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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
Utter dreck.
This book was a mess. Weak writing throughout. Extremely tropey. It's like every character came straight out of a list.
The over-dedicated scientist who sees the first signs
His bureaucratic superiors who refuse to listen
The old man who knows all about it and is assumed crazy
The blue collar worker who sees the signs no one else does
And the women: love interest 1 and love interest 2, a.k.a. 'bait' and 'I'll just stay over here'
Their attempt to modernize the vampires with more scientific explanations was somewhat interesting, but it also ended up highlighting a lot of items that didn't really make sense. Like they had an explanation for the mirror thing, and drinking blood, but it's just taken as given that vampires can't cross running water.
But this books biggest problem was really just the writing. Even beyond the tropes and weak coincidences, it was just not written like a book. It really felt more like a movie pitch. Instead of the writing drawing me into the characters and the world, I felt like it was just describing what was happening on the screen. It seemed like a lot of the choices were made without being aware of the strengths of the medium... A lot of things can work in movies that don't work very well in books, and there is a lot you can do in books that doesn't translate to movies.
This book was a mess. Weak writing throughout. Extremely tropey. It's like every character came straight out of a list.
The over-dedicated scientist who sees the first signs
His bureaucratic superiors who refuse to listen
The old man who knows all about it and is assumed crazy
The blue collar worker who sees the signs no one else does
And the women: love interest 1 and love interest 2, a.k.a. 'bait' and 'I'll just stay over here'
Their attempt to modernize the vampires with more scientific explanations was somewhat interesting, but it also ended up highlighting a lot of items that didn't really make sense. Like they had an explanation for the mirror thing, and drinking blood, but it's just taken as given that vampires can't cross running water.
But this books biggest problem was really just the writing. Even beyond the tropes and weak coincidences, it was just not written like a book. It really felt more like a movie pitch. Instead of the writing drawing me into the characters and the world, I felt like it was just describing what was happening on the screen. It seemed like a lot of the choices were made without being aware of the strengths of the medium... A lot of things can work in movies that don't work very well in books, and there is a lot you can do in books that doesn't translate to movies.
I went in with high expectations, and was disappointed. For the first third of the book, I kept waiting for something to happen. Then, when something did, it was to gross me out to the point where I had to put it down and stop reading. I should've taken that as a signal, but I was determined. The last half of the book was very formulaic.
It sounded like such a promising premise. In the end, though, it just couldn't break out of the horror/thriller/vampire/zombie mold. I won't be picking up the other 2 parts of the trilogy, unless they're a vast improvement.
It sounded like such a promising premise. In the end, though, it just couldn't break out of the horror/thriller/vampire/zombie mold. I won't be picking up the other 2 parts of the trilogy, unless they're a vast improvement.
I really enjoyed the beginning. It was a different take on an old story. But about the middle of the book, I completely knew what was going to happen. Not necessarily a bad thing, but there was a lot of foreshadowing. And I liked the main character at the beginning of the book, but the end, not so much. I was more interested in the other characters by then, so I'm going to continue the series.
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a re-read, since I hadn’t read the book since I was in high school in 2010. It’s still fantastic and super pertinent, post 2020.
Fun read. No relation to the YA romantic, vampire fiction that's been popular of late. I suppose it's got a lot more in common with the fighting for our lives, how do we stop this thing?, zombie fare. It's gothic. It's brutal. It's us vs. them. Unfortunately they are hungry and efficient. We are trusting and prey.
More like 2.5 stars, but hey. Pretty much your bog standard airport paperback thriller - interesting premise meets meh writing and makes for an entertaining if not particularly memorable read. The characters are one-dimensional tropes and not particularly likable ones at that. I'm all for flawed characters, but I find it annoying when authors go the route of making everyone misanthropic and jaded and bitter, and every marriage miserable, whether openly or secretly. Projection much? Might eventually get around to reading the sequels out of curiosity, but they aren't particularly high on the priority list.
A bunch of cardboard CSI refugees fight some mildly inventive vampires. Who lives? Who dies? Who cares?
This book jumped up my to read list by virtue of it becoming a tv series staying in July. I enjoyed this book well enough. My only complaint, which happens a lot in this type of books, is how long it takes the characters to figure out it's a vampire. I mean, I figured it out immediately and I would presume people in this fictional yet real world will have read vampire books and/or seen vampire movies do they should be able to put it together quicker. The vampires in this book are pretty creepy, let's see how FX does in their adaptation.
now this is a great vampire book. none of that glittery lame shit! i have been craving good horror for so long. i read several koontz novels and that just didn't do the trick, but this did. i can't wait to read the next one in the series. i have been a fan of guillermo del toro's movies and now i'm a fan of his writing too.