Customer Reviews

The Rats

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This was Herbert's first novel and instantly a huge success. It features tons of gory violence, but is because of that or nevertheless quite chilling. What makes this book stand out is its astonishingly primitive structure which goes like this: Chapter One: Character is introduced and gets killed in a gory way. Chapter Two: Character is introduced and gets killed in a gory way. Chapter Three: Character is.. You get the idea. Believe me, I'm not joking. This goes on for nearly half of the book! If you like cheap thrills, read this one and you'll even learn something: Every possible way a rat can bite a human... It's fascinating that this medicore effort is the first part of a trilogy which ended with the really BRILLANT novel "Domain." Review by Oliver Naujoks, Marburg/Germany

This slim, grim piece of b-movie trash (and believe me, I mean that in the most positive and respectful way) actually launched a sub-genre in the british horror novel industry - the mutant pet and/or pest novel. The next few years would see bookshelves stuffed with grue dripping books about killer cats, dogs, bats, crabs, slugs (yes, I said slugs), spiders, jellyfish, and assorted other nasties. For this alone Herbert's novel deserves some kind of special recognition.

The novel itself was written, by hand I believe, on a lark. In one interview Herbert even admitted to not even bothering to do a rewrite! The story is simple: giant mutant rats gobble down assorted victims as, in between the gruesome attacks, scientists and members of the government scratch their heads and wonder how to do away with the seemingly indestructable beasties. In what would grow to be a trademark storytelling style, Herbert lavishes as much character detail on the victims to be as he does on the actual characters. An essential book for animal on the rampage buffs and rodent lovers everywhere.

As the result of genetic engineering gone wrong, the rats of London have evolved. They are no longer the small black dirty things that sculk about under floorboards and flee at the first sight of man. They are big, and getting bolder by the day. After their first of human victim, they have decided they want more. It is with a chill that man decides it cannot stop them.

This is one of James Herbert's best books. It is incredibly difficult to put it down, and it keeps its qualities to the last page. The morbid horror of it grips you, as well as the involvement you feel with the main character as he tries to face the rats.

It is not a book for the faint hearted.

This is Herbert's first book in his Rats trilogy, and by far his best. I thoroughly enjoyed the entire trilogy, however Rats, the first was especially well done. Having a personal phobia of rats, I found this novel to be especially chilling. The entire book is a short, yet gripping read. If you are able to get a hold of this novel, and have a keen interest in the horror genre, definitely give this one a go - you won't be disappointed. Essentially, the Rats tells the story of a mutated species of rats that plague London and attempt to annihilate human life in the city. There are several graphic scenes with gruesome details found throughout the novel. For a true scare and escape, I strongly recommend the Rats by James Herbert.

I am 13 years old and I found this book excellent. James Herbert describes the rats in such ways that it makes a chill go down your spine. James Herbert puts the image in your mind of these monstorous rats tearing up humans throats. An excellent book which I highly recommend.

Herbert is a British writer, and like many of his literary countrymen, generally adopts understatement as his prefered method of delivery. While there are hundreds of thousands of murderous rats in this novel, and plenty of people are killed horribly, Herbert doesn't quite seem to take the same gruesome delight in the exquisite details as one of his American colleagues like Stephen King might, and he certainly cuts to the chase much quicker--The Rats isn't quite 200 pages, whereas King or Koontz could stretch a similar tale to over 500 without breaking a sweat. But Herbert's greater economy doesn't necessarily make him the better storyteller--The Rats is an extremely average horror story. Yes, there are rats; yes, they are giant mutant rats (but thankfully not vampiric, as one of the other critics seemed to imply); yes, they swarm by the thousands and attack humans with malicious intent, especially enjoying the flesh of infants; yes, they are the spawn of a mad scientist's experiments with radioactive mutants; yes, there is the obligatory twist at the end which any horror reader will have come to expect; yes, every other chapter offers up fresh meat whose pathetic lives almost call out for extermination; yes, Our Hero is at every important attack and eventually saves the day with a plan that England's top scientists couldn't have figured out. No, the whole thing isn't very interesting at all. Maybe in Britain in the 70s this might have been a good read, but it isn't today. Save your time, save your money, save your cheese.

Brutal, graphic and at times quite unsettling. The characters are entertaining if somewhat non-dimensional. Having read the book before listening to the audiotape,it was intriguing to go back and listen to it for the first time. It was more horrific making you feel you had become an actual participant in the hide and seek game. The rats are of course the real stars and the humans merely hor d oeuvres on the main menu. Overall a genuine feast.

and one day one of his students got attacked by a rat. That was all it took to pull him into the mess. The mess was an invasion of giant rats that carried a deadly disease. And I mean invasion - the rats were taking over the city. They had the numbers and they lacked any fear of men. Soon the public knew that a war had started - a war that London might NOT win.

The book really pushed buttons. I happen to like rats or at least I have no fear of them but even I have to shiver at some of the blood splashing scenes.

If this is the book I think it is, I read it in high school many moons ago. It scared me so bad I kept thinking there were rats in my bedroom at night while I was sleeping. It is one of few horror stories that had that effect on me. The only other I can think of that left that big of an impression on me was Steven King's " IT". The Rats is more creepy because it could really happen. If you are a horror fan, and you like losing sleep for a few days after reading a book, This book is definately for you. It is about some rats who go crazy and start eating up this town. The people try to poison them but they are too smart for that. So they have to try something else. Meantime the rats are in the school, the hospital, everywhere. REALLY CREEPY!

Okay, the basic story is killer rats. Rats have never ever scared me. I've had a few for pets. But I do enjoy a good gory book and i'd heard this one was pretty gross. Well, it was. I thought i might not enjoy it given the fact that i like rats, but i was delighted to find how good the book actually was. Its short and bloody. The details are great. You get thrown in with each characters struggle. I loved it and can't wait to read the other two books in the trilogy.