Rating: 
Summary: Very Graphic and Descriptive... an Excellent Book!
Review: '48 is an excellent book full of detail and suspense. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in war books. A 5 star rating is not enough for this novel!
Rating: 
Summary: A middle of the road effort for Herbert.
Review: '48 is as about as action packed as you can get. It starts off running and never really stops, the book is almost exhausting to read.The plot is pure b-movie pulp. Hitler uses an unstable chemical weapon that, ala The Andromeda Strain, turns blood to dusty clots in the veins of victims. Too bad it spreads and kills everyone in the world, except for a lucky few. The luckiest of the dead died quick, in a matter of minutes. But some live on, clots slowly forming throughout their bloodstream and causing gangrene and other nasty and terribly slow ways to die. It is from these last few, and quite insane, hangers on that our mixed bag of immune heroes must alternate between fleeing and fighting. Most of the novel uses plot points taken from either the cult classic Mad Max or the cheese classic The Omega Man. It's a quick enough read that is easy to forget. Mr. Herbert may have written far better books, but this one is as about as exciting as a plate of literary whipped cream can get. Recommended to those looking for light, fast paced, and exciting reading.
Rating:
Summary: A middle of the road effort for Herbert.
Review: '48 is as about as action packed as you can get. It starts off running and never really stops, the book is almost exhausting to read. The plot is pure b-movie pulp. Hitler uses an unstable chemical weapon that, ala The Andromeda Strain, turns blood to dusty clots in the veins of victims. Too bad it spreads and kills everyone in the world, except for a lucky few. The luckiest of the dead died quick, in a matter of minutes. But some live on, clots slowly forming throughout their bloodstream and causing gangrene and other nasty and terribly slow ways to die. It is from these last few, and quite insane, hangers on that our mixed bag of immune heroes must alternate between fleeing and fighting. Most of the novel uses plot points taken from either the cult classic Mad Max or the cheese classic The Omega Man. It's a quick enough read that is easy to forget. Mr. Herbert may have written far better books, but this one is as about as exciting as a plate of literary whipped cream can get. Recommended to those looking for light, fast paced, and exciting reading.
Rating:
Summary: 48?
Review: 48 is a good book. If you want a fast read.Trips along ok but does'nt really lead anywhere.Hero wins again! Should really have been written by an American.
Rating:
Summary: 48?
Review: 48 is a good book. If you want a fast read.Trips along ok but does'nt really lead anywhere.Hero wins again! Should really have been written by an American.
Rating: 
Summary: A GREAT idea, but...
Review: Although James Herbert's imagination is obviously a vivid one, his writing skills are second rate at best. I fail to see how he has gotten this far in his career with his blatant disregard for good storytelling. The basic idea of '48(a plague released by Hitler after WW2 kills off almost everybody except our intrepid hero and a few others) is scary enough to impress, but it loses its impact when coupled with Herbert's stilted prose.
Rating: 
Summary: Waste of a Good Idea
Review: Although James Herbert's imagination is obviously a vivid one, his writing skills are second rate at best. I fail to see how he has gotten this far in his career with his blatant disregard for good storytelling. The basic idea of '48(a plague released by Hitler after WW2 kills off almost everybody except our intrepid hero and a few others) is scary enough to impress, but it loses its impact when coupled with Herbert's stilted prose.
Rating:
Summary: Argh
Review: Good Lord, this book was terrible. The whole book was written in the "I did this, then I did that, then this happened, then I did this other thing..." style. It is surprising that anyone would publish this think. A bad book is the worst kind of thief.
Rating:
Summary: Good Research Isn't Enough
Review: Herbert gets an extra star because he clearly spent a lot of time researching war time London. However, the good research wasn't nearly enough to save this novel. The premise of the book is that at the end of the second world war, the nazis released some kind of virus that wiped out most of the world population rather than admitting defeat. The problems are as follows: 1. He used a noir-ish tone for his characters, but it wasn't well done and instead of stylish, it just came across as badly written. 2. The constant action scenes were better suited to a bad film than a bad novel. 3. The characters were cardboard cut-outs, and their actions in relation to each other made very little sense at all. Total summation: Skip this one.
Rating:
Summary: Idea Great, Execution Not
Review: Herbert really shot himself in the foot with this one. A fantastic premise ruined by boring characters, silly sub-plots, and inane observations. This book feels like something turned in to fulfill a contract. There is a chase scene that goes on....and on.....and on.....for something like 100 pages. And rather than creating supense, or concern for the characters dangerous predicament, you just wish they'd die and leave you alone. I won't ruin the plot for you, but just let me say that it's been a long time since I've read a book with so many inconsistencies and absurd solutions, not to mention the repeated use of 'deus ex machina' to save the day. If you worship at the shrine of premise, this may be worth a read. If you also need characters to care about, or even tolerate, give it a pass.
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