Berserk [Mass Market Paperback]

Tim Lebbon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2006

A fathers search for the truth about his sons death leads him to a mass grave filled with inhuman, headless skeletonsall of them in chains.

--This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Those who go for cold, queasy horror will embrace the latest shocker from Stoker-winner Lebbon (Fears Unnamed). When a dangerous military experiment on England's Salisbury Plain goes fatally awry, the authorities hastily and secretly bury the bodies of a dozen soldiers and a few other victims. The body of one soldier, Steven, is supposedly returned to his parents, but the coffin is empty. Ten years later, Steven's still grieving father, Tom, locates the place of burial. But when Tom excavates the site, he discovers not his son's remains but the moldering corpse of a little girl animated by a peculiar form of life. Lots more nastiness follows. Fans who prefer their horror to have a sense of humanity should look elsewhere. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 337 pages
• Publisher: Leisure Books (January 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0843954302
• ISBN-13: 978-0843954302
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 3.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,256,394 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I've been published for ten years now, and you can find out loads about me at my website www.timlebbon.net. I'm the author of over thirty books, including the Noreela series of fantasy books (Dusk, Dawn, Fallen and The Island), the NY Times Bestselling novelisation of the movie 30 Days of Night, and several books with Christopher Golden, including The Map of Moments and the forthcoming Secret Journeys of Jack London for Harper. I've also written several screenplays and some TV proposals. I've won several prestigious awards, and some of my work has been optioned for the big screen.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Zombie Meets Werewolf, March 13, 2006

By 

Joshua Koppel (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Berserk (Mass Market Paperback)

Ten years after his son is accidentally killed during practice maneuvers on Salisbury Plain, Tom and his wife plan to visit the area as a tribute. But just before leaving Tom hears some strange rumors that monsters were kept there. He pushes for answers and plays the pity card. Eventually he learns that things may not have happened the way the military claimed.

Now while they are near where their sone died, Tom sneaks away to learn the truth and find his son's real body. But the search does not uncover his son. Instead it uncovers many who died that day but also the corpse of a young girl. A corpse that is not completely dead. It seems to be able to speak to him. It knows about his son. Tom, in his fragile state, is seduced by the corpse and begins to do as it says, starting with fighting off the military officer who originally buried her. The chase ensues and the action builds.

A bit different than I was expecting but quite interesting. The berserkers and their history was a nice twist on familiar folk monsters. One can really understand what Tom is going through and what is pushing him on. The plot twists are such that you can't predict just where the action is going to take things but it is a fun journey and the destination makes sense. If you like original horror, this one is for you.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting but Ending Falls Flat, November 5, 2006

By 

Amy Graham (Scottsdale, AZ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Berserk (Mass Market Paperback)

I fancy that Berserk is what you get when you mash zombies with werewolves and throw in just shade of vampire. Berserker is made even creepier by giving it a child's face and a traditional family grounding. Yes...this story is set up for success and while it largely pays off, there are some drawbacks. In this story we are initially introduced to Tom a grieving father who has never been able to shake off the pain he feels, nor the doubts he has about the story the military told him relating to the circumstances leading to his boy's demise. His son is an ever present fixture one that drives him to the pub more nights than not and that's why Tom's ears perk up when he hears the words "Porton Down", at that same pup in a whispered conversation between two men a few tables over.

As it turns out, these words are uttered by a distraught ex-soldier but when Tom approaches the pair, they blow him off. Days later, Tom comes upon the man who spoke those fateful words sitting alone in the same bar. Feeling a need to unburden himself, the man tells Tom the truth about Steven's death, and about a mass grave where Steven's body is likely to be buried. Tom, out of his mind with grief and harboring the hope that he'll finally learn the truth about his son, Tom travels to Porton Down and locates the grave. As he starts to dig, uncovering several bodies, he becomes convinced that something very wrong happened here and that his son is not among the dead. On the verge of total mental and physical collapse, he thinks he's gone mad when one of the corpses, that of a little girl, reaches out and grabs his arm.

This contact is the beginning of a long, strange trip for Tom and the little girl, Natasha. As the story progresses, we learn that she is but one of a race of savage creatures called Berserkers and Natasha convinces Tom that she might be able to help him locate his missing son if he will help reunite her with others of her kind. Their journey is complicated by the single minded pursuit of the other bloke from the pub, who seems driven at all costs to destroy Natasha and she seems equally driven to taunt and drive him on and encourage his dogged pursuit of the pair as they travel across the county to meet the other Berserkers.

At some point in the book it changes from being a horrific look into one man's decent into a new maddening life into a rather farcical, never ending car chase scene and the story seems from this point on to deteriorate into boring and somewhat unbelievable and Natasha goes from being horrific and creepy to pathetic and never makes it back to horrific or creepy. I loved the bit about the Berserker history/origin story and how that all panned out. Overall, it's ok, but not great, the second half of the book just didn't really live up to the initial build up. I'd have much preferred something more genuinely horrific instead of an extended car chase with horror elements. I give it a B-, it's good but not great and it definitely leave me wanting to read more from this author.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lebbon hits the mark, February 8, 2006

By 

William M Miller (Bronxville, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Berserk (Mass Market Paperback)

I've had issues with most of Tim Lebbon's past novels, although I do enjoy his novellas -- which is where I think his strength lies (the shorter format). However, Beserk has showed a solid improvement in his skills. He's brought together a tight story using only a few characters and really got inside their head. Lebbon planted just enough seeds throughout the book to keep the suspense building at a steady pace. I enjoyed this original story and found the ending to be particularly strong. If this is any indication of the new Tim Lebbon, I'll be looking forward to more of his work. Great writing. Recommended.