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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
A fun read that’s like a mash up of all of your favorite dark vampire tropes. Like if King’s Cell, Buffy, Van Helsing, Left Behind, and Robert Langdon all got together and wrote a novel. Not the deepest of meanings, but I’ll finish the trilogy as a fun escape.
Great ideas squandered by bad writing and a frankly stupid addition to vampire mythology (no bites: a sucking tentacle that forms out of the throat). I wanted this to be a lot better than it was. There was some excitement at the end, but given the weak characterization, wasted ideas, and general gory silliness, I was pretty disappointed.
3.5 stars! I really liked this I liked how the vampires are different from anything I’ve read before! Only downside was that it dragged in certain areas where it shouldn’t have! Good read! Will continue the series! :)
I have to be honest – I initially picked up The Strain because of Guillermo del Toro’s name plastered across the front – “From the Creator of the Oscar-Winning Pan’s Labyrinth!” I’m a big fan of del Toro’s, and in fact I loved Pan’s Labyrinth as well as his more recent Hellboy 2. He brings a surreal vision, a dark fairy tale-like quality to his projects that I admire. From a writer’s perspective, however, I have to say I feel for Chuck Hogan, overshadowed as he most certainly is by his co-author’s celebrity. In any case, I’m a long-time fan of vampire fiction and mythology as well, so I figured it was worth a read.
The book is the first in a trilogy about an old world vampire who hitches a ride aboard a passenger jet from Germany to JFK in order to make lots of baby vampires and take over the world. Vampirism itself is treated as a disease (hence the title), and many of the old tropes about garlic and crosses are abandoned. On the opposing side, trying to save humanity, are CDC specialist Ephraim Goodweather, his assistant Nora, and, presumably in a nod to Stoker, Abraham Setrakian, an aged vampire hunter who survived the Treblinka death camp in World War II and has spent his life studying and preparing for this conflict.
I really liked the fact that this is truly a horror story – no handsome, moody, teenaged vampires here. I was actually really creeped out reading this thing in the middle of the night. These vampires are evil, and they’re scary, and they’re everywhere, hiding in suburban basements and subway tunnels, just waiting to jump out of the darkness and make a snack of anyone unlucky enough to cross their path. The authors are spot-on when it comes to keeping the action level just right and sustaining the fear factor, building to the ultimate showdown with the master vampire himself. It reads like a good fright-fest movie, and I say that as a compliment.
This, however, is the flip-side of what I didn’t like about the book. It was originally pitched as a script for a television series to Fox, and that’s exactly what it reads like. As I read it I couldn’t help but feel like I was reading a movie novelization. The characters, their dialogue, the settings, everything feels a bit contrived, as if I were reading the proposal for a movie. In the end, though, the good storytelling kept me interested, and that, on the most fundamental level, is what makes or breaks a book.
The Strain will never be considered among the canon of great American literature. It is what it is – a rollercoaster ride, a well-written horror movie, a summer fling. It’s fun to let go now and then, and give yourself over to an experience without having to think much. Bottom line – it’s a page-turner, and I liked it. Three stars.
The book is the first in a trilogy about an old world vampire who hitches a ride aboard a passenger jet from Germany to JFK in order to make lots of baby vampires and take over the world. Vampirism itself is treated as a disease (hence the title), and many of the old tropes about garlic and crosses are abandoned. On the opposing side, trying to save humanity, are CDC specialist Ephraim Goodweather, his assistant Nora, and, presumably in a nod to Stoker, Abraham Setrakian, an aged vampire hunter who survived the Treblinka death camp in World War II and has spent his life studying and preparing for this conflict.
I really liked the fact that this is truly a horror story – no handsome, moody, teenaged vampires here. I was actually really creeped out reading this thing in the middle of the night. These vampires are evil, and they’re scary, and they’re everywhere, hiding in suburban basements and subway tunnels, just waiting to jump out of the darkness and make a snack of anyone unlucky enough to cross their path. The authors are spot-on when it comes to keeping the action level just right and sustaining the fear factor, building to the ultimate showdown with the master vampire himself. It reads like a good fright-fest movie, and I say that as a compliment.
This, however, is the flip-side of what I didn’t like about the book. It was originally pitched as a script for a television series to Fox, and that’s exactly what it reads like. As I read it I couldn’t help but feel like I was reading a movie novelization. The characters, their dialogue, the settings, everything feels a bit contrived, as if I were reading the proposal for a movie. In the end, though, the good storytelling kept me interested, and that, on the most fundamental level, is what makes or breaks a book.
The Strain will never be considered among the canon of great American literature. It is what it is – a rollercoaster ride, a well-written horror movie, a summer fling. It’s fun to let go now and then, and give yourself over to an experience without having to think much. Bottom line – it’s a page-turner, and I liked it. Three stars.
Well, right now I don't know if I'll finish this book. It's driving my reading mojo away. Why? Not because it's bad. But because it's.. well a bit boring, or maybe not that. I just don't see why I should continue.
It started fine, horror book, reads like horror film, good. But now, it starts to be more like a superficial B horror film where you don't feel anything for the characters, the plot is barely there and you just don't really care if they all die. That's me now. I don't care much for the lead characters, I barely remember their names! And that's me, where I sometimes feel my fav characters from books are like real people to me, I like them, care for them and hate to see something bad happen to them. But not with this book. It's two dimensional, or even less. So I'm thinking, why continue with more than 100 pages when I don't even care now. For that matter, why even bother with the two other books in this trilogy? I heard this one ends without an end, leaving the three books as one. Blah. I know if I'll put this one down, I will never pick it up, but I think, I think it might come to that. I have two other books that I WANT to read now.. so well, on it is. Life's too short to waste on pointless books. ;)
It started fine, horror book, reads like horror film, good. But now, it starts to be more like a superficial B horror film where you don't feel anything for the characters, the plot is barely there and you just don't really care if they all die. That's me now. I don't care much for the lead characters, I barely remember their names! And that's me, where I sometimes feel my fav characters from books are like real people to me, I like them, care for them and hate to see something bad happen to them. But not with this book. It's two dimensional, or even less. So I'm thinking, why continue with more than 100 pages when I don't even care now. For that matter, why even bother with the two other books in this trilogy? I heard this one ends without an end, leaving the three books as one. Blah. I know if I'll put this one down, I will never pick it up, but I think, I think it might come to that. I have two other books that I WANT to read now.. so well, on it is. Life's too short to waste on pointless books. ;)
This would have made a fun television show. As a novel, there are some compelling characters and some really cool scenes, like the opening airplane sequence.
I have to wonder how much time and effort was used to convert this from script to novel. There were times I felt I was reading a screen treatment due to the high level of description included. I personally would have liked a little bit more left to my imagination. That said, I'll finish the trilogy when released because I enjoy this sort of story.
I have to wonder how much time and effort was used to convert this from script to novel. There were times I felt I was reading a screen treatment due to the high level of description included. I personally would have liked a little bit more left to my imagination. That said, I'll finish the trilogy when released because I enjoy this sort of story.
1.5
Malísimo. No veía la hora de que se acabara. Apenas si vale la pena por sus escenas de acción, muy pocas, comparadas con toda la palabrería, tecnicismos, especificaciones, términos científicos, acrónimos, historias de relleno. Si acaso las últimas 50 páginas valen algo del tiempo, pero siguen siendo aburridísimas. No seguiré con la trilogía por MUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCHO TIEMPO.
Sucked. I couldn't wait for it to end. Hardly worth it for its action scenes, very few compared to all the talk, jargon, specifications, scientific terms, acronyms, stories filling. If anything the last 50 pages worth some time, but remain very boring. I wont continue with the trilogy by SO MUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCH TIME.
Malísimo. No veía la hora de que se acabara. Apenas si vale la pena por sus escenas de acción, muy pocas, comparadas con toda la palabrería, tecnicismos, especificaciones, términos científicos, acrónimos, historias de relleno. Si acaso las últimas 50 páginas valen algo del tiempo, pero siguen siendo aburridísimas. No seguiré con la trilogía por MUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCHO TIEMPO.
Sucked. I couldn't wait for it to end. Hardly worth it for its action scenes, very few compared to all the talk, jargon, specifications, scientific terms, acronyms, stories filling. If anything the last 50 pages worth some time, but remain very boring. I wont continue with the trilogy by SO MUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCH TIME.
Old school vampire horror. Really great read. There are no sparkling vampires in this one. I really anticipate reading it's sequel.
Writing could use some work. But entertaining enough. My personal favorite quote: "she could tell by the look on his face he didn't like the look on her face". Must be ok because I am reading the second one.
Are you sick of sparkling vampires and sappy romantic vampires. Then The Strain is the book for you.
The vampires in this do not sparkle, turn into bat or fear garlic and holy water. The are at the very basic form - virus. One which needs blood for survival.
Once in the host, the replicate at an exponential rate and change the human biology and these things spread like zombie bite and they are let loose in New York city.
Now, add in a bunch of unlikely hero - Eph and Nora from Centre for Disease Control, professor Abraham who has a first hand experience of the epidemic and Fet - the rat exterminator. These guys group up the contain the spread of virus and exterminate it.
The stakes are high as the virus is spreading at an alarming rate and there are powerful forces working against our unlikely bunch of heroes.
I got to know about this book from the show - The Strain on FX. The Strain is the first book of the The Strain trilogy. Till now the story is humans working to contain the vampire epidemic, the next book in the trilogy - The Fall is going to introduce other ancient vampires into the mix, which I hope doesn't muddle things up.
The strain is one of the best, grounded story which adds a new twist to the vampire lore.
The vampires in this do not sparkle, turn into bat or fear garlic and holy water. The are at the very basic form - virus. One which needs blood for survival.
Once in the host, the replicate at an exponential rate and change the human biology and these things spread like zombie bite and they are let loose in New York city.
Now, add in a bunch of unlikely hero - Eph and Nora from Centre for Disease Control, professor Abraham who has a first hand experience of the epidemic and Fet - the rat exterminator. These guys group up the contain the spread of virus and exterminate it.
The stakes are high as the virus is spreading at an alarming rate and there are powerful forces working against our unlikely bunch of heroes.
I got to know about this book from the show - The Strain on FX. The Strain is the first book of the The Strain trilogy. Till now the story is humans working to contain the vampire epidemic, the next book in the trilogy - The Fall is going to introduce other ancient vampires into the mix, which I hope doesn't muddle things up.
The strain is one of the best, grounded story which adds a new twist to the vampire lore.