The Spear - The Jonah - The Survivor

The Spear

Neo-Nazi cultists and unholy demonic powers strike out from an evil past to claim the future!

When Harry Steadman agreed to investigate the disappearance of a young Mossad agent, he had no idea he would be drawn into a malevolent conspiracy of Neo-Nazi cultists bent on unleashing an age-old unholy power on an unsuspecting world — power rising out of a demonic relic from man’s dark primal past to threaten all humanity with horror beyond any nightmare.

It was in an ancient castle where all-corrupting sex and savage religious rites were practiced by a new master race that Steadman came face-to-face with the cult’s twisted, vengeful leader. But even as he fought in deadly combat against this bloodthirsty force of diabolical evil, the minions of darkness were tightening their stranglehold of doom, preparing to plunge the entire earth into a maelstrom of violence and hideous hell…

This new edition of James Herbert’s The Spear comes with a dustjacket, endpapers, and a few interiors by David Ho, and story illustrations by Rodger Gerberding. It also features an essay, “The Curious Case of the Spear,” by Jo Fletcher, and James Herbert’s original prologue to the book, reprinted here for the first time since 1979!

This is a fine new hardcover edition of this classic that mixes horror, zombies, occult lore, and a Robert Ludlum-inspired espionage plot, one of Herbert’s most engaging and offbeat books. With more James Herbert in the works (The Survivor and The Jonah) you won’t want to miss this book!

Edition Specifications:

• Limited to 300 signed copies.
• Special afterword by Jo Fletcher.
• Signed by Jo Fletcher, David Ho, and Rodger Gerberding, with a facsimile signature by James Herbert.
• James Herbert’s original prologue.
• Dustjacket and frontispiece art by David Ho.
• Interior artwork by Rodger Gerberding.
• Illustrated endpapers.
• Top-edge stain.
• Ribbon marker, head and tail bands, bound in Brillianta black cloth.
• Two-color stamping on spine and front boards.
• Smythe-sewn binding.
• Book size 5¼ × 8¼ inches.
• Number of pages: 392.
• Published September 2021.

The Jonah

Another failed sting operation, leaving an officer dead, leads to constable Jim Kelso’s reassignment duty. It’s just one more snafu in a long line where his mere presence results in disaster. But you can’t fault his boss for the decision. Kelso’s bad luck has a habit of showing up at the wrong time. And where he goes, it follows.
       Cast out of London’s Scotland Yard, Kelso washes up on the shores of the unassuming, seafaring town of Lowestoft where he’s tasked with locating the source of a family’s manic, near-death LSD encounter. With the help of Customs and Excise agent, Ellie Shepherd, Kelso goes undercover to scope out the town’s residents and pick up the trail before it recedes back into the murky abyss of Lowestoft’s underground drug culture. But as he knows and others soon find out, a past dead and buried is never really dead or buried.
       In The Jonah, Herbert once again strays from his horror roots to focus on his latest love: supernatural fiction. Blessed with an eye for detail, he takes the methodical police procedural and breaks with its conventions, infusing his concoction with the bizarre, the preternatural, the introspective, and a little good-natured popcorn entertainment. However, for those who yearn for the Herbert of old, there’s still plenty of that ghostly and ominous foreshadowing to shock your socks off.
       But Herbert doesn’t stop there. He employs nautical and biblical allusions of the Jonah based on its historical origins to subvert our expectations. These seep into our subconscious, leading us to the inevitable: Are the forces here manifesting as a result of Murphy’s law or something with a much more malicious purpose?
       It may be a turning point in Herbert’s fiction, a slow boil set to the starboard side, but The Jonah’s cresting waves will still batter the coastline and overrun its dunes. Take every precaution before you enter this squall. Otherwise, you may just find yourself clinging to life before the whirlpool swallows you under.
       This edition of The Jonah includes seven bonus essays and stories by James Herbert: “Comic Relief,” “They Don’t Like Us,” “Bowled Over By the Beast,” “Breakfast,” “Haloween’s Child,” “Others,” and “The Ghost Hunter.”

EDITION INFORMATION

• Limited to 300 signed copies.
• Includes seven bonus stories and essays.
• Signed by Ben Baldwin and Rodger Gerberding, with a facsimile signature by James Herbert.
• Dustjacket, endpaper, and frontispiece art by Ben Baldwin.
• Interior artwork by Rodger Gerberding.
• Illustrated endpapers.
• Top-edge stain.
• Ribbon marker, head and tail bands, bound in Brillianta black cloth.
• Two-color stamping on spine and front boards.
• Smyth-sewn binding.
• Book size 5¼ × 8¼ inches.
• Number of pages: 400.
• Published April 2022.

The Survivor

A fireball rips through the night sky and plummets to Earth. The fiery wreck, a carnage of epic proportions, is the skeleton of a jumbo jet airliner. Hundreds were aboard and all perished except for one. David Keller is that one — he is the survivor.
       But how and why? What benevolent force raised him like a phoenix from the ashes of this graveyard? That is, assuming it wasn’t something more sinister. As the aircraft’s co-pilot, Keller lives with the guilt of a tragedy that he seemingly caused, but he can’t remember a thing about it. When disturbing occurrences befall the residents of Eton in the aftermath of the crash, Keller is at the forefront, resurrecting fragments of his past and pursuing answers to questions that may not have any basis in this reality… or any other.
       Written like a barnstorming page-turner, The Survivor finds Herbert channeling a wicked wizard on the outskirts of sanity, willing to push the boundaries of classic horror, merging its penchant for shock value with the supernatural elements of mysticism. The result is a depraved tale about life, death, and the balance of good versus evil that’s as horrifying as it is thought-provoking.
       Herbert asks the questions that no supplicant dare bestow upon his maker: Will our souls find safe passage from this world to the next? Or will they languish in a hellish purgatory, agonizing through the same cycle that claimed our bodily vessels? The nature of death and its dividing line are a continuous battle for his characters, one which he is determined to explore even at the expense of their souls.
       At times The Survivor plays out with the sort of thrills you might seek in a slasher picture. And as any well-informed fan would know, follow horror’s golden rules or suffer the consequences. But if you want a failsafe, make sure you have your holy water chalice and rosary beads handy. They may be your only salvation this side of heaven.
       This edition of The Survivor includes a lengthy interview with James Herbert, as well as some rare photographs.

• Limited to 300 signed copies.
• Includes lengthy interview with James Herbert.
• Signed by Kiren Bagchee and Rodger Gerberding, with a facsimile signature by James Herbert.
• Dustjacket and frontispiece art by Karen Bagchee.
• Interior artwork by Rodger Gerberding.
• Illustrated endpapers.
• Top-edge stain.
• Ribbon marker, head and tail bands, bound in Brillianta black cloth.
• Two-color stamping on spine and front boards.
• Smyth-sewn binding.
• Book size 5¼ × 8¼ inches.
• Number of pages: 336.
• Published April 2022.

NOTE: While these three books are not techically part of a set, they were published pretty much at the same time, so the few copies we have left are being sold as a set, they do not include any future rights to any Herbert titles Centipede may publish in the future.