Chasm by Stephen Laws (1998-06-04)

Why Stephen Laws isn't mentioned in the same breath as King, Koontz and Barker is something I will never understand. I have loved every one of his novels, but for some unknown reason, he receives very little publicity outside of the UK. CHASM ties in thematically with some of his other novels, most notably THE FRIGHTENERS, with the idea that Evil itself can manifest a physical form. By the end of this novel, you may be looking into people's eyes for a hint of swirling blackness.

I am a fan of Laws. I always look for his name at every new and used book store I come across. I've had the pleasure of reading Fear Me, Darkfall, The Wyrm, Spectre, Ferocity and now, Chasm. I'm pleased to report that it was an excellent read, second only to Darkfall in my estimation.Don't let the cover fool you. The gothic printmaker's cover almost put me off at first, but I've learned to look past the cover (and dear lord, the TITLES) when purchasing an import. I don't know who renames these books or designs the covers, but they're not doing anyone any favors on this side of the ocean. It's a solid book and was good enough to keep me up all night turning the pages. It is definitely worth the wait to have the title mailed overseas.The story is related by the main character who has his life abruptly altered by a mysterious earthquake. Mayhem ensues which includes the walking dead, cannibalism, torture, murder..and general horrific type events. The only weakness of the book is that it lacks the strong drama and fear-factor present in Darkfall. However, the characters are well fleshed out, and the story is told compellingly. 4 star recommendation

Gripping characters, excellent story - words cannot express how much I loved this book, I recommended it to my brother and he thoroughly enjoyed it also.Stephen Laws quickly became my go-to man for Horror, his novels sit up next to my Stephen King books. I would thoroughly recommend his books to anyone.

Quite simply for me this was the finest fictional piece of work I have ever read.I always enjoy Stephen Laws books , this is his finest work. It's a rollercoaster of a ride.Chasm will drain you emotionally. I just could not put the novel down. At over 500 pages it never drags and each chapter compells you to move onto the next as there is cliffhanger after cliffhanger.The small town of Edmonville suffers what appears to be an earthquake , but as the few survivors gather it turns out all is not what it had appeared to be.Most of the town has disapeared into huge crevasses and all around are huge peaks with ruins atop them as they thrust high into a grey, never changing sky.Something evil lurks in the depths of the chasm and at night it emerges ready to take the little band of survivors. Then there are the Cherubium- amazing tiny children - from babies to tots- but they have wings and very sharp teeth!! Their attack in a mini mart is one of the most dynamic and tense chapters I have ever read in a book. The characters in this novel are all so sharply defined. You identify with some, sympathise with others and will them to survive. Then there are The Caffney family, surely these are the blackest of villains to darken a book page? Chasm is a genuine masterpiece, buy the book, read it and re read it. Stephen Laws excelled on this, I cannot rate it high enough.

Chasm ,is his best book so far and,no doubt he will soon write another one even better, I have all his books now and have read most of them over again,I always thought James Herbert was our best horror writer but Mr Laws is every bit as good as he was.maybe even better...........

I loved this book when I read it years ago and I have recently rediscovered it and read it again. I still love it, Stephen Laws best to date. Was hard to put down and I found myself dreaming of the characters as if I knew them personally!

Riveting story based around compelling characters.Loving the cherub.

Great value read