Horror Aficionados discussion

This is the thread for the Buddy Read of The Rats by James Herbert. We'll start this April 1st. As always, make sure you use spoiler tags and percentage/page markers. So far we have joining us:

Ken
Addy
Feli
Ginger
Joe
Rhonda
Andres
Jacob
Marie-Helene

Anyone else?

Thanks Ken!

Thank you for opening the thread, Ken!

Ginger wrote: "Thanks Ken!"

I read this book and the other two in the trilogy last year. I’ll be watching your comments. Hope you all enjoy!

I'll join. I always wanted to read James Herbert... and I hate rats. The first time I watched Ben as a kid, I was freaked out for months. I couldn't put my feet down off the couch for fear that a little sharp toothed bastard would take a bit outta my ankle. Thank the Lord I had bunk beds as a kid!

Terry wrote: "I read this book and the other two in the trilogy last year. I’ll be watching your comments. Hope you all enjoy!"

I remember you reading this last year! Yeah, I'm looking forward to some rat action next month. :D I haven't read a horror creature book in awhile.

I read this book ages ago. Although the subject matter is great, the story itself is in no way some of Herbert's best work. He got much better once he had a couple books under his belt.

I read this book ages ago. Although the subject matter is great, the story itself is in no way some of Herbert's best work. He got much better once he had a couple books under his belt.

We shud read Willard afterwards😋

Addy wrote: "We shud read Willard afterwards😋"

Willard, I believe, was based on the book Ratman's Notebooks. I have that book also, but haven’t read it yet. I’d join for that one!

Ginger wrote: "Terry wrote: "I read this book and the other two in the trilogy last year. I’ll be watching your comments. Hope you all enjoy!"

I remember you reading this last year! Yeah, I'm looking forward to ..."

Yeah, I’m a big fan of creature features myself!

I was looking through my gazillion paperbacks for Rats and came across Willard:) I have to read some of these!...lol.

Addy wrote: "I was looking through my gazillion paperbacks for Rats and came across Willard:) I have to read some of these!...lol."

Awesome - You have the best library of horror books!

Glad I'm not the only one with a gazillion paperbacks. Lol.

Of course, Rhonda. Glad to have you here :)

Addy wrote: "I was looking through my gazillion paperbacks for Rats and came across Willard:) I have to read some of these!...lol."

You lucky girl

Yeah. It’s really to the point where I had to stop going to the bookstore for lack of room. The one I go to has an awesome horror section and I wud literally like to buy all of them!

Hi

I would like to join - first time reading James Herbert - I have Others in my to read list and it seems Haunted has a lot supporters for the April Read Nomination in the HA group here.

Saw your post and The Rats jumped straight to number one position in my list...

Glad to have you aboard, Rhonda and Andres. What started as an effort to whittle some of my massive TBR pile down has picked up steam to be a decent size Buddy Read.

Some people may grumble that Rats isn't Herbert's best offering. Others will argue the opposite. I honestly don't care. Herbert is a great author and this is his classic story that put his name on the map and spawned 3 sequels. I'm fired up to read it!

Would I be able to join please? I haven't read any James Herbert, but the premise sounds awesome. I'm an avid Stephen King reader, I need to broaden my horizons a bit :)

I'd like to join?

Marie-Helene wrote: "I'd like to join?"

Awesome Marie-Helene! We go from the arctic slog to cute furry creatures. ;) hahaha

I prefer cats as furry friends ;)

I can see a pattern, going from the Norway rats of HMS Terror to the London rats.

Marie-Helene wrote: "I can see a pattern, going from the Norway rats of HMS Terror to the London rats. "

Ha!! I see the pattern as well. :D

Marie-Helene wrote: "I'd like to join?"

Absolutely, Jacob and Marie-Helene. Looking forward to it. Rats are such nasty creatures. It's a wonder there aren't more horror tropes where rats are the stars.

After the polar bear, the rats

🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀

Signed: the Mad Zoologist

I was thinking that the 1970s loved their animals going nuts stories, everything from Jaws, The Rats, and movies like Grizzly, Pirahna, Orca, Food of the Gods, etc.

Ken wrote: "I was thinking that the 1970s loved their animals going nuts stories, everything from Jaws, The Rats, and movies like Grizzly, Pirahna, Orca, Food of the Gods, etc."

That's so true Ken! You don't see those types of movies now and that makes me a bit sad. I love animal horror flicks!

April 1st, please come quickly!
I understand 'The rats' is the first book of a trilogy.
I've got a feeling April is going to be Pest Control month 🤤

Marie-Helene wrote: "April 1st, please come quickly!
I understand 'The rats' is the first book of a trilogy.
I've got a feeling April is going to be Pest Control month 🤤"

Yes, it is :)
I hope to read the whole trilogy soon but am not sure if I can make it in April. So many books to read, as always. But maybe... who knows :)

I still don't feel comfortable with rats... I haven't read or watched too much creature horror. I don't know what it is... I can read/watch the most brutal and gory stuff... but rats or monsters... hmm.. that's hard for me :D

I want to read the trilogy, hence Pest Control month
You don't like rats, neither do I. But mice are so adorable 😍
I have an 'Introduction to Language' to read, so Franck Herbert will the perfect balance.
Squeak squeak 🐭

Marie-Helene wrote: "I've got a feeling April is going to be Pest Control month 🤤"

Spring is the perfect time for furry critters to come out and play! ;) hahaha

Marie-Helene wrote: "I want to read the trilogy, hence Pest Control month
You don't like rats, neither do I. But mice are so adorable 😍
I have an 'Introduction to Language' to read, so Franck Herbert will the perfect b..."

Oh, Introduction to Language sounds good. I hope you like it. I love language... but then, I'm studying and working as a linguist, so I am a bit biased on that I guess :D

Started reading The Rats yesterday.
32% in and loving it!
Vintage horror, swinging London, fun frightfest

Who's afraid of 🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀???
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUPAF...

I'm starting this one tomorrow night. I can't wait to get into it and discuss. Rats are so damn nasty!

47%- started yesterday - I like it so far. Definitely need to keep going with this one and find out which way the story is going ...

Marie-Helene wrote: "Who's afraid of 🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀???
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUPAF..."

Definitely going to have to watch this after the book. Awesome!

I started this one last night and got a few chapters in. Old school creature horror and loving the setting of London as well!
Glad I joined this BR!

Andres wrote: "47%- started yesterday - I like it so far. Definitely need to keep going with this one and find out which way the story is going ..."

👍
Yes

Just finished up Ch5. (view spoiler)[Great chapter with Mary Kelly! And at the end when the rats eat her and the rest of the homeless guys, I started thinking that these rats are getting bigger? Uh oh! (hide spoiler)]

Ginger wrote: "Just finished up Ch5. [spoilers removed]"

I liked that chapter very much. (view spoiler)[That Mary is a crazy woman, huh? I didn't expect the church-burning-sentence, ^^" After that it's only getting worse with her (hide spoiler)]

This is just my second James Herbert book, but I have to say I see a certain pattern... (view spoiler)[Like both books I've read have more or less the same plot with certain parts exchanged or just named differently. The characters also are nearly identical: 'strong' male main characters, 'weak feminine characters' (yes I know the times were different in the 70s but I've read books from that era which handled this not quite so chlichéd). I mean, I like his books, they are a fun read, but I wonder if all his books stick to this same pattern. (hide spoiler)]

Feli wrote: "Ginger wrote: "Just finished up Ch5. [spoilers removed]"

I liked that chapter very much."

Just curious, Feli, what was the other James Herbert book?

Terry wrote: "Feli wrote: "Ginger wrote: "Just finished up Ch5. [spoilers removed]"

I liked that chapter very much."

Just curious, Feli, what was the other James Herbert book?"

It was The Fog and also my first 'group read' here on GR (although it turned out that just Latasha and me were reading it, haha).

[Off topic fun fact: when I entered 'The Fog Herbert' for the link above, it was just the second book GR showed me... The first one was Romeo & Juliet by Shakespeare.. 🤔]

Feli wrote: "Terry wrote: "Feli wrote: "Ginger wrote: "Just finished up Ch5. [spoilers removed]"

I liked that chapter very much."

Just curious, Feli, what was the other James Herbert book?"

It was [book:The ..."

I wondered if it had been The Fog or The Dark. They really do have a similar feel to this one, I thought also.

And yes, more amazing Goodreads intuition I see, lol!

Feli wrote: "Ginger wrote: "Just finished up Ch5. [spoilers removed]"

I liked that chapter very much. [spoilers removed]

This is just my second James Herbert book, but I have to say I see a certain pattern......"

I've often noticed weak female characters from stories from the 1970s. At first, I thought it was just one author and dismissed it as him being a chauvenistic prick, but then the more work from this era that I read, I found that it was quite common. Authors like Charles L Grant, J.N. Williamson, John Farris and others were quite guilty of this.

Finished Chapter 6 -

(view spoiler)[ So now we learn that the big rats are some new species and that they're bites are lethal within 24 hours. They also seem to have the ability to control the regular rats in some sort of group communication. The question is what are these new rats and why are their bites so lethal? Ugh. Nasty bastards. Where's a flame thrower when you need one?? (hide spoiler)]

Ken wrote: "Finished Chapter 6 -

[spoilers removed]"

Exactly! I'm curious (view spoiler)[about how these big, black rats came about as well and what makes their bites so deadly?!!! (hide spoiler)]

Finished chapter 10.

The Underground train :::
Monday morning rush :::
Recipe for disaster, of course

Well, (view spoiler)[ I'm very happy that Brave Harry Sutton was not eaten alive by the rats, as I truly believed he was going to. Big sigh of relief! (hide spoiler)]

For me, the hardest part to read was (view spoiler)[ when they used those poor, playful, naive puppies as bait. (hide spoiler)]

Ken wrote: "Feli wrote: "Ginger wrote: "Just finished up Ch5. [spoilers removed]"

I liked that chapter very much. [spoilers removed]

This is just my second James Herbert book, but I have to say I see a certa..."

Agree, I also felt several comments were skewed, not only towards a strong skillful male character but there were also comments about "dark-skinned" people and wondering about one of the characters "being queer". I guess that is the way they wrote back then?. I don't think those comments add a thing to the whole plot.

I just finished it. Short but I went through it fairly quickly so I take that as a good sign. Always wanted to know what was coming next.

(view spoiler)[ I am not quite sure if I will continue with the next book in the trilogy, I felt something was missing in this story overall. Will wait for others to comment here about that though (hide spoiler)]