Take one haunted house, add liberal de ja vu and tradditional spooky happenings and allow to simmer (The Secret of Crickley Hall - James Herbert)

Member Name: sparkymarky1973

Product:	The Secret of Crickley Hall - James Herbert
Date:	02/04/09 (95 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: None-Herbert at his most tedious yet...

Disadvantages: Seen it all before and better done...

I have never been a very big fan of James Herbert and, to be frank, have never understood how it is that he is regarded by many as the British Stephen King. He has written his fair share of books that I have enjoyed- Selpuchre, The Rats Trilogy, Fluke, Haunted and Moon all spring to mind- but these are all exceptions and the majority of his work simply leaves me cold.

Which is a puzzle then, why I am always still inclined to pick up one of his books when I see it! Crickley Hall is one of his latest and, if you look at the other reviews on here, scores quite highly and yet, reading this recently, I found nothing new, nothing inspiring and nothing in fact that I hadn't seen before and seen better done!

An American engineer and his British-born family rent The Hall to live in whilst he helps with some mechanical faults on a local Wind Turbine. The family have recently, in the last year, lost a son who disappeared from a playground whilst the mother dropped off and the excursion to the country is seen as a chance to recuperate and get away from the memories tied in with their old home. But almost as soon as the family arrive, the dog Chester takes an instant dislike to the Hall and it's grounds and mysterious pale figures are seen in the corner of the eye and strange sounds heard in the dead of night....all a bit Amytiville Horror for my liking especially when the locals warn of a disturbing history at The Hall....

It turns out that a group of orphans evacuated to Crickley Hall during the war all drowned and that their guardian was less than the benevolent father-figure he made himself out to be. Somehow The Hall appears to have soaked up bad memories, absorbed echoes of it's past, and now seeks to dispel them into this new family's lives. All of this, you would think, would persuade you to up bags and leave asap except the mother begins to feel as though her missing son is trying to reach her through The Hall and alert her to his presence. Anyone who has seen Poltergeist or read anything similar will know how often in horror stories this is seldom the case and that all-too often malevolent spirits like to play tricks on unsuspecting victims but this family seem to have missed out on this vital part of their supernatural education and continue to persist in living in their temporary abode. It all feels a bit too samey samey and a srong enough sense of de ja vu persisted for me to become rapidly disenchanted with this tiresome novel.

It's not even as though the novel is a short one....this is one of Herbert's longst efforts yet and it feels like it too as an uninspired plot with few new ideas is stretched out and embellished waaaaay toooooo loooonnng! If it had been shorter, I might have stuck with this till the end at least but, as it was, I found myself skipping ahead and skim reading until I reached what I have come to lovingly refer to as "The Scooby-Doo moment" when all is revealed and the villan of the piece unmasked. Even this, for me, felt like a huge disappointment.

Whether or not Herbert has lost his spark I do not know but increasingly I am finding his back catalogue to be far better written than any of his more recent efforts. Certainly here I get the impression that Herbert was paid for the number of words and his reputation than for quality of writing!

One to avoid by my vote then....

Summary: If there's something strange in your neighbourhood......move!!