There can be no doubt that James Herbert in his life time was a colossus of the literature world, a man who bought a quiet dignity to the world of writing and who should be seen as the Godfather of modern British Horror. When Mr. Herbert passed on at the end of March at the end of 69, he left behind him a space that quite possibly will never be filled and for his fans in Liverpool the unique chance to see him being interviewed at the iconic Williamson Tunnels as part of the city’s Literary Festival will now sadly never be witnessed.
However the master of British Horror’s spirit very much lived on as Stephen Jones, Ramsey Campbell, Adam Nevill and his biographer Craig Cabell enthralled an audience with tales of the great writer’s life and their personal memories of the man before dipping into the mountain of work to read various passages from his novels including The Magic Cottage, Shrine and Sepulchre.
Instead of the question-answer session that had been planned, this forum of writers produced the right tone for an evening of reflection, laughter and above all love that was keenly felt throughout those who attended the evening. The cold chill that settled in the tunnel venue as the evening wore on perhaps a distant reminder of what could have been. The four men on the stage certainly kept the crowd lost for words as they read some of the work that the man was noted for and Craig Cabell, the man who had got to know Mr. Herbert very well over the years as he wrote the authorised biography, Devil In the Dark, the evening seemed to take on extra resonance as towards the end of the night read a small paragraph of the new preface for the book that the writer said he could have after he died.
The Liverpool Literary Festival has already been warmly welcomed and it is important to attend as many of the events set up as possible but there will probably none that will be more poignant, more heart-breaking as the event that was to be a highlight in the calendar becoming a celebration of a life. For fans of the genre there is one less reassuring voice in the darkness.
Ian D. Hall