Domain (Rats, #3)

Title: Domain (Rats, #3)

Author: James Herbert

Published in: 1983

Date read: 23rd May 2006

Score: 4/5

Genre: Horror, Dystopian, Thriller

Plot: (Warning, may contain spoilers):
"Domain" by James Herbert is the third and final novel in his iconic "Rats" trilogy, taking the terrifying premise to a full-blown post-apocalyptic nightmare.

The story opens with the long-dreaded global nuclear conflict finally erupting. London is devastated, reduced to rubble by multiple missile strikes, and the vast majority of its population is instantly annihilated or horribly mutilated. Only a few lucky (or unlucky) survivors manage to find refuge in scattered, deep underground government bunkers and shelters.

Among these survivors is Mike Culver, a former pilot, who, along with Alex Dealey (a temporarily blinded civil servant who knows the way to a bunker) and Kate, a young woman they encounter, manages to reach the relative safety of an underground facility.

However, the war above ground is not the only threat. The mutant rats, previously seen as a menacing force, have not only survived the nuclear blasts but have thrived in the irradiated wasteland. They have become even larger, more cunning, and more numerous, sensing that humanity is weakened and now ripe for the taking.

As the survivors in the bunker grapple with dwindling resources, radiation sickness, and the psychological toll of their new reality, they discover that the rats are still a very present and horrifying danger. The creatures find ways to infiltrate the shelters, leading to claustrophobic and gruesome encounters.

The narrative also intersperses vignettes of other desperate individuals above ground, showcasing the utter chaos and horror of the nuclear aftermath. Eventually, a small group of survivors, including Culver and Kate, is forced to venture out into the irradiated ruins of London in a desperate search for other potential havens or the rumoured main government bunker.

They discover that the rats have established a horrifying dominion over the city, led by a monstrous, two-headed, sentient queen that is breeding a new, even more terrifying form of offspring. "Domain" is a bleak and relentless tale of survival against overwhelming odds, pitting the remnants of humanity against an evolved, vengeful plague of mutant rats in a world utterly transformed by catastrophe. It explores the dark consequences of human conflict and the chilling possibility of nature's, or rather un-nature's, ultimate triumph.

Comments:
An epic conclusion. Not much more that I can remember other than thoroughly enjoying it.

Books that we've read by James Herbert (20):
The Rats (Rats, #1) (1974), The Fog (1975), The Survivor (1976), Fluke (1977), The Spear (1978), Lair (Rats, #2) (1979), The Dark (1980), Jonah (1981), Shrine (1983), Domain (Rats, #3) (1983), Moon (1985), Magic Cottage (1986), Sepulchre (1987), Haunted (David Ash, #1) (1988), The Ghosts Of Sleath (David Ash, #2) (1994), Others (1999), Once... (2001), Nobody True (2003), The Secret of Crickley Hall (2006), Ash (David Ash, #3) (2012)