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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
bloated, overlong, and inelegantly written. i'd never read any James Herbert before and after this i doubt i'll read any others. i am curious to know if the tv series was any better.
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
This was a reread for me, good story perhaps overlong what brought the rating down was to e writing style wasn’t really my thing.
Don't you love reading horror stories and getting covered in goosebumps completely while your legs start shaking? Don't you love long sleepless nights afterwards, when your attention sharpens and you start registering little things you didn't really notice before, and they SCARE you? Don't you like to compulsively check whether you've locked your door, and then remember that locking it doesn't help against ghosts anyway? Well, pick up this book and forget all about that.
I have a few words for James Herbert, and I don't care whether he reads them. Universal winning strategy, huh. So, here goes.
Dude. You were writing a horror story. Why the hell my goosebumps counter is on zero even though I've read your book at night? Horror is a way to show people their vulnerability, to pick under the layer of habitual feeling of safety, to wave things that may be lurking in the night in front of your face. Horror must feel real enough, so it must be ambiguous, because you can't really fear something you know well as strongly as something you have no idea about. The fear of ghosts is all about sheer strangeness and not knowing what to expect. And, most importantly, horror is all about the atmosphere. Really good things just dip you into a mode of perception where even the slightly unusual stuff seems creepy. It's not about the things themselves, it's about what surrounds those things.
And we don't have this here. We have paranormal activity, and very soon we have confirmation. Yes, chief, they're indeed ghosts. How do you want me to proceed? Read another 500 pages about those ghosts? Good as done!
It doesn't have the atmosphere at all. You won't be scared of noises of lamps cooling down and you won't accidentally find creepy patterns on your curtains. This is pretty much a thriller, a bit like what Dean Koontz writes, and it leaves you as empty after finishing it.
I don't have too much against this book. It's well-crafted, although it's indeed a product of the craft, and not of the art. There's almost nothing unexpected about the story, there're almost no interesting revelations, there's nothing special about the characters or the plot devices, there's nothing special period. You look at an explanation of some event or someone's motivation, and you can't help but think it should have been, you know, unexpected, that it should inspire some feelings. And instead you're just reading it with an impassive face, thinking that mhm, whatever. Next time I need to keep my face impassive, like in a game of poker or during sex, I'm totally remembering scenes from this book.
And yet it still kinda stays engaging till the end. Nothing is good here, but everything is ok. Ok? Ok.
It kinda even tries to laugh at the genre's cliches in the beginning, and it's sort of nice even, but it surely would be nicer if the book itself was truly original. As things shake, it doesn't really do anything special, and it does a bit of boring things, like a conflict between a skeptic and a believer, albeit in an almost-but-not-entirely boring way.
in spite of the 'fuck trees, let's describe everything' policy, it reads rather well, but begs the question WHYYYYY? The tv adaptation would screw up little details anyway, and I'm genuinely not curious about what's on sale in the local store or what the people in an old photo are wearing. Heeey, a person in an old photo, whatcha wearing? Nope.
To be fair, this kinda goes away in the second half of the book, and, surprise, it reads much better, but the first half is filled with such things. It doesn't feel like a slog, though, but when you look at the tons of remaining pages, you can't help but feel a bit saddish. You could've been reading something much cooler after all.
But there're some things I outright dislike. It offers very mundane explanation of the nature of ghosts, and specificaly says that the afterlife exists, but in a very cheesy manner. And it features an active psychic. It's funny, actually, I kinda buy ghosts, but psychics? Don't make me laugh, there's no such thing as psychics. Patrick Jane taught me that.
So if you want to become an outsider at school without reading actual horror, or if you want to read something to your kid to kindle an interest in supernatural and turn them into ghost hunters in the future, this is your book. If you think that horror is something tattooed freaks and goths read in graveyards, this is your book. If you like ghost stories and not being creeped out, this is your book. But if you want to read something scarier than Dr Seuss, avoid like war, famine, pestilence and/or death. You never know what that wocket in your pocket is up to after all.
I have a few words for James Herbert, and I don't care whether he reads them. Universal winning strategy, huh. So, here goes.
Dude. You were writing a horror story. Why the hell my goosebumps counter is on zero even though I've read your book at night? Horror is a way to show people their vulnerability, to pick under the layer of habitual feeling of safety, to wave things that may be lurking in the night in front of your face. Horror must feel real enough, so it must be ambiguous, because you can't really fear something you know well as strongly as something you have no idea about. The fear of ghosts is all about sheer strangeness and not knowing what to expect. And, most importantly, horror is all about the atmosphere. Really good things just dip you into a mode of perception where even the slightly unusual stuff seems creepy. It's not about the things themselves, it's about what surrounds those things.
And we don't have this here. We have paranormal activity, and very soon we have confirmation. Yes, chief, they're indeed ghosts. How do you want me to proceed? Read another 500 pages about those ghosts? Good as done!
It doesn't have the atmosphere at all. You won't be scared of noises of lamps cooling down and you won't accidentally find creepy patterns on your curtains. This is pretty much a thriller, a bit like what Dean Koontz writes, and it leaves you as empty after finishing it.
I don't have too much against this book. It's well-crafted, although it's indeed a product of the craft, and not of the art. There's almost nothing unexpected about the story, there're almost no interesting revelations, there's nothing special about the characters or the plot devices, there's nothing special period. You look at an explanation of some event or someone's motivation, and you can't help but think it should have been, you know, unexpected, that it should inspire some feelings. And instead you're just reading it with an impassive face, thinking that mhm, whatever. Next time I need to keep my face impassive, like in a game of poker or during sex, I'm totally remembering scenes from this book.
And yet it still kinda stays engaging till the end. Nothing is good here, but everything is ok. Ok? Ok.
It kinda even tries to laugh at the genre's cliches in the beginning, and it's sort of nice even, but it surely would be nicer if the book itself was truly original. As things shake, it doesn't really do anything special, and it does a bit of boring things, like a conflict between a skeptic and a believer, albeit in an almost-but-not-entirely boring way.
in spite of the 'fuck trees, let's describe everything' policy, it reads rather well, but begs the question WHYYYYY? The tv adaptation would screw up little details anyway, and I'm genuinely not curious about what's on sale in the local store or what the people in an old photo are wearing. Heeey, a person in an old photo, whatcha wearing? Nope.
To be fair, this kinda goes away in the second half of the book, and, surprise, it reads much better, but the first half is filled with such things. It doesn't feel like a slog, though, but when you look at the tons of remaining pages, you can't help but feel a bit saddish. You could've been reading something much cooler after all.
But there're some things I outright dislike. It offers very mundane explanation of the nature of ghosts, and specificaly says that the afterlife exists, but in a very cheesy manner. And it features an active psychic. It's funny, actually, I kinda buy ghosts, but psychics? Don't make me laugh, there's no such thing as psychics. Patrick Jane taught me that.
So if you want to become an outsider at school without reading actual horror, or if you want to read something to your kid to kindle an interest in supernatural and turn them into ghost hunters in the future, this is your book. If you think that horror is something tattooed freaks and goths read in graveyards, this is your book. If you like ghost stories and not being creeped out, this is your book. But if you want to read something scarier than Dr Seuss, avoid like war, famine, pestilence and/or death. You never know what that wocket in your pocket is up to after all.
The Secret of Crickley Hall by James Herbert
This was the first James Herbert book I read and it's fair to say, it scared the life out of me! It was a great read that kept me intrigued in the story and the building. It covered two periods of time and revealed a part of each bit by bit. This was the book that made me want to read more James Herbert.
This was the first James Herbert book I read and it's fair to say, it scared the life out of me! It was a great read that kept me intrigued in the story and the building. It covered two periods of time and revealed a part of each bit by bit. This was the book that made me want to read more James Herbert.
David Rintoul, who did a masterful job narrating The Devil's Detective, narrates The Secret of Crickley Hall by James Herbert. He does a wonderful job with all the accents, genders, and living/dead characters. I find him to be a dependable narrator. If he narrates a book, it will be enjoyable to listen to. In this case, I would not listen to this one at night if I am fighting insomnia. It sucked me in quickly and I am sure it will do the same on the second listen.
Crickley Hall is not your normal haunted house. It was built in the 1800's. It is an ugly house, large and block-like. It does not have the long history of haunting that most classic haunting stories have. It does have a history of flooding. All of Crickley Hall's characteristics come together when a family, grieving for the loss of their son less than a year ago, move in for a few months. Their lost son is literally lost, he disappeared and no clue or body has turned up. This is a long story, 18 hours. The story builds until things start to happen with very moments of rest in-between.
I recommend The Secret of Crickley Hall. There is something that feels like an older and classic story.
Crickley Hall is not your normal haunted house. It was built in the 1800's. It is an ugly house, large and block-like. It does not have the long history of haunting that most classic haunting stories have. It does have a history of flooding. All of Crickley Hall's characteristics come together when a family, grieving for the loss of their son less than a year ago, move in for a few months. Their lost son is literally lost, he disappeared and no clue or body has turned up. This is a long story, 18 hours. The story builds until things start to happen with very moments of rest in-between.
I recommend The Secret of Crickley Hall. There is something that feels like an older and classic story.
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
An excellent ghost story but I found it frustratingly slow and overly descriptive
Well this was a pleasant surprise. I find Herbert very hit and miss, and as a mood reader the sound of the blurb just felt right and I really enjoyed reading through this one. I actually hadn't heard of it before and picked it up randomly in a charity shop because it was Herbert. This is one of the creepiest stories I have ever read! This book is definitely written well and creates such an eerie and scary atmosphere. A family move to Crickley Hall for the summer as the father has work he needs to do, and weird happenings start within the house and the family don't want to be there. Slowly the past is catching up with them. Seriously underrated. I would definitely recommend this creepy read and just in time for autumn too!
Good grief, how boring and unoriginal.
Imagine deciding to go out with a man from an online dating site, seeing their declaration of a love of literature, horror and pop culture as a green flag. You then sit through the most painful 45 min dinner of your life - everything turns to ash in your mouth and you feel as if all the medication you take has expired by the time he shuts his mouth - and you realise you've been duped.
Duped by your own expectation of quality based on a a promised collection of generic, vaguely attractive features - proving once again that good writing is so much more than the sum of its parts.
Imagine deciding to go out with a man from an online dating site, seeing their declaration of a love of literature, horror and pop culture as a green flag. You then sit through the most painful 45 min dinner of your life - everything turns to ash in your mouth and you feel as if all the medication you take has expired by the time he shuts his mouth - and you realise you've been duped.
Duped by your own expectation of quality based on a a promised collection of generic, vaguely attractive features - proving once again that good writing is so much more than the sum of its parts.
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No