While scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef a diver watches fascinated as a tiny light floats past him towards the surface. As the storms and tempests rage, a series of ominous events signal the emergence of a new and terrifying force.
Earthquakes, floods and volcanic eruptions sweep the earth. They’re all just awesome.It is the near future and signs of an impending global disaster are multiplying. So if you haven’t already, do yourself a favour and read the Rats books. Rats in general don’t really bother me, but then Herbert writes about them in such a way that it would be enough to scare the pants off anyone. Even Biggie wouldn’t stand a chance against them. I also don’t know what I’d do if I was attacked by a giant black rat. At least it doesn’t have any windows and so they wouldn’t explode and cover me in broken glass. I suppose I’d have to barricade myself in my bathroom and hope for the best. I’ve been thinking about that myself and I still have no idea. Just be warned that it’s going to leave you wincing every time you hear the scuttling of little feet, and you’re also going to want to start thinking about how you’d survive a nuclear attack. Like I said, it ranks up there with Herbert’s best, and he’s one of those writers that you can always rely on for a decent read. The rats aren’t just immune to the nukes, they’re able to thrive in the post-apocalyptic wasteland that was once called London.Īnd so the result is a book that combines great plotting with great characterisation and plenty of stuff to keep you awake at night, which is pretty much all you could want from a horror novel.
With humanity on the back foot and forced to shelter below ground because of the nuclear fallout, another problem rears its ugly head and starts chowing down on people. It’s unpleasant to think about, of course, but super enthralling to read about.Īnd then it just gets bleaker from there. Herbert is also great at writing bleakness and gore, and so when he tackles literally millions of people being wiped out in a single swoop, it’s perfect for him. Nuclear stuff has always been a weird little pleasure of mine and so I was glad to see it getting the James Herbert treatment. Part of that is because there’s a freakin’ nuclear strike right at the beginning of it which really helps to set the scene for the rest of it. This one takes us back to the heady heights of the first book, making this rank up there amongst my favourite James Herbert books. Each of them could be read as a standalone, although you’ll get a little more out of it if you do go from one to the other. To be honest, though, you don’t really need to read them in order, at least not from what I’ve seen. This book is the third and final book in Herbert’s Rats series, although I think that there’s a graphic novel out there which continues the story a little more.
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