Customer Reviews

THE GHOSTS OF SLEATH

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

James Herbert has written some decent stories, but this is not one of them. He combines 2 or 3 subplots that are so random and out of left field that his attempts to tie them together at the end with the old "town with a very evil past" premise fail. Combine that with characters whose combined IQ can not be more than 50, and you have one disappointing read.

Psychic investigator David Ash delves into the mysterious events terrorizing the community of Sleath, and as each dark secret is unveiled, evil forces are unleashed, and Ash fears for his own sanity as well as that of the village people. This one of the best ghost stories ever written, scary, compelling and very well written. One of Herbert's best.

America needs to discover one of Britain's best Thriller/Suspence writers, James Herbert. He is serious competition for Stephen King.

David Ash, a psychic investigator, is sent to a small, sleepy village, Sleath, after numerous reports of strange happenings. The pastor's daughter wants to know what seems to be bearing so heavily on her father that he is now very ill and possibly dying.

What David Ash and the pastor's daughter discover not only terrifies them but will fill you with dread as well!

This book haunted me long after I set it down. The author has excellent writing style, blending the characters, places and events so skillfully to give one of the most exciting ghost stories ever written.

Here's the run down: You've got a emotionally compromised psychic investigator who has been sent to an intellectually compromised town. He's heard creepy stuff has been happening and he's a scientist sent to do his thing. He does everything but behave like one however.

To give him credit, 'ol Herb the author did have some suspense going. But as I was turning the pages, I was grimacing to find out what was next. There was an exceedingly large portion of icky violent scenes. And by ick, I mean things being ripped off, oozing down, cracking apart etc etc... Another con, would be the psychic-link romance quotient... Yeah, who'd a thought.

I suggest that you first read Haunted (also written by Mr Herbert) before reading this book. It really would clarify a lot of things concerning Juliet (the protagonist's sister) and what happened to him at Edbrook. Both books revolve around David Ash's investigations and what happens to him in Haunted is constantly being referred to in this book, so much so that it actually becomes part of his character.

In THE GHOSTS OF SLEATH, we're introduced to the once tranquil village called Sleath. Once tranquil only (but NOT solely) because a boy named Simon showed up. Yes, the same Simon who was just buried!

Ghosts do not exist?

David Ash works as a psychic investigator for the Psychical Research Institute. He has just completed his investigation in the 'mysterious' Bonadventure case and is immediately given another assignment. . .

Ghosts do not exist?

. . .Sleath. Apparently, many supposed hauntings are taking place in Sleath and David is the lucky one to go there and investigate. Almost upon arrival, he already has an encounter with something he refuses to acknowledge.

Ghosts do not exist?

Once in Sleath, he starts his investigations and what he finds. . .what he finds. . .the actual findings are. . .hidden within the pages of the book, where - without a doubt - GHOSTS.DO.EXIST.

If you interested in things like ghosts (theres a variety of them, including a particular one that gave me the creeps - A GHOST WHO ACTED UPON HIS LUST FOR A CERTAIN LADY IN THE BOOK), poltergeist activity, dark secrets, lots of paranormal phenomena, psychics or just a well-paced, beautifully written and compelling story, then this is the book for YOU.

The Ghosts of Sleath is what I would call a true horror novel. It covers everything that most horror fans could wish for including (but in no way limited to), violence, the unknown, zombies, murder, a very descriptive sex scene, rape, you name it. Oh, and it also contains ghosts, obviously. To me, the most enjoyable thing about this novel was the way it did not let the reader know what was going on too soon. I love the unknown factor in horror novels when they use it but usually you find out that the book is about zombies, vampires, some monster, a restless spirit, or just some guy who hates barking dogs right in the beginning. If you like these kinds of books where half the plot is given away on the back of the book and most of the rest by the cover, you may not enjoy this horror masterpiece by James Herbert. I can easily say that this is my favorite Herbert novel so far, some how managing to beat out The Fog and Domain. Some details from other Herbert novels make an appearance here as well. David Ash returns in this far superior sequel to Haunted to smoke a lot and drink Vodka, and to attempt to do his job. Thick impenetrable fog is in the book, rats, and even the word portent. Maybe I am reading into this a bit much but I like when authors mention their other works because of Stephen King's habit of doing so.
Over all, a viciously terrifying book, one that I actually stopped reading one night because it got to me so much. I have read hundreds of horror novels and maybe one out of every hundred scares me now. The Ghosts of Sleath has that great honor and I can't thank it and its author enough for it. I will end this with a visual. If you know what a jack plane is, imagine a crazed carpenter using it on a helpless nineteen-year-old boy's face, after beating him horribly with a heavy wooden mallet. If you don't know what a jack plane is, several tool purchasing sites should assist you and ultimately convince you to read this horror gem

As a horror/ghost story, 'The Ghosts of Sleath' is pretty good.
As another entry in the apparently ongoing saga of David Ash, it's...okay.
Overall, the book is worth reading, but not spectacular, and it falls somewhat short of the promise of the first few chapters.
Herbert actually addressed some of the problems with 'Haunted' and fixed them here, except he overcompensated.
While 'Haunted' didn't have very many characters or too much action, since it was leading up to a big 'surprise revelation' at the end, 'Sleath' becomes overcrowded with supporting players, as we see the haunting of the town from from the perspectives of various residents. This approach worked well for Stephen King in some of his epic novels,(and even for Herbert, in 'The Rats' and 'The Fog', among others) but for some reason, it didn't 'click' with me when Herbert tried it here. Most of the characters were a bit 'off' or 'weird' to start with, so I didn't get that sense of sympathy for 'regular people' caught up in weird situations, with the exception of Ellen Preddle.

Herbert is often praised for his descriptiveness, as well as his ability to write 'gore'. I felt that he overdid both of those aspects here.
The passages mentioning child abuse are downright uncomfortable to read, while even the gore loses its shock value because there's so much of it.
In addition, some of the scarier moments, as well as even the 'down to earth' passages, are simply TOO long and 'rambling'.
There was one scene in 'Haunted' where a character rambles on in a 'north country' accent for a couple of pages. Herbert removed almost all traces of 'rural' speech patterns here, and while I didn't mind it in the previous book, I thought it would have made the dialogue in 'Sleath' a bit more believable.

Ultimately, 'Sleath' falls short of classic status because Herbert just tried to cram too much into the story. It felt like there was too much going on, and too many characters to keep track of(especially in the later chapters). The 'mysterious fog' sequences were too reminiscent of Herbert's earlier work ('The Fog'),suggesting that he was running out of ideas.
Also, when a very minor chracter is reintroduced into the story later on, and the author has to remind us of who that character is, and where we last saw him, it's not a good sign. Unfortunately, Herbert does this twice at crucial points.
While there's usually something to be said for paying close attention to the text and keeping track of characters and plot developments, Herbert's pace, alternating between languid and frantic, makes it hard to keep track of absolutely everything.
There are more than a few passages that readers may find themselves skimming over, simply because they've got the gist of the details, and Herbert is only repeating himself. This novel often reads as if he was paid by the word.

Finally, some thoughts on David Ash: While there is some development of his character, and a few moments recalling 'Haunted', I just didn't find him to be a very likable, or charismatic, character. He sounded a little too much like any other 'cynical English bloke' so often found in stories like this. His personality was a bit bland, even considering all he'd been through, and his few attempts and black humor were so perfunctory, Herbert should have just skipped them. I like the idea of the 'Psychical Research Institute', and would like to see more of it...but I'm not sure if David Ash should be the focus of any more stories..unless Herbert decides to actually do something with the 'personal/working relationship' between David and Kate.
If not, then just do away with Ash, and let someone else from the 'Institute' encounter HIS ghost!

Unfortunately Herbert somehow fails to capture the imagination in The Ghosts of Sleath as much as he does in most of his other books. The story centres around psychic investigator, David Ash, who delves into mysterious events that are terrorizing the community of Sleath, where he comes across a dark character called Phelan. Though the premise of the book is sound, and though there are solid descriptions, somehow Herbert doesn't quite capture the imagination. Maybe it's that word `solid' that gives the clue.

None of Herbert's books could be called weak, and I'd like to give this one three-and-a-half stars, but The Ghosts of Sleath doesn't quite come up to the spendid page-gripping terror that this author is well capable of. Don't let that put you off either this book or James Herbert, because it's still darn good reading.

The ghosts of sleath is just a terrific book! This begin may not be very trilling, but the tension build up as the story goes on. A reeaally great twisting storyline, with many many many parts to keep you awake at night. The ending is absoulutely one not to be missed. (thats the spooOOookiest part)

I agree with the review on 13th February. There is a line between good descriptive horror writing and dwelling on the obscene sick details of a scene. Herbert crosses this line. I found the descriptive prose in this book to be overlong to the point of tedious. The tension builds and builds......and builds......and builds and then it just goes away, leaving this reader tired and bored.