Throwback Thursday: James Herbert

Morning, Prosers, 

It's Thursday and this week's Throwback Thursday focuses on the life and death of James Herbert, the 54 million horror seller legend. 

Few 20th century British horror writers have influenced the genre as much as James Herbert OBE. Born 8th April 1943 and dead on 20th March 2013, Herbert was an English horror writer that changed people’s lives and is sorely missed.

A full-time writer that also designed his own book covers and publicity, he churned out novel after novel, with 54 million copies sold worldwide to date; all of which have been translated into 34 languages, including Chinese and Russian. Not bad going for the son of Herbert Herbert, who was a stall-holder at London's famous Brick Lane Market.

It was a sad day indeed when Herbert died at his home in Sussex at the age of 69. The world of horror lovers took stock of the man they had quietly known for decades and realised just how much they would miss him and over all, his trademark books. He was survived by his wife, Eileen, and three daughters. His estate was valued at £8.3 million.

He remains a respected figure in the genre, with the Master of horror himself speaking highly of him. “Herbert was by no means literary, but his work had a raw urgency," said Stephen King. "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."

"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,'" Andrew Postman wrote in The New York Times Book Review. "In the thriller genre, do recommendations come any higher?"

So yes, Herbert may be gone, but his legend will forever life on in his brutal, yet charmingly British books. He has scared and influenced many, so let’s look forward to him haunting us through the words of a myriad writers for generations to come.

So, that's all for this week, Prosers, 

Until next time, 

Prose.