The Ghosts of Sleath - James Herbert

I don't believe in ghosts. In fact, I don't believe in an afterlife, I think that as human beings we are nothing more than highly tuned meat computers that switch off into nothing on our death. Unfortunately, this make life a little depressing if you dwell upon it and it also makes horror novels have to work harder to scare me. I am more likely to fear a phoney psychic preying on an elderly relative's vulnerabilities than I am of a spirit trying to eat me as I sleep. One author who has managed to write an entertaining ghost story that even entertained me is James Herbert. A master of horror he has been writing for years. He specialises in a very supernatural sort ...  Read the complete review

This one is excellent, a really creepy tale that grips you from the beginning. One word of caution though, if you get the chance read the Haunted first because it involves the same character (David Ash) but is set prior to the Ghosts of Sleath. There is some references to the Haunted in this story that perhaps spoilt it slightly when you come to read that one, they are nothing major but it would have been better to have followed the sequence. It would have also have probably heightened the enjoyment of the second book more because you would already know the main character. Still, its no harm if you don’t read Haunted first because they are two separate stories in ...  Read the complete review

James Herbert is one of the UK’s foremost horror writers with a reputation on a par with Stephen King. Although I wouldn’t say he is the best he is certainly a prolific author with nineteen books and one in the pipeline to his credit. Best known for his “Rats” trilogy, Herbert has since distinguished himself as a writer of horror/thriller books with his novels translated into thirty-three different languages including Russian and Chinese. Like Stephen King he started out with shock/horror books, which were eagerly read but his many fans. As he honed his writing skills his books became more restrained although he still manages to surprise his fans with new ideas. One of ...  Read the complete review

The ghosts of Sleath is the squeal to Haunted, by James Herbert. It basically carried on from Haunted but you don't necessarily need to read the Haunted to appreciate this classic horror. Psychic Investigator, David Ash, goes to the town of Slealth where some sightings have been seen and weird things are beginning to happen. David is a non believer of ghosts but something has swayed his opinion in the Haunted, but he still denies the existence of the paranormal. In the village of Sleath reports from a widowed mother that her dead husband is still beating her son, even though they are both dead. A dead rapist come to haunt his victim and carries on ...  Read the complete review