The Ghosts of Sleath - Softcover

Herbert, James

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1447294599 ISBN 13: 9781447294597

Publisher: Pan Macmillan, 2015

Synopsis

A reissue of James Herbert's terrifying tale of a psychic investigator whose case makes him fear for his own sanity

Investigator David Ash is sent to the picturesque village of Sleath in the Chiltern Hills to look into mysterious reports of mass hauntings. What he discovers is a terrified community gripped by horrors and terrorized by ghosts from the ancient village's long history.

About this title

Review:

Veteran horror writer James Herbert brings back the protagonist of Haunted to investigate psychic disturbances in a picturesque village in the Lake District of England. It's an interesting mishmash of a novel--not entirely successful, but enjoyable all the same. Herbert's penchant for gorgeously visceral carnage unfortunately clashes with his equally skilled ability to create a subtle mood of supernatural terror. And he throws way too many ingredients into the stew: family secrets, rape, infanticide, necrophilia, the "Black Arts," a moldering mansion, a sinister yellow fog, drowning children, poltergeist pranks, a haunted painting, a tormented vicar, a neglectful doctor, even an evil knight. Yet, as Necrofile: The Review of Horror Fiction reports, "None of these flaws are fatal. These days, making a classic ghost story work at all--let alone on the scale of The Ghosts of Sleath--requires a daunting level of craft, control, and consistency.... Many of the novel's supernatural elements ... evoke the requisite chills."

About the Author:

James Herbert was not just Britain's number one bestselling writer of chiller fiction, a position he held ever since publication of his first novel, but was also one of our greatest popular novelists. Widely imitated and hugely influential, his 23 novels have sold more than 54 million copies worldwide, and have been translated into over 30 languages, including Russian and Chinese. In 2010, he was made the Grand Master of Horror by the World Horror Convention and was also awarded an OBE by the Queen for services to literature. His final novel was Ash. James Herbert died in March 2013.

About this edition

• Publisher: Pan Macmillan
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1447294599
• ISBN 13: 9781447294597
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 400