I will admit that I had no idea that another David Ash book existed until I read the obituary-type articles after James Herbert died this month. Despite my obvious shock at the news that one of my favourite horror writers (he has always had a place of honour in my very small stable of great horror master’s) had been dispatched to the great unknown realms of death, I was intrigued enough to buy an eBook copy for reading.
As a grand finale or final gesture, it was the best David Ash story yet. Although, if you look at the reviews on Goodreads, it appears that I am in the minority of readers who actually enjoyed the book. I am left wondering if those critical of the tale even read the same tome that I just finished. It is, to be frank, puzzling.
In this last ever David Ash investigation, David has been obligated by his employer Kate McCarrick to find the cause of the violent hauntings at Comraich Castle; a sanctuary for the criminal rich who can afford it. Run by the shadowy and overly influential Inner Circle, the castle’s dangerous spirits have already injured one paying guest and the spokesman for the Comraich, Sir Simon Maseby wants the haunting stopped at all costs.
While travelling in the Castle‘s private jet, David meets Dr Delphine Wyatt, the exotically beautiful psychologist who works at the retreat and who will turn out to be his only ally in his upcoming battle with the ancient evil that is trying to destroy Comraich Castle. An evil whose power has grown beyond all expectations and is aided by a living evil who also wants to destroy the Castle and all those in it.
James Herbert’s last book has everything but the kitchen sink in it. He has returned to his roots as a writer and once again has grabbed his readers by the lapel and screamed in their face.
I loved it.
His story of the intrigue and the corruption that permeates the government and the royal family is mesmerizing. The depiction of the “inner circle'” group who orchestrates the cover-ups that prevent the royal’s and the government from horrific publicity is, quite frankly, scary on its own. Add to this the evil that has grown so powerful that it can harm living beings and influence their actions makes this mix of terror damn near too scary for comfort.
There are a bunch of Scottish wildcats who “haunt” the hunting grounds around the castle that will give you nightmares and they are just a small portion of the evil things that lurk in the shadowy recesses of the castles halls and dungeons.
I could not turn the electronic pages fast enough as I became immersed in David Ash’s last ever case. When I finally reached the end of the book, I let out a sigh of relief and sadness as I realised that I’d never again get to vicariously live through any further David Ash adventures.
I am going to miss James Herbert’s prodigious output of work, he averaged a book a year, and not once was I unimpressed with his story and the originality of his plots and the comfortable feelings that his characters evoked. Unless of course they were scarily evil then the feelings that they generated were not of a comfortable ilk.
In my humble opinion, which is the only opinion that I can have, it is the best David Ash yet. It is always a very bittersweet experience reading the last ever adventure of one of your favourite characters. I had the same feeling when I read the last ever Travis McGee book. Of course that was slightly different as I read the book before I’d learned of the author’s (John D MacDonald) passing. But the feeling was the same when I thought of the book.
So Rest In Peace David Ash, may you never be forgotten as one of the most believable creations of the fertile mind that was James Herbert.
A real 5 star ending to a 5 star character.
Related articles
- RIP James Herbert (8 April 1943 – 20 March 2013): Ash to Ashes (mikesfilmtalk.com)
- In Memory of James Herbert (adelesymonds.wordpress.com)
- Authors pay tribute to James Herbert (bbc.co.uk)
- R.I.P. James Herbert, 69 (chadwickhsaxelid.typepad.com)
Cheers mate! My mother’s always telling me that! LOL 😀
And you do have a great mind!
Aw…I’m flattered and amazed! It’s like that old gag, “where have you been all my life??” LOL Oh well, like my mother used to say, great minds think alike! 😀
No but you are correct about other people’s opinions of it. I guess you and I are of a different sort of mind altogether. All you had to do was mention Army of Darkness once and I have remained your loyal fan;)
At last another lone voice in the wilderness that likes the book…I’m not alone!! 😀
I agree I liked that book a lot, more than the others as a matter of fact.
I must be in such a small minority of folks who liked this book. I guess the very thing that I loved about it, the grand scope of the corruption and the oh-so familiar faces of the infamous that were hiding in the castle affected me quite differently from everyone else. Don’t feel alone in your dislike of the book. Judging from Goodreads, not very many other folks did like it. Thanks for commenting and sharing your opinion though!! 😀
I didn’t like the book. There, I said it, but I loved all of James Herbert’s early work and did like his wry humour in the book about “Rats”. One of my favorite all time books is “Fluke”, that is the book that made me want to write and for that one tome, I am very sad that the man who wrote it, is no longer with us.