Ash (David Ash, #3)

Ash (David Ash #3)

3.29 of 5 stars 3.29  ·  rating details  ·  746 ratings  ·  207 reviews
David Ash – detective of the paranormal – is sent to the mysterious Comraich Castle, secluded deep in the Scottish countryside, to investigate a strange, high-profile case: a man has been found crucified – in a room that was locked. The reports suggest that the cliff-top castle is being haunted . . .

Who – or what – is the reclusive hooded figure that Ash has seen from the...more
Hardcover, 704 pages
Published August 30th 2012 by Macmillan (first published 2012)
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Karen Daly
Cannot believe in the time ive bought and read this the author passed away - ive grown up reading James Herbert and my mum loves him too, so sad. (also spooky reference to Maggie Thatcher within the book who also died whilst i was reading it!!)

However that said, I thought it was a real disappointment, far too drawn out. More like a travel guide for Comraich and surrounding areas. Good ideas but too many to give them real depth or credence at all and it went off all over the place with a frantic...more
W.A Gruppe
I was shocked at this particular work. You start reading and, comfortably, you slip into a James Herbert novel; then things go awry. Exposition becomes king and it feels as if one is reading a catalogue of architecture, a dispassionate recollection of events - the character of David Ash fades in and out, always usurped by a list of things that needed to be included. And the end is unbelievable - because it doesn't end - that are about 4 different endings as the author feels the need to stitch to...more
Shalini Ayre
Meeting Ash again was a delight. He's an honest and straightforward investigator. With this in mind you know that when he's asked to assess the mysterious goings on at at an equally mysterious castle in a remote region of Scotland, things will get strange very quickly.

His investigations, somewhat limited by the illusive 'Inner Circle' imbibe his work but he carries on the best he can. What he discovers spans decades of world atrocities that have taken place. Shocked at his discoveries and fallin...more
Majanka
First of all, I didn’t read any of the other books in the David Ash series. I came across this one in my local bookshop and I picked it up because the synopsis intrigued me. A creepy, haunted castle. A parapsychologist with a disturbing past. A secret, elite organization harboring more secrets than the Illuminati. So far, it all sounded good. The only downside was the execution. I enjoyed the premise, but this book was so sloppily executed I had trouble getting to the end.

The plot is actually pr...more
Fiona Ingram
David Ash specialises in paranormal investigation, even though he is (paradoxically) more than a little sceptical about the concept. When he is asked to investigate weird-bordering-on-violent and dangerous happenings at Comraich Castle in Scotland, he feels a sense of obligation to take the case. The massive fees will more than bail the agency he works for out of the red and into the black for a long time. He is told very little about the inhabitants/owner, just that it is a kind of sanatorium (...more
Marcelo
Jan 14, 2013 Marcelo rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Splatter film fans.
Recommended to Marcelo by: Audible.com
This is the book that showed me gore and graphic horror *can* work in written form. Before «Ash» I thought that type of horror was only fit for visual media (TV, movies) and that written horror would only work if the terror were subtle, more psychological. Boy was I wrong!

This isn't a great book, though. James Herbert manages of use every cliché available, and then some. Also, most of the narrative's about the despicable deeds of many of the guests at Comraich Castle, sins past and present (so n...more
Michael Mallory
Part horror story, part mystery, part conspiracy thriller, part political diatribe, "Ash" has everything but the proverbial kitchen sink thrown into it, and yet it works. Parapsychologist David Ash is coerced (pressured is more like it) into traveling to a remote Scottish castle "resort" (read asylum) operated by a shadowy secret organization that all but runs England and Europe, to investigate recent paranormal events. What he finds is a perfect storm of natural and supernatural insanity, being...more
Kelly Truelove
I was seriously disappointed by the third book in the David Ash series. Having read and enjoyed the other two, "Haunted" was exquisite, I found myself wondering if the same author wrote "Ash." The political elements in Ash were unexpected and, for me, overshadowed the paranormal elements of the book, which were minor. I felt a disconnect between the first half of the book and the last. The first half included an adequate build-up to, what I expected to be, a paranormal show-down, a rehash of bac...more
B J Burton
After waiting so long for a new book from James Herbert I was delighted to hear of its publication. The fact that the Kindle version was made available for only 20p was an unexpected bonus, but what a let-down this book proved to be. People who don't like the supernatural horror genre are likely to dismiss all such books as preposterous rubbish. In this case it's not the supernatural elements that should be so dismissed, but the basic plot. The reader is supposed to accept that just about all of...more
Carrie
I'm a horror fan, and everywhere I went this book was being advertised at me. I saw it on the tube, I saw it on YouTube... and when I went to Amazon, it was only 99p so I grabbed it. And boy was I disappointed.

I found out later that this was the third book in a trilogy, I don't think I missed much by not having read them.

I've not read anything else by this author, so I have nothing to compare it to, but it was pretty unbearable. It was actually worse than some of the free things I've read from...more
Julian
Oct 16, 2012 Julian rated it 4 of 5 stars
Shelves: 2012
This is the first book I have read by this Author and after reading other reviews, I felt it wasn't a risk starting with book 3 because there is barely any link to previous stories.

This was a very good book and not at all because of its "paranormal" components. In fact, you could remove all paranormal aspects and it would still be a creepy, suspenseful novel from start to finish. I actually would have put this down immediately if it started getting too much into silly paranormal science. Yes th...more
Natframpton
3.5 stars


I am a huge fan of James Herbert. When I received the email requesting me to review Ash I actually let out a little squeal and to say my dad was jealous would be an understatement.

This book is quite a read at over 700 pages and at times I did find it a little drawn out but its definitely worth it because when its good...its really good.
Ash is a parapsychologist who goes to investigate a haunting at the mysterious Comraich castle. It turns out Comraich has many secrets and most of them...more
Lydia Presley
Ash by James Herbert is the third in the series- yet it has enough stand-alone information woven throughout the story-line that it could be read on its own. This book has been the reason that I've slept with my lights on the last few nights. It had all the ingredients necessary for a kick-butt horror story: the creepy castle in Scotland, luxury and wealth, a whole host of bad guys all under the same roof, and a tormented, parapsychologist who has been hired to investigate.

I accepted this book fo...more
Lainy
Time Taken to Read - 3 days

Blurb From Goodreads

David Ash – detective of the paranormal – is sent to the mysterious Comraich Castle, secluded deep in the Scottish countryside, to investigate a strange, high-profile case: a man has been found crucified – in a room that was locked. The reports suggest that the cliff-top castle is being haunted . . .

Who – or what – is the reclusive hooded figure that Ash has seen from the window walking across the courtyard in the dead of night?
What are the strange,...more
Jo at Jaffareadstoo
Comraich Castle, a reclusive fortress on the west coast of Scotland provides the setting for this rather disturbing novel, featuring the enigmatic ghost hunter and parapsychologist, David Ash. When sinister paranormal events start to disturb the equilibrium of this unusual sanctuary, there is no one more suited to the task than this ghost hunter extraordinaire, but the dark forces which hang like a miasma over the inhabitants of the castle, soon start to take centre stage.

The book starts off a l...more
Charlotte
Herbert's book 'Ash' successfully created an atmosphere of both mystery and suspense. Usually a complete scared-ey cat, I found I was far too captivated to be too scared to put the book away and avoid it for fear of nightmares.
The story itself is really original and certainly provides an interesting thought: could something similar really exist? A castle where all the murderers and criminals hide from society and finish out their days in luxury and comfort. Well I for one certainly hope not!
Th...more
Steve Isaak
Ash is a fun, reader-hooking "Old School" spookhouse novel that's full of humorous and truly scary - not to mention often icky - characters, moments and scenes.

Set two years after the events of The Ghosts of Sleath, this third entry in the David Ash series is the best one yet: it has none of the plot lag that marred Sleath, and it has all of the Hammer filmesque charms of Haunted - Ash even sports a nice mention of actress Ingrid Pitt, a Hammer flick "regular", that made me smile.

(Hammer films...more
Becky
It's been two years since the events at Sleath and parapsychologist David Ash feels he's finally recovered. So does his boss, Kate McCarrick. It's fortunate really, as the Psychical Research Institute is about to take on a huge case and David is the perfect man for the job. A secret organization called the Inner Court owns a hush, hush facility in Scotland. Comraich Castle is a sanitorium of sorts, a sanctuary for the very wealthy and the very disturbed. The Castle has been experiencing an escal...more
Sarah Carter
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Stuart Nager
I can not believe that this author has over 20 books published.

Home with nothing to do (and no gumption to go out, and didn't feel like TV), I read the majority of Ash.

200 pages in, and NOTHING, I mean NOTHING happened. Oh wait..I'm wrong: a lot of wasted and repeated exposition. As I read on, he repeated himself about feelings, situations, explanations, each time as if it was being exposed for the first time.

A clumsy love/sex scene, unbelievable female lead character (looks and brains, but a...more
Melissa Lorenzo
I was gonna rate this at a three star...because the beginning was so slow and there seemed to be plenty of political bias on behalf of the author (in fiction, I don't wanna read that crap-- we have journalists everyday who do the same thing).

Then, we got about 3/4 through and things started getting interesting.

ANNNND, then there was the end. What kinda crap was that? What was the purpose of Kate finding out everything that happened, it has no bearing on the end? Why invest so much in Louie, bec...more
Daniel
I really wanted to like this book, but the further along I read, the more my misgivings grew until I could not ignore the creakiness of the story. The plot started off intriguingly with a haunted, possibly cursed, Scottish castle, then it added a sinister corporation that owes the castle who take in anybody who can pay for sanctuary, including famous and presumed dead killers, dictators, and Nazis. There were a large number of one-dimensional characters, many of which serve no real purpose to th...more
Bev
It has been years since I read a James Herbert book as I am not a horror fan.

This book is quite a lengthy tome and the writing at times is beautifully descriptive. I felt as though I was in Scotland. The scenery seemed so real. The main character is at first likeable if a little naive.

The actual story is simple enough. Psychic investigator goes to a castle full of wealthy criminals to hunt for ghosts and overall bad things. What could go wrong?

However the first half of the book is pure window dr...more
Bandit
It's sad to think that there will be no more David Ash adventures, with Mr. Herbert's passing, but if a series had to end, this was a pretty good ending to it. Long, quite massive in fact, about the size of the first two Ash books combined, this was a bit slow to start, but once it picked up the pace, it moved along at a nice speed. At first more disturbing than scary, stick with the story and it'll offer as much gore, blood and mayhem as any good genre book. The best part was the wild, wildly e...more
Elaine
Wow I loved this book from start to finish.
I've not read the 2 previous David Ash books and at the time didn't realise it was the 3rd, but the happenings in the other 2 were only briefly mentioned and didn't have any bearing on this novel.

I found the character of David to be a very deep and troubled person who was still really trying to find him self, yet not knowing he is looking.
He came across as a beleievable character and I found him to be multi layered and full of surprises, his open mind a...more
Alan
James Herbert's 'Ash' has been a long time coming. Protagonist David Ash returns after a long hiatus after 'Ghosts of Sleath' to be sent to the mysterious Comraich Castle in Scotland to investigate strange goings on.

Part conspiracy thriller and part horror, this novel is a great addition to the Herbert canon, with gruesome hauntings and it's fair share of nostalgic nods to previous novels including The Rats.

Whilst not quite what I was expecting, I was half expecting the recurrence of his sister...more
Lynn marie
If I could give more than 5 stars I would as this is James Herbert at his greatest!

The third in the David Ash series but equally the third that can be read as stand alone books.

David Ash is a renowned Parapsychologist who is asked to investigate the seemingly supernatural murder of a guest in a remote castle in the farthest reaches of Scotland. The whole premise being pre-empted by signing a contract of utmost secrecy about all his findings. Something which is utterly unheard of in the society h...more
Lynsey Jordan


SPOILERS WITHIN... Like many others I'm glad I only paid 20p for this on my kindle. I love James Herbert and would count a few of his books in my top 20 as I love horror novels. The last book of his I read was The Secret of Crickley Hall which I utterly loved and am looking forward to the TV adaptation. I was really looking forward to Ash but I was sorely disappointed. It takes a long time to get going. I got bored but I'm one of those people who likes to finish once I've started so I plodded on...more
Wesley Winegarden
Oct 14, 2012 Wesley Winegarden rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: few
This is James Herbert's third novel to feature Parapsychologist David Ash, something tells me after the reviews I have read, it may be his last.

Described as a novel about an investigation into the haunting of an old Scottish castle, I found that even though a castle is involved, and there is mention of ghosts, this novel is more than just a ghost story. It is more like a Dan Brown thriller, with a sprinkling of ghosts, and a dash of 50 Shades of Grey graphic sex just to keep Herbert's teen audie...more
Helen
2.5 stars *SOME SPOILERS*

The good: Secluded spooky castle used as a refuge/prison for very badly behaved rich folk, as well as the more seriously disturbed patients kept in the 'dungeons', there are some sinister Nazi connections, a secret society and a good old castle legend with the obligatory curse.

The not-so-good: There's too much going on here - an assassin with a grudge, medical experiments, notorious guests of the castle, orbs of dark energy, secret Royal offspring, badly-timed romantic i...more
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author James Herbet 3 19 Apr 11, 2013 05:49am  
Contemporary Brit...: Ash 1 6 Feb 23, 2013 11:40pm  
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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...
The Fog The Rats (Rats, #1) The Dark Magic Cottage Haunted (David Ash, #1)

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