William Meikle has the uncanny ability to turn out high quality horror and speculative fiction on a pretty rapid schedule. I realize that sounds like a back-handed compliment but I don’t mean it to be. He’s very prolific and manages to produce original stories every time without rehashing old plot lines. I wish I could do that.
My latest Meilke read was The Dunfield Terror, which concerns a deadly fog that mysteriously descends on a remote coastline of Newfoundland. This fog is unlike any other, causing massive death and mayhem to whatever it touches. The body count is high (and characters are dispatched in gruesome fashion) and there are especially menacing creatures to further contribute to the pandemonium.
Mr. Meilke uses two alternating narratives, present day and the 1950’s, to tell the story. The present-day action involves a return of the fog during a brutal blizzard, while the flashbacks recount the origins of the fog. Both stories are captivating and instill constant peril and suspense, but I liked the present day account better. I felt the characters in the flashback were not quite drawn as well. However, I’m only talking a small degree of difference. For some reason, a third narrative (and another series of flashbacks) is incorporated towards the end. These seemed unnecessary to me in terms of plot development. Ironically, though, I enjoyed that sequence better than the 50’s storyline. Go figure.
Overall, a strong hair-raising tale and a solid 4.5 read – rounded up to 5.
My latest Meilke read was The Dunfield Terror, which concerns a deadly fog that mysteriously descends on a remote coastline of Newfoundland. This fog is unlike any other, causing massive death and mayhem to whatever it touches. The body count is high (and characters are dispatched in gruesome fashion) and there are especially menacing creatures to further contribute to the pandemonium.
Mr. Meilke uses two alternating narratives, present day and the 1950’s, to tell the story. The present-day action involves a return of the fog during a brutal blizzard, while the flashbacks recount the origins of the fog. Both stories are captivating and instill constant peril and suspense, but I liked the present day account better. I felt the characters in the flashback were not quite drawn as well. However, I’m only talking a small degree of difference. For some reason, a third narrative (and another series of flashbacks) is incorporated towards the end. These seemed unnecessary to me in terms of plot development. Ironically, though, I enjoyed that sequence better than the 50’s storyline. Go figure.
Overall, a strong hair-raising tale and a solid 4.5 read – rounded up to 5.
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