stupidity when it came to their pets irritated me. The last hundred pages or so were quite good - the story really picked up when it flipped back in time to talk about when the mist arrived. I think this book would have been better if it had given that story instead.
The ending, without spoilers, broke the rules laid out in the book. If you're writing a speculative fiction book of any kind that has specific rules, it's pretty lame to ignore those to get a more spectacular ending.
This wasn't really scary to me and I was reading it for a good scare. The characters were interesting, and I could almost understand why they'd be willing to stay in a town like this, but mostly I just thought they should have gotten out of there. The blatant stupidity when it came to their pets irritated me. The last hundred pages or so were quite good - the story really picked up when it flipped back in time to talk about when the mist arrived. I think this book would have been better if it had given that story instead.
The ending, without spoilers, broke the rules laid out in the book. If you're writing a speculative fiction book of any kind that has specific rules, it's pretty lame to ignore those to get a more spectacular ending.
January 6, 2020
3.5
This is my first time reading a book from an Australian author and set in a small Australian town. A positive experience it was. I knocked off half a star for the book’s conclusion which I will get to. There may be some who will compare this to Stephen King’s novella “The Mist”. That wouldn’t be quite accurate. Whereas in SK’s story, the mist is central to the story and produces many moments of horror, Murphy’s mist, though at its root malevolent, is but a brush stroke on the canvas of what is “Soon”. The story’s focus is rather on isolation with the mist being its catalyst; the isolation of a small town whose citizens, but for a few, have left in the face of this menace and the individual sense of isolation of those who have stayed for personal reasons. This is where Murphy truly shines. In particular how she paints the picture of the central character, a retired police officer whose sense of isolation and anger due to his divorce from his mentally ill wife and troubles with his estranged daughter, drips off the page.
The conclusion. The book was cruising along at a 4 star pace until its final moments. The half star lost was strictly due to how I envisioned the book ending and when it went in another direction, it left me a tad unsatisfied. Having said that, others, as many readers on this forum have attested, may not feel the same way as I do. Ending aside, a darn good read.
This is my first time reading a book from an Australian author and set in a small Australian town. A positive experience it was. I knocked off half a star for the book’s conclusion which I will get to. There may be some who will compare this to Stephen King’s novella “The Mist”. That wouldn’t be quite accurate. Whereas in SK’s story, the mist is central to the story and produces many moments of horror, Murphy’s mist, though at its root malevolent, is but a brush stroke on the canvas of what is “Soon”. The story’s focus is rather on isolation with the mist being its catalyst; the isolation of a small town whose citizens, but for a few, have left in the face of this menace and the individual sense of isolation of those who have stayed for personal reasons. This is where Murphy truly shines. In particular how she paints the picture of the central character, a retired police officer whose sense of isolation and anger due to his divorce from his mentally ill wife and troubles with his estranged daughter, drips off the page.
The conclusion. The book was cruising along at a 4 star pace until its final moments. The half star lost was strictly due to how I envisioned the book ending and when it went in another direction, it left me a tad unsatisfied. Having said that, others, as many readers on this forum have attested, may not feel the same way as I do. Ending aside, a darn good read.
July 8, 2023
This is a difficult one.
I really did enjoy it, despite very little happening for the first 250 pages, it kept me hooked and I looked forward to picking it up again.
It's not technically true that very little happens, there are big events, certainly plenty of deaths. But they're all so distanced from the reader. They tend to be at the end of chapters and either via a phone call or realising they're missing someone, they know someone had died. We get that knowledge... and the next page then arranging the funeral or cleaning it up. We don't see them die, we get very little detail. It just sort of happens in amongst the dull, day to day life of our protagonist.
Still...I was loving it! I think it's because there is always this tension. The reader learns slowly about the mist of Nebulahr and the need to know more kept me hooked, but also the little things. The ways in which Pete, our protagonist and narrator, has adapted to their nightly hell, along with the others who are unable to leave the town. It gives an indepth look at the lengths these people have to go to, at just how afraid and tortured they are and it instills that feeling in the reader. At least it did in me, and therefore kept me reading!
Over all, if you're happy to read a slow paced, very slow paced, horror, then I would definitely recommend this one. It slowly eats away at your nerves and pushes you to the edge of your seat. But I'll warn you again... The fall is inevitable.
I really did enjoy it, despite very little happening for the first 250 pages, it kept me hooked and I looked forward to picking it up again.
It's not technically true that very little happens, there are big events, certainly plenty of deaths. But they're all so distanced from the reader. They tend to be at the end of chapters and either via a phone call or realising they're missing someone, they know someone had died. We get that knowledge... and the next page then arranging the funeral or cleaning it up. We don't see them die, we get very little detail. It just sort of happens in amongst the dull, day to day life of our protagonist.
Still...I was loving it! I think it's because there is always this tension. The reader learns slowly about the mist of Nebulahr and the need to know more kept me hooked, but also the little things. The ways in which Pete, our protagonist and narrator, has adapted to their nightly hell, along with the others who are unable to leave the town. It gives an indepth look at the lengths these people have to go to, at just how afraid and tortured they are and it instills that feeling in the reader. At least it did in me, and therefore kept me reading!
Over all, if you're happy to read a slow paced, very slow paced, horror, then I would definitely recommend this one. It slowly eats away at your nerves and pushes you to the edge of your seat. But I'll warn you again... The fall is inevitable.
January 27, 2020
If ‘Bird Box’ and Stephen King’s ‘The Mist’ had a child, it would be this book. The plot was decent (up until the end), and the writing was alright, although there were some odd word-choices and a frustrating knack for ignoring commas. The protagonist was iresome, but for some reason, the supporting characters were more interesting?
OVERALL - Good concept with a decent flow, but was brought down by frustrating writing and characters.
OVERALL - Good concept with a decent flow, but was brought down by frustrating writing and characters.
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