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Evilution by Shaun Jeffrey
pub: The Invisible College Press. 292 page enlarged
paperback. Price: $14.95 (US), $23.95 (CAN). ISBN: 1-931468-13-3
check out website: www.invispress.com
and www.shaunjeffrey.com
Chase
Black is stuck in the deepest rut of her lifetime. She has no job,
no money and the offers of work aren't exactly flooding in.
Her boyfriend even left her without so much as a goodbye. So when
a letter arrives telling her she has won a house in the country
by entering a competition she doesn't even remember taking part
in, Chase is understandably sceptical.
Storm
Enterprises take her to her new home and things are made even stranger
by the unrelenting bank of fog surrounding the village, Paradise.
The village is strange, the occupants even stranger and it disconcerts
its new arrival.
When her best friend who has accompanied her disappears,
Chase becomes severely worried about her decision to stay.
While this is going on, two teenagers have wandered
into the fog that permanently hangs like an ethereal demarcation
round the village. The teenagers know the stories about the fog
but it's nothing compared to the situation they eventually find
themselves in.
‘Evilution’ is Shaun Jeffrey's debut novel. It's
not a debut novel to be sniffed at either. The fundamentally great
thing about this book is that it hooks you from the moment you read
the first chapter and then it doesn't let you go. It's an easy read
so you can, if your hands won't let you put it down, read it in
a day.
The characters are easily recognisable adding
to the weirdness of the overall story. They are at times a little
underdeveloped though it doesn't detract from the book. The detail
of the actual reasoning behind Paradise's problems could have done
with a little more research from Shaun Jeffrey. Again, it isn't
something that stops you from finishing the book and enjoying it.
I liked the touches of irony in there. Very British
sensibilities about the whole issue of our weather. The fog has
actually been around for nearly two years and no one really seems
to make a big deal of it...only in Britain, huh!
Also, there is a reference to the rationed food
from the army because supplies cannot get in or out. They are emblazoned
in a standard white label that merely has the name of the food stencilled
on the side. This made me think of supermarket's own brand goods
in their value ranges, I had to laugh!
What I found most impressive is that the style
of writing was like a diluted version of James Herbert's books,
‘The Fog’ and ‘Haunted’. I can see that given the chance Shaun Jeffrey
has the potential to become a successful horror writer in his own
right. Let's hope he's given that chance!
In my opinion, this is a great piece of fiction from the horror
genre. I find that good horror is hard to find and thankfully this
is nothing like some of the recent turkeys I have had the unfortunate
luck of buying and ending up regretting the purchase.
Go and buy this book, you definitely won't regret it!
Donna Jones
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