The Dark

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When James died, it was at home in bed. A post mortem was carried out but no cause of death was ever given. Several of his friends have said he showed no signs of illness before his passing. This was MY first novel by James Herbert. Having seen his books mentioned quite often, I thought to give it a go with Moon. First impression, Herbert is a brilliant writer. I genuinely couldn’t put this book down. Not because I was overly gripped by the story, per se. However, the plot and characters were interesting. But because I was ensnared with the way Herbert wrote and unfolded the tale as a perfectly paced thriller and for the most part, kept the overindulgence to a minimum. A tad boring' is not a good thing to say about a horror book. It wasn't bad, but the writing was so eighties' thriller that it was slightly annoying. The characters were about as empty as empty can be. The plot itself, however, was not too bad. I mean, nothing really surprising, but still kept me reading one more chapter way more often than I'd care to admit. So it wasn't all bad. Just... you know, mostly bad.

The Dark by James Herbert | Goodreads The Dark by James Herbert | Goodreads

This is a book of two halves. The first half I struggled to stay interested. Jon Childes is a man running from his past. A reluctant psychic who solved a murder case but resulted in divorce and publicity he did not want. So he now lives on a channel island teaching computer science at several schools. This has led him to repress and avoid his psychic ability. We watch as he comes to terms with that, working alongside the police to try to get to the bottom of things. Now, I’ve always found that crime and mysticism don’t go together too well, which is one of the reasons why I found Stephen King’s Bill Hodges books so underwhelming after a solid start. Here, though, Herbert gets the balance just right, and I don’t have any complaints about the story. Good ole post-classic horror where the gothic take on ghosts and the paranormal has been switched with skepticism and a more scientific perspective. I was absolutely loving this until around three quarters of the way through. It started off as a classic horror story with paranormal and mystery elements which I enjoy reading but it soon became a slog to get through. I think that Herbert was trying to make this more complex than it needed to be and it did not pay off.However James Herbert offered something different, yes there were so truly graphic scenes but there was as story there, characters you could invest in and events you just had to read to the end of to see what happened. James Herbert was born in London in April 1943 and died on the 20th of March 2013 (a day I will never forget). He is my personal favourite horror writer of all time as most of his works are based on the paranormal, mutations and the damn uncompromisingly explicit. He is very unlike Stephen King whose works are based on the human psyche and things that humans are capable of.

James Herbert, Master Of Supernatural Fiction | Spooky Isles James Herbert, Master Of Supernatural Fiction | Spooky Isles

Beginning in a small suburban street where an empty house is haunted by a malevolent, sentient darkness, the scope of the story expands as the darkness escapes and begins to engulf the city. The main character is Chris Bishop, a paranormal investigator called in initially to investigate claims that the house is haunted. There he discovers that those engulfed by the darkness are driven to savage and murderous frenzies, in connection with a mysterious cult leader whose spirit inhabits the darkness. He fled from the terrors of his past. Finding refuge in the quietness of the island. And for a time he lived in peace. Until the 'sightings' began. Visions of horror seeping into his mind like poisonous tendrils. Violent acts that were hideously macabre, the thoughts became intense. The Fog felt very raw in its depiction of horror, possibly due to it being Herbert's second novel, despite the writing being kinda mediocre. By the time Herbert wrote The Dark he had become a slightly better writer, however, the rawness was gone, and the book definitely suffered for this. The Dark felt disjointed at times, overblown, and, the cardinal sin, boring. Yes! there are big (really big at times) scenes involving pretty decent horror, but the book is constantly bouncing around the point-of-view from the main characters, and minor characters who are just there for the body count. Could I wish for a bit more detailed explanation of the theory behind this take, yes! But I guess it's rather hard to give an completely satisfying explanation of something there's no (yet) any explanation of. So with that in mind, yes I think it was a great story. We got a couple of the usual mortifying toe-cringing detailed sexscene of the parts of the sex lives of humans which often aren't very sexy in all honesty (love it!), we got some plumb women here and there, toThe opening chapters to Moon are fairly slowly paced, it takes its time and has no problem keeping the mystery and main themes of the book hidden for a while. Once things get going and the cards slowly began to reveal themselves I was hooked, The main idea here being a logical man finding himself to possess a power that links his mind to that of a murderer is cool and had me set for cat and mouse thriller, sadly it doesn't pan out that way. The Dark is the 7th James Herbert novel first released in 1980. For those used to his writing style this will feel like putting on a comfortable pair of old slippers. You know you need to replace them but they’ve still got a certain appeal that just relaxes you. Terminé anoche de leerlo y quedé media catatónica porque por un lado, durante todo el bendito libro no hay forma de que te hagas a la idea de quién corno es el asesino y eso me gustó. Por otro lado, el asesino .... por favorrrrrrrrrrr que mentalidad tan trastornada... los últimos asesinatos fueron los que más sentí porque aunque no eran personajes que conocían profundamente, cada uno por distintas razones te llegaban al kokoro. What I like about James Herbert is that he has some excellent ideas and he can really tell a good story. This book was really creepy, heart stopping and mind boggling. Throughout the book from beginning to end, it's filled with gore, bloodshed and massacre. It brings the controvsial "debate" in whether whatever causes the bloodshed is based on scientific meaning or some sort of unknown forces that are trying to get rid of the human or at least the physical part of mankind.

Editions of The Dark by James Herbert - Goodreads

I liked the fact that bad things happened in this book that the hero was not able to prevent. I liked the fact that good people did the wrong things for the right reasons. I wasn't sure about the ending, it felt rushed and anti-climatic but I am beginning to think that actually, horror books are just generally difficult to conclude. I'm disappointed as I originally had this as a 4 star book (first read about 20 years ago) but I didn't enjoy it much this time around :( I loved it this was the first James Herbert book I have read. Others say it is not that good but I differ it has a lot going for it. The idea in the book as good and evil being an energy force that can be controlled is an interesting one that raises many questions as you progress through the book. Can people be that easily influenced? Can you? This was my first book by James Herbert. I had heard or to be more precise read a lot about Herbert's skill as horror storyteller. Unsurprisingly I had some pretty high expectations from this book and which it failed to live up to.This has to be one of the creepiest books I've read. The book starts with a mass suicide/murder of a group of people in house. In true Herbert style this is explained in all its brutal, sadistic glory. The story goes on to be basically about the battle between good and evil that all people face, just with a more paranormal scary twist.

Horror Book Review: The Dark (James Herbert) - GAMES Horror Book Review: The Dark (James Herbert) - GAMES

There a an insane psychic killing people in horrific ways and able to connect to Childes mind as well allowing him to see the murders. Freaking out Childes and his girlfriend Amy. When an attempt is made on his daughters life he starts to face his fears. Our protagonist Childes has fled to this island "from the terrors of his past" , fighting his demons (don't they all!!!) while trying to maintain his relationship his Amy! Oh, did I tell you that he also get visions of horrible murders and mutilations. Then people in his vicinity start dying, bodies keep pilling up and finally get to the climax -- which was very abrupt in my opinion. It's set on the island of Guernsey, which is why I read it, and that aspect was the only plus for me.

Jon Childes has found a peaceful life. He lives on one of the Channel Islands, working at three different schools teaching computer science. His ex-wife and daughter live in England, but he’s found a new relationship with a fellow teacher, Amy Sebire. He hopes the horror from his past is gone forever. On a positive note, the characters were interesting and likeable. The dynamics between them were also cleverly developed throughout. Sadly, though, I just did not enjoy the chapters which pulled the reader away from the main protagonists and into the perspectives of some random people who I didn't care for. Unfortunately, this became a major part of the novel towards the end. Likewise, I did not care for the ending - admittedly, I haven't fully wrapped my head around what occurred at the end but I do not have the motivation to do so. Having said that, I do admire the way in which Herbert melded the elements of the paranormal and science together at the end. Uninspiring & boring for large parts, The Dark is not the strongest of his work & you’ll find yourself inadvertently skimming over paragraphs hoping to get to a more interesting part.