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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
This is a gripping, scary read that kept me up more than a few nights. The fast-paced story of a vampire virus starts off as a very spooky tale of a mysterious airplane landing, then evolves into a more action-based story of a CDC doctor and a wise old man racing through NYC to figure out the epidemic and kill the vampires.
It reminded me a lot of the zombie stories I've been reading lately, because these vampires are more blood-hungry menace than cultured counts or Southern charmers. I wanted a little more vampire myth, myself, but this story kept me going.
Del Toro's skill as a filmmaker comes through, as many of the scenes are written as if they were on the screen. This is the first novel in a planned trilogy. I will probably continue with the story, just to see where it goes.
It reminded me a lot of the zombie stories I've been reading lately, because these vampires are more blood-hungry menace than cultured counts or Southern charmers. I wanted a little more vampire myth, myself, but this story kept me going.
Del Toro's skill as a filmmaker comes through, as many of the scenes are written as if they were on the screen. This is the first novel in a planned trilogy. I will probably continue with the story, just to see where it goes.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Naszła mnie ochota na horror o wampirach. Ale wiecie - nie żadne ckliwe romansowe “Zmierzchy” czy gotyckie Anne Rice’y, tylko coś krwawego, współczesnego i poważnego (także “Wampirek” Sommer-Bodenburg odpada!). “Miasteczko Salem” przeczytane, “Przejście” to zbyt duża cegła (akurat na ten moment), padło więc na “Wirus” Chucka Hogana i Guillermo del Toro. Wprawdzie nie jestem ogromną fanką meksykańskiego reżysera, ale do lektury, po przeczytaniu wielu entuzjastycznych opinii, byłam nastawiona jak najbardziej pozytywnie. I tak jak początek powieści niesamowicie mnie zaintrygował, tak z każdą kolejną przeczytaną stroną traciłam zainteresowanie, a pod koniec już nieźle się męczyłam. Za sam pomysł autorom należą się brawa. Del Toro i Hogan udowodnili, że da się jeszcze w nowatorski sposób przedstawić do granic wyeksploatowaną już w popkulturze postać wampira. Dodajmy do tego wampiryzm jako wirus, zarazę rozprzestrzeniającą się w zastraszającym tempie i prawie mamy wydawniczy hit! Dlaczego prawie? Ano, dlatego iż niestety samo wykonanie leży. Del Toro i Hogan wybitnymi pisarzami nie są, do sprawnych rzemieślników też sporo im brakuje. Fabuła miejscami jest strasznie naciągana i niewiarygodna, postaci (poza jedną - profesorem Setrakianem) wybitnie płaskie i nijakie, a dialogi miejscami sztuczne i jakieś takie “filmowe” (chociaż w przypadku tej książki pewnie bardziej pasowałoby określenie “serialowe”). Czytając, cały czas miałam wrażenie, że obcuję z rozszerzonym scenariuszem - pełno scen i dialogów jest niczym żywcem wyjęta z filmu. Nie ukrywam, że taki styl pisania w powieści sprawdził się bardzo bardzo średnio. “Wirus” to pierwsza część trylogii, a autorzy konstruując finał w stylu “ciąg dalszy nastąpi” liczą na to, że czytelnik sięgnie i po kolejne tomy. No cóż, w moim przypadku się przeliczą. Mimo, że sam pomysł na historię nadal wydaje mi się niezmiernie ciekawy i nie ukrywam, że chętnie dowiedziałabym się jak to się wszystko dalej potoczy, to jednak warsztatowe braki autorów skutecznie zniechęciły mnie do tej serii. Zatem książkowemu “Wirusowi” mówię pa, pa i przerzucam się na serial.
Yay! A non-romance vampire book! Although, the vampires aren't interesting in this book, or very complex creatures, they're just villains, which is sort of a bummer. As a horror, though, this book does a great job-lots of interesting gore, twists as far as the medical reasoning behind vampires, how they spread, how they decompose/bodies change from the human life form, etc. Very good at thinking up original/unique aspects of horror and intriguing ways of disturbing the listeners. Decent characterization (though at times felt too much like a disaster movie type of characters/family/relationships) and very movie-like quality of writing-I could picture it very well, and it was cool, at least in my head. Sometimes writing got a bit too technical (like, I don't actually care what technically happens during an eclipse in great detail).
Simple plot is: A plan comes into New York from Germany, all the passengers except 4 seem mysteriously dead-the main character of the book (although it follows many sub plots that eventually all come together), Efe (sp?), is a public epidemiologist who studies the strange case, which of course is revealed to be vampirism.
This is a trilogy, and I am very excited to see what happens in the next two.
Simple plot is: A plan comes into New York from Germany, all the passengers except 4 seem mysteriously dead-the main character of the book (although it follows many sub plots that eventually all come together), Efe (sp?), is a public epidemiologist who studies the strange case, which of course is revealed to be vampirism.
This is a trilogy, and I am very excited to see what happens in the next two.
N.K. Jemisin's review is dead on (ha). Borderline terrible writing all around, but you bet your ass I was gonna find out what happened next.
Somewhat slow to start and about 1/8 of the way through, is getting a little more interesting though.
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Interesting reimagining
I watched the first season of the TV show without actually realising there was a trilogy of books which were the source material.
As with all adaptations from books there are many differences between the two, but I found myself enjoying both the show and this first book equally. Sure some of the characters are cliches, and the writing was a bit 'ropey' at times and it was obvious that it was written with a movie/TV adaptation in mind, but it wasn't as bad as some reviews have said.
I personally think it is an interesting reimagining of the whole vampire myth/lore, which recently has become a little tired and 'samey' so introducing some new twists and takes on vampires was interesting to me.
I'm definitely going to be buying the next two books to see how the story progresses.
I watched the first season of the TV show without actually realising there was a trilogy of books which were the source material.
As with all adaptations from books there are many differences between the two, but I found myself enjoying both the show and this first book equally. Sure some of the characters are cliches, and the writing was a bit 'ropey' at times and it was obvious that it was written with a movie/TV adaptation in mind, but it wasn't as bad as some reviews have said.
I personally think it is an interesting reimagining of the whole vampire myth/lore, which recently has become a little tired and 'samey' so introducing some new twists and takes on vampires was interesting to me.
I'm definitely going to be buying the next two books to see how the story progresses.
Re-read 2023: this was like a warm hug re-reading this book. From the first page onwards this is a page turner, keeping you just on the edge of your seat. The characters are few and well fleshed out, you want to see what they’ll do next. The vampires and Master are a surreal creation of movie myth and old folk law mixed with modern biology. Gripping. Can’t wait to read the next instalment.