Le Repaire des rats

Rats #2

by James Herbert

Dans le secret de leur repaire, à seulement quelques heures de Londres, les rats mutants s'étaient reproduits. Les hommes n'avaient pas encore décelé leur présence. Les jeunes rats ne tenaient plus en place, en proie à une faim qu'ils ne comprenaient ni ne pouvaient satisfaire. Mais le monstrueux mutant qui les dominait, leur cerveau, leur ancêtre à tous, lui, savait et se souvenait. La bave coulait de sa gueule quand il se rappelait le goût de la chair humaine.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Thriller, Audiobook, Science Fiction, Animals, Ebooks

252 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

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.

Reviews

[Federico DN · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pets, forest animals, men, women, children. It doesn't really matter. It's all good for the carnivorous mutant rat.

It has been five years since the sanguinary rat invasion of London city. Barely escaping extermination, a few rat survivors slowly start to thrive again in a nearby forest. Poison resistant, stronger, more cunning and vicious than ever before. A few key people may be the only thing that might stop them, if they somehow manage not to get swarmed and ferociously chewed to pieces in the process.

A sea of giant rats is forging, and this time, no one will escape the incoming onslaught.

Took some time to start, but once the goriness started, there was no turning back. Unspeakable carnage. Rat savagery everywhere. Few, if any at all, characters spared. An entertaining sequel. Not as good as the original, but good nonetheless. I came looking for blood and that's exactly what I got. Maybe the surprise element was lost. Also the main characters seemed wildly undeveloped; not that you are going to read a rat horror novel for its character building of course, but hey, at any rate, compared to the first novel, it did get noticed.

Overall, an entertaining, albeit slightly inferior, clone.

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PERSONAL NOTE : [1979] [272p] [Horror] [Audiobook] [Almost Recommendable] [Rat savagery] [Gore Galore] [Rats, rats, rats!]
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★★★★☆ 1. The Rats
★★★☆☆ 2. Lair
☆☆☆☆☆ 3. Domain
★☆☆☆☆ 4. The City [1.5]

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Mascotas, animales de selva, hombres, mujeres, niños. En verdad no importa. Todo es bueno para la rata carnívora mutante.

Han pasado algunos años desde la sanguinaria invasión de ratas en la ciudad de Londres. Apenas escapando la exterminación, algunas ratas sobrevivientes lentamente empiezan a prosperar de nuevo en una selva cercana. Resistentes al veneno, más fuertes, inteligentes y viciosas que nunca antes. Sólo un puñado de gente clave puede ser la única cosa que podría llegar a detenerlas, si es que de alguna forma logran no ser emboscadas y ferozmente masticadas en el proceso.

Un mar de ratas gigantes se está forjando, y esta vez, nadie va a escapar el embate por venir.

Tarda algun tiempo en arrancar, pero una vez que la sangre empieza a derramarse, no hay vuelta atrás. Carnicería indescriptible. Salvajía ratona a diestra y siniestra. Pocos, si es que alguno en absoluto, personajes perdonados. Una secuela entretenida. No tan buena como la original, pero buena de todos modos. Vine buscando sangre y eso es exactamente lo que obtuve. Tal vez se perdió el elemento sorpresa. Además, los personajes parecían increíblemente subdesarrollados; no que uno vaya a leer una novela de horror de ratas por su construcción de personajes por supuesto, pero bueno, al menos comparada con la primera novela, sí se notó la diferencia.

En resumen, un entretenido, aunque ligeramente inferior, clon.

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NOTA PERSONAL : [1979] [272p] [Horror] [Audiolibro] [Casi Recomendable] [Salvajismo ratonero] [Abundante Sangre] [Ratas, ratas, ratas!]
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[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

London has had a narrow escape. This time we'll find survivors of the extermination of rats in Epping Forest. The Black Rat rises again. Will Luke Pender, a ratcatcher and his friends be able to destroy the rat enemy once and for all? What about Luke's motivation? The rats are keeping a low profile but when they strike they are deadly... to other animals and humans. absolutely catchy follow up to the first novel (even with some references to the first volume). Couldn't put it down and wanted to know how the story ends. Glad that this excellent series continues and that this isn't the end of rats. Really a very compelling and haunting book. Some very scary and gory scenes inside. Highly recommended. A classic from a time gone by!

[RedemptionDenied · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

So, I've finally finished the squeak-qul, at 02.05 a.m. this morning, which I started on the 30th May (this year). Despite enjoying it a bit more than the author's debut - I've decided to give it the same rating - because if I did it any higher, I would've had to round it up to ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I probably would've given it five-stars if it had more scenes with Brian Mollison in it, a P.E. teacher who likes to moonlight as a flasher. His scenes were so comedic, and played out like a Benny Hill sketch, LMAO😂😁😄🤣

Anyway, the rats are back, and humanity, once again, becomes the furry-critters, favourite gourmet.

Luke Pender of Ratkill, goes to Epping Forest Conservation Centre, when a possible sighting of a rat (big Black Rat variety) is believed to have been spotted. Pender has a personal stake in wanting to decimate the rat population: four years prior, his father, mother, and his younger brother, became rat-fodder - so he's out for some good old-fashioned vengeance.

Just like the first book, there's lots of scenes of bloody violence, which was strangely amusing at times - that, or it's about time I went to get evaluated, and I'm not joking.

In summation: I enjoyed it for the most part, didn't think much of the little-romance love-interest that was going on, and my favourite character turned out to be a comedic flasher, who has some serious timing problems. Hope he returns in book 3 (Domain).🙂

[Jo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lair is the rather weak and therefore pointless sequel to The Rats. It failed to heighten my senses, and didn't unsettle me in the slightest, and I'm left feeling quite unfulfilled and really, rather confused as to what Herbert's aim was here, as the plot was horrendously bleak and was overall, a poor attempt at a sequel.

The Rats successfully creeped me the fuck out, and it disturbed my sleep (more than it is already) and I remember being impressed with the horror element. I've never been a fan of rats, and that book just solidified that fact further. Lair contained the usual horror and gore, but it was desperately lacking any decent characters, or plot for that matter.

Everything just seemed to centre around the same location, a forest, and the novel just couldn't seem to get started. Characters appeared and disappeared rapidly, with no real explanation on who they were and what they brought to the story. The horror element was kind of dampened, and I feel Herbert struggled in this.

Those sex scenes;

I love sex, and I can definitely appreciate a well written sex scene within a novel, but the two contained in here were cringe worthy and totally clichéd. It was probably an attempt at humor, but those pages could have been used for plot development, and not to describe somebody's perky breasts in the moonlight. I just knew the couple were going to partake in sex out in the woods where the rats were seemingly hanging out, and while reading through the entirely silly sex scene, I kept thinking "One of you is going to get bitten on the ass!!"

I am sorely disappointed with this book, and right now, I'm not keen on the idea of reading the last book, but then I am curious as to how it all ends, so, who knows?

[Paul Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

OMFG more fucking rats and this time these 2ft critters are now climbing trees and launching leapfrog style ninja attacks.
 
Lesson 1.
Stay in built up areas to avoid potential of vermin dropping from trees in surprise ambushes.
 
One of these mutant rats will of course go on to rescue and train the teenage mutant ninja turtles but that's another tale set a few years in the future. Ok, to the story, the rats that survived the gas attack from the first book decided a holiday was in order and disappeared for a few years to a sunnier climate and a more welcoming atmosphere. Back from their hiatus, they move into the basement of a deserted mansion in Epping Forest while tentatively eating local livestock and generally keeping a low profile.
 
Lesson 2.
If your livestock starts inadvertently looking like roadkill then check all the basements and wear protective gear such as metal underwear, metal bin and plates strapped around as much flesh as you can manage.
 
A touch longer than the first book, we again get to meet a multitude of characters, some for the long run and others, a brief introduction before they are served up with a Béarnaise sauce at the vermin barbecue. There is some pretty scary moments in the Lair, the feeling that the rats are watching from the grass, from the trees, ready to pounce and again we have our hero. This time it's personnel, our hero lost his family in the first wave of the rat campaign and he's hurting. He does however want stunning with a shovel as is the case with most heroes, but stupid is as stupid does and he's destined to step into the breach, the Rats Lair.
 
Lesson 3.
Two headed rats are to be avoided at all costs, just smile and walk on by, no run on by.
 
All told really good fun.

Also posted at http://paulnelson.booklikes.com/post/...
 

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second in the famous Rats trilogy (in fact there is a forth called the City written 10 years after Domain but thats a different story - literally)

Anyway I digress this is part of my nostalgia tour of the early books and authors I read as I was getting in to reading while at school. Being one of the earlier Herbert's the book is graphic, visceral and violent, just want an impressionable mind wants. But seriously now such book may not have met the same fame as it did back then but none the less this is something special

But why say that when it can be seen as exploitational, the characters stereotypical and the plot implausible, the answer is simple its sheer energy. Remember this was written at the end of the 70s when trust me there were enough horrors and fears with out giant flesh eating rats adding to the mix to make you retreat from the world.

But this book condensed those fears and gave them life. There are so many tricks and devices used in this book some of which have been since over played that they are almost comical others make you want to shout out loud (I mean why go down there when you know what could be waiting for you). But when you take it in the context of when it was written you realise this is powerful stuff.

So if you like your horror subtle clever and unpredictable this book is not for you. If however you like it violent and bloody this is a good place to start and if you are curious then read up about England in the 70s and you will see what state horror was in.

However a final word should be said - James Herbert grew and changed like the times he lived in. Do not write off his work form just one book, there is a lot more than you would expect to the man whose time I feel was unfairly cut short

[Don · Rating 4 out of 5]

After the phenomenal debut of The Rats, how was James Herbert going to match the brilliance of the first novel, a tough task no doubt, but Herbert proves he is no one trick pony.

Lair is set five years after the events of the terror of the black rats in London, measures have been taken by the government to ensure nothing like the terror of five years past can happen again, so any suspicious signs, just be reported to the right channels immediately, just to be on the safe side, right.

We already know that the previous rats were not all wiped out before, and that they were patiently biding their time till the right moment, something is different about these rats, they have a master.

On the outskirts of London, in Epping forest, slightly strange goings on with the wildlife occur, and after a particularly bad omen, it becomes clear something strange is going on.

After more incidents, it's apparent the rats from London were not all completely eliminated, and precautions are taken, different government departments and environmental health (rat-catchers) firms discuss what to do about the problem, with much disagreements.

We come across main protagonist of the story, Luke Pender, a man determined to get rid of the rats at all costs, and sometimes finds himself at odds with decisions and actions taken, though meeting Jenny, they form a bond and become close.

This book was a great follow up to The Rats, the new rats even more intelligent than the previous Black rats, the style was similar to the first with various characters and scenarios where you care about the characters and the situations they are in, I did feel the ending wasn't as strong as the previous book though, and I would have liked to have heard a bit more of the previous protagonists (Harris) fate, but other than this was a very good read, and proves Herbert can deliver yet another great story, and with Domain the next in the series, I'll be checking out much more of Herbert's work.

⭐⭐⭐⭐1/4 stars, highly recommended.

[(shan) Littlebookcove · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nothing quite like reading a book where the whole plot is based just outside your doorstep! Apart from that, this book blew my mind. This is the second installment of James Herberts "The Rats" based five years later, after the carnage the rats caused in London they are back.. Bigger and bolder and much more cunning than before. I Absolutely loved this book! Like most of James Herbert's book's I've read so far I couldn't put it down. Well worth the read.

[Scott Rhee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lucas Pender hates rats. After rats killed and ate his entire family during the Rat Outbreak of London in ’74, he has wanted nothing more than to eradicate rats from England, especially the large mutant black rats that left thousands dead. Now working for the government as an official ratcatcher, Pender strives to prevent the next mutant rat outbreak. Unfortunately, when it inevitably does happen, small-minded government officials and bureaucrats make the situation worse…

Thus begins James Herbert’s 1979 novel “Lair”, a sequel to his 1974 novel “The Rats”. Herbert, who clearly believes that it’s foolish to mess with a formula that works, basically wrote a redux of the first novel, changing only the size of the rats (they’re bigger), the amount (there’s more), and the body count (many more people die in far more gruesome detail), which—-unless you are expecting grandiloquence on the scale of Shakespeare—-is pretty damn perfect for a Herbert horror novel.

Seriously, this book is overflowing with blood and guts, so be forewarned if you have a squeamish stomach. Entire elementary schools, trailer parks, and army platoons are torn to bloody pieces by ravenous giant rats. If that sentence immediately turns you off or offends you in anyway, steer clear! If, however, 10-15 pages of gloriously graphic descriptions of people having their faces ripped off, their genitalia being eaten, and intestines being tossed around by rats like drunken frat-boys playing hackey-sack, then this is definitely the book you should be reading.

If Eli Roth is shopping around for more movie ideas, this series is just dying to be remade. (A 1982 American horror film “Deadly Eyes” has been the only film adaptation of “The Rats”.) A third book, “Domain”, exists but is, sadly, out of print and extremely hard to find. An even-rarer out-of-print fourth book, “The City”, also exists.

[Grady Hendrix · Rating 1 out of 5]

The rats were fresher in THE RATS.

[Baba · Rating 3 out of 5]

25+ years after first reading it, this the sequel to James Herbert's The Rats is not as scary, but still a good read and nice sequel. Five years after the original Outbreak, in Epping Forest, there begins to be signs of a return of the mutant Black Rat species, so Ratkill investigator, Pender, is assigned to look into it. 7 out of 12.

[Sue Gerhardt Griffiths · Rating 4 out of 5]

SpookTober read #6

2nd instalment in The Rats trilogy.

Just as disturbing, just as loco and stomach churning as The Rats but so very entertaining.


Listened to the audiobook on BorrowBox
Published by Bolinda/Audible audio
Narrated by David Rintoul
Duration: 8 hrs, 29min. 1.50x Speed

[Jon Von · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sequel to The Rats is much more straightforward and commercial than the first book. It’s not that it’s bad it’s just pretty much a standard monster movie style adventure. This time the rats are in a forest and a government-appointed rat exterminator gets wind of the possible sightings, leading at first to denial from local officials, and then to chaotic combat with the creatures. It’s very predictable and the location of the monsters is obvious from the first mention, but the entire thing is capable enough. The only real glimpse of the gritty tone of the first book is in a couple of chapters from the POV of a local flasher.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second in the Rats trilogy, this middle book takes place five years after events in the first novel. The Outbreak that plagued London was over, but the horror was about to begin again, this time in a forest preserve outside the city. Epping Forest is about to be awash in blood and torn, mutilated bodies, but the real horror is worse than imagined.

James Herbert is one of the best ever, bar none, and one of my all-time favorites. While, sadly, he passed away a few years ago, his backlist is required reading for horror fiction fans.

Highest of recommendations.

[Marie Helene · Rating 4 out of 5]

The rats are back and they are on top form.

A very few managed to escape the ‘cleansing’ of London, and moved to Epping forest to hide. Four years have passed, they are still hiding and staying away from the humans that they fear, but they have reproduced and evolved. The question is: how long are they going to be able to resist to their craving for the human flesh?

Lair was written in 1979. It is and old school, rock-solid horror book that still delivers.

And I’m really not into creature feature but I make an exception for James Herbert’s rodents.

[Brandon Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall I enjoyed it!! The only thing I could have done without were the sex scenes, which I thought were cringe-inducing 😅 but, they’re easy to skip!
Lots of crazy gore and body horror.

[Siobhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’d been excited about reading The Rat series for quite some time, and although I wasn’t crazy about the first book, I was eager to dive into Lair. Personally, I enjoyed Lair a lot more than I enjoyed The Rats.

Lair takes place a few years after The Rats, dropping us back into the wonderful horror of the monstrous creatures. It takes all the creepy aspects of the first book and amplifies them, taking what we were introduced to in the first book and making it even creepier. It is more than just the overgrown rats in this story, as the mutation we were introduced to at the end of The Rats also plays a role in this story. As I said, the horror is amped up in this one.

With a new set of characters and a new location, we're quickly pulled into this story. I feel as though Lair had a bit more depth to it than the first book - whilst the first book had all the creep I could desire, I failed to connect with the characters and events. It was different with Lair, and I found myself falling deeper into the story.

I think a large part of it was that I enjoyed these characters more than I enjoyed the characters from the first book. Whilst we do have one character from the prior book in this one, and references are made to the events of book one, it was nice to be introduced to a fresh cast. It was only a little thing, but I do believe it played a big part in my enjoyment.

Overall, I enjoyed Lair a lot more than I enjoyed The Rats. I was eager to dive into Lair because of a curiosity as to what came next, whereas my eagerness to dive into Domain is based upon an investment in the story.

A great look back at the peak time of horror, and a great example of what James Herbert's capabilities as a horror writer.

[Vicente Ribes · Rating 4 out of 5]

La segunda parte de la trilogía de las ratas me ha parecido igual de divertida que la primera. En esta ocasión la acción se sitúa en un parque natural cercano a Londres donde las pocas ratas supervivientes que huyeron de la ciudad se han agrupado y esperan para juntar la fuerza suficiente para volver a atacar a los humanos.
El protagonista Luke Pender, un empleado de Ratkill, la empresa de plagas que aparecía en la primera parte, será el encargado de investigar los primeros asesinatos y movilizar al ejército para enfrentar esta nueva amenaza.
Las escenas de terror y acción son tan buenas como en la primera parte, con las muertes en la iglesia y esa batalla campal entre soldados y ratas en el bosque.
El final con el protagonista asediado y esas ratas mutantes que capitanean al ejercito roedor es también brutal.
Unos libros muy divertidos y que se pasan en un suspiro con el estilo de Herbert, sencillo y directo al grano con grandes dosis de acción.

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lair is about what you would expect from your average sequel. The plot is bigger and badder, but the overall gist of the action remains the same. There were new characters and a few allusions to old ones. Except for a few especially intense or creative moment, I felt like I had been there and done that. I think ill wait about a year before tracking down the third book, and maybe that will keep things feeling more fresh. The overall quality of the writing was excellent. Where else are you going to find a character who is a middle school gym teacher who sneaks off into the woods during lunch breaks to flash his privates at unsuspecting hikers?

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good sequel. The rats have left London and settled secretly in Epping Forest. Herbert used actual real places in the story. Pender employed by Ratkill is sent to Epping Forest to investigate a possible sighting of Black rats. He meets Jenny a conservation teacher and she provides the love interest amongst the killings and mayhem.

After a series of incidents the crisis escalates with the rats reacquiring a taste for human flesh. Written in 1979 I think this horror story holds together well.

[Dustin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I liked this even more than the original. It’s a lean, mean, killing machine of a novel. Fast paced, mean spirited, absurd, gory, action packed. Exactly what I wanted this sequel to be.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lair is the 2nd book in The Rats trilogy by English horror maester James Herbert. In the first book, a horde of mutant black rats terrorized London as they tried to satisfy their craving for human flesh. England thought they had destroyed them all but unfortunately, a group, lead by an even more mutant two-headed rat, fled through the sewers and took up residence in Epping Forest. There they bided their time until their leader's cravings for human blood forced them to renew their assault. (Yipes)

The story starts off slowly (-ish) as the rats begin to make their presence known, attacking animals and buildings. Pender, who works for Ratkill, an organization that has grown after their 'successful' efforts to eradicate the rats previously, is sent to the forest to discover if the rodent presence might be the black rats once again. Jenny Hammer, a tutor at the Forest, claims she saw 3 of the rats while she took a group of students out into the forest for a tour. The government and other high ranking officials want to avoid an uproar so ask Pender to do a quiet investigation of the situation.

Unfortunately, while this goes on, the rats begin their assault, attacking various people and even a group of students camping overnight. It comes to a head when they assault the Forest's visitor center itself. The Army is called in to assist Ratkill and the story moves on from there as the humans battle for their lives to find the lair of the rats and destroy them once and for all.

Herbert knows how to create tension and build it to a peak. The story is gritty and gruesome and violent and yup, scary. The main characters, especially Pender and Jenny, as satisfactorily developed to make you cheer for them as they battle this implacable, violent enemy. It's a fast-paced, entertaining horror thriller. There is one more story in this series, with the additional menace of nuclear war involved, it seems. Wee haw! (4.0 stars)

[David Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

LAIR follows on from James Herbert's early bestseller THE RATS, and in some ways it is just more of the same. That being said, personally I thought this was an even better book than THE RATS.

A few years after the earlier outbreak, a new plague of rats begins to run amok, this time in the Epping Forest. It falls to a rodent control expert named Pender, to try and incite 'the powers that be' into taking an early and proactive action against the marauding animals.

The carnage doesn't start immediately, and Herbert deliberately, and expertly allows an atmosphere of dark foreboding to build, until it explodes in a frenetic release of bloody violence!
Read Lair and enjoy it, but I don't suggest reading it if you are planning to go camping in the woods, anytime soon!

[Franki · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second book in the Rats series is just as good as the original.
Moving the setting from the busy city to the quiet countryside doesn't change the carnage or the pace of the story- in fact it adds to it more.
The characters are actually pretty similar to the previous protagonists but obviously if the formula works, why change it?
Again, I thoroughly love this trilogy and I really thought this book stepped it up from the first- giving a bit more story to the "real" mutant rats, attempting to almost characterise one of the vermin and generally holding nothing back when it comes to the brutality of their attacks -and I believe that, once the first has been read, this is a must.

[Alan Toner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lair is a truly brilliant sequel to my all time fave horror book, The Rats. This time, the rats infest Epping Forest, and once again the poor humans become helpless rat meat! Even more spine-chilling and gory than the first, Lair will send the hairs on the back of your neck prickling with sheer terror. The greatest sequel to the greatest horror novel ever. Read it . . . if you dare!

[Benjamin Stahl · Rating 2 out of 5]

An unnecessary and unjustified sequel to a pretty shitty novel. Contains all of James Herbert's usual inputs: well-written but unstirring horror, boringly normal protagonists, gratuitous and cliched sex and the ominous promise of another one.

[Steve Parcell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rollicking sequel to Rats. Didn't think you could make giant killer rats hunting down humans scary but boy was I wrong. Better than Rats and very exciting and terrifying

[Victor Rodriguez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Las ratas 2: Electric Boogaloo. Si no lo digo reviento.

[Anja Henriksen · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Felt it was much alike the first story. I loved the describtion of the flasher and his rationalizing of his own behavior lol.
Narration of audiobook was as the first top notch!

[Colleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know why but I have such a weakness for animals turn on people books and movies (from great ones to The Birds to terrible fun ones like The Swarm). This one is part 2 of The Rats trilogy--and is very solid but The Rat books are more schlock than high literature. For a 40 year old series it's held up very well I think. I read earlier about how some think Herbert modernized horror and was an innovator and I have to agree. They're crude but very effective and almost impossible to put down (but very fast reads).

If 3 foot giant rats running amok is your thing, one is deadly enough and they come in thousands. It's very similar to the first book--set in the woods (where the rats have fled since they now associate London with mass death), where they have set up a new rat HQ (basically same spooky ruined mansion as the first one), with 2 headed albino monstrosities as ruler, with special rat guards, and a growing rat revolution. The rebel rat broods almost as much as the hero, and looks to be the leader in the third book, which I don't remember reading in the past, The Domain--so will get that one next.

It's improved by the hero, in a way, over the first book. Instead of art teacher, we have an actual rat expert on the scene, avenging his family's death from one of the many 1,000s killed in the first book and throwing himself into the world of extermination. The woman in this book, instead of fashion designer, is like a park ranger/ecologist, who has cloistered herself in the rat infested woods to get over falling for a married man. There's the same blundering stupid government officials who are too slow to act (why?!), idiots who don't report seeing rats because they don't want to be bothered, but somehow it didn't feel quite as political or in the moment as the first book. Perhaps because it was more localized and on a smaller scale than the first one.

Also, I was happy to see comeuppance every time a fool had to be reminded to wear protective gear in fighting the rats. This book, while it had probably as many characters as the first though and stronger in some ways, was weaker in others compared to the first. There is no real train scene like in the first book--there's the trailer part chapter, but it felt more removed and distant than immediate perhaps? And I didn't really care for the public indecency junky--which was oddly a big chunk of the book, which made it more of a 3.5 book than a 4. If you really want to check out Herbert, I'd advice starting with his first two books--The Rats and The Fog--before this.