Rating: 
Summary: DISMAS CAN BE DISMAL
Review: "Others" is quite possibly the strangest book I've read in a long time. It's quite voluminous and at time tedious and boring; in fact, I had to force myself to continue after the first 100 or so pages. But I stuck with it. And although it's not a classic, Herbert does manage to create the most unusual protagonist in some time. Nick Dismas, a PI, reincarnated from a major Hollywood star, is not your typical private investigator. He is hideously deformed, and Herbert doesn't let you forget it as he continues to reiterate this awkward self-pity in the first half of the book over and over again. He also spends much too much time on explaining how Dismas' investigative service works, and he does it too much as well.
However, if you stick with it, the last section picks up and features some rather gruesome spectres and some suspenseful moments. The characters of Constance Bell and Louise are also very well-developed. There are many things that happen in the book that are quite far-fetched and incredulous, but nonetheless spooky. The denouement in the Restless Peace nursing home is full of scares and thrills. However, the last scene is somewhat "dismal" and ends on a rather down note.
Herbert obviously is preaching about our society's attitude toward those who are not physically perfect, and it's ironic in some ways that the handsome Hollywood star is sent back from Hell in such a despicable guise. Herbert also preaches on the use of drugs, the existence of God, and the loneliness of homsexuality.
A rather difficult read, but for its originality it gets the three stars. RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS. DON'T EXPECT A CLASSIC.
Rating:
Summary: Good, could have been great!
Review: A couple of scary moments involving Nick Dismas, the hero of the story. But I kept waiting for a big payoff regarding Dismas's "past life"...it never really happened. All in all, Dismas is a very interesting character, especially knowing all of his disabilities and all he's gone through. The book is a good, quick read and I'd recommend it...but I kept waiting for more!!
Rating: 
Summary: Beyond Creepy
Review: At 500-pages long, OTHERS is the story that most horror novelists only wish they could write. Sure, James Herbert has a tendency to repeat himself a couple times throughout the book (and still has me wonder how much of his story is based on fact!), but his style and character development skills are above anything recent by Koontz (or King, for that matter!). OTHERS takes it's time to lure you into the world of a gum-shoe detective before exploding into the horror novel you'd expect, delicately increasing the suspense with each chapter. James Herbert has succeeded in creating a world filled with the grotesque, misfortunate and mysterious in his latest, OTHERS. He also managed to give birth to one of the most interesting protagonists: Nick Dismas, a deformed PI and reincarnation of an evil Hollywood star. I'm just sorry we had to see him put to rest so soon!
Rating: 
Summary: Good practice for speed-reading
Review: He do go on a bit, old Jim. This time he's trying to write "The Island of Dr. Moreau", but it's been done before and James Herbert is no H. G. Wells. I don't make a habit of skipping pages, but I found myself doing so all the time with this: 500 pages, never a telling word used where ten will do and scarcely a paragraph unstuffed by stodge. At least we're spared the sex-by-numbers routine (maybe I missed it). The story is about freaks; the author manages to make it trite and rather disgusting as well as terminally boring. I don't begin to understand how people can find this exciting and well-written, let alone read a 'serious' message into it: don't they see the creaking plot and painfully flatulent prose? For a long time James Herbert has lacked the inventiveness that might have enabled him to carry this sort of thing off. If you want intelligent 'horror' - although I don't think the author would call it that - with real atmosphere and three-dimensional characters, read Phil Rickman (also British, slow-burning, but you won't find yourself skipping any pages). My hunch is that Rickman will still be read when Herbert is a footnote; some of his novels may be flawed, but they're interestingly flawed. This one is strictly for the paid-up fan club. I give it 2 stars because it isn't quite as bad as " '48 " or that thing about fairies.Pedantic peeve: this master of the written word still hasn't fathomed the mysteries of lie/lay and lay/laid, so we get solecisms like "he lay it on the table" - not once but ad nauseam. I guess the copy-editor skips pages too.
Rating:
Summary: Herbert Still Packs a Punch
Review: I have read the books of many horror writers including Dean Koontz, Richard Laymon, Clive Barker and Shaun Hutson. At the end of the day only James Herbert comes close to the pedestal owned by Stephen King. The greatest James Herbert book is the Fog, followed closely by Rats, Lair and Domain. "Others" demonstrates Herbert's consistency to develop a great character and to deliver some stunning, gut churning and electrifying horror. It is not one of his classics, but it is very well written and certainly worth the effort. The Nic Dismas Character probably is one of his best, but the final pages lacked something that was so evident in his earlier work.
Rating: 
Summary: Creepiest book that actually gave me chills!
Review: I must say this is the best book I have read in months! I was surprized throughout the novel, and for me, that's rare. As an avid horror reader, it's pretty hard to find a book that will either scare or suprize me. I sat down in the store and read the first chapter and was hooked. This book is clever and very spooky. I don't scare easily, but it took a while for me to fall alseep after reading this! The characters are wonderfully written, and the plot is really engaging. However, I think the best part of this book is how visual everything is, and also how James Herbert doesn't stop-the picture doesn't fade to black when the crepy monster is leaning over the fainting lady, we get to see what happens behind that black curtain most authors draw. Overall, I was greatly impressed and highly reccomend this book to any horror lover, or someone who just wants a really good novel to read!
Rating:
Summary: Not Herbert's Best Book--Terrible Conclusion
Review: Is this the same James Herbert that wrote The Fog and The Rats? It seems he's lost some of his touch here. Others is a very slow-moving and often dreary book, which builds to a fairly memorable climax, then ends with what is possibly the worst three-page conclusion I've ever read. This is not the same guy who kept me turning the pages with the aforementioned books, as well as Domain, Lair, and The Spear. I had to force myself to finish the book, and that is never a good sign.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Chilling
Review: Others is the book that lovers of horror fiction dream about, and James Herbert is the author that all Horror writers should strive to be. Without a doubt I have never read a horror novel of this calibur, nor have I read an author with this amount of talent. Herbert himself has a tendancy to take us through some amazing twists and turns in his stories, tugging at our emotions and at our fear, digging up within the reader the thing that terrifies him or her most so that he brings us to the point where we are as terrified as we can become. Others takes this terror one step further, with a story that is based on fact in a way that leaves the reader trembling with exhaustion and terror. Herbert takes us on a trip into some of the most depraved minds imaginable, and leads us through twists and turns that truly brings the reader right into the amazing plot of the outstanding novel. Thrill seeking readers will enjoy this book for the pumping adrenhalin it provides. Lovers of horror fiction will be on the edges of their seats. And if this is the first James Herbert book you buy... Read it in the dark, and see how you sleep.
Rating:
Summary: Good stuff!
Review: Quite an enjoyable read. I have to say that I couldn't wait to finish the book to see what other reviewer's had said. I waited though, as I did not want the ending to be revealed before I had finished it. Surprisingly, I found the reviews to be quite mixed. Not necessarily someone who would classify themselves as a "reader", I eagerly looked forward to reading the next chapter or page (a few mornings making myself a few minutes late for work!). The driving force behind my interest was the strong development of main character, Nick Dismas. Dismas seems so real and endearing, you wish you could have a drink with him at his favorite pub. I do have to agree with quite a few reviewers here and elsewhere though that the book is not scary in the least. At times, it can be rather intense or sad, but never frightening like I had hoped. With that said, I enjoyed the book very much and look forward to reading other books by Herbert. Some of his earlier novels have received much more praise than "Others", but since I enjoyed this book so much, I imagine I will be more than pleasantly surprised by other Herbert works.
Rating:
Summary: forceful and compelling
Review: this book was scary. the possibilities of what happens to deformed children who are not wanted or are left to die are examined in fiction by james herbert. scary, in your face and compelling, no thought is left undone. a man (who has intelligence) but is deformed in a physical sense has been reborn as such to redeem himself from a life before that was amoral and filled with depravity. so our hero is put on this earth to redeem himself and make do with the scorn of "normal" people. it is not easy to read this book and think of all the times we have judged the disabled as less than us. to take for granted in a physical sense what we have. in a very descriptive way by herbert, he articulates how the abuse is internalized. this is not a happy book. there are few brief moments of joy and love. our hero finds a rest home that is the secret jail of others like him, who are worse off than him. Of course he was put on earth for a purpose, for himself (the redemption) and for others (to save). i do not agree that he writes (as the flap bragged) that he is like stephen king - who has a tendency to be more subtle and there with kings books there is always a conclusive ending. herbert wrote in his brief and last chapter that this was taken from actual and true events and that he hoped the reader was disturbed. this is a thinking person's book - despite the fiction and horror of it all, you cannot finish reading it without giving a nod to the reality of what if and hope that there are people who are in position with presence of mind to use their powers appropriately.
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