Date of Publication

1981

Publisher

New English Library

Original cost of hardback first edition

£6.50

International Standard Book Number (ISBN)

450 04855 1

Original first print run (where known)

Hardback - Unknown - Paperback - Unknown

Name of hero in the book

James Kelso

Opening line of the book

"Her fingers curled around the sides of the newspaper and lifted it from the small table's surface where it had been lying flat."

General description of the dust cover

Cover photograph by Ian Hughes. Jacket design by James Herbert. Story outline on front flap of the dust cover with the last paragraph referring to two previous books only, 'The Rats' and 'The Dark'. Short paragraph giving details about the author on the rear flap with a photograph of the author on the back of the book.

Number of pages and chapter details

Book starts with a prologue entitled "April 1950". There are 20 chapters numbered as "ONE" to "TWENTY"

Roger's Review

This book is generally very underrated by fans and sometimes seen as James Herbert's worst book. I found it to be an excellent read and extremely gripping and I thoroughly enjoyed it. 6 - out of 10