But all is not what it seems, and as time goes on, it becomes more and more apparent that there’s a dark side to the miracles. It’s more of a feeling than anything else, and Herbert does a great job of establishing that slow but unsettling dread that creeps up over time. He also held off on revealing any answers until right at the end, and so you kind of have to keep on reading to satisfy your curiosity. Potter, Adam Lee (5 September 2012). "James Herbert: My new thriller about Princess Diana's secret son". Daily Express . Retrieved 1 September 2017.

A context may be the Fatima manifestations in Portugal in 1916/1917 which, even today, divide liberal 'rational' Catholics from simple faith conservative Catholics, Anglo-Saxon reasoning catholics from 'peasant' deep faith Catholics.Alice, who they believe is unaware of Mary's true nature, wishes to hold a church service by the tree and broadcast it to the masses. Delgarde warns that those pledging themselves to Elnor would make her stronger and condemn their soul to Hell. Gerry, Natalie and Delgarde try to perform a ritual in the church to stop this, but Elnor appears and crushes Delgarde with a burning cross.

There are also a few sex scenes in it that actually worked quite well, though I’m not sure how necessary they were to the plot. It felt as though he was just including them for the sake of including them, knowing that a certain percentage of his readers are into that sort of thing, but at least he didn’t use awkward phrasing like “most wetness” or “engorged shaft”. N'Duka, Amanda (February 27, 2020). " 'Shrine': Screen Gems Horror Pic Adds Cary Elwes, Katie Aselton & More". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved February 29, 2020. With his next novel, Lair (1979), Herbert regaled readers with the return of the rats, and he completed the trilogy with Domain (1984), set in a future where rats are now dominant following a nuclear war that has devastated civilisation. Herbert's The City (1994), a graphic novel illustrated by Ian Miller, was set in the same post-apocalypse world in which only a handful of people have survived. Herbert's 23 novels have sold 54m copies worldwide. He was published in 34 languages, including Russian and Chinese. In 2010 he was made an OBE and received the Grand Master award at the World Horror Convention. The question is not whether the manifestation is real or not in this case but whether what is manifestly seen to be real (although Herbert cleverly emphasises psychic power over sorcery to create doubt even of that) is good or evil. This is a novel about belief encased in the horror genre.

What To Read Next

Francis, Clare; Upton, Ondine, eds. (1996). A Feast of Stories. London: Macmillan Publishers. ISBN 978-0-333-65340-1. Horror movies featuring the supernatural have to walk a very fine line. If the antagonist is too powerful or exhibits poorly explained powers that don’t seem to follow any rules, it can lead to an unsatisfying tale where it feels like the heroes have no chance of triumphing over evil. This can work if the despair is the whole point, as in classic horror movies like The Exorcist, The Omen, or Rosemary’s Baby, but more often than not, this can trip up the more modern takes. a b Weber, Bruce (24 March 2013). "James Herbert, British Horror Novelist, Dies at 69". The New York Times.