Climatologist James Rivers discovers the horrifying truth behind what appears to be a series of natural disasters--torrential floods, killer hailstorms, tsunamis, and vicious flash fires--when he meets the children.
Portent
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Fast on the trail of Twister is this drawn-out apocalyptic novel replete with meteorological mayhem. Shimmering lights precede a slew of natural disasters and plunge British climatologist James Rivers into a cliched battle between good and evil. A contrived twist of events brings Rivers to Hazelrod, a deteriorated Georgian estate nestled in the English countryside. There, Rivers meets adopted Romanian twin children who possess not only phenomenal healing powers but also answers to why the planet is destroying itself. Herbert spreads his story to the remotest corners of the earth, bringing in characters of many countries (and dialects?which can make for tough reading) whose sole purpose is to observe the shimmering phenomena mentioned above and then die in some disaster or another. The only significant characters beyond Rivers and his Hazelrod companions are a Scottish Highlands hermit and the grotesque high priestess of a New Orleans earth cult. Fortunately, both characters also hold evidence crucial to the novel's outcome. Still, Herbert (The Ghosts of Sleath), has a brilliant descriptive sensibility and uses it to create unforgettable disaster scenes. His obvious knowledge of meteorology also lends credence to an otherwise far-fetched premise.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
The world is undergoing an epidemic of earthquakes, wind storms, and other catastrophes, and bright lights have been sighted prior to each new calamity. What does it all mean? Is the world coming to an end? Weather researcher James Rivers isn't sure, but in the course of his investigations he discovers two children who can help save the world. Despite all the terrifying weather, the plot builds slowly. Veteran horror hack Herbert (Ghosts of Sleath, Harper Prism, 1995) expertly sketches characters he is about to kill off, and though these vignettes are compellingly written, they compete with the plot and sometimes confuse the reader. For Herbert's fans and large fiction collections.?Robert C. Moore, DuPont Merck Pharmaceuticals Co., Information Svces.,N. Billerica, Mass.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Deja Vu,
By
This review is from: Portent (Paperback)
I discovered James Herbert completely by accident,in ship's library - his "Nobody true" was actually genuinely interesting,original and enjoyable thriller told from a point of view of murder victim who is watching everything from above,unable to actually react or help anybody. Than I did some research and found that Herbert is actually very famous in UK and sort of local Stephen King,I read several of other novels by him but nothing left deep impression on me like the very first one.
Now again - Deja vu - ship's library and James Herbert,perhaps he is perfect vacation read,who knows. This time around I gulped his book but it was more in frustration than in real excitement as I waited the whole time for something exciting and in the meantime read weather reports from around the world - Herbert enjoys his little side-stories about this indian dying in earthquake,that chinese dying in tsunami,that australian dying in whatever natural catastrophe - when you look closely,it's all bombastic and real story not so interesting,actually it is a very thin,cartoonish plot focused on mysterious children and people who are protecting them from some evil fat woman. But it drags forever (because we need to go through earthquakes,floods and tsunamis) and at the end of course it's all one big explosion and evil destroyed not unlike some big budget movie hit with special effects bursting from the screen. Because I read Herbert earlier,I noticed a certain similarities in his work - there is always some kind of disability involved (in this case main character walking with a stick and limping and falling everywhere), there are kids or some other helpless creatures in danger and FAT WOMAN who is usually negative character and described as mythical evil. Just go and check Herbert's other novels, sooner or later it turns the evil comes in disguise of fat woman who is dangerous and needs to be stopped from her evilness. At this point I have one more Herbert's book lined in front of me and not really looking forward to it - I can imagine cliche after cliche and fat woman wanting to destroy the planet.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
APOCALYPTIC LIGHTS,
By WHP "mister_qc" (New River Valley, VA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Portent (Mass Market Paperback)
The synopsis on the back of the book caught my interest, because I'm a meteorologist and like end of the world stories. This book takes James Rivers on a search to find out why the Earth is going through this apocalyptic change...first by surviving a plane crash after flying through Hurricane Zelda! Busy year for the Hurricane Center. It seems that balls of light, sometimes one and sometimes many are preludes to disastrous events. Plenty of destruction, from volcanic eruptions and explosions...hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis, forest fires and killer hailstorms. Herbert centers this around twins who are gypsy orphans adopted by a Diane, daughter of eccentric Hugo Poggs, who believes the Earth is one breathing organism and that it is finally lashing back after all these years of man made harm. Rivers finally meets up with Poggs and sets about finding out that there are many kids who have to power to heal the earth, but according to the Dream Man, there are also those out there to do evil, as is the case with Mama Pitie, a big woman from New Orleans who seeks the death of the twins. Fast paced book worthy of those who like this type of fiction. The story ending is predictable and it finishes too fast and should have continued for a few more chapters.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mr. Herbert's Finest Work,
By Michael Butts (Berkeley Springs, WV USA) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE) (TOP 1000 REVIEWER) (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Portent (TP) (Hardcover)
Hailstones as big as footballs and even bigger--in Los Angeles! Earthquakes in London and Scotland. Steaming geysers erupting all over the world. Sandstorms, tsunamis, cyclones. The disasters are plenty in James Herbert's amazing view of an ecological apocalypse. So far, out of all the Herbert books I've read, this is his finest hour. In ways, it is much more accessible and believable than Stephen King's classic "The Stand." Herbert captures you from the very beginning, and sketches some very believable characters: James Rivers, at first a skeptic and then a believer, finds out the frightening truth about the ecological disasters that are threatening the world as we know it; Diane Poggs is a woman with two adopted children possessing extraordinary psychic powers; Hugo and Bibby Poggs are her father and mother-in-law; supporting characters in various scenarios are given powerful moments. And, the villain of the piece, the gargantuan Mama Pitie' is a frightening and disturbing antagonist. The rush to save the world from ultimate disaster is filled with very frightening scenes of the earth's awesome power and terror. The "lights" in the book at first frightening and disturbing transform into harbingers of hope by the end of the story.This is a fantastic read, and certainly deserves more attention than it received.
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