This is a novel that explores reincarnation and poses the question of what would it be like to have a human mind and recollections whilst existing in a canine body. It is the memory of what he had once been. But he was once something more and in the depths of his consciousness there’s a memory clawing its way to the surface, tormenting him, refusing to let him rest. The novel itself centres on Fluke, a mongrel who wanders the streets, driven by hunger and hunting a quarry he can not define. And then there is Fluke, and here’s the thing - it is not a horror book, it is a deceptively simple tale into which Herbert imbues pathos and humour and out of my fuzzy recollections of three decades ago two things remain clear: I was enthralled and I ultimately moved to tears. The Rats trilogy, The Fog, The Magic Cottage - novels that have a special place in millions of readers’ lives. James Herbert died four years ago and for many of us who were teenagers or older in the 80s he was - alongside Stephen King - a must-read horror writer. I loved the book and enjoyed reading Lineker’s thoughts, and also found myself making a mental note, which was simply re-read James Herbert’s Fluke. Walker’s excellent dystopian novel featuring dual narratives, that of Reg the human and - most memorably - that of Lineker the dog. Recently I read The Last Dog on Earth, Adrian J.
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