THE RATS
by James Herbert
I wish I’d written this ...
... because it has superb set-pieces!
I was twelve years old when this was published. It was a sensation. All the kids at school were raving about it. Apparently, the first run sold out in just three weeks. This was back in ’74, the same year JAWS was published. Between them, they kicked off a "dangerous animal of the week" craze. I read them all. There were rampaging crabs, locusts, wasps, worms, bats and koalas. Well, maybe not koalas. Reading THE RATS again was a treat. Herbert’s prose is sparse, linking together one brilliant set-piece after the other, with a few brief digressions for social commentary, and it’s all great. The novel was considered ultra-gory back in the day. It still has the power to make you wince. I read it in a single sitting (just like I did the first time). A classic.
From the publisher
For millions of years man and rats had been natural enemies. But now for the first time — suddenly, shockingly, horribly — the balance of power had shifted and the rats began to prey on the human population.
