This is a temporary review but I couldn't mark this book 1 star without giving a selected few of my many reasons why it was so shit. So here goes:1) The characters are incredibly weak, unrealistic and their personalities change to fit the story rather than the plot showing how different personalities would react.3) There are ONLY TWO FEMALE CHARACTERS in this book and they are awfully written. The main female, Jenny, doesn't do anything at all but cry and whinge while all the big strong men look after her as though she's all delicate doll. Really, it is pathetic.The second female character is an adulterer who we see for less than a chapter of the book and again, is a rather weak, boring and underdeveloped character. Both females mentioned are only there to show off how strong the men are and the only thing either of then bring to the story are rather cringe-worthy and overlong sex scenes.3) The sex scenes were too long, awkward and almost painfully embarrassing to read. If a fourteen year old geeky virgin boy with no writing experience whatsoever and only the handful of terms he'd found for sex via the glossary in his science textbook decided to try and wrote porn for his mates to read, it would still be better than this.4) It isn't thrilling or horroric, it's just gross enough to make you a little uncomfortable...and then bored. We get it, the rats have claws and teeth. They tear flesh. That causes pain. Many people dead. It's horrifying. Oh no. The repeated phrases, scenes and death quickly turn from unpleasant to dull as Herbert is clearly using everything in his arsenal to try and bring some life into this dismal sequel.5) The plot is as weak as the characters and that's saying something.Is there even a plot in this book? It didn't feel like it. The whole novel was more like an excuse to practise writing death scenes rather than actually having an entertaining storyline. It was very basic and completely unengaging.6) Why all the emphasis on the protective suits? We get it. They don't work. The rats are invincible! Har har har, how very...interesting and not repeated every page at all.7) Stop trying to make us care about how the rats have survived the first book. We all know that they lived because you could make money off a sequel. The flimsy reasons as to why they fictional lived are poor to say the least. A mutant strain...? C'mon. This was such a disappointment after the first book was pretty good (not awe inspiring but worthy of reading.This piece of trash was just awful, IMO, the book is nothing but a waste of paper, effort and time written just to satisfy a word count quota in order to wrench a few more pennies off Herbert's fanbase by riding purely on his reputation rather than actual talent (since there is no evidence that he has any writing talent whatsoever in this travesty of a book).Basically, it was shit. The only time you should read this book is when all the other books you can get your hands on have been read at least 5 times a piece. It might be vaguely interesting once you've read through the entire published collection of stamp collector's weekly but I wouldn't hold your breath.
OMFG more fucking rats and this time these 2ft critters are now climbing trees and launching leapfrog style ninja attacks. Lesson 1. Stay in built up areas to avoid potential of vermin dropping from trees in surprise ambushes. One of these mutant rats will of course go on to rescue and train the teenage mutant ninja turtles but that's another tale set a few years in the future. Ok, to the story, the rats that survived the gas attack from the first book decided a holiday was in order and disappeared for a few years to a sunnier climate and a more welcoming atmosphere. Back from their hiatus, they move into the basement of a deserted mansion in Epping Forest while tentatively eating local livestock and generally keeping a low profile. Lesson 2. If your livestock starts inadvertently looking like roadkill then check all the basements and wear protective gear such as metal underwear, metal bin and plates strapped around as much flesh as you can manage. A touch longer than the first book, we again get to meet a multitude of characters, some for the long run and others, a brief introduction before they are served up with a Béarnaise sauce at the vermin barbecue. There is some pretty scary moments in the Lair, the feeling that the rats are watching from the grass, from the trees, ready to pounce and again we have our hero. This time it's personnel, our hero lost his family in the first wave of the rat campaign and he's hurting. He does however want stunning with a shovel as is the case with most heroes, but stupid is as stupid does and he's destined to step into the breach, the Rats Lair. Lesson 3. Two headed rats are to be avoided at all costs, just smile and walk on by, no run on by. All told really good fun.Also posted at http://paulnelson.booklikes.com/post/...
What do You think about Lair (1999)?
Lair is about what you would expect from your average sequel. The plot is bigger and badder, but the overall gist of the action remains the same. There were new characters and a few allusions to old ones. Except for a few especially intense or creative moment, I felt like I had been there and done that. I think ill wait about a year before tracking down the third book, and maybe that will keep things feeling more fresh. The overall quality of the writing was excellent. Where else are you going to find a character who is a middle school gym teacher who sneaks off into the woods during lunch breaks to flash his privates at unsuspecting hikers?
—Andy
LAIR follows on from James Herbert's early bestseller THE RATS, and in some ways it is just more of the same. That being said, personally I thought this was an even better book than THE RATS. A few years after the earlier outbreak, a new plague of rats begins to run amok, this time in the Epping Forest. It falls to a rodent control expert named Pender, to try and incite 'the powers that be' into taking an early and proactive action against the marauding animals.The carnage doesn't start immediately, and Herbert deliberately, and expertly allows an atmosphere of dark foreboding to build, until it explodes in a frenetic release of bloody violence!Read Lair and enjoy it, but I don't suggest reading it if you are planning to go camping in the woods, anytime soon!
—David Brian
The mutants are back but this time with a vengeance. With the relieving genocide of the rats, few mutant white ones remain. They escape to the countryside to rebuild their strength and slowly repopulate the species. Strange sightings are reported as the rat forage bigger prey, until the protagonist comes to find the lair of the rats and as most stories go, completely wipe them out. Happy ending!!!I decided to give this book a *** because it had the typical cliche plot (Enemies escape, grow back to size they were before, then get destroyed again) and thought there should of been more creativity with the intelligence of the rats. Yeah sure rats probably won't get that smart, but come on, always think of including these themes just to get the reader to think; "Hmmm, yeah this could happen." That is what I enjoy in a novel, and is what I expect just so I can enjoy it while it lasts.
—Theo Paul
