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Post by dreamfable on Aug 9, 2009 5:32:31 GMT
I'm writing from the U.S. -- and since the 80s boom, most of which I ignored being otherwise busy writing and working jobs then, "Ghosts of Sleath" was the first Herbert I ever saw in a U.S. chain store. So of course I read it, or all except the final 10 to 20 pages...I didn't care at the end. I've read reviews of every one since but didn't pick them up. "Haunted" is the first David Ash story, but I've still not gotten back to Herbert. Wondering what I'd missed led me to this post.
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Post by ian on Aug 9, 2009 15:18:00 GMT
Hi dreamfable and thanks for joining BHN. To be honest with Mr. Herbert, you really are best starting with his early novels like 'The fog' 'The Dark'
Please introduce yourself in the welcome section sir.
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Post by Vaughan on Aug 9, 2009 15:48:48 GMT
Agreed. To be honest I'd even go as far as to say you MUST start with The Rats and The Fog. Then being on Lair, and work your way from there.
And welcome to board Dreamfable.
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Post by Dreadlocksmile on Aug 10, 2009 12:41:51 GMT
Agreed. To be honest I'd even go as far as to say you MUST start with The Rats and The Fog. Then being on Lair, and work your way from there. 'The Fog' is one of the greatest novels ever written...
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Post by TheWalkinDude on Aug 10, 2009 13:12:34 GMT
The Rats was my 1st JH novel, followed by the dark. i think i tried reding 'Once' about 10 times and kept putting it down. i think 'Crickley Hall' probably could have been better, it started off ok i thought but then just kinda slumped off to an anti-climax. the fog is a grand read, though i dont think i liked shrine that much.
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Post by mersey on Apr 26, 2010 20:14:35 GMT
As much I love Jim and his work, I really must agree here that he SHOULD go back to his earlier style, writing the kind of shockers like The Rats and The Fog (God, that school gym scene still haunts me to this day!!) which, as a teenager growing up back in the seventies, I used to love so much. I don't know why he suddenly decided to cut down on the blood and gore shocks which he used to evoke so brilliantly in those earlier literary masterpieces. Okay, books like Haunted were quite spooky, but I have to admit I was kinda disappointed that, for all the eerie atmosphere of the old house and sinister family, there were no REAL shocks like those in his earlier books. Having said that, I will still continue to collect James Herbert books, for I am a die-hard fan and, as such, will devour avidly each new novel he brings out. You never know though . . . one day, he COULD suddenly surprise us all and bring out a new roller coaster-ride shocker in the tradition of The Rats, The Dark etc. Mersey www.horrorwriters.netHow can we not have a classics category without having a thread dedicated to Mr. Herbert? So how shall we start? Oh, I know, Does anyone think he should go back to his shock and kill plots like The Spear and The Dark.
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Post by ian on Jun 2, 2010 13:49:24 GMT
Somehow, I don't think he'll ever write in the style of his earlier work which, is a damn shame. James Herbert is one British author that the publishers won't ignore, so imagine if he did bring out a couple of new 'shock and kill' novels. Would the horror book industry be turned on its head? Would other publishers start going through their slush piles trying to find another writer like him, hoping to cash in?
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Post by steppedonwolf on Jun 3, 2010 0:30:22 GMT
Somehow, I don't think he'll ever write in the style of his earlier work which, is a damn shame. James Herbert is one British author that the publishers won't ignore, so imagine if he did bring out a couple of new 'shock and kill' novels. Would the horror book industry be turned on its head? Would other publishers start going through their slush piles trying to find another writer like him, hoping to cash in? The new Ash novel could certainly be a shocker. One of the reasons we've had to wait so long for it is not just because he's been ill but because the publisher's had to get a team of lawyers to go over it!
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Post by ian on Jun 7, 2010 16:32:08 GMT
Hey Steppsy, did you get that FB mass-mail from the James Herbert group about his next book, Ash?
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Post by steppedonwolf on Jun 8, 2010 8:31:17 GMT
Hey Steppsy, did you get that FB mass-mail from the James Herbert group about his next book, Ash? Alas no - I can't access FB or hotmail from my work PC. I can only just get on this forum, but the images are all blocked.
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Post by Dreadlocksmile on Jun 8, 2010 8:51:42 GMT
What was in the mail?
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Post by ian on Jun 8, 2010 10:58:30 GMT
Ash' is up on Amazon for pre-order. Released on Thursday the 7th on October, 600 pages long (!!!) and its the final David Ash book! The plots a mix of Haunted (haunted house) and GhostsofSleath (village community), but we all know Jim will come up with something brilliant and original from it.
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Post by Dreadlocksmile on Jun 8, 2010 11:42:53 GMT
Ash' is up on Amazon for pre-order. Hmmmmm...I'm going to hang-fire for a bit to see if there's going to be any pre-order price wars on this release. Please make sure that you keep us updated on any further news Ian.
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Post by ian on Oct 9, 2010 18:10:35 GMT
Shit. Amazon says that it's been put back to Bloody March. Well that just sucks.
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Post by steppedonwolf on Oct 9, 2010 19:47:59 GMT
Shit. Amazon says that it's been put back to Bloody March. Well that just sucks. Shit. I had a feeling this was going to happen. At WHC, he said that the delay was down to the lawyers going over it with a fine toothcomb. May well be - or it may be that the book isn't quite finished yet. Anyone else got some more info on this?
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