The Rats

A special fiftieth-anniversary edition of The Rats, the classic bestselling horror novel that launched James Herbert’s career.

With a foreword by Neil Gaiman, New York Times bestselling author of Good Omens.

The first victim was a former paper salesman drinking himself into oblivion down by the docks. Next a child and her beloved dog, then six drifters fighting over a bottle of gin – all devoured by a black, writhing mass of giant rats.

As London descends into panicked chaos, high school teacher Harris is pulled head-first into the nightmare when a student arrives with a rat bite on his hand. And he quickly realises that this is no ordinary creature, nothing like anyone has ever seen before.

With their intelligent, wicked-looking eyes and razor-sharp teeth, the balance of power between man and rat has suddenly – shockingly, horribly – shifted.

The rats have had their first taste of human blood.

And they’re hungry for more . . .

‘The Rats is splatterpunk deluxe. Not only great, gory fun but a prime example of what was once called “the British nasty.” I loved it then, love it still’ – Stephen King

‘Lean, mean, and nasty as punk, The Rats are here! Capable of inciting riots and causing bloodshed’ – Grady Hendrix, New York Times bestselling author of How to Sell a Haunted House

‘A seminal work from a king of British horror’ – Adam Nevill, author of The Ritual