Reviews

Haunted by James Herbert

bellamyhill's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

smrw's review against another edition

3.0

More like 3.5. I found this good enough to want to see how it all turned out but rather slow in parts. I can't say I was enamoured of our hero, David Ash. I figured out the twist and I found it irritating that our supposed expert did not. For a paranormal investigator, he was rather spleeny.

lulubeth's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

nnair25's review against another edition

5.0

Good horror stories are confusing and scary!
Great horror stories are predictable and scary!

This is a great horror story!

lulukuma's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

andipants's review against another edition

1.0

Disappointing. As much as I enjoyed [b:The Secret Of Crickley Hall|1250316|The Secret Of Crickley Hall|James Herbert|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1358757400s/1250316.jpg|2889327], I was surprised by how much I didn't enjoy this one. The characters are pretty much all boring and/or terrible people. I didn't like any of them, I didn't care what happened to them, and I didn't like reading about them. The scares weren't very scary, and I saw the twist coming a mile away. I only bothered finishing it because it was so very short, but I won't be continuing with the other books in this series.

daisie_grace's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

h_motionless's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

Haunted is an enjoyable ghost story but largely predictable - it wasn’t anything revolutionary and felt one-dimensional at times, but it was still a lot of fun and very eerie. This is the type of book that was perfect for Halloween, as the atmosphere was built expertly, but lacked in plot and characters. I’d rather turn to a writer like Shirley Jackson for innovative ghost tales, but Herbert has something so visceral and eerie about his writing that I can’t stay away from.

catsflipped's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The first book in the David Ash series was written long after the second (Ghosts of Sleath), this book acts as a good introduction to David and his world of denial, denial of things that he lives with even though he doesn't yet realise.

It's a quick read and does contain a few flashbacks where his past is explained and it gives light on his present.  However this makes the current storyline a bit disjointed as you often find yourself in a memory.

I think as a reader you realise the truth of David's situation long before he does and this creates a nailbiting ending where you know the dangers he keeps walking into.

itsy61's review against another edition

sad fast-paced

3.0

A great read. The twist and turns gave me whiplash