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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“The Strain” by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan is the first novel in a trilogy that will explore their own vision of the vampire genre. This book itself starts with the landing of a Boeing 777 in New York which suddenly stops on the taxi way with all its power off. Upon investigating the aircraft, it is discovered that nearly all the passengers are dead from some unknown cause. When strange things start to occur such as the disappearance of all the bodies from the morgue, the CDC scientist in charge, Dr Eph Goodweather finds himself unable to comprehend what is happening. However, before long a holocaust survivor who has been hunting vampires for decades reveals the truth to Eph and draws him into the fight to try and save mankind.
The novel flowed very well as it started slow and deliberate to set the mood before picking up the pace as the story progressed. I quite simply found the book to be a very quick and easy read that entertained me from start to finish. In addition it was good to see a vampire novel again that actually focused on horror with some rather creepy sections and vampires that are actually being vicious, heartless creatures with no remorse.
I do have a few issues with the vampire premise in the book related to the fact that the authors have tried to create a realistic element to vampirism with the use of a parasite that doesn’t survive under UV light. This is all very well and good, but then I fail to understand why these vampires are then also allergic to silver or why they need to be invited to cross a body of water. These two things don’t really tie up with vampirism being caused by a parasite and in my opinion it slightly spoils the authors’ attempt at giving vampirism a realistic edge.
The biggest let down with the book however is in regards to the characters which is a shame as this meant that what could have been a great book is just a good book. Basically, they all seem very cliché and undeveloped with the main protagonist Eph being very two-dimensional. It almost feels like the book has been written based on an initial TV series outline and there has been no attempt to enhance or build on the character’s basic descriptions.
Overall, this was an enjoyable read that shown the vampire genre could still be mature, intense and dark. I had almost grown to believe that all future vampire novels would be paranormal romance in style. The characters are rather weak, but overall the novel is an entertaining read despite this issue. My final word of warning however is that people should not fall for some of the commentary around this novel which implies it offers a fresh look at vampire stories. Yes it is different to the usual standard we tend to see these days but I don’t think there was anything here that hasn’t been covered in other novels. So feel free to pick up the book and enjoy a vampire novel that tries to embrace its horror roots but don’t go in expecting to see something completely original.
The novel flowed very well as it started slow and deliberate to set the mood before picking up the pace as the story progressed. I quite simply found the book to be a very quick and easy read that entertained me from start to finish. In addition it was good to see a vampire novel again that actually focused on horror with some rather creepy sections and vampires that are actually being vicious, heartless creatures with no remorse.
I do have a few issues with the vampire premise in the book related to the fact that the authors have tried to create a realistic element to vampirism with the use of a parasite that doesn’t survive under UV light. This is all very well and good, but then I fail to understand why these vampires are then also allergic to silver or why they need to be invited to cross a body of water. These two things don’t really tie up with vampirism being caused by a parasite and in my opinion it slightly spoils the authors’ attempt at giving vampirism a realistic edge.
The biggest let down with the book however is in regards to the characters which is a shame as this meant that what could have been a great book is just a good book. Basically, they all seem very cliché and undeveloped with the main protagonist Eph being very two-dimensional. It almost feels like the book has been written based on an initial TV series outline and there has been no attempt to enhance or build on the character’s basic descriptions.
Overall, this was an enjoyable read that shown the vampire genre could still be mature, intense and dark. I had almost grown to believe that all future vampire novels would be paranormal romance in style. The characters are rather weak, but overall the novel is an entertaining read despite this issue. My final word of warning however is that people should not fall for some of the commentary around this novel which implies it offers a fresh look at vampire stories. Yes it is different to the usual standard we tend to see these days but I don’t think there was anything here that hasn’t been covered in other novels. So feel free to pick up the book and enjoy a vampire novel that tries to embrace its horror roots but don’t go in expecting to see something completely original.
It pains me to say that three stars is being generous here. I devoured the television series in just a few weeks via streaming, and I was excited to finally get to the source material, so to find it to be such a disappointment really did hurt. The prose is just... well, it's bad. It's very bad.
"Dazzling prominences of light appeared along the western edge of the moon, combining to form a single bead of dazzling sunlight..."
Say "dazzling" one more time in that same sentence. I dare you.
The punctuation conventions also feel... strange. Strange in the sort of way where someone is trying to break the rules for stylistic effect but is really just succeeding in creating an offputting vibe.
"Felix disengaged and without any hesitation, shot the stinger at Gus's neck"
IDK, y'all. I was shocked by my experience here. I expected to charge full steam ahead, but I had to force myself to finish this one and won't be going for The Fall or The Eternal Night any time soon, even if the premise of this world is an interesting one. Too awkward and clunky. Far too unpoetic for such a bizarre alternate world. Bummer.
"Dazzling prominences of light appeared along the western edge of the moon, combining to form a single bead of dazzling sunlight..."
Say "dazzling" one more time in that same sentence. I dare you.
The punctuation conventions also feel... strange. Strange in the sort of way where someone is trying to break the rules for stylistic effect but is really just succeeding in creating an offputting vibe.
"Felix disengaged and without any hesitation, shot the stinger at Gus's neck"
IDK, y'all. I was shocked by my experience here. I expected to charge full steam ahead, but I had to force myself to finish this one and won't be going for The Fall or The Eternal Night any time soon, even if the premise of this world is an interesting one. Too awkward and clunky. Far too unpoetic for such a bizarre alternate world. Bummer.
I love Guillermo del Toro's work and this one was no exception. He and Chuck Hogan suck you into this morbid world and I can't wait to see how this trilogy plays out!
I ploughed through this book thanks to being sick and thus having a lot of time to read, but good god, it did not need to be 612 pages. It started off very ominous and promising -- with the silent 777 plane coasting in at JFK, all of its shades drawn and its passengers mysteriously dead without a struggle -- but it's far too slow-paced for something marketed as "heart-stopping" and "an epic battle for survival between man and vampire".
The prose is workman-like, which would actually be fine, except for when Hogan errs way too far into cheesy dramatics: the exteeeended description of the solar eclipse as an ominous death's head made me roll my eyes, and the eclipse/occultation chapters got on my nerves especially, because they suffered from soooo much information overload, repetition, and way too much detail. You didn't have to go on about the eclipse for pages and pages, man -- for a while, The Strain seems to become an astronomical textbook as it lectures us on the proper terms for eclipses. Which is so dull, when I just wanted to read about a war against vampires.
The characters are pretty much cardboard cutouts, and other reviewers have compared them to thin characters for a movie (which actually makes me extra-incentivised to watch the cheesy TV show, because considering GDT originally wanted this to be a show, that might be The Strain's optimal medium). Flat characters don't always bother me, except that I didn't really get attached to any of them; my favourite character didn't join the team until, like, 80-something% through the book, which is absurd. I remember explicitly taking note at the two-thirds marker that nothing had really happened yet. Our intrepid heroes had disposed of their first two vampires and only just been convinced of their existence. Two!!
Ephraim Goodweather is our good-guy main character. His ex-wife Kelly is infuriating, and his son is likeable. His current love interest, Nora, does literally nothing, does not have a personality, and is sidelined at the end of the novel. AbrahamVan Helsing Setrakian, our Holocaust survivor turned professor of folklore turned pawn shop owner and aged vampire killing machine, is pretty awesome and hilariously over-dramatic, but he wasn't enough to carry the book either when there are approximately 17219827 different POVs.
Vasiliy Fet is the best, but there was far too little of him. (Will probably edit quotes into this review later, because seriously though HE WAS GREAT.)
I wasn't aware this book was that closely modeled on the structure of Dracula (Abraham, the coffin bearing earth, ghostship airplane arriving with all the crew dead, the Master himself, his Renfield human accomplice)... which is neither good nor bad, just a thing.
The biggest flaw, really, is that the pace is agonisingly slow, with so many tangents into different POVs for one-off characters that you don't have an emotional connection to.
There were three of those threads that did interest me, there being an intriguing undercurrent about domesticity, marriages, broken families, and women (and one Mexican teenager) using the vampiric turning as an excuse to take revenge:
2. Glory as the abused wife who had suffered for thirteen years under her toxic husband, secretly relieved upon his death on the airplane, who then encounters him as a vampire in her attic and motherfucking FLIPS HER LID AND HACKS HIM TO DEATH -- only to disappoint me by getting turned into a vampire herself. THANKS BLOOD WORMS,
3. Gus, who was on the receiving end of asshole police racism and prejudice, and who went on to remorselessly kill his own brother, acknowledging that Crispin had stopped being his brother long ago thanks to his crack addiction, not his vampiric virus.
So there were hints of something more there, but ended up buried underneath cheap horror and all those painfully repetitive scenes towards the middle, juggling all those POV characters being attacked and eaten by vampires. Again and again and again and again. It's agonisingly slow without anyone ever realising that Vampires Are A Thing -- until the infection suddenly explodes, buildings burning down in Manhattan, hordes of vampires running through the streets, and somehow the secret is still contained? I don't buy it, man.
The other REALLY SUPER-COOL AWESOME THING, again, happens so close to the end:
Also, our human villain is literally named Eldritch. Who the hell names their child Eldritch?
The most innovative thing about this book, though, was its biology. Definite points to del Toro (because that part smacked of del Toro) for conceiving the most disgusting, gross vampiric biology I've ever, ever seen. I wasn't especially scared while reading (except for the exhaustive detail on rats, and rat attacks, NON-VAMPIRIC RAT ATTACKS, biting a child's mouth OH GOD THAT WAS THE SCARIEST, MY NEW YORK FEARS RIGHT HERE)... but I was definitely repulsed and disgusted, my stomach turning over at every last thing we learn about how they work. Ughhhh it was nauseating.
Anyway. Bottom line: somehow exciting read, but still tedious as hell, and I can't really recommend it? I wish it was better than it is, and I wish I liked it more than I did -- I had high hopes, thanks to Guillermo del Toro. I'm probably going to watch the TV show, but am uncertain if I'll continue the books (the next two books look shorter, at least?). I might continue for my two favourite characters () alone. TV show-wise, I am really excited to watch Kevin Durand as a badass hulking ratcatcher, and to see if they made the female characters any stronger/more compelling, because Kelly and Nora are basically non-entities in the first book.
The prose is workman-like, which would actually be fine, except for when Hogan errs way too far into cheesy dramatics: the exteeeended description of the solar eclipse as an ominous death's head made me roll my eyes, and the eclipse/occultation chapters got on my nerves especially, because they suffered from soooo much information overload, repetition, and way too much detail. You didn't have to go on about the eclipse for pages and pages, man -- for a while, The Strain seems to become an astronomical textbook as it lectures us on the proper terms for eclipses. Which is so dull, when I just wanted to read about a war against vampires.
The characters are pretty much cardboard cutouts, and other reviewers have compared them to thin characters for a movie (which actually makes me extra-incentivised to watch the cheesy TV show, because considering GDT originally wanted this to be a show, that might be The Strain's optimal medium). Flat characters don't always bother me, except that I didn't really get attached to any of them; my favourite character didn't join the team until, like, 80-something% through the book, which is absurd. I remember explicitly taking note at the two-thirds marker that nothing had really happened yet. Our intrepid heroes had disposed of their first two vampires and only just been convinced of their existence. Two!!
Ephraim Goodweather is our good-guy main character. His ex-wife Kelly is infuriating, and his son is likeable. His current love interest, Nora, does literally nothing, does not have a personality, and is sidelined at the end of the novel. Abraham
Vasiliy Fet is the best, but there was far too little of him. (Will probably edit quotes into this review later, because seriously though HE WAS GREAT.)
I wasn't aware this book was that closely modeled on the structure of Dracula (Abraham, the coffin bearing earth, ghost
The biggest flaw, really, is that the pace is agonisingly slow, with so many tangents into different POVs for one-off characters that you don't have an emotional connection to.
There were three of those threads that did interest me, there being an intriguing undercurrent about domesticity, marriages, broken families, and women (and one Mexican teenager) using the vampiric turning as an excuse to take revenge:
Spoiler
1. Anne-Marie Barbour as the agoraphobic, obsessive-compulsive, anxious, useless mess of a housewife who rises to the occasion of her husband's turning, and motherfucking FEEDS HER ASSHOLE NEIGHBOUR TO HER HUSBAND for abusing their dogs -- only to disappoint me by giving up and killing herself,2. Glory as the abused wife who had suffered for thirteen years under her toxic husband, secretly relieved upon his death on the airplane, who then encounters him as a vampire in her attic and motherfucking FLIPS HER LID AND HACKS HIM TO DEATH -- only to disappoint me by getting turned into a vampire herself. THANKS BLOOD WORMS,
3. Gus, who was on the receiving end of asshole police racism and prejudice, and who went on to remorselessly kill his own brother, acknowledging that Crispin had stopped being his brother long ago thanks to his crack addiction, not his vampiric virus.
So there were hints of something more there, but ended up buried underneath cheap horror and all those painfully repetitive scenes towards the middle, juggling all those POV characters being attacked and eaten by vampires. Again and again and again and again. It's agonisingly slow without anyone ever realising that Vampires Are A Thing -- until the infection suddenly explodes, buildings burning down in Manhattan, hordes of vampires running through the streets, and somehow the secret is still contained? I don't buy it, man.
The other REALLY SUPER-COOL AWESOME THING, again, happens so close to the end:
Spoiler
A hit squad of vampire-hunting vampires in commando gear??? Tell me more about THEM, please.Also, our human villain is literally named Eldritch. Who the hell names their child Eldritch?
The most innovative thing about this book, though, was its biology. Definite points to del Toro (because that part smacked of del Toro) for conceiving the most disgusting, gross vampiric biology I've ever, ever seen. I wasn't especially scared while reading (except for the exhaustive detail on rats, and rat attacks, NON-VAMPIRIC RAT ATTACKS, biting a child's mouth OH GOD THAT WAS THE SCARIEST, MY NEW YORK FEARS RIGHT HERE)... but I was definitely repulsed and disgusted, my stomach turning over at every last thing we learn about how they work. Ughhhh it was nauseating.
Anyway. Bottom line: somehow exciting read, but still tedious as hell, and I can't really recommend it? I wish it was better than it is, and I wish I liked it more than I did -- I had high hopes, thanks to Guillermo del Toro. I'm probably going to watch the TV show, but am uncertain if I'll continue the books (the next two books look shorter, at least?). I might continue for my two favourite characters (
Spoiler
Vasiliy and Gus!
I was really excited to read this book as I love del Toro’s films so much. But though the concept was interesting and the general plot was good, I ended up not loving this book. I suspect that del Toro had little to do with the actual writing of the book, as the characters’ actions and the dialogue did not seem like his style. I have not read any of Chuck Hogan’s other books, but the prose really lacked any subtlety, it was very matter of fact - this happened and then whoever said this, etc, almost as if he was documenting what he saw rather than creating a moment… if that makes sense. However reading this book did make me want to check out the series on FX, and I am happy to say it was better than the book.
I only made it 2%, but I can already tell that I would just hate every single thing about this book.
Loved the beginning. Then it became a "strain" to get through the middle and I almost gave up. But despite the often horrible prose it made somewhat of a comeback later in the book to pull itself out of the 2 star cellar. Barely a 3 star... on second thought it is a 2 star at best. The authors made such a bad mistake on the chapter "The Ruins", a 2 star rating is being generous.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
The Strain wants to be a vampire movie SO BADLY…
many of the elements here that could be amazing on screen (i.e. the vampire “stingers”) seem kinda silly in this context. also, constantly found myself asking ‘who is that again?’ about all of the MANY inconsequential side characters/eventual vampire victims whose sidequests inflate this book ~100 pages longer than it needs to be.
alas, not invested enough to continue this trilogy beyond the first installment.
many of the elements here that could be amazing on screen (i.e. the vampire “stingers”) seem kinda silly in this context. also, constantly found myself asking ‘who is that again?’ about all of the MANY inconsequential side characters/eventual vampire victims whose sidequests inflate this book ~100 pages longer than it needs to be.
alas, not invested enough to continue this trilogy beyond the first installment.
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No