Author and master of the horror genre whose trademark was fear
When James Herbert published his first novel, The Rats (1974), at the age of 30, it was an immediate bestseller. Copies of the book – produced cheaply in paperback with a vicious-looking rodent on the cover, its jaws open and eyes bloodshot – flew off the shelves, the initial print run of 100,000 selling out in three weeks. Behind its cover star, the title was printed in bold, red type. Edition after edition came out and changes were subtly made. The rat remained but eventually it was the name of Herbert, who has died aged 69, that dominated the cover.
Herbert's early novels were literary nasties. The Rats opens with a tramp being devoured alive. Soon afterwards, a baby is killed and partly eaten before her mother can rescue the mutilated body. The Fog (1975) continued his uncompromisingly explicit, visceral exploration of horror. Innocent villagers and...
When James Herbert published his first novel, The Rats (1974), at the age of 30, it was an immediate bestseller. Copies of the book – produced cheaply in paperback with a vicious-looking rodent on the cover, its jaws open and eyes bloodshot – flew off the shelves, the initial print run of 100,000 selling out in three weeks. Behind its cover star, the title was printed in bold, red type. Edition after edition came out and changes were subtly made. The rat remained but eventually it was the name of Herbert, who has died aged 69, that dominated the cover.
Herbert's early novels were literary nasties. The Rats opens with a tramp being devoured alive. Soon afterwards, a baby is killed and partly eaten before her mother can rescue the mutilated body. The Fog (1975) continued his uncompromisingly explicit, visceral exploration of horror. Innocent villagers and...
- 3/21/2013
- by Steve Holland
- The Guardian - Film News
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