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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Twice the haunting, 28 Mar 2005
The Ghosts of Sleath is a first for James Herbert, as while his Rats trilogy was a loosely linked series featuring the same threat over a span of years, this novel marks the first occasion that Herbert has produced a direct sequel to a previous novel continuing the narrative of the lead character, in this instance picking up the story of 'ghost hunter' David Ash three years after the events of Haunted. Haunted is a tough act to follow, being perhaps Herbert's most effective novel, a concise and unsettling ghost story built around a major plot twist. Following the cynical Ash's confrontation with the supernatural in Haunted, there's no real mileage to be had out of the characters 'are they real, are they fake?' debunking of ghosts, so Herbert instead takes the traditional sequel route, with The Ghosts of Sleath expanding the action, so now instead of a haunted house we have an entire haunted village.The ultimate backstory explanation for the hauntings, with dark family histories and black rites is all pretty standard genre material, as is the ghost climactic revenge on their enemies, but The Ghosts of Sleath remains a fantastic read due to Herbert's storytelling skills. After the misfire of Portent Herbert is back to his best, with a group of vividly drawn characters, evocative writing, and some inventive and gruesome set pieces, with the ghost of a child-abusing parent haunting the ghost of his own dead son being a particularly inspired idea. At twice the length The Ghosts of Sleath lacks the cutting brevity of Haunted, and feels a little bloated as a result, and while this sequel doesn't quite live up to the original it comes close enough to be a fantastically macabre ghost story, and ranks among Herbert's better novels. Recommended - but do read Haunted first.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Could do better...much better, 2 Aug 2007
I tried my best with this book, I really did. But I just couldn't finish it. Not because it was too scary, or the plot was bad; it was the dialogue. The stiff, absurdly formal, buttock-clenchingly awful dialogue that could have come from some really dull 1940s black and white movie. I can hardly believe the same man who gave us the excellent Domain and Shrine wrote this rubbish.
You know, you just know, that whenever our (invariably male?) protagonist has necessary or prolonged contact with an invariably young, pretty, available female that they are going to "get it on". Tedious and predictable. Why not give our man a taste for the older ladies, and have him chasing her mother instead! That would be fun and make a refreshing change from the usual `Vicar's daughter' plot fodder.
Or, why not have it so that they can't stand each other, but have to work together. That would be interesting, and would provide opportunities for some humour, of which James Herbert is quite capable. More imagination and scope please, Mr. Herbert.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
OK, But Not His Best, 30 Jan 2009
I enjoy reading ghost stories, and have found many of this author's novels to be very good such as, The Secret Of Crickley Hall, The Fog etc.
In this one, Psychic Investigator David Ash, is sent to the small, isolated village of Sleath, where there has been a number of strange events, that have unnerved some of the locals.
I found this book a reasonable enough read, but not of this author's better books. Although it is set in the 1990s (when the book was first written), the village and the people in it, made me feel, at times, as if I was reading a novel that was set about thirty years earler.
There is certainly some very creepy parts in the story, but I found it quite predictable in many parts, also. Only really worth a look, if you like horror novels.
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