Synopsis
The restless rats return in James Herbert's Lair, the second horror novel in the Rats trilogy.
The "Outbreak" was a tragedy London thought it had buried. But deep within the ancient, shadowed groves of Epping Forest, a new terror is feeding.
Investigator Lucas Pender—haunted by the family he lost to the first wave of mutants—recognizes the chilling signs: mutilated livestock and an eerie, unnatural silence in the woods. These aren't mere scavengers; they are immense, intelligent predators with a reawakened lust for human blood. Led by a grotesque, two-headed master and a cunning, scarred survivor, the pack begins a coordinated massacre that defies every known poison.
As the forest becomes a military slaughterhouse, Pender must plunge into the subterranean darkness to confront a biological horror faster and hungrier than anything humanity has ever faced. The natural order is shifting—and we are no longer at the top.
Praise for James Herbert:
'The Rats is splatterpunk deluxe'
Stephen King
'Lean, mean, and nasty as punk'
Grady Hendrix
'A one-off; a true horror original'
Peter James
Details
16 July 2026
9781037406249Reviews
Not for the nervous
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
Lean, mean, and nasty as punk
A one-off; a true horror original
