Nobody True

by James Herbert

Review by Gemma Farrow

"Nobody True" is James Herbert's best novel to date.  The book is a coming together of contradictions and handled so brilliantly that they compliment one another rather than detract.

It's a terribly tortured story.  James True, the protagonist, has outer body experiences (OBE's), of course the question begs, what might happen if his body is destroyed while experiencing an OBE?  What are the consequences of the separation between body, mind and soul.  And if your family is threatened, as in the case of James True, how can you possibly protect them when contact and communication is nil?

"Nobody True" focuses on what makes us who we are, how we are defined by those we love and the consequences of their betrayal.

Considering the large scope it covers: OBE's, voyeurism, necrophilia*, the lack of rights estranged fathers have, and the extent warped minds can go, the novel could have been seriously complicated.  But it's kept neat and contained.     

The characterization is brilliant.  James True is a gullible but well meaning hero and his enemy, Moker, is one of the most unsettling and unusual characters I have come across.  Moker is almost animal-like, he is utterly depersonalized, a 'malign animus'.  

"NoBody True" is about opposites, lust and love; death and life; family and loneliness.  All these are linked by jealousy, envy, possession, bitterness and regret. The suspense is heady, with one revelation after another, can it get any worse?     

There is an unlikely partnership between True and Moker, a mirroring and reluctant empathy, the unnatural intimacy shared between them, although unwilling, touches the reader.  The subplot, although it doesn't eclipse the main story, adds a wonderful twist.     

This is a book that steps back from Herbert's usual taste for gratuitous sex and violence, but with this novel, due to the quiet threat it already carries, the themes that could easily have been overkill stay tastefully obscure.     

A perfect novel for writer/reader partnership. Herbert merely nudges the envelope of horrors and we the reader reach in with both hands (I did!).  It's a darkly funny, superbly written and introduces the reader to unimaginable possibilities.  It's a book to read. 

Publisher: Pan Macmillan Ltd.  

ISBN: 1-405-00519-X