The Rats

The Rats Series, Book 1

By: James Herbert

Narrated by: David Rintoul

Book One in Herbert’s classic ‘rats’ series.

The terror begins. London is struck by an invasion. Women, children, old and young, none are safe from the deadly menace. The attacks are swift and sure, escape is impossible. A state of emergency is declared. Evacuation seems the only solution in the face of a growing panic and mounting death toll. War is declared on the public enemy number one. The Rats!

James Herbert was one of Britain’s greatest popular novelists and our #1 best-selling writer of chiller fiction. Widely imitated and hugely influential, he wrote 23 novels which have collectively sold over 54 million copies worldwide and been translated into 34 languages.

Born in London in the forties, James Herbert was art director of an advertising agency before turning to writing fiction in 1975. His first novel, The Rats, was an instant bestseller and is now recognised as a classic of popular contemporary fiction.

Herbert went on to publish a new top ten best-seller every year until 1988. He wrote six more bestselling novels in the 1990s and three more since: Once, Nobody True and The Secret of Crickley Hall.

Herbert died in March 2013 at the age of 69.

©1974 James Herbert (P)2013 Audible Ltd

Critic reviews

“Herbert was by no means literary, but his work had a raw urgency. His best novels, The Rats and The Fog, had the effect of Mike Tyson in his championship days: no finesse, all crude power. Those books were best sellers because many readers (including me) were too horrified to put them down.” (Stephen King)
"There are few things I would like to do less than lie under a cloudy night sky while someone read aloud the more vivid passages of Moon. In the thriller genre, do recommendations come any higher?" (Andrew Postman, The New York Times Book Review)
"Herbert goes out in a blaze of glory" ( Daily Mail)

Outstanding!

Terror!
Sex!
Death!
This story has it all!
Fantastic writing!
Outstanding narrative!
Thank you Gentlemen!

Old Time Scares And Gore

Herbert is a very acquired taste. His books don’t follow usual formulas. He is definitely not pc. So if you like gore then buy this book. He is definitely 70s 80s in his writing. During the heyday of splatter novels and movies. If you need trigger warnings and a soft pillow then his books are not for you. The Rats, like most of his books, are not big on characters...most of them die gruesomely. I say all of this in awe...Because I think he has been an under-appreciated author because he is considered a pulp writer...which he is. But, he is one of the best pulp horror authors. And he is pure horror. My favorite book is The Fog...no relation to the movie. This book is non-stop action with rats doing unthinkable and grizzly things. It’s not a story about Ben. The only negative think, is the narrator. It took me awhile to adjust to his voice. But, in the end, the production worked. I’m glad audible is bringing back this author that deserves a place in any horror aficionados library.

It was an OK book

It was OK. I really enjoyed the narrating, but I found myself half listening most of the time.

Food of the Gods Vibe

This book had me enthralled from start to finish and some rather interesting cast of characters. The fact that the rats aren't just giant monster, but more overgrown animals is a nice touch even with the basis of how they came about. The reason they do what they do in away is also interesting. Heck this is a story that does not hold back which I enjoyed as much as the setting it was thrown into and the way the narrator brought it to life.

This is a creature feature worth owning especially if your more into the animal vs mankind genre. I went from this book straight through the next and right into the third before taking a break. Trust me it is a rather riveting adventure indeed. More than I bargained for when I picked it up myself.

RATS!!

I’m listening to books every wake hour, this book I read when I was 12 years old, now I’m 58 and good be damned, I remember everything once the killing began.