Book Review – The Jam by Dan Soule

By Morgan K Tanner on February 21, 2022 • ( 3 )

I don’t believe there is a single person in this world who enjoys traffic jams. I’d even go as far to say the majority of people despise them. So imagine a story set during an aforementioned jam. How can that possibly work?

Well Dan Soule has managed it with this delightful little horror tale. There was none of the monotony of tailbacks, just engaging, thrilling, and occasional gore-encrusted carnage.

The story begins by introducing a group of characters who soon become entrenched in this motorway holdup. The cast is just the right size without making the story too world-buildy or confusing by giving you too many names and backstories to remember.

We have a kid with an abusive father and a (supposedly) submission mother, a Premier League footballer with the world at his feet and a heart of gold (but why?), an internet motivational guru who’s quite a bit of a shit, and a, let’s just say ‘working girl’.

All seemingly unrelated, but all only moments away from destruction.

Once the traffic comes to a standstill the people in their cars do the usual thing of getting out to try and see what’s causing the problem. They begin to talk and complain and offer explanations; you know, the normal kind of behaviour. But then the rain comes.

This isn’t the usual and dull British rain, though, this stuff burns. Soon after those poor souls caught outside are assaulted by the burning rain, the motorists and their families are attacked by ravenous monsters swooping from above, ripping them apart with plenty of blood-stained descriptions.

The story powers along, always leaving you guessing at what exactly is going on. I resisted the urge to try and predict what would happen and just let the tale take me along for the ride. Things certainly take a dark turn.

Some of the survivors of these beasts know a little more than they let people believe. And that is all I will say. There’s so much more I haven’t even touched upon. This story was great fun, with cosmic horror and real-life terrors; all of which were more frightening than an actual traffic jam, which is mightily impressive.