The Spear (novel)

Ramsey Campbell praised the novel, saying "The Spear scores as a thriller, especially in its set pieces".^[1]

In an earlier version of The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail/The Da Vinci Code lawsuit,^[2] Trevor Ravenscroft sued James Herbert claiming the novel infringed on his 1972 non-fiction book The Spear of Destiny.^[3][4]

While Herbert admitted to utilizing the book as a source, Ravenscroft claimed the book contained many instances of unauthorized borrowing.^[4] Herbert refused to pay him £25,000 in compensation, claiming Ravenscroft had himself plagiarized another author. Ravenscroft then sued him. During the trial, Herbert had a "strange experience" on a train, which he semi-seriously believed could be a psychic attack from Ravenscroft; during the trial Ravenscroft claimed he had met Herbert in a past life while Jesus was being executed.^[4] Herbert lost the court case and eventually removed the offending content from the book entirely, withdrawing its first edition from sale.^[4][5][3]