The Rats (Rats #1)

The first novel of James Herbert, The Rats was an immediate hardcover and paperback bestselling sensation that spawned two sequels. Simultaneously praised for is reinvention of horror as more immediate and graphic, and derided for its gratuitous violence and non-literary writing, The Rats nevertheless raised serious issues about government response to horror, particularly when the horror happens to lower-class citizens.
The work of James Herbert (1943-2013) is now recognized, thanks largely to the efforts of Ramsey Campbell and Stephen King, as a significant contribution to the field. This is the first time The Rats been published in hardcover in the United States, and as such it is a true first edition. This is also the definitive edition, with a lengthy, heavily-illustrated introduction by Stephen Jones, reproductions (in color) of old hardcover and paperback editions, and illustrations by David Ho and Jason C. Eckhardt.
Smyth sewn, with head and tail bands, ribbon marker, and full color dustjacket with extra-long flaps. Set in Caslon, the book is 384 pages and is 6 × 9 inches. Limited to 300 copies, each book is signed by Stephen Jones, Jason C. Eckhardt and David Ho, along with a Herbert-family-approved James Herbert facsimile signature.