The Rats (1974) is a horror novel written by British author James Herbert. This was Herbert's first novel and included graphic depictions of death and mutilation. A film adaptation was made in 1982, called Deadly Eyes. A 1985 adventure game for the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum based on the book was published by Hodder & Stoughton Ltd and produced by Five Ways Software Ltd. The Rats was followed by two sequels, Lair and Domain.
Herbert became insp...
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The Rats (1974) is a horror novel written by British author James Herbert. This was Herbert's first novel and included graphic depictions of death and mutilation. A film adaptation was made in 1982, called Deadly Eyes. A 1985 adventure game for the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum based on the book was published by Hodder & Stoughton Ltd and produced by Five Ways Software Ltd. The Rats was followed by two sequels, Lair and Domain.
Herbert became inspired to write The Rats in early 1972, whilst watching Tod Browning's Dracula, specifically, after seeing the scene where Renfield describes a nightmare he had involving hordes of rats. Linking the film to childhood memories he had of rats in the London suburbs, Herbert stated in later interviews that he wrote the book primarily as a pastime; "It seemed like a good idea at the time, I was as naive as that."The manuscript was typed by Herbert's wife Eileen, who sent it off after nine months to nine different publishers.
The novel opens...
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