Lair [Paperback]

James Herbert (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1999

The mutant white rat had grown and mated, creating offspring in its own image. They dominated the others, the dark-furred ones, who foraged for food and brought it back to the lair. Now the dark rats were restless, and the white slug-like thing that ruled them remembered the taste of human flesh.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Macmillan UK (November 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0330376195
• ISBN-13: 978-0330376198
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,745,723 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Lair, June 14, 2006

By 

S. Cordina (Clifton, Usa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lair (Paperback)

I just finished re-reading this book having read about 10 years ago and was quite dissapointed, i love Domain, the whole idea behind it and the characters, but Lair is like a spin off of it. The characters arent fleshed out well, theres the usual tough guy with problems and the vunerable female who (as usual) get together. Then theres the rats themselves; they seem to manage to kill everyone within minutes but the hero always manages to escape mostly unscathed. Its a little too straight forward and predictable, not herberts best.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, March 29, 2009

By 

marky77 (England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lair (Paperback)

Lair, the second book in The Rats trilogy, is possibly even better and more brutal than The Rats.

The Black Rats are back and this time attacking the area around Epping Forest just outside of London.

After a series of gruesome attacks, Pender, our protagonist, who works at Ratkill (self-explanitory) is sent to investigate and discovers that the Black Rat is back. Of couse, the local authorities dont belive him and he is left to try and fight against by the rats by himself - along with the obligatory love interest - as more and more people are attacked and killed.

Very suspenceful and gorey. I read most of it in one go because it is very difficult to put down. Great sequel to The Rats.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars 1979 Thriller Doesn't Quite Cut it Today, July 7, 2006

By 

James N Simpson (Gold Coast, QLD Australia) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Lair (Paperback)

I am not sure if this is a sequel to one of Herbert's other books. probably the one titled Rats if it is I guess as no where on Lair's cover or anywhere else in the book does it mention it is a sequel. However the book constantly refers to a previous invasion by the same large black rats in London and pretty much assumes the reader has been there and lived that. Lair does give away the ending to the London saga and the key developments so if it is referring to the novel Rats it does spoil that book's plot for anyone such as myself who has not read it. If Lair is not a sequel then it is very poorly written.

In Lair, Pender from Ratkill Laboratories, a Surrey based organisation which has rapidly expanded with Government funding following the London plague is sent to Epping Forrest outside of London where there has been evidence of rats. Of course even though an Education Ranger has seen them with her own eyes and there is a heap of other circumstantial evidence indicating the big black rats are back, politics and corruption get in the way of Pender and the rangers evacuating the park and surrounding areas while the rats would have been exterminated. While the park administrator and others who set to lose their power if there are black rats in the Epping Forrest continue to live in denial people are being ripped apart and devoured by the black rodents.

Written in 1979 this tale may have sufficed in its time but with today's reader having read substantially higher quality novels in this genre over the past four decades the clear lack of plot substance and quality of characters gives this book a very average rating.