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Nobody True by James Herbert
28/11/2005 . Source: Paul Skevington 
pub: TOR/Forge. 316 page hardback. Price: $25.95 (US), $34.95 (CAN). ISBN: 0-765-31212-3. Buy from Amazon US - Buy from Amazon UK
nb: US titles may only be available from Amazon US, and UK titles from Amazon UK. check out website: www.tor.com
'Nobody True' is the new book by the well-known writer James Herbert, a name synonymous with the horror genre. The book certainly contains a large element of the horrific, but is by no means limited to this genre as a frame of reference.
The book tells the story of James True, a successful art director who co-owns the advertising agency he works for. He lives a relatively normal life, made unusual only by his sporadic ability to leave his body and experience OBEs (Out of Body Experiences). Following one of these astral trips, he returns to find his body hideously mutilated and realises that he is now effectively dead. This event gives birth to the subject matter that the rest of the book will base itself on.
I wanted to keep the exposition to a minimum, as I desired to emphasise the focus on my main problem with this book. The novel is based on a meagre premise and this is blatantly evident in the construction of the chapters and the narrative progression. There is a huge and unwieldy amount of repetition in the types of incident that befall James True and the descriptions of these occurrences. We are informed several times in great detail of the exact method in which True's astral self travels between places. Several dozen times we are told of the spirit-self's limitations: he can't touch, smell or have sexual urges. I soon found myself dreading the appearance of one of these passages, mentally pre-empting the words when they appeared. Reading these sections felt like listening to an elderly relative reminisce about a favourite topic, the only difference being that I could throw the book across the room to silence it, without being arrested shortly afterwards for doing so. In short, this book would have made a fantastic short story if pared down to its essential components and edited judiciously.
Discarding the hypothetical, though, the novel that we do have is still highly enjoyable, despite the flaws that are present within it. Herbert uses a first person perspective effectively, with the narrator addressing the reader directly, giving the book a conversational feel that works well within the confines of the story. Herbert compensates for the lack of alternative viewpoints by utilising James True's ability to observe his family and friends undetected, listening to their conversations and watching as they go about their lives. He even gets impressions from their minds when he touches them. The use of these literary devices proves to be important to a book that focuses so relentlessly on the life and thoughts of one individual. Considering the boundaries placed upon the author by creating a character who can do virtually nothing other than observe the actions of those around him, it is impressive that Herbert can manage to make the text so entertaining, circumventing the characters imposed passivity and turning it from a hindrance into a useful tool. There are only a few occasions when James True takes an active role in events and each time this happens it is entirely plausible and unobtrusive.
Herbert has also successfully put a new spin on a tired old horror trope. Nobody could argue that a tale featuring a ghost (or OBE projection. You say tomato...) of a murdered man who must now discover the identity of his killer is based on a particularly original idea. However, in 'Nobody True', Herbert uses the framework of this set-up as the stage for the narrator to analyse his life and, eventually, to come to terms with and accept its imperfections. True is allowed to take a step back from his existence, giving him a perspective that few of us will ever be able to achieve, improved with a little more objectivity and a lot less biased passion.
The horrific side of the tale is provided courtesy of the serial killer that James True finds himself shadowing for portions of the book. The victim of a horrific physical deformity, the killer is described in unpleasant detail, as are the peculiarly nasty activities that he gets up to when True is present. The murderer is a cut above the usual slashing stalker, with twisted motivations and desires that distinguish him from the pack of mindless drones that often inhabit the horror genre. Only rarely does the extremity of his actions degenerate into pantomime, the cackling (or in this case, gurgling) psychopath within emerging onto the stage. Indeed, the author uses the novel to explore questions of good and evil and the effect of nature/nurture on our eventual character. Although never coming down firmly into any particular camp, it is good to see the questions being asked in a form that often supports more black and white definitions of morality.
There is a slight problem with the characterisation of the women within the book. The main female roles fall neatly into the virgin/mother/whore archetype familiar from many other works. Women falling outside of these categories occupy the position of the aberrant. The narrator himself espouses on many occasions his 'traditional' attitude towards women, namely that they are more fragile and need to be looked after, although conceding that their intellectual capacity is equal to that of men. It is not a glaring problem, but the book is missing a strong female character, the creation of which could have done away with my reservations on the topic.
Despite this, the book does have power, especially towards its conclusion. I found myself gripped during its finale, my heart trampled on and generally mistreated as the shocks and revelations of the novels climax did their work on my psyche. There is no denying the novel's status as a first class thrill-ride and it will certainly please existing fans of the author. I just find myself thinking that a little more substance and more thought, could have turned a good book into a great one.
Paul Skevington
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