The Spear is a 1978 novel by British author James Herbert dealing with Nazi occultism and the Holy Lance. It was first published in by New English Library.
The book deals with a neo-Nazi cult in Britain and an international conspiracy which includes a right-wing US general and a sinister arms dealer, and their obsession with resurrecting Heinrich Himmler by occult means.
Ramsey Campbell praised the novel, saying "The Spear scores as a thriller, especially in its set pieces".
In an earlier version of The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail/The Da Vinci Code lawsuit, Trevor Ravenscroft sued James Herbert claiming the novel infringed on his 1972 non-fiction book The Spear of Destiny.
While Herbert admitted to utilizing the book as a source, Ravenscroft claimed the book contained many instances of unauthorized borrowing. Herbert refused to pay him ã25,000 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. Herbert lost the court case and eventually removed the offending content from the book entirely, withdrawing its first edition from sale.