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hiking_pages's review against another edition
2.0
I love James Herbert but this really missed the mark for me. End of the world style stories generally interest me but I remain more interested in his horror tropes than what he presented with Portent!! Not terrible, but just not for me and could not hold my interest!
phil629's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
tobin_elliott's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.25
I'm now 18 books into Herbert's 23 print novels. And all I'm thinking at this point is...
Well, this was a freaking mess, wasn't it?
I know Herbert can go really off course in his horror, and I know he loves to throw in a new character with an elaborate five-page backstory, only to kill them off on the sixth page. I also know that, for the last few books, I've felt that Herbert had pretty much played out all his good stories, then his average stories, and was now plundering the mediocre thoughts that crossed his mind enough to mash into some semblance of a story.
Not necessarily a coherent story, mind you. But a story. Because, I think, by this time, anyone who'd read him with any frequency might just buy him on name recognition alone.
This is, I guess, ecological horror. But with an incredibly thin story, Herbert had to pad it out with...well...something...so he throws in a voodoo woman with muddy motivations, and a couple of kids with, depending on the chapter, supernatural or godlike powers. He, of course, has to throw in the romance angle too. And finally...more padding...lots and lots of padding of various ecological disasters from the point of view of a single, overdescribed character (including one that—I'm not kidding—has sex with a tree).
Normally, I'd say I'm done with Herbert, but there's two things keeping me going to finish his bibliography.
The first is, I only have five more books left.
The second is, surely to god it can't get any worse than this train wreck.
Well, this was a freaking mess, wasn't it?
I know Herbert can go really off course in his horror, and I know he loves to throw in a new character with an elaborate five-page backstory, only to kill them off on the sixth page. I also know that, for the last few books, I've felt that Herbert had pretty much played out all his good stories, then his average stories, and was now plundering the mediocre thoughts that crossed his mind enough to mash into some semblance of a story.
Not necessarily a coherent story, mind you. But a story. Because, I think, by this time, anyone who'd read him with any frequency might just buy him on name recognition alone.
This is, I guess, ecological horror. But with an incredibly thin story, Herbert had to pad it out with...well...something...so he throws in a voodoo woman with muddy motivations, and a couple of kids with, depending on the chapter, supernatural or godlike powers. He, of course, has to throw in the romance angle too. And finally...more padding...lots and lots of padding of various ecological disasters from the point of view of a single, overdescribed character (including one that—I'm not kidding—has sex with a tree).
Normally, I'd say I'm done with Herbert, but there's two things keeping me going to finish his bibliography.
The first is, I only have five more books left.
The second is, surely to god it can't get any worse than this train wreck.
trisha76's review against another edition
4.0
De mensheid is te ver gegaan. De voortekenen van een naderende wereldramp razen met onvoorstelbaar geweld over alle continenten. Wervelstormen, aardbevingen, vloedgolven, vulkaanuitbarstingen - de laatste woeste stuiptrekkingen van een stervende planeet. Elke catastrofe wordt voorafgegaan door de mysterieuze verschijning van kleine bollen puur wit licht.
Evenals duizenden andere mensen ziet ook de Engelse klimatoloog James Rivers het stralende lichtspoor, dat hem met een hypnotiserende kracht naar de verblijfplaats van twee bijzondere kinderen leidt. Dan begrijpt James Rivers dat hij deze kinderen met zijn eigen leven moet beschermen. Want de toekomst van de zieke aarde ligt in hun handen.
Een titanenstrijd tussen de schrikwekkende krachten van licht en duisternis brandt los. Er staat iets ongelooflijks te gebeuren...
---
Een boek met een beeld dat na jaren dat het is geschreven steeds meer speelt. Een boek met stof tot nadenken. Voor bepaalde mensen zou het een boek kunnen zijn dat hun sterkt in hun visie, maar voor anderen blijft het gewoon fictie en dus gewoon een verhaal.
Voor mij is het een combinatie. Als je ziet wat er in wordt beschreven is het nog zo gek nog niet. Alles kan gebeuren ongeacht waar je bent en wat je denkt. De wereld is aan het veranderen en het boek geeft dat goed weer.
---
Uitgeverij : Van Holkema & Warendorf
ISBN: 978.90.269.7298.9
320 pg's; Paperback
Evenals duizenden andere mensen ziet ook de Engelse klimatoloog James Rivers het stralende lichtspoor, dat hem met een hypnotiserende kracht naar de verblijfplaats van twee bijzondere kinderen leidt. Dan begrijpt James Rivers dat hij deze kinderen met zijn eigen leven moet beschermen. Want de toekomst van de zieke aarde ligt in hun handen.
Een titanenstrijd tussen de schrikwekkende krachten van licht en duisternis brandt los. Er staat iets ongelooflijks te gebeuren...
---
Een boek met een beeld dat na jaren dat het is geschreven steeds meer speelt. Een boek met stof tot nadenken. Voor bepaalde mensen zou het een boek kunnen zijn dat hun sterkt in hun visie, maar voor anderen blijft het gewoon fictie en dus gewoon een verhaal.
Voor mij is het een combinatie. Als je ziet wat er in wordt beschreven is het nog zo gek nog niet. Alles kan gebeuren ongeacht waar je bent en wat je denkt. De wereld is aan het veranderen en het boek geeft dat goed weer.
---
Uitgeverij : Van Holkema & Warendorf
ISBN: 978.90.269.7298.9
320 pg's; Paperback
journey_sloane's review against another edition
Wasnt in the mood for good vs evil but mostly didn't like that the "bad guy" was a black bisexual woman whose overweight body was described as gross.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Domestic abuse
mark_reads_books's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
suzanlemont's review against another edition
2.0
I picked this book up in a secondhand shop awhile ago. It seems almost like a bit of synchronicity to have read it now, while on lockdown during a pandemic, given the premise of the book. I wanted to like it a lot more than I did: but the book suffers from too much vagueness, ill defined and unsympathetic characters, and a whaler of a plot gap in that even when it's finally explained what this big "theory" is that's supposed to explain what's happening, it doesn't make that much sense. Lots of clumsy descriptions of situations and actions that didn't need to be there/did not drive the story forward. I found myself skimming large sections so I could just get to the point. It was mildly entertaining, and more so because of our current situation where we humans seem to be on a path of self annihilation, but it just didn't come together well enough to be a great read.
si0bhan's review against another edition
4.0
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.