The strain

A novel that, in spite of its many flaws, remained enjoyable throughout. The Strain is a perfect example of how the more famous a book's author, the less polish they need to put in for it to get published. There are many odd choices made in the pacing of the story, the prose leaves a great deal to be desired, and the female part is woefully underwritten, the sole female "main" character doing nothing but feeling either horrified or saddened and remaining almost helpless for the entire time she is present.

Still, the book strikes an intriguing mix of an "epidemiological procedural" driven by modern science technology and a novel based on old-school vampire lore, and the authors never lose sight of the idea that vampires were meant to be terrifying rather than sparkly. The novel follows in the thematic footsteps of 'I Am Legend,' and manages to stand out both in a subgenre recovering from its sparkly phase and among a general market that has become saturated with zombie apocalypses.

While this novel is far from perfect, it's worth a read if you're into either old-school vampires or high-tech supernatural thrillers. An interesting story is slowed but not scuttled by the shortcomings of its execution, and I'm confident that the upcoming television adaptation of this book series will be even better than this source material, since film is Guillermo del Toro's native medium.

First thing I think you should know is that this book is clearly just the first part in the series. That's true of plenty of other books as well, but this is clearly the kind of book #1 where it feels like a really long book was written and then sliced into 3. So, if you want even the slightest bit of plot resolution, you, like me, should plan to read all 3 books.

Now, on the plus side, I actually WANT to read the next 2 books.

I bought this without knowing anything about the book (I didn't even read the publisher blurb). Put simply, I trust Guillermo del Toro. I trust him to tell a good story, to entertain and, importantly for a book like this, creep me out a bit.

Without giving away anything I wouldn't have wanted to know prior to reading this, this book both plays into and against patterns, tropes and archetypes we're used to. The balance found makes for an entertaining read that has me re-shuffling my list to get to the rest of the story.

Just when you think you're sure that a portion is playing out exactly like 100 other books you've read or movies you've seen before, it takes a subtle twist. Not a big, 180 degree twist, put in just to violate expectations. Rather, the kind that wakes you up and makes you pay attention, pulling you into the story.

Wow, what a scary book this was! I'm normally not much of a horror / vampire fan (most of my recently abandoned books have something to do with vampires), but this book by the amazing director Guillermo Del Toro ("Pan's Labyrinth") and a co-author, really glued me to my seat. It was believable, graphic and down right frightening in places!

After a short flash back, it jumps to now, where a jumbo jet lands at Kennedy Airport and then abruptedly goes dead. No lights, no comm, nothing. Various agencies are called and and the strangeness only just begins.

After a few survivors are found and the rest of the bodies are moved to the morgue, well, you can guess what happens, as these aren't really dead, just vampires. There are scary stories of the survivors as they slowly turn into vampires and while the main protagonists try to find the leader. An old Jew, who escape Treblinka, is along to help out, as these medical people gradually become believers.

The authors do a good job of "explaining" the medical theory behind vampirism, and it gets pretty gruesome. I'm looking forward to the next two books in the trilogy, as it should be quite a ride as they try to clean up vampirism before it takes over the world.