Haunted cover art

Haunted

David Ash Series, Book 1

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Haunted

By: James Herbert
Narrated by: Steven Pacey
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About this listen

A ghostly twist. Three nights of terror at the house called Edbrook. Three nights in which David Ash, there to investigate a haunting, will be victim of horrifying games. Three nights in which he will face the blood-chilling enigma of his own past. Three hideous nights before Edbrook's dreadful secret will be revealed...And the true nightmare will begin.to the surface, tormenting him, refusing to let him rest. The memory of what he once had been.

James Herbert was one of Britain’s greatest popular novelists and our #1 best-selling writer of chiller fiction. Widely imitated and hugely influential, he wrote 23 novels which have collectively sold over 54 million copies worldwide and been translated into 34 languages. Born in London in the forties, James Herbert was art director of an advertising agency before turning to writing fiction in 1975.

His first novel, The Rats, was an instant bestseller and is now recognised as a classic of popular contemporary fiction. Herbert went on to publish a new top ten best-seller every year until 1988. He wrote six more bestselling novels in the 1990s and three more since: Once, Nobody True and The Secret of Crickley Hall. Herbert died in March 2013 at the age of 69.

©1988 James Herbert (P)2013 Audible Ltd Genre Fiction Ghosts Horror Literary Fiction Supernatural Thriller & Suspense Haunted Scary Paranormal Fiction Fantasy

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Editor reviews

A wildly popular master of suspense throughout the 1980s, James Herbert’s fast-paced, high-urgency storytelling has found new life in the audiobook format, where his pause-resistors have staked their place for posterity. The action-packed immediacy of his work lends itself well to vocal interpretation, and fervent English actor Steven Pacey (Blake’s 7, Distant Shores) proves it with his crisp, quick-clipped conveyance of Haunted, in which Herbert introduces dogged reporter David Ash. When Ash investigates claims of paranormal activity at an aged rural estate, he suddenly finds himself trapped inside the haunted house, chased by nightmarish ghosts from his past. With riveting psychological suspense that recalls such greats as Agatha Christie and Stephen King, Haunted weaves elements of horror, mystery, and fantasy to spine-chilling effect.

Critic reviews

“Herbert was by no means literary, but his work had a raw urgency. His best novels, The Rats and The Fog, had the effect of Mike Tyson in his championship days: no finesse, all crude power. Those books were best sellers because many readers (including me) were too horrified to put them down.” (Stephen King)

“There are few things I would like to do less than lie under a cloudy night sky while someone read aloud the more vivid passages of Moon. In the thriller genre, do recommendations come any higher?” (Andrew Postman, The New York Times Book Review)

“Herbert goes out in a blaze of glory” ( Daily Mail)

All stars
Most relevant  
I enjoyed this story, but there were some parts of it that did not make sense.
The scene with the clairvoyant in the theatre was a little muddled. I wasn’t sure who was saying what dialogue at one point.
Also, although the narrator, and indeed the author, were English, American words were used throughout (eg drapes for curtains) etc which was just odd. Also WHY is the word ‘grimace’ constantly pronounced as ‘GRIM-ACE’ instead of ‘GRIM-ISS’. ?? That was very silly.
But well worth a listen nonetheless.

Quite good, but some issues

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really enjoyed this. and Steven narrates it clearly and well. this is a classic ghost story from a classic English writer.

great classic ghost story

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Good story, nothing less than I would expect from J. Herbert.

slightly annoyed by narrators odd pronunciation of certain words I.e. grimaced he makes it sound like grimaiced.

Good story, narration could be better

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....the narrator doesn't know how to pronounce the word "grimace". That was the only off-putting part of his narration which was otherwise a joy to listen to. A good story which I found easy to listen to. No crazy or clever twists but a fun ride - certainly worth the listen!

Great listen except for one thing....

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Hasn’t lost his appeal, but not sure I like it being read. Imagination is vivid enough but gets tenfold when narrated. The narrator is good though just the pace at the end is relentless and never lets go and it’s not clear what the real aftermath is for David Ash. How do you escape that madness in its result. Still the series is my favourite between the books by James Herbert. The dark and horror is still contained and not as bleak as some of the later stories and there is hope for David Ash yet.

A horror classic

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very interesting story. Excellent Author brilliant writer, narrator. Loved the intrigued subject and topic.

Good Story!!!!!¡

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The only problem with this book is that it is too short!
Apart from that its a very clever little story and it does in fact trick you all the way, when it ended I thought oh my god I did not expect that!
After listening to ash I wanted more and got it in this book David Ash at his best goes to investigate another haunting in a remote mansion its a creepy little horror story and not what you think!

Haunted

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fantastic book that kept me wanting to listen all the time. it was suspenseful and kept twisting and turning in a way that just keeps you wanting to know more. very cleverly written, dark and well read. keeping the ballance between fantasy and believability has been wonderfully executed in this book. I cannot reccomend enough for horror enthusiasts and those new to the genre

brilliant and creepy

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Narration excellent as usual. Good easy listening though plot a bit predictable if a fan of spooky stories.

Easy listening

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Although I enjoyed this book I did guess the plot quite early on, so kept waiting for it to be revealed, his books do seem to end abruptly, narration was good

Paranormal adventure engaging

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