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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
This was book 2 in my new book club.
Let me start by saying that there were a number of things that I loved about this book. I enjoyed the sort of vampire/I am Legend combination that conflated vampirism with an epidemic. It made it more scientific and believable. Setrakian was an excellent character. But overall, I had problems with the pacing as it seemed more cinematic than literary in quality. (But am I only thinking that because one of the writers is Guillermo del Toro?..) I was expecting to be terrified by this book, and yes there were times where I was creeped out, but because the sections were so short, the suspense never had time to adequately build. By the end, I was more annoyed with the ending than "oh, cool/WHAT?!" And I was disappointed that the coolest part of the book was introduced very late and very quickly. I hold out hope that they go into more detail in book #2 (but will I read it is the bigger question?).
Let me start by saying that there were a number of things that I loved about this book. I enjoyed the sort of vampire/I am Legend combination that conflated vampirism with an epidemic. It made it more scientific and believable. Setrakian was an excellent character. But overall, I had problems with the pacing as it seemed more cinematic than literary in quality. (But am I only thinking that because one of the writers is Guillermo del Toro?..) I was expecting to be terrified by this book, and yes there were times where I was creeped out, but because the sections were so short, the suspense never had time to adequately build. By the end, I was more annoyed with the ending than "oh, cool/WHAT?!" And I was disappointed that the coolest part of the book was introduced very late and very quickly. I hold out hope that they go into more detail in book #2 (but will I read it is the bigger question?).
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It's a while since I read this but at one point an attractive female character is described as having skin the colour of "...lightly browned toast" and that tells you pretty much everything you need to know about the quality of the writing.
Death, horror, and vampires all wrapped up in a graphic novel! This is the first TWO original volumes combined into one book! This was something I could not pass up. Although, I must confess, when I first got this, I had not fully read the summary so based on the covers and images I had scene with the biohazard warnings, I expected zombies. Still, I was very happy to have read this and more to come below and the vampire/zombie confusion.
The book centers mostly on CDC expert Dr. Goodweather and his partner. They are on assignment to figured out why a plane lands and then suddenly everyone in the plane mysteriously dies. But as the doctor and his partner investigate further, they learn the passengers are not "dead" for long. They come back as vampires and start attacking others. A race against time with enemies on all sides.
We mainly follow The good doctor as he struggles to balance his home life and work. He is in an ugly custody battle for his son when this all goes down. There is some great personal relations going on in the book. At first he is facing a medical mystery. Then a violent nightmare! In addition to his character we also get snippets into other officers, doctors, victims and a villain who is using his power and money to destroy mankind.
The art is very well done. Each character unique and very expressive. The violence is very graphic. And please note, very mature artwork containing violence and nudity. While I can enjoy what is in this, I would be horrified if a child got their hands on this! Great detail is given on every image. And it is very well done. The full page inserts were especially well done! The characters looked almost real. The only thing less that thrilling were that many of the "vampires" looked the same. But I will blame that on the transformation they undergo.
Speaking of the vampire concept, I still think of them as more zombie like. Besides their blood being drained and then filled with a white fluid replacement they are more zombie in reactions, behavior and overall looks. The exception is the "Masters." They way the move and attack very zombie like. Although they do burn in sunlight. Still, with how their stinger/tongues work these are some nasty, weird creatures of the night!
Now I love the concept! It is dark, fast-paced and will have you on edge and looking at the images with a twisted sense of glee. I love how the doctor meets one who is well familiar with the vampires but by doing so has even more consequences. Lots of action and great characterization fill these pages. My favorite character so far is the rat exterminator. Smart, logical, level headed and witty. I hope to see more of him in the future volumes.
Fans of the Walking Dead will likely enjoy this. The characters do not have quite the depth yet, but they and the story are constantly improving as it moves along. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for future volumes.
**I received this for review via Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions expressed are strictly my own**
The book centers mostly on CDC expert Dr. Goodweather and his partner. They are on assignment to figured out why a plane lands and then suddenly everyone in the plane mysteriously dies. But as the doctor and his partner investigate further, they learn the passengers are not "dead" for long. They come back as vampires and start attacking others. A race against time with enemies on all sides.
We mainly follow The good doctor as he struggles to balance his home life and work. He is in an ugly custody battle for his son when this all goes down. There is some great personal relations going on in the book. At first he is facing a medical mystery. Then a violent nightmare! In addition to his character we also get snippets into other officers, doctors, victims and a villain who is using his power and money to destroy mankind.
The art is very well done. Each character unique and very expressive. The violence is very graphic. And please note, very mature artwork containing violence and nudity. While I can enjoy what is in this, I would be horrified if a child got their hands on this! Great detail is given on every image. And it is very well done. The full page inserts were especially well done! The characters looked almost real. The only thing less that thrilling were that many of the "vampires" looked the same. But I will blame that on the transformation they undergo.
Speaking of the vampire concept, I still think of them as more zombie like. Besides their blood being drained and then filled with a white fluid replacement they are more zombie in reactions, behavior and overall looks. The exception is the "Masters." They way the move and attack very zombie like. Although they do burn in sunlight. Still, with how their stinger/tongues work these are some nasty, weird creatures of the night!
Now I love the concept! It is dark, fast-paced and will have you on edge and looking at the images with a twisted sense of glee. I love how the doctor meets one who is well familiar with the vampires but by doing so has even more consequences. Lots of action and great characterization fill these pages. My favorite character so far is the rat exterminator. Smart, logical, level headed and witty. I hope to see more of him in the future volumes.
Fans of the Walking Dead will likely enjoy this. The characters do not have quite the depth yet, but they and the story are constantly improving as it moves along. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for future volumes.
**I received this for review via Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions expressed are strictly my own**
challenging
dark
emotional
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
Watched the show beforehand, and while I don't think I can say the book is better than the show I am so glad I read the book, it adds a lot more to the story in some aspects. And also in general just more details. I may not be the best written but it is a very unique story with a cool monster.
Oh goodness, this book had such potential at the start. I loved the first third of it, so it had to work hard to lose me in the last 2/3 of the book. But it did. I guess I would sum up my critique by saying that many of the characters and how they behave just wasn't "right". Sure, it's a horror story about some impossible scenario, but I need to believe that what the characters are doing is what they WOULD do if something like this actually happened. Otherwise, I'm just sitting there wondering why they did this or that instead of enjoying the story. Ugh.
I'll leave out the details, but the story is basically, which isn't a spoiler in my opinion, since everybody probably know that by now due to the TV series. But I've hidden it anyway in case someone is coming to this book entirely unknowing.
I'm glad I did this one as an audio book, listening to Ron Perlman read it (love that guy). I never would have finished it in print.
I'll leave out the details, but the story is basically
Spoiler
a vampire/virus mashupI'm glad I did this one as an audio book, listening to Ron Perlman read it (love that guy). I never would have finished it in print.
The Strain makes vampires monsters again. They aren't conflicted or sparkly or misunderstood. They are killing machines infected with the vampire virus and they want to take over the world. The entire time I was reading this book I kept thinking I was reading a tv miniseries. You can see Guillermo del Toro's cinematic stamp all over this book from the transitions to the flashbacks. That isn't necessarily a bad thing; I like tv miniseries. And this story was strangely compelling. A plane lands at JFK and is dead; no lights, no radio, no movement. All the people are dead too except for four survivors. The CDC is called in lead by Ephraim Goodweather. He is puzzled and concerned. Then he teams up with pawn shop owner Abraham Sekarian, your typical holocaust surviving, vampire slaying old man. Abraham introduces Ephraim to the world of vampires and vampire slaying. Sure he is skeptical but reality soon makes him a believer.
First the bad: even with the cinematic quality there was a lot of filler in this book and not story filler. I am talking about weird asides about rats and HAZMAT and the eclipse. They were boring and chopped up the storytelling and frankly made the book twice as long as it needed to be. There was also a lot of tell not show. We are told what characters are doing and feeling instead of seeing them do and feel it. Always weak storytelling. The characters are stereotypes and pretty thin. Ephraim is a recently divorced dad going through a custody battle. He didn't want to break up his marriage and has rearranged his whole life to be with his son Zack. Of course mom is mad and not budging on anything. At one point he misses a custody session because of course he is in the middle of a horrible epidemic and the psychiatrist basically blows him off saying he lost his chances for custody. Really??? The epidemic is on the news and they can't reschedule? Seriously?? Nora is partner is of course barely mentioned other than she is his partner and he had an affair with her. Then you have the middle part of the book which is basically people turning into vampires and Ephraim being confused...for a couple hundred pages! The pacing in this book is definitely off; a lot could have been trimmed and the book shortened. And what was up with the eclipse; it basically had no point in the story but went on for chapters.
The good: I liked the flashbacks to Abraham's story. These were interesting, relevant and exciting. I liked Abraham as a character too. He was by far the most interesting one in the whole book. I actually liked the vampires; they are evil and nasty and just want to kill you. That is what vampires are supposed to do. I kind of enjoyed the different take on the vampire tale. They don't bite you they have giant stingers that cut your throat and suck your blood. There are little worms that invade your body when attacked and transform you (kind of like cancer or a virus). I even liked the vampire/human partnership and the vampire politics (which we just glimpse and I assume are going to be much more relevant in the next book). That all made for some exciting reading; I just wish there wasn't so much other crap getting in the way.
I didn't hate this book, but it made me remember why I don't read a lot of adult books. There is just too much crap in them. This book definitely could have used some editing down to fix the pacing and the length and the characters. But it reads like an exciting move of the week that just hasn't been edited yet. With editing this could be must see tv.
First the bad: even with the cinematic quality there was a lot of filler in this book and not story filler. I am talking about weird asides about rats and HAZMAT and the eclipse. They were boring and chopped up the storytelling and frankly made the book twice as long as it needed to be. There was also a lot of tell not show. We are told what characters are doing and feeling instead of seeing them do and feel it. Always weak storytelling. The characters are stereotypes and pretty thin. Ephraim is a recently divorced dad going through a custody battle. He didn't want to break up his marriage and has rearranged his whole life to be with his son Zack. Of course mom is mad and not budging on anything. At one point he misses a custody session because of course he is in the middle of a horrible epidemic and the psychiatrist basically blows him off saying he lost his chances for custody. Really??? The epidemic is on the news and they can't reschedule? Seriously?? Nora is partner is of course barely mentioned other than she is his partner and he had an affair with her. Then you have the middle part of the book which is basically people turning into vampires and Ephraim being confused...for a couple hundred pages! The pacing in this book is definitely off; a lot could have been trimmed and the book shortened. And what was up with the eclipse; it basically had no point in the story but went on for chapters.
The good: I liked the flashbacks to Abraham's story. These were interesting, relevant and exciting. I liked Abraham as a character too. He was by far the most interesting one in the whole book. I actually liked the vampires; they are evil and nasty and just want to kill you. That is what vampires are supposed to do. I kind of enjoyed the different take on the vampire tale. They don't bite you they have giant stingers that cut your throat and suck your blood. There are little worms that invade your body when attacked and transform you (kind of like cancer or a virus). I even liked the vampire/human partnership and the vampire politics (which we just glimpse and I assume are going to be much more relevant in the next book). That all made for some exciting reading; I just wish there wasn't so much other crap getting in the way.
I didn't hate this book, but it made me remember why I don't read a lot of adult books. There is just too much crap in them. This book definitely could have used some editing down to fix the pacing and the length and the characters. But it reads like an exciting move of the week that just hasn't been edited yet. With editing this could be must see tv.