Read some James Herbert, they said. He's the bestest, they said. Well, as part of my exploration of haunted houses, I decided to start my James Herbert experience here, but maybe that was a mistake, as this was, I think, his last novel and supposedly not up to his usual standards. The series closes on a bittersweet note. The truth is finally out, and all the ghosts except Augustus move into the beyond. Cam's parents are relieved to learn that Stefan led a happy life after escaping the orphanage. They bury Cam in the plot next to Stefan's, and the program closes with them laying flowers on both their graves. This is an actual ghost story, but it's very well done. It's not cheesy, it's not hokey. It allows you to meld into the story, you feel their pain and frustration as well as their emotional rollercoaster dealing not only with their missing son but the tragedies of the past that they begin to uncover.

I'll admit I was not expecting that. The delivery of this moment - (the grotesque imagery; the ominous implication in the pursing of his lips) - is downright genius. It shall keep me up for weeks. But as for the rest of the story? Well, unforutely, I would say “forget it”.

REVIEWS

James Herbert, who passed away last year, has long been one of the most popular and influential horror writers since he first published The Rats in the late 70's. To many in the UK, he's their Stephen King, but Herbert is all his own, and for the uninitiated, you should read him, period. I could cope with some of this if the book was actually frightening. It is not. The plot is ridiculous and for me not in the least bit scary. The sexual references I found to be out of place and verging on the weird. They add nothing to the plot. The book is narrated at a dramatic pace with unnecessary exaggeration. This only diminishes an already bad experience. The book is incredibly long and would benefit from being a third of its length. However, I don’t think this would redeem it. Yes, we have the annoying dog Chester who senses something is wrong with old house, but otherwise I felt no building sense of mystery or of approaching unknowable horror. Instead, what I got was a stereotypical baddie ghost wielding a whip. The content of child abuse is disturbing, but the book as a whole does not provide the transcending experience that a good horror novel provides. The end was flashy but not satisfying, and by that point I didn't have a whole lot invested in the characters or story anyway. In fact, the character choices were a bit unrealistic and caused enough frustration to take me out of the story.

Eve Caleigh wakes from a dream. She goes to her son Cam who has also had a bad dream. Eve prepares for work while her husband Gabe gets the children up and ready for the day. Eve leaves with Cam. When she collects Cam from day-care, it is revealed that she and Cam have a special relationship. On the way home, Cam asks if they can go to the play area. While he is playing on the slide, she sits down on a bench and looks over her notes. Eve falls asleep and starts to dream... Well, if you're looking for a creepy read, seriously, don't bother looking in this direction. This is my third Herbert book, and so far, only The Rats managed to unsettle me. This book was too predictable, and took me way too long to get through. He was the subject of a This is Your Life programme in 1995, when he was surprised by Michael Aspel at the London Dungeon. [ citation needed] Reception [ edit ]James Herbert was Britain's number one bestselling writer (a position he held ever since publication of his first novel) and one of the world's top writers of thriller/horror fiction. Pero, a pesar de esa ausencia de sorpresa, lo que Herbert nos cuenta en esta novela es tan fascinante que no puedes parar de leer esas seiscientas páginas llenas de las terribles consecuencias de su oscuro pasado. Quizás por la apuesta decidida que tiene el autor por presentarnos los fenómenos paranormales desde un inicio, sin dar apenas respiro a descubrir el drama de esta familia que intenta superar una pérdida irreparable. Desde el primer momento en que te adentras entre estos muros, se percibe la sensación de que algo maligno habita allí y el autor se encargará de recordártelo a través de sus numerosos capítulos diseñados para que no baje el interés a lo largo de la novela. Spark, Alasdair (1993). "Horrible Writing: the Early Fiction of James Herbert". In Bloom, Clive (ed.). Creepers: British Horror & Fantasy in the Twentieth Century. London: Pluto Press. pp.147–160. ISBN 9780745306650. Stefan is with Augustus who opens a book of a record of the children's punishments. In the basement, Augustus threatens to throw Stefan down the well to the devil if he does not change his ways. Ocr tesseract 5.0.0-alpha-20201231-10-g1236 Ocr_detected_lang en Ocr_detected_lang_conf 1.0000 Ocr_detected_script Latin Ocr_detected_script_conf 0.9795 Ocr_module_version 0.0.13 Ocr_parameters -l eng Old_pallet IA-WL-2000033 Openlibrary_edition

After having their son go missing, a family moves to this old estate for a few months hoping to deal with their loss. Unfortunately, the house has a lot of secrets of its own...secrets that need to come out.Eve becomes desperate for answers when Lilli claims the ghost of Augustus told her that Cam was dead and this is later revealed to be sadly true. A partir de esos momentos lo mejor que puedes hacer es dejarte llevar y disfrutar de una historia que da lo que promete. Animales que perciben situaciones amenazadoras, extraños personajes con intenciones desconocidas, videntes, apariciones en medio de la noche, lamparones de agua que aparecen sin explicación, ataques inesperados de entes malignos...y toda una acumulación de circunstancias aterradoras que pueden generar más de una pesadilla al lector más susceptible.