Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #411371 in Books
• Published on: 2006-01-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 337 pages

Customer Reviews

Well written but confused and extremely silly .
Horror probably more so than any other type of fiction requires willing suspension of disbelief. All those ghouls , zombies, vampires, werethingies can't exist in real life can they ? Yet with really good horror -whether it be written or celluloid , as a fan of the genre , you never find yourself questioning what is going on .You just go with the flow. Unfortunately Berserk had me guffawing with incredulity several times .I found myself not so much going with the flow as flailing against it willing the book to end.
Tom and his wife Jo are still mourning the death of their son Stephen some ten years after he was killed in a tragic accident while on training manoeuvres with his army unit. One night down the local pub Tom overhears a couple of blokes talking about the place( Porton Down) where his son was killed . One of them mentions monsters. Putting aside the extraordinary coincidence Tom badgers one of the men for more information and it soon becomes clear that there was some sort of cover up and the death of his son wasn't as he's been led to believe. A map leads him to a location on the army training ground where his son died but what he finds is gruesome and unbelievable . But the authorities don't want what happened at Porton Down to become public knowledge and someone is on Tom's trail and determined to stop him even if it means using deadly force.
I liked the idea of a military experiment gone wrong as the basis of this story but the plot relies too much on happenstance and has gaping logical holes. The Berserkers of the title are given no back story to explain their genesis and their curious mixture of zombie, werewolf and vampire is muddled and fatally not at all scary or even creepy. We are led to believe Tom loves his wife with a real passion but when she is killed he barely gives her a second thought . The demise of his son is dealt with in a rather cursory manner too. The plot is intriguing to start with but quickly descends into one extended chase scene .And though Lebbon can write - he has a nice poetic turn of phrase - he has a tendency to over write internalised exposition (Like Stephen King) to the detriment of the story .
Berserk is recommended on Amazon as a tie in with zombie fiction , yet it has nothing to do with that genre alas. This is a confused book. Part thriller and part horror that doesn't excel at either . It came across to me as all rather silly .Tim Lebbon is a more than capable writer but the fact remains that Berserk whatever genre you lump it in just isn't a very good work of fiction.

Excellent
This is the first book of Tim's I have read and i'll definately be reading more. I had been told this was a zombie novel and expected the usual dead eating brains stuff but its nothing like that at all. The storyline is excellent and the charactors are great. This book is un-put-downable. Read it.

Berserk is as fast paced as the title sounds - brilliant
As time is precious I only read books that capture me from the beginning. I couldn't put this down. A fast paced book which would make a great film. A horror thriller which you can believe, making it even more creepy! A lazy weekend / short break read compared to TL's Dusk which takes you on a long rollercoaster ride of sleepless nights and bizzare dreams. Depending on how much time you have, I would recommend both whole heartedly.