Date of Publication

1974 (although strangely this is not printed in the book)

Publisher

New English Library

Original cost of hardback first edition

£1.95

International Standard Book Number (ISBN)

450 01867 9

Original first print run (where known)

Hardback - Unknown - Paperback - 100,000

Name of hero in the book

Harris - (we are never told his first name)

Opening line of the book

"The old house had been empty for more than a year."

General description of the dust cover

Cover photograph by Keef. Story outline on both flaps of the dust cover. Short one paragraph giving details about the author but no photograph of him

Number of pages and chapter details

Book starts with a short prologue and ends with a short epilogue. In addition there are 17 chapters numbered as "chapter 1" to "chapter 17"

Roger's Review

The mother of all such horror books - an excellent read. Gory and gripping this is probably the most (in)famous of all of James Herbert's books. It certainly pulls no punches and includes one particularly horrific scene (that Herbert now says he regrets writing) where a baby is eaten alive by rats. This book was one of the first of it's kind and led the way in graphic descriptive horror. Herbert wrote two sequels, 'Lair' and then probably his best book ever, 'Domain'. The saga then continued further with the graphic novel 'The City'. However, this first book is an essential book that all Herbert fans must read - 8 out of 10.