highly recommended

a great book, and very cleverly writen as only james can.

realy gets your heart going at times and quite scary

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2 people found this helpful

A very average finale for a great author

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The first half desperately needed to be edited down as the story takes ages to get anywhere. James Herbert's earlier books were lean and expertly pace. This is far, far too long for what is ultimately rather a slender tale. Despite being a big fan, I was tempted to abandon this several times.

Even when the story does get moving, the pace drags and the need to describe so much in such detail is not needed. There is one part where it feels like every item of furniture in a room is fully described. It paints a picture, sure, but it holds up the book at a crucial point for no good reason.

Also, an unfortunate side effect of too much information is that what should have been great revelations are made obvious way before they should. There's more than one section of the book where it horribly drags out revealing a secret when it's been obvious for a long time. These sections were genuinely annoying.

A few hours trimmed and this could have been a good book, albeit most likely still not a great book.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

A good chunk of the book is devoted to the end and it is very exciting. Lots happens and it brings back memories of James Herbert's earlier works. It's interesting to find out what happens to some of the characters and James Herbert demonstrates that one thing he never lost was his knack for a gruesome demise.

Unfortunately, even this drags on far too long, though the very ending is mercifully brief.

Did Steven Pacey do a good job differentiating each of the characters? How?

It was generally a good job and some of the accents were done well. However, some of the accents did drift and characters ended up sounding different in places. Most of the female characters sounded the same.

My favourite was a doctor who started out like somebody doing a clichéd Chinese voice before settling into a very nasal Harry Enfield impersonating Harry Hill.

Did Ash inspire you to do anything?

Go back and read some of the earlier, much better, works by James Herbert!

Any additional comments?

I bought a copy of the book upon release, but I've never read it. As a huge James Herbert fan I didn't want the experience of enjoying his books to be over. I wish I had left it at that, rather than giving into the temptation of this audio book, as it just left me feeling disappointed. My thirty year journey through the works of James Herbert ended with a whimper.

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spooky

good yarn but please god no more half hour sex scenes, I nearly crashed my lorry.

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Great read

I enjoyed this book very much. The ending was a bit abrupt. Less lingering on the gory details and a slightly more elaborate ending would have made it more rounded. However, good story. Very enjoyable.

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fab listen,

Well worth taking the time to listen a slow start but we'll worth the wait

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Conspiracy theorists delight

Only bought it because it was on offer and I was looking for something different to listen to. Glad I did. Masterful horror with an excellent back story. Narration was brilliant. Conspiracy nuts will love it as long as they don't mind spiders, rats, bats, ghosts, ghouls etc. Going to listen to the first two books in the series. (probably the whole intention of the offer).

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Exceptional

Excellent storyline, quick pace, never a dull, padded moment, best book I’ve listened to for a long time. The narrator was simply awesome, congratulations.

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Good book

I really enjoyed this book. Good book with a great performance . Good characters and a twisted storyline.

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I love Herbert.

Great story well narrated. Not one of Herbert's best but he is my favourite author so still ebbing it.

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Brilliantly written as always by James Herbert

The only flaw in this narrative was how vulnerable and overly feminine the character Delphine was portrayed almost childlike and naive, he missed what was points of dry humour and challenging retorts that would have enhanced the chemistry between herself and the main character.

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