The background subtly of this constant threat works incredibly well, with the reader’s imagination working absolute wonders in keeping them on the edge of their seat.

Come the end, everything does come to a head, even if all the drama and (far too long in coming) action is clichéd enough for the momentarily captured hero to shout "you're crazy" (p. The first chapter, meanwhile, shows resident Irish badass (Liam when he's vulnerable, Halloran when he's not) mowing down some IRA kidnappers with a sub machine gun.I became a follower of the British bogeyman of horror and read The Fog and it's unforgettable (for a young teen, remember) scenes of mayhem and perversion as well as The Lair, the sequel to The Rats. Upon accepting the task of protecting Kliene, Halloran is introduced to the man’s personal assistant - Cora Redmile who has been coordinating Kliene’s personal bodyguards until now.

There were dark places in Neath, corners, niches, which sunlight could never touch, rooms gloomed in permanent dusk, corridors where dust motes seemed to clog the air, halls where footsteps echoed in emptiness. James Herbert has a gift of pulling you in to the stories he creates so you can't put them down -at least I can't. The singular female character, Cora, is never given a backstory, and is assumed to be having an affair with her boss (because she's a woman). Like a Son to Me: Charles Mather, friend to Halloran’s father, steered the brutal skill of the traumatised youth to an auspicious military career, and later, to Achilles' Shield. Halloran is unaware of the insidious evil he must face, that he will have to combat men who thrive on the worst physical corruption, that he will find love, that he will have to face the darkness of his own soul.The plots and subplots are layered one upon the other and not fully appreciated until the dramatic and fitting conclusion.

This one on the whole was slow tediius and boring and little more untill you got to chapter 39 then going through the motions! The tale just seems to keep on expanding, with more and more puzzling questions being raised around every corner.Anyway, the story itself was ok - a security firm are hired to protect a 'mystic', who believes he is in danger, but doesn't know from what. Displaced Palastinians Asil Khayed and Youssef Daoud, having grown up in squalor, became sadistic assassins. Typical Herbert novel where he lets you get inside the heads of multiple characters, which I particularly like. There was an extra chapter named ‘Cora’s Needs’ (Chapter 19) that was removed from the novel by Herbert himself, which can be found within Herbert's biography ‘Devil In The Dark’ (2003). Kline's an arrogant and obnoxious fellow who looks "nothing like a genius, and nothing like a wizard" (p.

You feel for the characters and care what happens to everyone, especially the evil ones, as you REALLY get to know what makes them tick and their ends are colourful to the least.

This year I pirated a Kindle version of a James Herbert novel to try to relive the ghostly pleasures of yesteryear. Old Soldier: SAS Major Gerald Snaith and MBE Charles Mather, having sustained a permanent limp, serve respectively as Controller and Planner for Achilles' Shield. At Neath, Kline’s secluded Surrey estate, Halloran, while shown irrefutable evidence of Kline’s abilities, is disturbed by the mansion’s minimal security, and bemused by the forlorn, masochistic advances of Cora Redmile, Kline’s aide. Empathic Environment: From the corruptions of those within, the structure of Neath adapt itself into shadowed, amorphous creatures. Herbert's imagery may even have gotten me started writing for my first attempt at a novel was inspired very much by the mayhem of The Fog and some vocabulary I picked up in science class.