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Portent
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 12 hrs and 36 mins
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Portent
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Editor reviews
The mass suicide of seven thousand king penguins is just the first of many ominous "portents" in best-selling thriller writer James Herbert's tale of escalating natural disaster. The very Earth itself seems to be fighting humanity like an immune system defending itself against a foreign virus, but there seems to be more at work, as magic, strange orbs of light, and children with psychic abilities come into play. Jonathon Keeble performs the audiobook, the gravity of his theatrical delivery bringing the full weight of this epic thriller down to the surface of our fragile planet.
Summary
The end is beginning. The time is just a few short years from now. But already the signs of global disaster are multiplying. Freak storms, earthquakes, floods volcanic eruptions are sweeping the earth. The last violent spasms of a dying planet. Then a series of ominous events signal the emergence of new and terrifying forces.
While scuba-diving on the Great Barrier Reef a diver watches fascinated as a tiny light floats past him towards the surface. Moments later he is torn to pieces as the reef erupts with shattering power. In the Chinese city of Kashi, travellers bring back reports of a strange light seen shining above the endless dunes of the Taklimakan Desert. And as the city's inhabitants watch for its return the desert rises up like a vast living thing to engulf them in a colossal tidal wave of sand. All have seen a portent: a sign of unimaginable powers about to be unleashed. A sign that something incredible is about to begin.
James Herbert was one of Britain's greatest popular novelists and our #1 best-selling writer of chiller fiction. Widely imitated and hugely influential, he wrote 23 novels which have collectively sold over 54 million copies worldwide and been translated into 34 languages. Born in London in the forties, James Herbert was art director of an advertising agency before turning to writing fiction in 1975. His first novel, The Rats, was an instant best-seller and is now recognised as a classic of popular contemporary fiction. Herbert went on to publish a new top ten best-seller every year until 1988. He wrote six more bestselling novels in the 1990s and three more since: Once, Nobody True and The Secret of Crickley Hall. Herbert died in March 2013 at the age of 69.
Critic reviews
"There are few things I would like to do less than lie under a cloudy night sky while someone read aloud the more vivid passages of Moon. In the thriller genre, do recommendations come any higher?" (Andrew Postman, The New York Times Book Review)
"Herbert goes out in a blaze of glory" ( Daily Mail)
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What listeners say about Portent
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Helen - Kindle Customer
- 26-09-22
Armageddon in words
Although written in the time of Ford Escorts and Granada cars and no mobile phones, the situation with our World that we are experiencing now is described here and what may happen!
The Reader was perfect - wonderful voice.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Miss S.
- 28-02-21
Not one of his best
Jonathan Keeble always narrates well and gives the story some depth but this story was disappointing. Very long winded but having read a number of James Herbert's books I do wonder how he came up with so much horror.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 31-12-20
gripping
it was fabulous. it was read with real intensity and as the book went on I couldn't stop listening.
James Herbert was a unique writer of horror and haunts.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- A D Stevenson
- 23-02-22
Griping from start to end.
Herbert is at his best here.
JK is a great performer.
Outstanding balance between story and the telling
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- PL
- 30-09-21
surprisingly weak story for such a writer
as a big fan of James Herbert creations I found this a surprisingly weak storyline
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- fluff
- 03-07-22
my favourite narrator Jonathan Keeble
Good story from the master of horror with great narration from Jonathan Keeble my favourite narrator
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Lexa T Cardew
- 25-07-22
Absolutely gripping
I love Audible mostly. This tale encompasses elements of humanity that were not a part of education in my youth. I know them. I am pleased to say be gripped and be shaken to the end of your own story - for the children.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Philandera hates washing up
- 20-08-22
Excellent writing and narration but a little boring in the end
Ok not sure whether I liked this or not it’s not my fav book by the author I’ve listened to. I way preferred nobody true to this one. So if you’ve never tried james before I’d recommend nobody true over this one but he is so good with detail and the narration is second to none on all these books. I just felt it was a bit cheesy and well I can’t out my finger on it without spoilers but yes… I’d go for nobody true instead giving men the choice and having just read both of these.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- A. Brunton
- 24-10-21
Time changes everything.
I read this book first when I was 18. I've been carrying the paperback version from place to place ever since and when my eye rests on it I say to whoever is with me - 'have you read this? It's great. Very pertinent now.' When I was 18 I found this book unputdownable. Not so much now.
I allow leeway for the fact this book was written some time ago. Scarily almost 30 years. There's quite a bit of casual racism. Everyone is white unless pointed out by the author. Anyone of colour is a baddie. The 'baddies' are drawn in crass stereotypes. All the things i notice now that I did not notice then I am ashamed to say. However, setting that aside surely the underpinnings of the book are still sound? Well not really. I didn't actually care that much about the characters besides pogsy and bibi. They are the only two characters who are drawn sympathetically with some understanding of their history. Poor old Mac is almost completely unexplained.
I found the character 'Diana' inexplicable and the reasons she did things and agreed things maddening. The narrator especially made her particularly annoying!
The children were not endearing. You didn't warm to them.
So these are the things I liked. I liked the idea of the Portent. I liked the Gaia affect and the quote by Chief Ottawa. I remembered that these things had led me to do further research when I read it for the first time. I like the huge set pieces and I could see that it could be a humdinger of a disaster movie - I can only think it wasn't picked up due to the cost.
I feel that someone could pick this book up and rewrite it - some of the scenes are boring. The dialogue is often dull. It needs a good re-write. The characters could do with a bit of sophistication. But underneath the book still has an interesting premise.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Wayne
- 24-08-21
Classic pulp horror
Follows James usual style and delivers an interesting story to which you want to see the conclusion. Not as good as some of his other books, in my opinion, and felt a little more contrived than usual, but fans will enjoy it and others looking for an easy, somewhat titillating story will too.
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