Disturbing, but very good! (Others - James Herbert)

Member Name: LukeCroll

Product:	Others - James Herbert
Date:	21/06/00 (19 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Enough horror to satisfy most tastes

Disadvantages: May be too disturbing for some readers

Nicholas Dismas is a private investigator, plagued by nightmares and with a secret to which he cannot find the answer. He is hired to find a missing baby and finds his clues leading to Perfect Rest, a nursing home for the elderly. Here, he is to discover the secret of the Others and the answer to his own secret.

A word of warning before I mention anything else. This is indeed a work of horror and the content of this book is rather disturbing. Many people may find the book too difficult to read, as it deals with physical deformities that Herbert claims are based on real examples in medical literature. However, if you can get past this obstacle, there is an excellent novel involved.

The characters are very interesting. Dismas is constantly being developed and it makes a change to see a private investigator who has vices and who is not the squeaky clean person that you seem to see in most novels.

The locations are very accurate as well. This book is set in the British seaside town of Brighton and Herbert describes it well, trying to set the scene as much as possible for people who do not know the town. Again, it makes a refreshing change to actually see a novel set in England, as most seem to be in America these days.

Overall, this is a very interesting novel, although I did feel that it started to drag slightly as we got closer to the end. The conclusion was quite shocking at first, but when you think back over it, it is something that you could have expected. Watch out for clues and echoes.

An excellent novel, as long as the subject matter does not put you off. Certainly only for adults.

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