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264th out of 847 books
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2,447 voters
Once...
The International Bestseller
For Thom Kindred, life is nothing spectacular. A stroke victim, Thom finds himself partially incapacitated and battling daily to regain control of his life. Moved by haunting dreams of his youth, he travels back to the wooded land where he grew up to recuperate. Surrounded by the comforts of Castle Bracken, Thom plans to relive old, forgotten me
...more
For Thom Kindred, life is nothing spectacular. A stroke victim, Thom finds himself partially incapacitated and battling daily to regain control of his life. Moved by haunting dreams of his youth, he travels back to the wooded land where he grew up to recuperate. Surrounded by the comforts of Castle Bracken, Thom plans to relive old, forgotten me
Mass Market Paperback, 460 pages
Published
January 20th 2003
by Tor Books
(first published January 1st 2001)
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Once
A scary Tale of Faerefolkis & Evildoers, of Lovers & Erotic Passion, of Horror & Belief. Written only for Adults by James Herbert.
Believe me, this is all very true. I personally haven't read any particularly erotic fiction, just your normal stuff you come across in novels, and not the pure 'adult' novels the guy in Waterstones says are their best selling books! I've heard modern Mills & Boon can be pretty racy but I couldn't say. However, I can confirm Once contains some ver...more
A scary Tale of Faerefolkis & Evildoers, of Lovers & Erotic Passion, of Horror & Belief. Written only for Adults by James Herbert.
Believe me, this is all very true. I personally haven't read any particularly erotic fiction, just your normal stuff you come across in novels, and not the pure 'adult' novels the guy in Waterstones says are their best selling books! I've heard modern Mills & Boon can be pretty racy but I couldn't say. However, I can confirm Once contains some ver...more
Once by James Herbert was more than a little disappointing. Yes, I had read other reviews first and they were all pretty consistent about this book... sucking. Yet I still hoped for more. The synopsis sounded great and I really liked James Herbert's Haunted. And from the synopsis, I was hoping for something more like John Connolly's The Book of Lost Things or Neil Gaiman's Stardust. Faery with some horror elements. My expectations were set way too high.
The story initially drew me in and had me q...more
The story initially drew me in and had me q...more
James Herbert Once...
I don't often get the opportunity to review a book which I really didn't like. At least not since college and assigned reading lists. I'm not beholden to others to do my reviews so I generally try to pick books which I think I'll like and I can stop reading if I don't like it. Mostly though I do finish books once I start them and even on books that star off rocky I usually find something redeeming in their pages.
And then we have "Once..." by James Herbert. I think it's usual...more
I don't often get the opportunity to review a book which I really didn't like. At least not since college and assigned reading lists. I'm not beholden to others to do my reviews so I generally try to pick books which I think I'll like and I can stop reading if I don't like it. Mostly though I do finish books once I start them and even on books that star off rocky I usually find something redeeming in their pages.
And then we have "Once..." by James Herbert. I think it's usual...more
The problem with Herbert is, to my mind, that he has always tended more towards slasher-fic than true horror. Oh, and the porn. Dear gods. The porn. I mean, I liked him when I was a teenager and still thought that Iron Maiden’s Eddie was just the coolest thing ever, but as I grew older I came to realise that a chainsaw-wielding maniac and some explicit passages about blow jobs do not a horrifying story make.
Once declared itself to be a fairy story, of sorts. I don’t know how it came to be on my...more
Once declared itself to be a fairy story, of sorts. I don’t know how it came to be on my...more
Thom returns to his childhood home to convalesce after suffering a horrific accident. The cottage he was brought up in is located in a forest which is part of an estate owned by the Bleeth family. Thom's best friend from childhood is Hugo Bleeth - son of Sir Russell Bleeth the wealthy owner of the estate (who happens to be very ill and on the brink of death). Hugo welcomes his friend back into the fold and introduces him to Nell - an intriguing seductress who has been hired to care for his sick...more
This book is a slow, boring stroll through the park for about a good 150 pages. I almost gave up on it. Halfway through turns into a kinda cool/kinda odd roller coaster. Let’s just say if I had a list of books I wouldn't mind unreading, Once wouldn't be very low on that list.
It was boring half of the way through, and at the point when the boringness ended, it quickly turned awkwardly explicit. I don’t mind explicit scenes in a book, but these were just odd! (view spoiler)...more
It was boring half of the way through, and at the point when the boringness ended, it quickly turned awkwardly explicit. I don’t mind explicit scenes in a book, but these were just odd! (view spoiler)...more
This is more of a 2.5 star book, but Goodreads doesn't have half-star ratings for reviewers. That said, while certain horror aspects of 'Once' are more than effective (such as the succubus), too much detracts from that.
First of all, there's far too much fluff involved. I found myself skimming pages of it in attempts to find my way back to the plot. Second, the ending was a bit horrendous if you think about it. Amusingly enough, it can be summarized as 'And then the villain defeats themself, the...more
First of all, there's far too much fluff involved. I found myself skimming pages of it in attempts to find my way back to the plot. Second, the ending was a bit horrendous if you think about it. Amusingly enough, it can be summarized as 'And then the villain defeats themself, the...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Review of Once by James Herbert
5 Stars
Going in, I sort of expected a horror story, because that is the genre for which Mr. Herbert is so well-known. Instead, I found a very realistic and believable contemporary fairy tale, myth and legend come to vibrant life in the English countryside. Thom Kindred, product of a single mother, was raised till age ten in the cottage called “Little Bracken,” on the estate of Sir Russell Bleeth, whose son was tutored by Thom’s mother. She died when Thom was ten, a...more
5 Stars
Going in, I sort of expected a horror story, because that is the genre for which Mr. Herbert is so well-known. Instead, I found a very realistic and believable contemporary fairy tale, myth and legend come to vibrant life in the English countryside. Thom Kindred, product of a single mother, was raised till age ten in the cottage called “Little Bracken,” on the estate of Sir Russell Bleeth, whose son was tutored by Thom’s mother. She died when Thom was ten, a...more
I am usually not a fan of stories heavy in description with minimal dialog, and this book did not change my mind. I don't want to use a blanket statement like, 'this was a bad book,' but I think it suffers from mislabeling. Unfortunately, this book was labeled as fantasy/horror and on par with Stephen King. There were suspenseful parts to this story, but I did not find anything that was near horror. For an erotic fantasy thriller, it wasn't that bad. The erotic scenes had the right amount of cre...more
I found this book on the basement shelf and vaguely remembered it had something to do with fairies. The book jacket touts Herbert as the British king of horror, as if British horror were somehow a particular species of horror not to be confused with Columbian horror or Australian horror. It starts off blandly enough until the Thom, the main charachter returns to his childhood home which comprises a folly on a large estate and boundless woodlands in Shropshire.
I can honestly say I would never in...more
I can honestly say I would never in...more
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This James Herbert novel is very different to many of his others and introduces us to Thom Kindred who after a serious accident returns to his childhood home of Little Bracken set deep in the mysterious forest surrounding the stately home of Castle Bracken.
The narrative sets up quite a spooky feeling about the setting and also the both houses. The Characters of Hugo Bleeth and Nell Quick are not who they seem and then we find out that the forest is populated by a whole host of incredible mythic...more
The narrative sets up quite a spooky feeling about the setting and also the both houses. The Characters of Hugo Bleeth and Nell Quick are not who they seem and then we find out that the forest is populated by a whole host of incredible mythic...more
Really disappointing book. I gave up at page 403-404 when it started repeating things that had happened before. I wanted to give up sooner, but I persevered with the hope it would get better.
I honestly thought it'd be my kind of story: woodland, nature spirits, castles e.t.c.
It dragged. Too many needless descriptions, too many gratuitous sex scenes - I'm not a prude by any means, but seriously, 5 sex scenes in a 470 page book?? They did nothing to move the plot along whatsoever and just came acr...more
I honestly thought it'd be my kind of story: woodland, nature spirits, castles e.t.c.
It dragged. Too many needless descriptions, too many gratuitous sex scenes - I'm not a prude by any means, but seriously, 5 sex scenes in a 470 page book?? They did nothing to move the plot along whatsoever and just came acr...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
It is impossible to shake the inescapable sense that this book must be labouring under some sort of Glamour. Certainly all is very stylish upon the surface, a great deal of artistry has gone into the cover, its map and it's imagery and yet none of this can hide the gaping empty void where the actual story should be. There are so many things that are bad about this book it's hard to choose where to start but I will begin by mentioning the general prose style and its habit of indulging in unnecess...more
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Stephen King recommended author as noted in Chapter 9 of Berkley's 1983 paperback edition of Danse Macabre.
I've read Herbert before and think he could have done better with this novel. It started out pretty good and I was settled in for a great page-turner, but soon became distracted by all the sex scenes(albeit well-written). (view spoiler)...more
I've read Herbert before and think he could have done better with this novel. It started out pretty good and I was settled in for a great page-turner, but soon became distracted by all the sex scenes(albeit well-written). (view spoiler)...more
Once was completely bonkers, but also utterly compelling. I'm still not sure whether I thought it was terrible or brilliant - I may take a few days to mull it over and work out which.
The story follows Thom Kindred, a 27-year-old man who has suffered a stroke which has left him with a weakness down his left side. After being discharged from hospital, he returns to his childhood home deep in the Shropshire countryside to convalesce. The cottage in the woods, part of the estate belonging to his bes...more
The story follows Thom Kindred, a 27-year-old man who has suffered a stroke which has left him with a weakness down his left side. After being discharged from hospital, he returns to his childhood home deep in the Shropshire countryside to convalesce. The cottage in the woods, part of the estate belonging to his bes...more
I couldn't finish it, life is too short to persevere with books that I'm not enjoying. And I persevered as much as I could, managing to get through more than half, which is why I feel I can still rate this to some extent.
And if other reviews on here are anything to go by, the ending is not worth the trouble if you're not enjoying the overall ride.
The premise hints at a tale that could have been dark and fun in a beautifully sinister fashion, but it disappointingly doesn't deliver.
So I rate this...more
And if other reviews on here are anything to go by, the ending is not worth the trouble if you're not enjoying the overall ride.
The premise hints at a tale that could have been dark and fun in a beautifully sinister fashion, but it disappointingly doesn't deliver.
So I rate this...more
This was an entertaining dark fantasy with a fair bit of sex thrown into it! The plot is straight forward enough with few real surprises - it’s typical good versus evil fare – so some people might be disappointed if they wanted something to tax their brains a little!
There was, however, an interesting overview of the Lloyds of London insurance scandal of the 1980s on pp. 134-6. This is rather topical given the current global financial problems caused by (among other things) the collapse of the s...more
There was, however, an interesting overview of the Lloyds of London insurance scandal of the 1980s on pp. 134-6. This is rather topical given the current global financial problems caused by (among other things) the collapse of the s...more
I do enjoy James Herbert's books but this one does fall a bit flat in retrospect.
James Herbert creates likeable characters and intriguing suspense with relaistic and believable fantasy. I do, however, think that he plugs in the gaps with non-stop sex scenes - Nell and Thom twiceish, Nell and the other guy, Nell and Katie, Thom and Jennet twice. Sex does play a large part of the plot especially in regards to Nell and Thom, as she is trying to seduce him for other means.
The ending is where James...more
James Herbert creates likeable characters and intriguing suspense with relaistic and believable fantasy. I do, however, think that he plugs in the gaps with non-stop sex scenes - Nell and Thom twiceish, Nell and the other guy, Nell and Katie, Thom and Jennet twice. Sex does play a large part of the plot especially in regards to Nell and Thom, as she is trying to seduce him for other means.
The ending is where James...more
It was like Herbert was trying to go for something like Faerie Tale or Little, Big...except that around the middle he decided that everyone should just have a bunch of sex, instead, with occasional New Agey lecturing. I've rather enjoyed Herbert's other work, and I had such hopes for this one, which came highly recommended, but it takes the mysterious and makes it way, way too familiar.
Very disappointing. This should have been an awesome dark gothic faery tale. I mean, Castle Bracken is pretty much the perfect title for a setting of that type of story. But the plot frankly sucked, it was too slow paced, it never was very scary, the sex scenes were okay but fairly gratuitus, and it just wasn't that creative or interesting. On a more personal note, I was also extremely disappointed by this book's lame interpretation of succubi.
good book but looses steam half way the plot is muddled but the total outright fantas of fairy creatures witches leaves your mind slightly open but this does fall down it is a curiosity of a book really
A good book, worth a read, absence of a proper plot, no real motives builds to a conflict that never happens but one for teenage lads to enjoy
A good book, worth a read, absence of a proper plot, no real motives builds to a conflict that never happens but one for teenage lads to enjoy
This is probably one of my most favourite books to date. Dark fantasy based on faery folk with the approach that not all fairytales are pink and fluffy as it were. For any adult that appreciates the idea that fairytales never started off as princesses in castles but more on open lustful desires, then this is definitely worth a read!
This book was good.
James Herbert has an amazing imagination but although I enjoyed the magic side of things I may have enjoyed it more had it not been so perverse in places.
The ending seemed a bit dragged out, almost as if it ended and then kept going for another chapter.
James Herbert has an amazing imagination but although I enjoyed the magic side of things I may have enjoyed it more had it not been so perverse in places.
The ending seemed a bit dragged out, almost as if it ended and then kept going for another chapter.
Meh. Could have been amazing, it does have a fantastic premise, but this could have gone to far darker and scarier places. While the whole backdrop of the story was excellent, the setting, the scenic and mysterious countryside, and even the characters were compelling, something was lacking, and it took far too long to get to the point.
A VERY dark, adult fantasy. Thom return to his childhood home to recover from a stroke and discovers that it is also home to all manner of other creatures (fairies, elves...) who now rely on him to ensure that their home is kept safe from the evil scheming of those who would harm them.
Absolutely sensational book. I have read this 3 times now and just started my 4th read having not picked it up for a few years. James Herbert's writing painted perfect pictures of everything in it. I lose myself in Thom's world and thoroughly enjoy it.
It took me 2reads for me to actually get the story and enjoy it.
Was a great book the 2nd time around , but a little wishy washy to me the first time around.
Over all was a good read that was enjoyed and will be read over again in the future.
Was a great book the 2nd time around , but a little wishy washy to me the first time around.
Over all was a good read that was enjoyed and will be read over again in the future.
Dec 06, 2011
Alyssa Stark
added it
I am currently reading this book but almost done with it. It is not a book for teens in anyways but I would still recommend it to adults. It has many twists and turns that keep you interested. I enjoyed this author very much and will be looking into his other books!
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James Herbert is Britain's number one bestselling writer (a position he has held ever since publication of his first novel) and one of the world's top writers of thriller/horror fiction.
He was one of our greatest popular novelists, whose books are sold in thirty-three other languages, including Russian and Chinese. Widely imitated and hugely influential, his nineteen novels have sold more than fo...more
More about James Herbert...
He was one of our greatest popular novelists, whose books are sold in thirty-three other languages, including Russian and Chinese. Widely imitated and hugely influential, his nineteen novels have sold more than fo...more
