Others - James Herbert

Advantages: Will keep you turning the pages, very indepth, a true horror as its based on fact
Disadvantages: Very in depth, keep you up all night, youll be sleeping with the lights on

...king of horror has written. Others being his most recent book, but he has written well over 20 books since the early 80s. Well I am ashamed in leaving this book unread for so long. After starting it last week, I have now finished it, awe-struck. I wasnt all that sure when I started it. The first chapter was a little weird, starting in fact in what I would call Hell. This first chapter describes a man, a condemned man at that, within the reaches of ...
...is in. His remorse, his pity, his repentance in what he did in his previous life. His man, his identity unknown was filled with dread. He didnt know how long he'd been there for, how long he was going to bed there for, but you can almost, almost hear him scream. His man was visited by two figures and after consideration, careful thought and probably spitefulness, gave his pitiful man his judgement. In the second chapter and there after there is a ... Read review

Advantages: Original and interesting main character in a well-written and paced novel.
Disadvantages: Overly reliant on shock revelations than scary moments especially the ending

...inward groan when I received Others for Christmas. It wasn’t that 48 was bad, it was an interesting story but, at the time, I thought too simple and almost naively written. Anyway enough waffle. For those that don’t know James Herbert is not a horror writer but instead a chiller fiction writer, the difference I presume is that chiller fiction is more realistic than out and out horror. Indeed at the end of Others a note from Herbert claims ...
...Rest as well as the Others and of course our lead character, Dis. So is the book any good? Personally it’s not my cup of tea, the novel is well paced and Dis is an original and interesting lead character. Herbert’s first person style is well suited to developing the lead especially when expressing feelings and emotions. When I compare it to 48 I am surprised as Others is far superior in terms of style of writing and complexity of story. ... Read review

Advantages: Very well set out story, full of twists and turns
Disadvantages: Cant think of any

Believe it or not I read this one from start to finish on a beach in Jamaica and I got so immersed in it that I practically lost 2 days of my holiday, I could just not put it down. It does start off sort of weird but you soon forget about that as you end up practically getting inside the main characters head and experiencing the events from his perspective. I wont spoil it for you because to give you anything other than the vaguest outline of the ...
...tell you that the book was inspired by an elderly friend of James Herbert who used to work at a hospital in London. She apparently entered an unmarked ward and was confronted with numerous cots containing very badly deformed babies but nobody could give her any explanation as to who they were or what happened with them. The book goes on to examine and flesh out one particular gruesome and sickening explanation which also has an unexpected sting ... Read review

Advantages: A return to majesty, showing new levels of maturity.
Disadvantages: Genuinely disturbing - not your 'fun' horror.

...'The Fog', 'The Dark', and others from his early career, and our expectations of him are subsequently enormous. When he fails to deliver something with the same power, that failing can cause n almost vitriolic backlash in the reader. The price of fame, alas. It is with some relief then, that I found 'Others' to be among the best novels he has written, a yarn that demonstrates levels of maturity and storytelling prowess unlike anything to have come ...
...with perfect rest, and the Others hidden away there, with all the social implications that they wield. Finally, intriguingly, there is the ongoing theme of redemption and past lives. Many might think that the notion of being born crippled in order to atone for sins in a past life is deeply offensive. Yet Dismas is so superbly detailed, so vibrantly human, that all such notions vanish within a handful of pages. Herbert isn't out to offend, he's trying ... Read review

Advantages: Easy to follow gripping story lines
Disadvantages: Can't put the book down

I have never been a good reader and find it hard to set aside time to pick up a book. On occasions I find I need something to relax me which is usually when my brain is over loaded with work and life in the real world. I bought a second hand James Herbert book and set to reading it. I quickly covered the Rats and moved on the the Fog, followed closely by Domain. I found that I could not put the books down. I really enjoyed The Magic Cottage and ...
...read I was impressed with how he managed to captivate me. I found the text easy to follow and the storylines were not predicatable. I am not a creamish person at all but my sister, who can't watch horror films read the Rats and had to sleep with the light on for a week. I can't compare him to other writers because he is all I have read but I will be more than happy when I take my next time out to pick up another one of his wonderful books ... Read review