James Herbert, “The Dark” Book Review
As a horror fan, there is nothing I enjoy more than discovering a (to me) unknown author in the genre. It was with this that I approached James Herbert’s “The Dark”, the basic premise being a darkness descends that begins to drive people mad. There are other factors of course, a psychic investigator whose mentor might or might not be playing a part. The protagonist provides us a rather trite character, haunted by his past, strong yet fragile. Bishop provides us nothing that we have not seen previously in the genre and his character is just not terribly interesting. A paranormal investigator who doesn’t believe in the paranormal, due to his family having been victimized by a charlatan. Instead of making him seem conflicted or troubled, it just makes him seem like a hypocrite. I found it impossible to summon up positive qualities for the character, who does not develop or change during the story.