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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
If you like your vampire stories gross and creepy, then "The Strain" is definitely for you. The book starts out with an ominous mystery -- a grounded 777 jetliner at JFK, newly landed yet not responding to the tower or showing any signs of life. The suspense mounts slowly, with the creep factor ramping up quickly. Vampirism here spreads like a virus, deadly and inexorable, horrifyingly unstoppable. It's up to our crack team of heroes -- a CDC doctor and his colleague, an elderly Holocaust survivor, and a rat extermination expert -- to take a stand for humanity before the plague completely consumes Manhattan and then the world. This is easily the most disturbing vampire book to come along since Salem's Lot, and has shades of The Stand to boot. It was disappointing to discover that The Strain is the first book in a trilogy, with the second and third installments due in 2010 and 2011, respectively. It was somewhat disconcerting to realize that the fate of humanity would remain unresolved, and the final scenes are truly horrific. Word of advice: "The Strain" is best read on a bright, sunny day. You won't look at nightfall the same way for quite a while.
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Finally a worthy addition to vampire mythology. If you are looking for vampires that sparkle and hang out in high schools, this is not the book for you.
A vampire plague unleashed on NYC.. can't beat that! First of a trilogy.
Riveting vampire novel done in the style of a medical drama.
I haven't read any horror book in the last three years so this one felt like a precious drop of dew on a cactus in the desert. Oookay, I'm being over dramatic. Whatever. This book sent chills to my spine. Thanks to Ron Perlman's raspy voice and superb vocalization. Listening to him in complete darkness prior going to sleep really heightened the tension LOL.
The story is interesting. A plane after landing in JFK airport in Manhattan suddenly went dead: no comm, no movement, no light, nothing. Apart from a cunning, powerful conspirator and his minions, no one realized that a vampire elder had crossed a forbidden boundary, carrying with him the most dangerous strain of virus the world ever known: a virus that makes human mutate into gruesome creatures of the night.
Forget about Anne Rice's gorgeous, omnipotent vampires, or the gay...I mean girly...ooops I mean lame vampires in Twilight. Imagine the vampires from 30 Days of Night, From Dusk Till Dawn, etc, but with prolonged tongue with teeth (they called it "stinger") that could shoot in the blink of an eye to suck your blood from whatever part of your body. Ain’t so pretty, huh?
Not to mention their habits to go after their family members as their initial (and eventual) meal. Yikes. The personal relationships and interactions described here were creepy and sad at the same time.
The characters in this book are not really special. You got a handsome scientist working for the CDC who recently divorced, the scientist’s latest girlfriend, an old professor with an exceptional knowledge on vampires plus a pest control guy. The professor, btw, reminded me of Stoker’s Van Helsing. An ass-kicking old dude who spent his living hunting vamps after his first encounter with one in a concentration camp during WW II. You got tidbits of Romanian vampire (he called them "strigoi") lore here, but different with Stoker’s version.
Anyway, the book is quite captivating. The horror, the drama, the action, you can feel it. I’m positive that the second book will be more enthralling. So, what are you waiting for? Grab this book now and I wish you happy shivering!
The story is interesting. A plane after landing in JFK airport in Manhattan suddenly went dead: no comm, no movement, no light, nothing. Apart from a cunning, powerful conspirator and his minions, no one realized that a vampire elder had crossed a forbidden boundary, carrying with him the most dangerous strain of virus the world ever known: a virus that makes human mutate into gruesome creatures of the night.
Forget about Anne Rice's gorgeous, omnipotent vampires, or the gay...I mean girly...ooops I mean lame vampires in Twilight. Imagine the vampires from 30 Days of Night, From Dusk Till Dawn, etc, but with prolonged tongue with teeth (they called it "stinger") that could shoot in the blink of an eye to suck your blood from whatever part of your body. Ain’t so pretty, huh?
Not to mention their habits to go after their family members as their initial (and eventual) meal. Yikes. The personal relationships and interactions described here were creepy and sad at the same time.
The characters in this book are not really special. You got a handsome scientist working for the CDC who recently divorced, the scientist’s latest girlfriend, an old professor with an exceptional knowledge on vampires plus a pest control guy. The professor, btw, reminded me of Stoker’s Van Helsing. An ass-kicking old dude who spent his living hunting vamps after his first encounter with one in a concentration camp during WW II. You got tidbits of Romanian vampire (he called them "strigoi") lore here, but different with Stoker’s version.
Anyway, the book is quite captivating. The horror, the drama, the action, you can feel it. I’m positive that the second book will be more enthralling. So, what are you waiting for? Grab this book now and I wish you happy shivering!
Pretty good book. If the show has piqued your interest, I say give it a shot. Or if you like vampires and good stories.
Review Pending
Note: I received a free digital ARC from NetGalley in exchange for a review.
Note: I received a free digital ARC from NetGalley in exchange for a review.