Horror Aficionados discussion

May 2022 Group Read runner up is Rats by the infamous James Herbert, this was his first horror novel published in 1974. Considered a classic and quite gruesome.

Please use spoiler tags, and enjoy.

LoL I have no idea what to expect out of this one but let's see what the journey brings. Grabbing my copy later on today!

Ordered mine! :)

I read this a few months ago. It's a fun, gory read, pure pulp all the way. Very enjoyable for those of us who enjoy this sort of thing.

I may have to buy this on Audible!

I'll definitely join this read, I have this book and I'm terrified of rats. They're scavenging around trash bins here and sometimes they're so big it's astounding. Shudder

It's going to be weird for me since I have several pet rats.

Oh no! How much is several? I had a friend who kept two as pets but I still couldn't warm up. 🤷🏻‍♀️

One of my all time favorite childhood books is Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh. I don't have rats as pets, but I like them just fine!

I've read this one a few times, and will be happy to join in the discussion!

inciminci wrote: "Oh no! How much is several? I had a friend who kept two as pets but I still couldn't warm up. 🤷🏻‍♀️"

We currently have 4 girl rats. Willow, Obsidian, Heather & Zoe.

Yesssss I loved this one! Very tempted to re-read!

i read this one a long time ago, it's a very good read, scary as hell, loved it, I hope you enjoy it as well

Looks like I'll have to dig up my old copy. I read it a few years ago, and I can't remember most of the specifics, but I do recall liking it and that it was a fun read.

Looking forward to reading this one--it has been in TBR pile for a long time now.

Ian (RebelGeek) wrote: "inciminci wrote: "Oh no! How much is several? I had a friend who kept two as pets but I still couldn't warm up. 🤷🏻‍♀️"

We currently have 4 girl rats. Willow, Obsidian, Heather & Zoe."

Those are really nice names :) I'm still scared though! I've started reading this and already feel my fear intensify! I like that 😄

Rats are creepy and scary. I’m definitely not a rat lover. I won’t be rooting for any of the rats 🐀.

I am interested in reading this, not sure if I'll have enough time in May. I found the sequel book, 'Lair', at a second hand shop. But not the first.

I didn't realize this was a trilogy so unfortunately, due to reading other novels in May, I have to bow out of this one. But happy reading to all regardless and well, enjoy :-D

Oh, I didn't realize that either, LTJ, too bad you're not joining! But is it readable as a stand-alone?

It is definitely readable as a stand-alone. I've never read the sequels myself.

@Christopher: Ah, good to know, thanks for the info!

Christopher wrote: "It is definitely readable as a stand-alone. I've never read the sequels myself."

Thanks Chistopher, I was worried for a moment. I hate cliffhangers.

Yes this one made me keen to read more but it's definitely a complete story. I'm hesitating on the sequels because I'm worried it will suffer Second Book Syndrome and not be as good as the first!

Hi everyone, welcome to the 2nd group pick, I'm a bit loaded with reads and have at least 7 going on for today lol but I will try to sneak this one in, I haven't read Herbert in a while and this seems to be such a classic that I'd love to have it under my belt. Thank you for coming to our May creature feature book pick :)

I've read a couple of Herberts books and loved them. I'm going to go pick this one up tomorrow and try it out. It sounds like a fun book.

Stephen wrote: "I've read a couple of Herberts books and loved them. I'm going to go pick this one up tomorrow and try it out. It sounds like a fun book."

Yay Stephen, welcome friend, hope to see you here!

Have had this in tbr for a long time. Definitely going to join in this group read! Has been awhile since reading a James Herbert book :)

Just received my second hand copy of The Rats 🐀 today. It’s an old copy published in 1974. Just read the first chapter and so far I’m hooked!

https://productimages.worldofbooks.co...

I just finished this last night.

What a great Creature Feature book - it reminded me of the Saturday afternoon creature feature movie with Dr. Paul Bearer that my local station would play in the 1980s and 90s, right after back-to-back reruns of Star Trek.

I started it as well. It starts pretty strong.

I finished today and I liked it enough, it was gory, violent FUN! There was one moment I hated, namely (view spoiler)[ when they used puppies infected with the rat killing virus as bait (hide spoiler)], that took a whole star off my rating. I wonder if it's something realistic ((view spoiler)[ to use viruses as kind of biological weapons to control certain animal populations (hide spoiler)]) or has ever been done before...

Just got this today from the library. It's the 40th anniversary edition. I will start with this one this month after all, because I am not sure if I get Between two fires, might have to read at a later time. But starting rats first!

This is the first James Herbert novel that I've read and I guess it was ok. Main problem is that the characters were really boring so I didn't feel any tension. Still it was enjoyable in a silly B movie way, even though some scene felt like they were done just for shock value (view spoiler)[ you are gonna kill a dog and a baby in the same chapter, wow (hide spoiler)]. Also some dialogue were kinda forced (view spoiler)[ it comes to mind the one in the hospital were the main character get an information dump from one of the doctors completely at random (hide spoiler)]

The first 4 chapters are good with a lot of gore. This is the first book of this author.
It sounds like I will finish this book.

I’m just starting to read this book. I’m only at 40%. This book is old, but I don’t know how old.

I just know it says things that sounds like decades ago. Like calling the black man named Errol, coloured.

The book started with action. Doesn’t take long for someone to die. Going back to my reading.

I’ve just stopped at 78%. This book is full of gory suspense. I haven’t read a thriller, creature feature this good in a while.

Zain wrote: "I’m just starting to read this book. I’m only at 40%. This book is old, but I don’t know how old.

I just know it says things that sounds like decades ago. Like calling the black man named Errol, ..."

You're absolutely right, Zain, there is what you said and there are a few scenes where the way women are depicted hasn't aged well either. I think it's from the 70s?

1974.

inciminci wrote: "Zain wrote: "I’m just starting to read this book. I’m only at 40%. This book is old, but I don’t know how old.

I just know it says things that sounds like decades ago. Like calling the black man ..."

I think the rats have aged very well.

Christopher wrote: "1974."

Thank you, Christopher!

We’ll, I’ve finished. And I like the ending. But I hate the rats.

Also for me it is my first by Herbert. It moves pretty quickly and things happen fast. I like that and the creatures. Don't know yet how I feel about the characters. I think I'm halfway through right now.

I finished this over the weekend and it's my first James Herbert novel. I enjoyed the story but wasn't a huge fan of the characters. I didn't really care one way or the other what happened to them. It's a classic creature novel and I'm glad I read it.

Well it seems that we have a lots of pro and cons about this book. I like that!!
As I said, it was OK, not good for me. The problem (to me) I did find a story to follow, just a lot of gore scenes.

Have a nice one.

R.

I finished a couple of days ago. Although I enjoyed it, it was very quick to read, the action moves quickly mostly and it is kinda gross creepy with some very iconic scenes I would say, I still feel Like it's a 3.5 for me. Some things weren't...enough. It is pretty short.

I finished this yesterday. I actually super liked it!

Despite some of the language used for women and gay people like myself, I liked this very much.

It was a fun pretty quick read and I love the cliffhanger setting up the sequel.

I see why this is a classic! I was hooked from the start. My copy has an introduction by Neil Gaiman, and he mentions that the individual stories are stronger than the story overall, and I think I agree. That was my favorite part, reading about the individual characters. We know them for such a short period of time but they are so well described, we still feel a connection to them. In fact, I think Harris was the least interesting character.

This was my first James Herbert book and it's been on my list (and my bookshelf) for a long time now. Thanks for giving me an excuse to finally get around to it!

Hayley wrote: "I see why this is a classic! I was hooked from the start. My copy has an introduction by Neil Gaiman, and he mentions that the individual stories are stronger than the story overall, and I think I ..."

That's a good point.

Started reading and i'm now halfway through. A couple of days left in May to finish.