'48

When '48 came out, James Herbert had been a published writer for over twenty years. Plenty of time for him to leave behind the shlock straight-for-the-jugular horror of his early novels, and prove himself to be the master of many genres. However, in this novel he returns to his old stamping grounds, and outdoes the pulp writers at their own game. '48 isn't horror, though, it's nothing less than a non-stop action thriller. The first third of the novel alone is one long intense action scene, by the end you're 120 pages in and have barely had time to breathe. And he keeps topping himself, with brilliant setpiece after brilliant setpiece. Reading this book is like watching a top action film.There is subtlety, too. If this book was nothing but surfaces, it'd still be excellent, but Herbert has given his characters motivation and depth. Hoke, the first-person narrator, has an intense, pathological hatred of Germans, and the others have similar defining traits (I can't say much more, as that would give away a great deal of the plot). At the heart of the novel is a subplot about class conflict in Britain which rings true. But Herbert doesn't get too involved with these nuances, as they would just bog the plot down and kill the story. Better a 300-page page-turner than those depressingly numerous 700-page doorstopper horror novels. I haven't said anything about the plot; you can read the reviews below for that. Suffice to say, this is excellent.

OK, most of the previous reviews here have been negative. Look folks, this ain't high literature. I believe some of the problem may lie in the expectation of this being a horror novel. It isn't. This is strictly a Alternate Reality/Science Fiction novel. So take it for what it is: light, escapist reading. This is the first (and so-far only) book by Mr. Herbert that I have read, and I found it to be lots of fun. It's the kind of summer beach read that is fun and doesn't require a great deal of grey matter exercising. Although only one other reviewer mentioned this, the only thing I may have against it, was also one of it's more attractive aspects: that of it's obvious similarities to Richard Matheson's I Am Legend. This is without a doubt one of my all time favorite Horror/Science Fiction novels, and reading '48 gave me the unique feeling of reading another take on the same story that you sometimes get in well-tracked genre pieces like this. In fact, I think the best way to review this book is to compare it to two of the film versions of Mr. Matheson's wonderful novel: First there is Charlton Heston's Omega Man released in '71. This was a fast-paced, action-packed Hollywood take on the novel. On the other hand, Vincent Price's The Last Man On Earth from '64 was a much better, darker and closer to the source example. Both are good in and of themselves, yet also different in their take on the story. That doesn't make either one bad, just different. When all is said and done, I must say that it is in fact a fun read, and perfect for summer reading. Pick it up and decide for yourself.

'48 is an excellent book full of detail and suspense. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in war books. A 5 star rating is not enough for this novel!

I couldn't put this book down. It was good from the beginnig to the end. It had a virus which had attack the human race shortly after WW2 sent by Hitler to destroy the entire world. Only people with AB negative blood survived the rest died either short deaths or where made to roam the world to die a slow agonizing death, since their blood slowly cloted and they started loosing parts of themselves. The characters where A-la Dean Koontz. You felt for them and it had a great ending like. This book is an excellent book for reader of Sci-Fi and WW2 war books since you could feel yourself there if it had happened. Excellent writing!

What a journey! Just after you've opened the front cover of this book, you are transported into a world of true hell where Hitler has had his final victory. This book is nothing short of excellent. You just can't put it down. The half Zombie soldiers give the books hero a hard time from start to finish. The leader of these evil and vile villans is hell bent on sucking the blood out of every living person in London and that's the feeling you get when you read this book. The book twists through the underground of London and out onto the deserted streets where twisted evil lives. You never know what's going to happen on the next page and this with the high paced action keeps you glued to the pages until the very end.. Essential reading to anyone who enjoys a gripping and fast paced book....