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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
it is a pretty odd pairing as authors, but it certainly works. Del Toro is the director of movies like "Pan's Labyrinth", so it is clear that he has a wild imagination. Chuck Hogan is a master of the thriller, so contributes to the action and pacing. together they have created a superb new twist on the vampire theme...bringing in techno-thriller aspects that make the book read like the mix between Michael Crichton and Bram Stoker. the main characters are likable enough to care about and a lot of the less likable people meet nasty ends, so that's satisfying too. the book is the first of a planned trilogy...2nd installment came out in hardback last week...will be picking up my copy soon.
When they first announced the TV show (2014-), I immediately jumped on board. Vampires? Yes please. Monstrous non-Twilight vampires? Hell yes. The day when I realized Kevin Durand was Joshua in Dark Angel (2000-2002), one of my favorites when I was an innocent 12-year-old, was surreal to say the least. The premise of The Strain was, if not entirely original or exciting, very intriguing and the entertainment factor seemed promisingly high. It might not have become my favorite show, but it was great to get my mind off everyday drudgery and watch something straightforward and... well, entertaining.
The show's book counterpart is exactly that as well, and I wasn't surprised, because del Toro is involved in both. Nothing revolutionary here, just simple fun that transports you to a world of supernatural. The downfall of the book, for me, was precisely the fact that I'd seen the show. Because the show really is faithful down to the events and characters, and I appreciate that. Especially the character part, because nothing is as annoying as witnessing important characters or characters that are your favorite getting completely mauled by completely clueless individuals, who probably haven't even read the book.
In this case, though, it would have benefited me to actually get around reading the book first, like I'd planned, because now I just couldn't get into the story the same way as I did with the show. Would have been nice to see how cool everything I'd just read looked in visual form.
Thing is, that's not the book's fault. I could still see objectively all its merits. Oddly enough, all its flaws that flew past me in the show were heightened on paper. Although I liked the portrayal of vampires (animal-like creatures gradually becoming more intelligent) and the infection theme, I didn't see the overall story arc as anything more than an awfully pedestrian and clichéd story about a bunch of (one-dimensional) people that try to stop an end of the world. It's when you start to think about it, it's really not that interesting nor haunting, although I think it should be, considering that the entire city of New York is turning into bloodthirsty worm vessels (those worms creeped me out the most in the whole thing).
The occasionally cringey writing doesn't help either. I wish I had written some of the worst parts down, but there were moments where I could hear the violins that must have been playing in the authors' heads, or moments where I was rolling my eyes so hard I thought they'd pop off. However, The Strain is still a page-turner. It may not be strong sci-fi nor horror, but in its middling class it's worthy of the time spent. I don't know how much del Toro participated in the writing process, but I think his visions are better suited for visual media.
Will I check out the sequels? Uh, don't think so. I am, however, interested in the comic adaptation. Here's hoping the artist is good, or otherwise the visual aspect is pooped as well.
The show's book counterpart is exactly that as well, and I wasn't surprised, because del Toro is involved in both. Nothing revolutionary here, just simple fun that transports you to a world of supernatural. The downfall of the book, for me, was precisely the fact that I'd seen the show. Because the show really is faithful down to the events and characters, and I appreciate that. Especially the character part, because nothing is as annoying as witnessing important characters or characters that are your favorite getting completely mauled by completely clueless individuals, who probably haven't even read the book.
In this case, though, it would have benefited me to actually get around reading the book first, like I'd planned, because now I just couldn't get into the story the same way as I did with the show. Would have been nice to see how cool everything I'd just read looked in visual form.
Thing is, that's not the book's fault. I could still see objectively all its merits. Oddly enough, all its flaws that flew past me in the show were heightened on paper. Although I liked the portrayal of vampires (animal-like creatures gradually becoming more intelligent) and the infection theme, I didn't see the overall story arc as anything more than an awfully pedestrian and clichéd story about a bunch of (one-dimensional) people that try to stop an end of the world. It's when you start to think about it, it's really not that interesting nor haunting, although I think it should be, considering that the entire city of New York is turning into bloodthirsty worm vessels (those worms creeped me out the most in the whole thing).
The occasionally cringey writing doesn't help either. I wish I had written some of the worst parts down, but there were moments where I could hear the violins that must have been playing in the authors' heads, or moments where I was rolling my eyes so hard I thought they'd pop off. However, The Strain is still a page-turner. It may not be strong sci-fi nor horror, but in its middling class it's worthy of the time spent. I don't know how much del Toro participated in the writing process, but I think his visions are better suited for visual media.
Will I check out the sequels? Uh, don't think so. I am, however, interested in the comic adaptation. Here's hoping the artist is good, or otherwise the visual aspect is pooped as well.
A cinematic roller coaster ride that is extra creepy because it is set in my stomping grounds - New York City and Queens. It's cinematic in many good ways - fast paced, violent, gory, suspenseful, and action-packed. It's cinematic in some negative ways in that the character development is fairly weak and all the hero stereotypes come out to play. All in all, this book was a ton of fun to read and, I'm sure, will make for a hugely popular trilogy.
The beginning was brilliantly scary. Once the characters figured out what was going on, it got a little dull. But it picked back up a bit at the end. And if the authors' goal was to make you desperate to read the next book in the series, well they've done a great job. This is not for people who like happy endings. Or endings whatsoever, really.
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I will admit, I'm a sucker for anything with Guillermo's name on it. After The Devil's Backbone, Pan's Labryinth, The Orphanage, and, yes, even Hellboy 1 and 2, this man can do no wrong in my book. He seems to be a tireless source of creative ideas, and quite honestly does this opinion of him justice yet again with The Strain books. I'm still working my way through all of them, so we'll just concentrate on the first book to begin with.
It's a vampire book, yes, one of many amid an influx of the undead that's been injected recently into popular culture, but The Strain sets itself apart through sticking to the older rules of what it means to be a vampire while mixing it with science - it's kind of a modern Dracula.
The story follows a mysterious plane that lands in JFK airport - it simply comes down, sets on the tarmac, and then...nothing. Nothing from the passengers, nothing from the pilots; and so Dr. Ephraim Goodweather and his Canary team (a reference to coal miners, who would use the birds to detect poisonous gases that were otherwise invisible to human senses) to begin the process of figuring out just what happened here. Is it a virus? Some new form of plague? Slowly the truth becomes much, much darker and much less believable in the modern time that would rather shrug off the myths and fears of yesteryear as nothing more than simple minded folk who were making do with what explanations they had.
Sardu, the Dracula of our tale, is one of seven remaining immortals who have created a pact. They are to feed - and these vampires will suck you dry - but once they are done, they must destroy their prey for a new vampire will be born once a human is bit. A rather simple yet elegant solution to what could have easily turned into a massive overpopulation problem. But of course, Sardu is the renegade who believes that he can do what he wants, when he wants, and goes on to detonate a war between the immortals.
The Van Helsing role is filled by Professor Abraham Setrakian (yup, Abraham, couldn't make this any easier for you folks), who was hunted by Sardu as a young boy. What makes his story even more captivating is that he survived a concentration camp during World War II. Sardu could have easily been chalked up to being the twisted nightmares of an old man remembering the horrible days spent in a place that solely existed for the murdering of people. Instead, Sardu is indeed a true vampire, and Setrakian takes it upon himself to rid the earth of the monster. I do wish that more had been made of the parallels between the concentration camp and the vampires, but it's clear that this story was focusing on the turning reality into the supernatural.
The rest of our updated cast for The Strain includes Goodweather as Jonathan Harker, while his divorced wife Kelly takes up the role of Lucy Westenra (which definitely gives away what befalls her). Goodweather's other lady friend, Nora Martinez, could be said to be Mina, the huge Russian rat exterminator Vasiliy Fet is a good stand in for Dr. Steward what with his methodological killing of the vampires (along with his role as something of a son to Setrakian, not unlike the relationship between Van Helsing and Seward), and lastly, to fulfill the role of Quincey Morris, the hotheaded American cowboy, is Augustin Elizalde, a Mexican gangster who goes by the nickname of Gus.
In my mind, the parallels to Dracula are more than just the roles that the characters fulfill - the story itself speaks to the wonders of modern technology and how it can be used to overcome the fears of the past. The new inventions of the telegraph, which allowed people to communicate over vast distances, and the steam engine that gave the ability to transport people over hundreds of miles. These things and more are used to combat and work against the monster, who is trapped in the workings of the past (Dracula favors ships over steam engines, allowing the intrepid heroes to catch up and eventually slay him). In The Strain, ultraviolet lights and silver swords allow for both the protection of the living and the quick dispatching of the undead.
I'm sure these are only a few of the similarities between the two books, but I absolutely love what Hogan and Guillermo have done here. Not only have they given many nods to a classic work of fiction, but they've updated and remade it for modern times in the way that any remake should be done - not word for word (or frame for frame), but instead looked at from a different angle. I'm definitely excited to continue the series and see if the similarities hold up, and that the storytelling remains strong.
It's a vampire book, yes, one of many amid an influx of the undead that's been injected recently into popular culture, but The Strain sets itself apart through sticking to the older rules of what it means to be a vampire while mixing it with science - it's kind of a modern Dracula.
The story follows a mysterious plane that lands in JFK airport - it simply comes down, sets on the tarmac, and then...nothing. Nothing from the passengers, nothing from the pilots; and so Dr. Ephraim Goodweather and his Canary team (a reference to coal miners, who would use the birds to detect poisonous gases that were otherwise invisible to human senses) to begin the process of figuring out just what happened here. Is it a virus? Some new form of plague? Slowly the truth becomes much, much darker and much less believable in the modern time that would rather shrug off the myths and fears of yesteryear as nothing more than simple minded folk who were making do with what explanations they had.
Sardu, the Dracula of our tale, is one of seven remaining immortals who have created a pact. They are to feed - and these vampires will suck you dry - but once they are done, they must destroy their prey for a new vampire will be born once a human is bit. A rather simple yet elegant solution to what could have easily turned into a massive overpopulation problem. But of course, Sardu is the renegade who believes that he can do what he wants, when he wants, and goes on to detonate a war between the immortals.
The Van Helsing role is filled by Professor Abraham Setrakian (yup, Abraham, couldn't make this any easier for you folks), who was hunted by Sardu as a young boy. What makes his story even more captivating is that he survived a concentration camp during World War II. Sardu could have easily been chalked up to being the twisted nightmares of an old man remembering the horrible days spent in a place that solely existed for the murdering of people. Instead, Sardu is indeed a true vampire, and Setrakian takes it upon himself to rid the earth of the monster. I do wish that more had been made of the parallels between the concentration camp and the vampires, but it's clear that this story was focusing on the turning reality into the supernatural.
The rest of our updated cast for The Strain includes Goodweather as Jonathan Harker, while his divorced wife Kelly takes up the role of Lucy Westenra (which definitely gives away what befalls her). Goodweather's other lady friend, Nora Martinez, could be said to be Mina, the huge Russian rat exterminator Vasiliy Fet is a good stand in for Dr. Steward what with his methodological killing of the vampires (along with his role as something of a son to Setrakian, not unlike the relationship between Van Helsing and Seward), and lastly, to fulfill the role of Quincey Morris, the hotheaded American cowboy, is Augustin Elizalde, a Mexican gangster who goes by the nickname of Gus.
In my mind, the parallels to Dracula are more than just the roles that the characters fulfill - the story itself speaks to the wonders of modern technology and how it can be used to overcome the fears of the past. The new inventions of the telegraph, which allowed people to communicate over vast distances, and the steam engine that gave the ability to transport people over hundreds of miles. These things and more are used to combat and work against the monster, who is trapped in the workings of the past (Dracula favors ships over steam engines, allowing the intrepid heroes to catch up and eventually slay him). In The Strain, ultraviolet lights and silver swords allow for both the protection of the living and the quick dispatching of the undead.
I'm sure these are only a few of the similarities between the two books, but I absolutely love what Hogan and Guillermo have done here. Not only have they given many nods to a classic work of fiction, but they've updated and remade it for modern times in the way that any remake should be done - not word for word (or frame for frame), but instead looked at from a different angle. I'm definitely excited to continue the series and see if the similarities hold up, and that the storytelling remains strong.
My main complaint with this book is from the narrator. He mispronounced some common words that bothered me SO MUCH.
Other than that I love the premise of the story. It's a different take on the classic vampire tale. I'm coming to the book series after watching the TV show (which I thoroughly enjoyed).
Other than that I love the premise of the story. It's a different take on the classic vampire tale. I'm coming to the book series after watching the TV show (which I thoroughly enjoyed).
Good story. Looking forward to catching up with the next two in the series.
Nice update of the Vampire story. Incorporates some of the traditional folklore, but gone is all of the romance, replaced now with science, and not overloaded with graphic violence. Classic good vs. evil. Will continue to the next book. I enjoy listening to the voice of Ron Perlman, though it is not performed in the same way as many other audio books, he does not alter his voice to reflect the voices of different characters, but his reading is very nice. I will continue on to Book 2.
The billing that this book is a modern Dracula is apt and done well. Del Toro and Hogan create such a dark pervasive fantasy woven in the cracks and corners of the world you see before you. The characters are a strength here, and the action kept me on the edge of my toes. Wonderful setup for a series that still feels like a satisfying entry on its own.