As I’ve said elsewhere, The Rats by James Herbert is one of my favourite horror novels and I rank Herbert himself among the best of the horror authors I’ve read. Yet The Dark is a book that I’ve somehow managed not to read until recently. I guess the main reason for this delay was just not having come across a copy to buy or borrow until I picked up the Kindle version in a promotion on Amazon.
Anyhow, I finally got round to reading it and overall found it an enjoyable experience. In this outing Herbert mixes elements of the haunted house, occult and possessed sub-genres to good effect and the story nips along at a fair pace. There’s a fair bit of action sprinkled with gore which, let’s face it, is what you expect from a James Herbert tale. I wouldn’t say that it was an especially scary read but it does provide a few shocks and confronts the reader with some extreme and unsettling scenes - indicative of the madness gripping the victims of the evil force they have fallen prey to.
Although I did enjoy reading The Dark, I don’t think it’s one of James Herbert’s best. I felt the pace slowed down and the plot became a little unclear early in the second half of the story (too much going on and maybe too much wierdness?). However things did get back on track, the pace picked up and matters were brought to a conclusion - which I’d like to say more about but won’t (spoilers and all that, you know). I will say that I felt the conclusion worked though I’ve since read a few reviews that suggest it doesn’t. I think that just means that it is one of those thought provoking endings that we all read different things into. Which is perhaps the result the author was aiming for?
In conclusion: if you’re a fan of James Herbert you’ve already read this. If not then this one will unsettle you enough to keep you awake on a long flight or stop you falling asleep at the beach. However James Herbert has written better books (The Rats, The Fog, The Secret of Crickley Hall, Portent, etc).