James Herbert was Britain's number one bestselling writer (a position he held ever since publication of his first novel) and one of the world's top writers of thriller/horror fiction.
He was one of our greatest popular novelists, whose books are sold in thirty-three other languages, including Russian and Chinese. Widely imitated and hugely influential, his 19 novels have sold more than 42 million copies worldwide.
As an author he produced some of the most powerful horror fiction of the past decade. With a skillful blend of horror and thriller fiction, he explored the shaded territories of evil, evoking a sense of brooding menace and rising tension. He relentlessly draws the reader through the story's ultimate revelation - one that will stay to chill the mind long after the book has been laid aside. His bestsellers, THE MAGIC COTTAGE, HAUNTED, SEPULCHRE, and CREED, enhanced his reputation as a writer of depth and originality. His novels THE FOG, THE DARK, and THE SURVIVOR have been hailed as classics of the genre.
I have read the first part of this book three times now and may have to read it again. I am intrigued. Has JH had a near death experience or not? It is the first time I have read about the intervention of an extraneous yet earth bound spirit in preventing an otherwise certain death. From there on the book is fairy tale all the way. Oh but not a children's tale, this should have an X certificate since the master of the horror genre has taken to erotica since I last read him. The plot here is very tightly woven with the beginning and ending tied closely together. JH has an extraordinary talent for describing detailed phenomenological details of experiences that transcend the normal world. This time he has taken the metaphysics to a new level. Who knows where it has gone since this was written 25 years ago? The hero becomes a potential Christ figure, not redeeming human kind, though there is a touch of that, but the fairyfolk, who are being driven out of our modern reality. In order to bring in the horror, however, he has decided to bring in the diabolical, through the Wiccan tradition. The evil is done by a witch. Well, there are black magic practitioners and transpersonal dark magic really does exist in the world, but most of the many witches and Wiccans I know are not connected to that. In fact they are in many cases quite closely connected with the fae, as they are called. Here the fairies think that Wicca is really bad, and this young witch is all of that. JH is pedaling what is in many ways an old Christian theme. There is a difference. Just as the great majority of witches believe in natural forces and God energy within nature, most Christians believe in a transcendent God for whom our sexuality is a beast to be tamed, a threatening and negative power. There are some Christians for whom there is a sacred sexuality which is celebrated by their actions in some ways. The hero of our tale is seduced by both the light energy of the beautiful fairy and the dark energy of the seductive witch. Luckily for him he just about resists the dark successfully while gaining the love and support of the fairy and her minions. He has suffered a stroke, and at times loses all his disability under the healing energies of the fae, and has them increased by the power of evil. I won't give more away to completely spoil the plot. Being JH, not everything ends happy ever after, but hope is bright and strong.