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Portent
From Britain's acclaimed master of dark fantasy comes this terrifying new novel of an epic struggle against evil in the midst of environmental catastrophe.Around the world, forces of unimaginable violence are being unleashed -- earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, deadly hailstorms -- all signs of a coming titanic struggle between the forces of darkness and light. This is the story of two very special children who unknowingly hold the future of the planet in their hands... and the grotesque matriarch of a bizarre New Orleans cult who is determined to destroy them.Delivers a breathtaking finish, its dazzling special effects conveyed with the panache of a literary Steven Spielberg.
Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
52 people are currently reading
1282 people want to read
About the author
James Herbert
101 books2,390 followersJames 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 151 reviews
April 1, 2017
If you like your biblical end to the world stories then this is a great book to visit. No I am not giving anything away as its actually not related to biblical events more the reference to the sheer scale and number of catastrophic events that occur in this book.
Now lets step back - I often go on about how James Herbert's writing style changes and develops through this career - I resist the urge to say matures as that implies that his work started as immature which honest I do not think so. More he develops - exploring different story styles and formats which some incredibly enjoyable results.
This however is a bit of a contradiction - how? Well you have the ever evolving style of Herbert but being applied to the apocalypse storyline you would expect from an 70s horror film (with all the over the top disasters and set pieces).
The story itself is pretty straight forward (and yes I am not giving anything away as its in the book write up) - good verse evil battle. So if you can sort of guess what is going, maybe even guess the end, but if that is the case why read the book.
Well the answer is simple - this is James Herbert - where a mixture of characters and family settings it makes for a chilling ride (or is that thrilling), a case of you know your destination, its more a case of how you are going to get there.
The works of James Herbert never cease to entertain and enthral me, horror is not for everyone but if you enjoy being outside your comfort zone there is no one I would trust to guide me than Mr Herbert.
Now lets step back - I often go on about how James Herbert's writing style changes and develops through this career - I resist the urge to say matures as that implies that his work started as immature which honest I do not think so. More he develops - exploring different story styles and formats which some incredibly enjoyable results.
This however is a bit of a contradiction - how? Well you have the ever evolving style of Herbert but being applied to the apocalypse storyline you would expect from an 70s horror film (with all the over the top disasters and set pieces).
The story itself is pretty straight forward (and yes I am not giving anything away as its in the book write up) - good verse evil battle. So if you can sort of guess what is going, maybe even guess the end, but if that is the case why read the book.
Well the answer is simple - this is James Herbert - where a mixture of characters and family settings it makes for a chilling ride (or is that thrilling), a case of you know your destination, its more a case of how you are going to get there.
The works of James Herbert never cease to entertain and enthral me, horror is not for everyone but if you enjoy being outside your comfort zone there is no one I would trust to guide me than Mr Herbert.
September 30, 2024
My first ever James Herbert read. This was good but not great this just didn’t capture me as much as I hoped it would – the descriptive qualities of this book where amazing especially the description of the storm it really made me feel like I was there.
I won’t lie I did find myself skimming pages and a little bored and it didn’t help that I had high hopes for James Herbert as people keep telling me to read his work – maybe I picked the wrong one? If anyone does want to suggest one of his books PLEASE do.
I won’t lie I did find myself skimming pages and a little bored and it didn’t help that I had high hopes for James Herbert as people keep telling me to read his work – maybe I picked the wrong one? If anyone does want to suggest one of his books PLEASE do.
August 16, 2023
Wow this was interesting and certainly different didn’t expect this from this author an interesting read of world disasters
June 17, 2017
James Herbert’s worst novel is THE SPEAR. An overblown international thriller about a private detective taking on Nazis which is preposterous at every level (If memory serves, it has a sentient tank). PORTENT is nowhere near as bad as THE SPEAR, but as I trudged through its 400 pages it became clear it shares a lot of the same flaws.
From reading both, it’s obvious that trips aboard really scuttled James Herbert as a writer. Here he manages to conjure foreign locales with all the depth of a holiday brochure. Making it seem like the author had been to these places, but for two hours sight-seeing in between duty-free shopping. There’s zero depth to the portrayal, instead – in the various depictions of poor non-white people around the world – there is the unmistakable whiff of casual racism.
So little in the way of meaningful world-building does Herbert achieve that when a grand apocalyptic moment happens late in the novel – with so many cities and countries torn apart – I found myself turning the pages in a bored stupor, which is surely not the effect the narrative is going for.
The plot in this globetrotting muddle of an adventure?
To be frank, by the time we got to the perfunctory, rushed ending I had kind of lost my interest in it. But there’s all kinds of natural disasters and a sense that they’re all connected and it takes a grizzled scientist to work out what’s going on, and to stop an evil witch from New Orleans who’s thrown into the mix for some reason.
When I was a teen I can remember reading Clive Cussler. Now maybe I’m doing a disservice to nautical Clive, but for me he became the benchmark of this kind of uninspiring thriller.
Clive Cussler writing is glamorous locales, a maverick hero and the pretense that it’s all so interesting and unique, when really it’s a set of clichés thrown together. No matter what kind of quirks you give him, no matter what terrible backstory he has, your maverick hero is always going to be a cliché no matter what. While if you can’t make your glamorous locations breathe, they just feel little more than matte painted backdrops.
As he proves here, and certainly proved when he hit a really low bar in THE SPEAR, James Herbert just wasn’t cut out for that type of book. He was at his best writing dark cynical gory tales set in London and the Home Counties. Once he gets on a plane, once he leaves our small scepetred isle that really is his natural stamping ground, then it all goes wrong and you end up with a book as painfully middling as PORTENT.
If you get chance, please visit my blog for book, TV and film reviews - as well as whatever else takes my fancy - at frjameson.com
LIke my Facebook page
Or follow me on Twitter or Instagram: @frjameson.
From reading both, it’s obvious that trips aboard really scuttled James Herbert as a writer. Here he manages to conjure foreign locales with all the depth of a holiday brochure. Making it seem like the author had been to these places, but for two hours sight-seeing in between duty-free shopping. There’s zero depth to the portrayal, instead – in the various depictions of poor non-white people around the world – there is the unmistakable whiff of casual racism.
So little in the way of meaningful world-building does Herbert achieve that when a grand apocalyptic moment happens late in the novel – with so many cities and countries torn apart – I found myself turning the pages in a bored stupor, which is surely not the effect the narrative is going for.
The plot in this globetrotting muddle of an adventure?
To be frank, by the time we got to the perfunctory, rushed ending I had kind of lost my interest in it. But there’s all kinds of natural disasters and a sense that they’re all connected and it takes a grizzled scientist to work out what’s going on, and to stop an evil witch from New Orleans who’s thrown into the mix for some reason.
When I was a teen I can remember reading Clive Cussler. Now maybe I’m doing a disservice to nautical Clive, but for me he became the benchmark of this kind of uninspiring thriller.
Clive Cussler writing is glamorous locales, a maverick hero and the pretense that it’s all so interesting and unique, when really it’s a set of clichés thrown together. No matter what kind of quirks you give him, no matter what terrible backstory he has, your maverick hero is always going to be a cliché no matter what. While if you can’t make your glamorous locations breathe, they just feel little more than matte painted backdrops.
As he proves here, and certainly proved when he hit a really low bar in THE SPEAR, James Herbert just wasn’t cut out for that type of book. He was at his best writing dark cynical gory tales set in London and the Home Counties. Once he gets on a plane, once he leaves our small scepetred isle that really is his natural stamping ground, then it all goes wrong and you end up with a book as painfully middling as PORTENT.
If you get chance, please visit my blog for book, TV and film reviews - as well as whatever else takes my fancy - at frjameson.com
LIke my Facebook page
Or follow me on Twitter or Instagram: @frjameson.
March 5, 2025
I went so long between my last James Herbert book and this one that I had forgotten how much I loved his work.
To be honest, I should probably give my mother a massive thank you for that. Were it not for the fact that I harassed her for some of her older books she probably never would have found this little gem hidden away and it would have taken me even longer to get around to another Herbert book. In fact, I should probably go and pick up some more before I forget again.
Alas, I am running off at a tangent.
As you would expect with Herbert this is a beautifully crafted piece. If you have never picked up a James Herbert book before I suggest you do so, if only to understand how accessible yet wonderful his writing is. He is the kind of author capable of luring you in with no trouble at all, leaving you trapped in his net until you’re able to proclaim yourself finished with the book – and even then you will only leave your entrapment if you’re promised something more to read.
The book is wonderful, though, ergo you should be happy to disappear into it without any kind of foul play. Through great characters and a wonderful story we’re told to really sit and think about what we’re doing to the world at large. Without sounding like he is lecturing us, Herbert really opens our eyes to things that a large number of people would much rather ignore. Even if you are someone who wants to ignore the message you cannot deny the fact that Herbert has managed to craft a wonderful story.
Just pick up a James Herbert book, damn it.
To be honest, I should probably give my mother a massive thank you for that. Were it not for the fact that I harassed her for some of her older books she probably never would have found this little gem hidden away and it would have taken me even longer to get around to another Herbert book. In fact, I should probably go and pick up some more before I forget again.
Alas, I am running off at a tangent.
As you would expect with Herbert this is a beautifully crafted piece. If you have never picked up a James Herbert book before I suggest you do so, if only to understand how accessible yet wonderful his writing is. He is the kind of author capable of luring you in with no trouble at all, leaving you trapped in his net until you’re able to proclaim yourself finished with the book – and even then you will only leave your entrapment if you’re promised something more to read.
The book is wonderful, though, ergo you should be happy to disappear into it without any kind of foul play. Through great characters and a wonderful story we’re told to really sit and think about what we’re doing to the world at large. Without sounding like he is lecturing us, Herbert really opens our eyes to things that a large number of people would much rather ignore. Even if you are someone who wants to ignore the message you cannot deny the fact that Herbert has managed to craft a wonderful story.
Just pick up a James Herbert book, damn it.
March 18, 2016
I love James Herbert but this one was not for me. I really enjoyed the description's of storm's and tsunami's but the story between these excellent action pieces just didn't hold my attention. You can't win 'em all.
April 13, 2009
Looking at the other reviews of this novel, I feel rather alone in not really enjoying it. I've read a lot of Herbert's work and feel that this is by far his weakest offering. Herbert has proved that he is a master of suspense and has an outstanding ability to create a truly dark and creepy atmosphere. Yet here Herbert seems to have by-passed such talents and put together a novel that seems to float through a thread bare plot that never really seems to develop itself. The ending just wanders into place, leaving the reader (well me anyway) with a sense of dissatisfaction. With such experience and exceptional talent, one would have thought that Herbert would have gripped the reader in some way with this novel, but I felt bored as I battled through the mundane novel chapter after chapter.
Obviously, this is only my opinion on the book and others have thought something completely different (see below), but if you are new to Herbert's work, I would strongly recommend The Rats, Lair, The Fog, The Survivor, Sepulchre and '48. All are outstanding pieces of imaginative work.
Obviously, this is only my opinion on the book and others have thought something completely different (see below), but if you are new to Herbert's work, I would strongly recommend The Rats, Lair, The Fog, The Survivor, Sepulchre and '48. All are outstanding pieces of imaginative work.
February 17, 2024
I'm a James Herbert fan, and I've loved most of his work, which includes this book, but it isn't what I expected? You can't call this horror, it's more a disaster story with hints of dystopia? Either way, it's great, and as usual, the descriptive style of this authors work blows me away. Why 4⭐️ then? I was really looking for some "The Magic Cottage " level of horror! That book scared the c÷@p outta me as a kid!
March 6, 2025
3.5. An interesting story using James Lovelock Gaia hypothesis combined with supernatural elements. Jim Rivers a climatologist survives an aircraft crash while trying to measure a hurricane. There are also other global disasters with forest fires, giant tidal waves, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions always preceded by small round balls of white balls.
Jim meets Diane with her two adopted Romanian gypsy twins Josh and Eva who live with a famous scientist with his own theories about the environment disasters happening throughout the world. The story is good versus evil with Mama Pitie a gargantuan New Orlean faith healer the baddie.
The story ends with the world going to hell in a hand basket and a confrontation between Evie and the children.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Mama Evie’s henchmen are killed in a fight with Jim. Eva is held by Mama and after a huge fight Diane shoots Mama and she falls out the window hitting the cobblestones below. Mortally wounded she tries to kill Josh but a supernatural light appears and a cyclone sucks Mama into oblivion. The next day is sunny with rainbows heralding perhaps a new dawn.
The story ends with a version of Chief Seattle’s 1854 speech about how we are all interconnected to the Earth.
Jim meets Diane with her two adopted Romanian gypsy twins Josh and Eva who live with a famous scientist with his own theories about the environment disasters happening throughout the world. The story is good versus evil with Mama Pitie a gargantuan New Orlean faith healer the baddie.
The story ends with the world going to hell in a hand basket and a confrontation between Evie and the children.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Mama Evie’s henchmen are killed in a fight with Jim. Eva is held by Mama and after a huge fight Diane shoots Mama and she falls out the window hitting the cobblestones below. Mortally wounded she tries to kill Josh but a supernatural light appears and a cyclone sucks Mama into oblivion. The next day is sunny with rainbows heralding perhaps a new dawn.
The story ends with a version of Chief Seattle’s 1854 speech about how we are all interconnected to the Earth.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 21, 2014
Horror novels about serial killers or disturbed humans don't do it for me. Ones with scary monsters and supernatural events are usually a great read and might keep me awake in the dark. But this book? This book terrifies me!
In the real world, people face natural disasters all the time - the news is full of them - and this book recreates some of that helplessness in facing such force and being able to do nothing about it. But this book gives it a twist - there is a deadly purpose behind every event, a sub-conscious force working to change the world. And that's what's so scary. What if all these disasters we watch on the TV are not so random?
The story follows James Rivers, a climatologist, who is one of the victims of an early disaster. Forced to take some time off, he is approached by a professor who has some radical theories on why the Earth is seemingly turning against the Human race. At first sceptical, it is meeting the Professor's two adopted grandchildren that starts to change his mind, because Josh and Eva seem to know when a disaster is about to strike and have dreams that they share with other children around the world.
I'm tempted to say that this is my favourite Herbert book. I like the fact that he does a great job of introducing some new characters, sketching their hopes, fears, backgrounds and lives in a couple of paragraphs...then kills them off in a random and often horrible way. The Mama Petie character adds another layer of menace, although I honestly think the book would be just as good without her. There were moments in the book where I wanted to cry, but the overwhelming feeling at the end is that maybe we should all be heading it's message - once those lights appear in the sky, it's too late.
In the real world, people face natural disasters all the time - the news is full of them - and this book recreates some of that helplessness in facing such force and being able to do nothing about it. But this book gives it a twist - there is a deadly purpose behind every event, a sub-conscious force working to change the world. And that's what's so scary. What if all these disasters we watch on the TV are not so random?
The story follows James Rivers, a climatologist, who is one of the victims of an early disaster. Forced to take some time off, he is approached by a professor who has some radical theories on why the Earth is seemingly turning against the Human race. At first sceptical, it is meeting the Professor's two adopted grandchildren that starts to change his mind, because Josh and Eva seem to know when a disaster is about to strike and have dreams that they share with other children around the world.
I'm tempted to say that this is my favourite Herbert book. I like the fact that he does a great job of introducing some new characters, sketching their hopes, fears, backgrounds and lives in a couple of paragraphs...then kills them off in a random and often horrible way. The Mama Petie character adds another layer of menace, although I honestly think the book would be just as good without her. There were moments in the book where I wanted to cry, but the overwhelming feeling at the end is that maybe we should all be heading it's message - once those lights appear in the sky, it's too late.
June 22, 2015
I enjoy end-of-the-world type stories and this was no exception, almost worth 4 stars, but not quite. I have mixed feelings about JH, having loved his old horror novels when I was in my teens and early 20s (yes, I'm getting on a bit!), but losing interest when he started trying to be more serious and writing longer, wordier novels. This was the first book of his I've read for years, and has made me want to check out was he's being doing since we were last acquainted.
January 15, 2022
I am a big fan of Herbert, and parts of this story have all his trademark horror style. It's an easy and the antagonist steals the show. It's worth a go, but nowhere near the level of The Fog or Moon.
May 2, 2015
Not my favorite Herbert but some good bits including Mama Pitie and New Orleans dark occult stuff
July 1, 2023
I'm a big fan of natural disaster stories so was pretty keen to give this one a go. "Portent" was published in 1992 and it's kinda scary how it predicted a lot of things that are happening right now. Carbon taxes, government grants for the installation of solar panels, battery powered cars. It really makes you wonder how far we might be off some of the more extreme measures presented in this book like only being able to drive your car on alternate weeks and timers on traffic lights forcing you to turn your engine off if you will be stopped at a red light for more than a minute. I enjoyed reading about all these things and how the world is dealing with the changing climate. Herbert has done a really good job crafting this well thought out world.
Unfortunately where Herbert could have just written an excellent tale on how humans have destroyed the planet, he instead decided to add a weird supernatural element that completely ruined the story for me. It took it from "holy shit, this could really happen!" to "holy shit, this is absolute dog shit!" Adding creepy kids with psychic abilities and some kind of weird voodoo lady were bizarre ways to fatten up an otherwise great story and I'm really not sure why he chose to do it.
Another thing that bugged me was that every time a disaster strikes we are introduced to a new character that happens to be experiencing it, and these characters are given an elaborate backstory and honestly, it's kinda cool seeing this little exercise in character development but holy shit, by the 5th one it was just taking up time. These characters all immediately died anyway so there wasn't really much point in knowing every single thing about them and it just seemed to prevent the story from actually progressing.
All in all "Portent" had some shining moments but was entirely let down by a bizarre sub-plot that turned the story into something it probably should never have been.
Unfortunately where Herbert could have just written an excellent tale on how humans have destroyed the planet, he instead decided to add a weird supernatural element that completely ruined the story for me. It took it from "holy shit, this could really happen!" to "holy shit, this is absolute dog shit!" Adding creepy kids with psychic abilities and some kind of weird voodoo lady were bizarre ways to fatten up an otherwise great story and I'm really not sure why he chose to do it.
Another thing that bugged me was that every time a disaster strikes we are introduced to a new character that happens to be experiencing it, and these characters are given an elaborate backstory and honestly, it's kinda cool seeing this little exercise in character development but holy shit, by the 5th one it was just taking up time. These characters all immediately died anyway so there wasn't really much point in knowing every single thing about them and it just seemed to prevent the story from actually progressing.
All in all "Portent" had some shining moments but was entirely let down by a bizarre sub-plot that turned the story into something it probably should never have been.
July 29, 2021
What can I say, I like disaster movies, so thought I would like this book as well. I haven't read any James Herbert books in a long time, but do remember other books to be better than this one. It just wasn't engaging enough. The story wasn't that interesting and over all I think the idea was there, but it could have been so much more. Hope the next James Herbert will be better again.
March 3, 2016
He did his research. This book made me really think about what we are doing to Earth, though I must say that I was really taking the side of the planet in all of it's killings. There are way too many people doing way too many destructive things.
November 16, 2021
This one just about scraped its four out of five, mainly because it suffered from that age old problem of a novel having a lacklustre ending. It seems particularly common with Herbert, and for a very specific reason. He raises the stakes so high and so quickly that it doesn’t really matter how it ends because it can’t not be anticlimactic.
In this one, Herbert is playing with the idea of global warming and climate change and investigating what that might mean for us humans. Considering that it was published during the early nineties, it’s remarkably forward-thinking, and indeed I feel as though I got more out of it because I happened to pick it up just as COP26 was coming to an end.
Herbert is fantastic at writing brutal horror scenes, and he does it well here with a number of memorable parts at which the planet unleashes its fury on humans. One guy gets sheared in half by a falling pane of glass during an earthquake in London, and then there are the people who get burned alive. Some of them tried to escape by ducking their heads beneath water in a river, only to have their lungs burn up when they inevitably surface for air.
True, there was a sideline to the story that followed a New Orleans witch mother who was basically trying to be wolverine by wearing fake metal claws, and the whole element of the planet itself having its own consciousness didn’t work for me either. The problem is that they’re also inseparable from the rest of the novel because they’re so vital for the story line.
So suffice to say that there were some elements here that I probably wouldn’t have gone with myself, but then I didn’t write it and so what can you do? Actually, it’s a pretty good example of the kind of book that I want to write, although I think I would have thrown a little more humour in to try to offset the bleakness of the climate change stuff.
All in all, I really enjoyed this one and it’s definitely in my top five James Herberts. It might even be a contender for the top three, but only if I get rid of The Others, which was also great. In fact, I’m going to have to think about this. There’s just so much great Herbert.
In this one, Herbert is playing with the idea of global warming and climate change and investigating what that might mean for us humans. Considering that it was published during the early nineties, it’s remarkably forward-thinking, and indeed I feel as though I got more out of it because I happened to pick it up just as COP26 was coming to an end.
Herbert is fantastic at writing brutal horror scenes, and he does it well here with a number of memorable parts at which the planet unleashes its fury on humans. One guy gets sheared in half by a falling pane of glass during an earthquake in London, and then there are the people who get burned alive. Some of them tried to escape by ducking their heads beneath water in a river, only to have their lungs burn up when they inevitably surface for air.
True, there was a sideline to the story that followed a New Orleans witch mother who was basically trying to be wolverine by wearing fake metal claws, and the whole element of the planet itself having its own consciousness didn’t work for me either. The problem is that they’re also inseparable from the rest of the novel because they’re so vital for the story line.
So suffice to say that there were some elements here that I probably wouldn’t have gone with myself, but then I didn’t write it and so what can you do? Actually, it’s a pretty good example of the kind of book that I want to write, although I think I would have thrown a little more humour in to try to offset the bleakness of the climate change stuff.
All in all, I really enjoyed this one and it’s definitely in my top five James Herberts. It might even be a contender for the top three, but only if I get rid of The Others, which was also great. In fact, I’m going to have to think about this. There’s just so much great Herbert.
March 24, 2017
James Herbert's "Portent" is the story of climatologist James (Jim) Rivers, eccentric researcher Hugo Poggs, Hugo's daughter-in-law Diane, her two adopted (seemingly telepathic) Romanian twins Eva and Josh, and the leader of a strange New Orleans cult Mama Petié.
Even though it taps into the world of the paranormal it raises philosophical questions about the devolution of mans telepathic connection to each other as a result of evolution, and how that dormant power is used to understand the fragile planet known to you and me as "The Earth"; and that these powers have two different interpretations - that after centuries of destructive actions by the human race these powers should assist the Earth to cleanse itself of these human parasites and survive; or that environmental disasters will teach those with the power to help renew the Earth and stop it's destruction.
"Portent", published in 1992, is truly a book years ahead of its time in relation to climate change and it's impacts on the environment and the current challenges facing many countries. Things being discussed and implemented today (renewable energy sources, government rebates for installing solar panels, a price on carbon emissions, hybrid/electric cars) were all commonplace in the Britain of Herbert's "Portent".
A welcome return to form Herbert's descriptions of the power of natural disasters, the fear that they can produce, and the speed in which they can happen was gripping and page turning. Herbert builds the tension when needed and provides the ebbs and flows to keep the pace of the book running smoothly without stalling.
Four out of five Richter's on the relevant scale.
Even though it taps into the world of the paranormal it raises philosophical questions about the devolution of mans telepathic connection to each other as a result of evolution, and how that dormant power is used to understand the fragile planet known to you and me as "The Earth"; and that these powers have two different interpretations - that after centuries of destructive actions by the human race these powers should assist the Earth to cleanse itself of these human parasites and survive; or that environmental disasters will teach those with the power to help renew the Earth and stop it's destruction.
"Portent", published in 1992, is truly a book years ahead of its time in relation to climate change and it's impacts on the environment and the current challenges facing many countries. Things being discussed and implemented today (renewable energy sources, government rebates for installing solar panels, a price on carbon emissions, hybrid/electric cars) were all commonplace in the Britain of Herbert's "Portent".
A welcome return to form Herbert's descriptions of the power of natural disasters, the fear that they can produce, and the speed in which they can happen was gripping and page turning. Herbert builds the tension when needed and provides the ebbs and flows to keep the pace of the book running smoothly without stalling.
Four out of five Richter's on the relevant scale.
December 19, 2017
Really enjoyed reading this book. Recommended.
October 25, 2021
Disappointing and boring. Wouldn't recommend.
March 2, 2019
The synopsis on the back of the book caught my interest, because I'm a meteorologist and like end of the world stories. This book takes James Rivers on a search to find out why the Earth is going through this apocalyptic change...first by surviving a plane crash after flying through Hurricane Zelda! Busy year for the Hurricane Center. It seems that balls of light, sometimes one and sometimes many are preludes to disastrous events. Plenty of destruction, from volcanic eruptions and explosions...hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis, forest fires and killer hailstorms. Herbert centers this around twins who are gypsy orphans adopted by a Diane, daughter of eccentric Hugo Poggs, who believes the Earth is one breathing organism and that it is finally lashing back after all these years of man made harm. Rivers finally meets up with Poggs and sets about finding out that there are many kids who have to power to heal the earth, but according to the Dream Man, there are also those out there to do evil, as is the case with Mama Pitie, a big woman from New Orleans who seeks the death of the twins. Fast paced book worthy of those who like this type of fiction. The story ending is predictable and it finishes too fast and should have continued for a few more chapters.
November 8, 2021
Front seat to the end of the world by mother earth.
I enjoy James Herbert books because you're always going to be treated to some graphic way of dying and some horrific wounds that make you wince as you read the victim screaming in pain.
This story is about how the world is messed up and it's our fault and now we are all dying from it as it transforms itself.
I liked the main character Rivers but felt his story with the "badguy of the book" was kinda shoved in between detailing of the world exploding in different places.
Nothing incredible but enjoyable enough.
I enjoy James Herbert books because you're always going to be treated to some graphic way of dying and some horrific wounds that make you wince as you read the victim screaming in pain.
This story is about how the world is messed up and it's our fault and now we are all dying from it as it transforms itself.
I liked the main character Rivers but felt his story with the "badguy of the book" was kinda shoved in between detailing of the world exploding in different places.
Nothing incredible but enjoyable enough.
January 25, 2024
Informal review:
Weak, threadbare plot thickened out with repeated, unnecessary chapters. Typical good versus evil theme combined with a horrificly inaccurate end of the world plot. Evil is not fleshed out (as in something like Sepulchre), just people people evil for the sake of it. Not at all creepy (as in something like The Magic Cottage). Aside from one or two, a cast of forgettable characters. Not James Herbert at his best, rather James Herbert pushed by publishers to release something against the clock?
Weak, threadbare plot thickened out with repeated, unnecessary chapters. Typical good versus evil theme combined with a horrificly inaccurate end of the world plot. Evil is not fleshed out (as in something like Sepulchre), just people people evil for the sake of it. Not at all creepy (as in something like The Magic Cottage). Aside from one or two, a cast of forgettable characters. Not James Herbert at his best, rather James Herbert pushed by publishers to release something against the clock?
August 25, 2024
The green party's manifesto for years to come. A great thriller. Would make any geography teacher orgasm.
August 7, 2022
Fairly prescient story about global warming (albeit with subtle supernatural undertones). Rattles along at a good pace.
January 13, 2026
DNF at page 130. I can now conclude that James Herbert isn’t for me
August 6, 2018
This book is about a weather specialist, James Rivers, who is on a search to find out why the Earth is going through an apocalyptic change. James first survives a plane crash that occurs while he is flying through Hurricane Zelda! It has been a very busy year for the Hurricane Center.
It seems that balls of light, sometimes one and sometimes many are "portents" to disastrous events. There is plenty of weather destruction in the book, from volcanic eruptions and explosions...hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis, forest fires and killer hailstorms.
The story is also centered around twins who are gypsy orphans adopted by Diane, daughter of eccentric Hugo Poggs, who believes the Earth is one breathing organism and that it is finally lashing back after all these years of man made harm. It seems that Poggs was an associate of Lovelock (if you know who Lovelock is - which I do) Rivers is summoned by Poggs and becomes connected to the twins, Diane and the Poggs family
There are also "mystical" characters connected to the story - there are many kids who have to power to heal the earth, and there is a Dream Man who appears in the childrens dreams. Also there is Mama Pitie, a huge woman from New Orleans who has a church that worships the earth - by Mama Pitie is a very vile and evil person - who seeks to destroy anyone who would save people; she believe she is saving the earth
Fast paced book worthy of those who like this type of fiction. The story becomes a little too fanciful for me - I don't know what I would have preferred instead of what did happen - but it just didn't end right for me
It seems that balls of light, sometimes one and sometimes many are "portents" to disastrous events. There is plenty of weather destruction in the book, from volcanic eruptions and explosions...hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis, forest fires and killer hailstorms.
The story is also centered around twins who are gypsy orphans adopted by Diane, daughter of eccentric Hugo Poggs, who believes the Earth is one breathing organism and that it is finally lashing back after all these years of man made harm. It seems that Poggs was an associate of Lovelock (if you know who Lovelock is - which I do) Rivers is summoned by Poggs and becomes connected to the twins, Diane and the Poggs family
There are also "mystical" characters connected to the story - there are many kids who have to power to heal the earth, and there is a Dream Man who appears in the childrens dreams. Also there is Mama Pitie, a huge woman from New Orleans who has a church that worships the earth - by Mama Pitie is a very vile and evil person - who seeks to destroy anyone who would save people; she believe she is saving the earth
Fast paced book worthy of those who like this type of fiction. The story becomes a little too fanciful for me - I don't know what I would have preferred instead of what did happen - but it just didn't end right for me
June 2, 2013
On a quest to read Herbert, this book sounded interesting, different, but interesting. Either I really wasn't in the mood for it or I couldn't reconcile this one with what I've come to expect from Herbert based on the other books of his I've read recently. This is more of an enviromental thriller/drama with slight supernatural elements than a more traditional horror books by the author. It's got a moral, at times a bit heavy handed. It's got some incredibly vivid scenes of when nature attacks. No sex, no ghosts, no haunted houses, this certainly is a departure for Herbert and one I didn't really enjoy as much as his other novels. Can't quite decide if it was slow or the pacing was off or just didn't hold my attention very well, but this was the book of his that was relatively easy to put down. Having said all that, James Herbert (may he rest in peace) was a very good writer and an excellent storyteller and now that I've read a bunch of his books, I have pretty high expectations for them, so just because this book wasn't up to his usual standards, doesn't mean it wasn't good or worth a read. There is plenty of action, great imagery, apocalypse. It just...could have been better. When another horror's great late Richard Laymon wrote Quake (his version of an enviromental thriller), it was still very obviously a Laymon book. This was a bit too unHerbert like. It wasn't a typical Herbert, so the author shouldn't be judged by this one nor does this make a great introduction to his work. I'd recommend this to any fan of a nature gone wild books, a Herbert's completist or aficianado of apocalyptic fiction.
March 15, 2023
Portent by James Herbert was a blast to read. I love disaster novels and movies, and this was a disaster novel like none other that I have read. Any kind of natural disaster that can occur on Earth happened in detail in this book. I read this book in two sittings and hated to put it down even once. The story is fascinating and Herbert’s explanation for why things are happening is worthy of Crichton in my opinion.
The only thing keeping this from five stars was the section before the ending which takes things in a strange direction for a bit. But then we get an amazing conclusion. The most memorable thing about this novel for me was the mysterious lights that appear before every disaster. People come out to see the strange floating balls of light and make their own positive explanations of what they are only to be struck by some catastrophe. The description in this novel is flawless and makes it read a bit like a high-budget disaster film.
This novel greatly improved my already high respect for James Herbert. I have read several books by him that I did not like, several that I enjoyed, and a few that I loved and this is in the third category. It also shows that he can write a lot of different types of stories because every one of his books is different than the rest except maybe for the Rats series which get better with each installment. The point I’m making is that Portent is a great read and it has cemented Herbert more firmly as one of my favorite authors so I recommend it to all.
The only thing keeping this from five stars was the section before the ending which takes things in a strange direction for a bit. But then we get an amazing conclusion. The most memorable thing about this novel for me was the mysterious lights that appear before every disaster. People come out to see the strange floating balls of light and make their own positive explanations of what they are only to be struck by some catastrophe. The description in this novel is flawless and makes it read a bit like a high-budget disaster film.
This novel greatly improved my already high respect for James Herbert. I have read several books by him that I did not like, several that I enjoyed, and a few that I loved and this is in the third category. It also shows that he can write a lot of different types of stories because every one of his books is different than the rest except maybe for the Rats series which get better with each installment. The point I’m making is that Portent is a great read and it has cemented Herbert more firmly as one of my favorite authors so I recommend it to all.
January 7, 2024
Review to follow xxx
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