Fluke

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During all this, Herbert answers the meaning to life, the universe and everything (and it's not 42).

I also felt like reading something a little less highbrow than a lot of my current reading so it ticked all the boxes. It reads very quickly since Fluke, the protagonist, will live many adventures, both good and bad, that will not give the reader respite.He is raised by an elderly homeless woman named Bella, who gives him the name Fluke, stating that he is a "fluke by nature, Fluke by name. Wow, this book was an absolute breath of fresh air and a massive departure from the all out horror found in James Herbert's other novels. It seems to follow the narrative of the book somewhat, but turns the whole story into a family-friendly film.

Herbert can do short novels pretty well, as is evidenced most notably by The Rats, but this one was a bit of a failure, at least for me. Catching the eye of a kindly old man, he’s soon carried off through the busy streets and road traffic, none of which he’s ever seen before and all described the way they must look to a very small dog. He was a stringy mongrel, wandering the streets of the city, driven by a ravenous hunger and hunting a quarry he could not define. Fluke is also accepted by Rumbo’s owner, a scrap-metal merchant, who only feeds them occasionally so they have to fend for themselves most of the time. The next night, Brian goes missing while looking for Fluke and Carol implores Jeff to help, so Jeff drives back to their house.I'm glad we got some spiritual/religious reflection on how this extraordinary circumstance came to be and was glad to find it wasn't preachy at all.