First published back in June of 1998, British author Stephen Laws’ novel ‘Chasm’ formed the author’s tenth novel, offering up an epic horror novel of apocalyptic proportions.
Jay O’Connor was facing his first day of his community service. He’d been placed at Burleigh High School in Edmonville, taking on the role as the new caretaker – some four years after having left the school. His caretaking duties had only just begun when the earthquake hit. Within seconds Jay was buried beneath a pile of rubble, the world around him a dusty abyss of darkness and claustrophobic terror.
As the minutes turn into hours, the first of the survivors begin to emerge from the chaos and absolute carnage. Gordon Tranwell, an awkward social outcast who’d always struggled to speak without a constant stammer plaguing his every word, desperately tries to dig out his beloved Aunt from the wreckage of their home. A solemn task which is to no avail. Elsewhere, with their home in tatters, Alex Stenmore is struggling to help his spiteful alcohol-driven wife, Candy, to accept the reality of what has happened. Their personal feud continuing on, despite what has happened.
Meanwhile, for twenty-four-year-old Juliet DeLove, the situation she finds herself in when the quake hits is much worse. When the world around them is brought to its knees, her ex-lover Trevor Blake, takes the opportunity to reveal his true, psychotic nature, trapping Juliet in a cramped storeroom with no obvious means of escape.
However, what this small handful of survivors is soon to learn, is what’s happen to Edmonville is much worse than just an earthquake. Immediately following the quake, the small area of the town becomes surrounded by a thick dust cloud. An impenetrable wall of swirling grey fog which reaches around the entirety of the town’s devastated remains. Above them the sky is just a great blank greyness. No birds. No clouds. No signs of life.
When the dust eventually clears, the situation they’re faced with is far worse than they could ever have dreamed. A vast chasm stretches as far as the eye can see, cutting the survivors off from any potential rescue. They find themselves stranded on a bizarre half-mile crag of what had once been the centre of Edmonville. Outwards they can see nothing. No one. Somehow, unbelievably, they’re truly alone.
But as night falls, and the rubble strewn remains of what’s left of Edmonville is cast into a blanket of darkness, a whole new terror emerges from the shadows and the endless abyss of the surrounding chasm.
A black sea of pure evil, swirling and churning. This surging sea of blackness – the Vorla – is everything evil about mankind. The very essence of evil manifest. And its corruption is absolute.
This small group of survivors are soon to face the worst horror imaginable. Horrors that were surely born from Hell itself…
I started this review off by describing Laws’ ‘Chasm’ as an epic horror novel of apocalyptic proportions…and that absolutely hits the nail on the head with what this book is. The sheer scale of the piece, the character arcs, and the emotional journey we go through, as we follow this small band of survivors, is the absolute definition of an epic horror.
These factors, together with the overarching premise of the novel, makes the entire book feel incredibly Stephen King-esque. A sort of blend of ‘The Stand’ (1978), meets ‘Under The Dome’ (2009), meets Walter J. Williams’ ‘The Rift’ (1998). But as the story evolves you find there’s so more than just that. As the strange, isolated cutout of a town gradually becomes ‘New Edmonville’…in essence as the survivors eventually accept the reality of their predicament…the tale starts to bring in almost a ‘Mad Max’ (1979) type of post-apocalyptic world vibe.
In essence what we have is akin to a miniature, localised, post-apocalyptic backdrop, where an ancient supernatural evil terrorizes our bedraggled band of survivors. Of course, this evil threat then escalates as the novel progresses onwards, with a premise that itself gradually expands to incorporate a whole secondary level of horror. I’m not gonna ruin things with spoilers, but what I will say is the post-apocalyptic vibe really fucking kicks in the further on you go into this epic tale of survival against all odds
As with so many novels of this kin, the real drive behind the story is with the characters. The character arcs which Laws has written into the tale are superb. Relationships evolve and are put through the test time and again. The constant pressure cooker environment adds layers onto the emotional toil felt by all. Nevertheless, we have the inevitable love story still woven into all of this, which evolves with our principal protagonist - Jay O’Connor.
However, each and every character has their own unique story. Each brings their own element to the table, creating an elaborate interweaving of personalities and personal drives for surviving this whole horrific ordeal.
The format in which the tale is told is also of note. Jay O’Connor has his own distinct chapters throughout the book, which are told via excerpts from his personal journal. The other chapters are generally told from the perspective of the other survivors, pulling the whole storyline together into a more complete picture than if told from just a singular perspective.
Relatively early on we have a substory involving Juliet DeLove and the aforementioned terrifying predicament she finds herself in with the psychopathic Trevor Blake terrorizing her. These chapters are in my humble opinion, the strongest within the entire book. There’s a very Richard Laymon vibe to these chapters, especially involving Blake’s swift descent into madness. Here, Laws absolutely ramps up the tension alongside the suffocating claustrophobia of DeLove’s entrapment.
As the epic tale ploughs ever onwards, the sheer ambitious scale of the book gradually reveals itself, pushing the pushing the premise outwards whilst simultaneously escalating the magnitude of the horrors faced.
The novel is basically split into three sections, with the latter dealing with the arrival of The Caffneys and their clan of followers. Again, no spoilers here, but what I will say is this latter third of the novel is where things really fucking ramp up. Honestly, in this last third of the book, Laws throws off his gloves and starts punching bare knuckle with the delivery of his terrorizing horror.
The book ends in absolute style too. No rushed, unaccomplished, or lacklustre wrapping up of the story here whatsoever. Instead, we see Laws pulling out all stops for a monumental showdown which then spirals into an ambitious multi-dimensional twist, creating a wonderfully elaborate framework to end things with.
The whole epic journey you’re taken on through the length of this novel is breathtaking. There’s so much embedded within the rich tapestry of this tale’s multi-layered storyline to keep you thoroughly enthralled throughout. As each chapter ends, you’re eager to get straight on with the next. To continue on with the desperate plight of the survivors. To see how it all hopefully works out. To make fucking sense of it all.
The novel runs for a total of 546 pages.
© DLS Reviews
