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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
Saatusesepa oktoobrikuusse oli mul valida mitu riiki, aga kõik valikud eeldasid uue raamatu soetamist. Niisiis heitsin pilgu oma riiulisse, guugeldasin natuke ja sain teada, et Guillermo del Toro on pärit Mehhikost ja selle riigi autoreid ma see aasta veel lugenud ei ole. Ja kuna ma niikuinii plaanisin selle raamatu see kuu ette võtta, saigi otsus selle kasuks tehtud.
"The Strain", eestikeelse pealkirjaga "Tõbi" algab suure lennukiga, mis maandub JFK lennujaamas. Selle uksed ei avane, inimesed ei välju ja niisiis alustataksegi päästeretke, sest hetk enne maandumisloa saamist oli kõik kõige paremas korras. Ometi leitakse kõik reisijad surnult. Kehadel puuduvad vägivalla tundemärgid, neil on vaid kaks kummalist armi kaela peal. See mõistatus külvab palju segadust ja keegi ei mõista, mis toimumas on. Samal päeval leiab aset ka päikesevarjutus, mis tekitab tunde justkui oleks saabumas maailma lõpp. Peagi kaovad surnukehad, just kui ime läbi ellu jäänute sümptomid halvenevad ja nähtamatu pandeemia, mille levikut kardavad ainult üksikud, kogub tuure. Vampiirid on vallutanud suurlinna. Nad pelgavad päikest ja liiguvad ringi vaid öösel. Nad ei ole ilusad, ei ole lahked, vaid neil on ainult üks instinkt: juua verd, levitada tõbe.
Ma ei ole kaks ööd normaalselt magada saanud. Ma kipun mõtlema, et ehk on see selle raamatu süü, sest kõige põnevamate kohtade peal sundisin end õhtul seda käest panema. Eile öösel passisin lage ja keeldusin jonnakalt tuld süütamast, mõtted keerlemas... ei millegi üle. See oli huvitav kogemus. Südame pani pekslema see raamat igatahes ja põnev oli lugeda ka, mis edasi sai. Samas oli see lugu selline üsna keskpärane minu arust, sest korduvat ja üksteisega sarnast taplemist oli päris palju. Miks nii palju oli juttu kõrvaltegelastest, kui tegelikult oli suurem osa sellest (vähemalt minu arust) ebavajalik ja oleks saanud ka lühemalt.
Aga üldiselt oli päris tore lugemine. Ma veel vaatan, kas ma võtan järgmised osad ette või jätan need kuhugi kaugesse tulevikku. Kiiret mul ei ole.
"The Strain", eestikeelse pealkirjaga "Tõbi" algab suure lennukiga, mis maandub JFK lennujaamas. Selle uksed ei avane, inimesed ei välju ja niisiis alustataksegi päästeretke, sest hetk enne maandumisloa saamist oli kõik kõige paremas korras. Ometi leitakse kõik reisijad surnult. Kehadel puuduvad vägivalla tundemärgid, neil on vaid kaks kummalist armi kaela peal. See mõistatus külvab palju segadust ja keegi ei mõista, mis toimumas on. Samal päeval leiab aset ka päikesevarjutus, mis tekitab tunde justkui oleks saabumas maailma lõpp. Peagi kaovad surnukehad, just kui ime läbi ellu jäänute sümptomid halvenevad ja nähtamatu pandeemia, mille levikut kardavad ainult üksikud, kogub tuure. Vampiirid on vallutanud suurlinna. Nad pelgavad päikest ja liiguvad ringi vaid öösel. Nad ei ole ilusad, ei ole lahked, vaid neil on ainult üks instinkt: juua verd, levitada tõbe.
Ma ei ole kaks ööd normaalselt magada saanud. Ma kipun mõtlema, et ehk on see selle raamatu süü, sest kõige põnevamate kohtade peal sundisin end õhtul seda käest panema. Eile öösel passisin lage ja keeldusin jonnakalt tuld süütamast, mõtted keerlemas... ei millegi üle. See oli huvitav kogemus. Südame pani pekslema see raamat igatahes ja põnev oli lugeda ka, mis edasi sai. Samas oli see lugu selline üsna keskpärane minu arust, sest korduvat ja üksteisega sarnast taplemist oli päris palju. Miks nii palju oli juttu kõrvaltegelastest, kui tegelikult oli suurem osa sellest (vähemalt minu arust) ebavajalik ja oleks saanud ka lühemalt.
Aga üldiselt oli päris tore lugemine. Ma veel vaatan, kas ma võtan järgmised osad ette või jätan need kuhugi kaugesse tulevikku. Kiiret mul ei ole.
http://thegreatthegoodandthebad.blogspot.com/
I’ve been reading quite a lot of YA and Chick lit lately so I was keen to step away (just for a moment) and read something that was a bit different. I do love a good scary movie every now and then and the same goes for a good and scary horror novel, which I hoped The Strain would be. And it absolutely was. It was creepy, tension filled and had me checking over my shoulder while I was reading it, as well as having a pretty good story. My husband even asked at one point if I wanted to 'put it in the freezer'! :D
Right from the beginning I enjoyed this book and it was the writing style that completely drew me in, it was descriptive and really helped to build the tension and horror of the situation unfolding. I am sure some people might think that the beginning was rather slow, but I really liked it. It set the scene and allowed me to get to know the characters before all the real action started and just didn’t stop. Having said that there were a few moments when the writing was a little cringe worthy and I found myself almost laughing at some of the sweeping statements about Eph going from a healer to a warrior.
"Eph too had been turned. Not from human to vampire, but from healer to slayer."
The main collection of characters was Ephraim (or Eph) Goodweather, head of a CDC rapid emergency response team as well as his colleague and girlfriend Nora, who played a much smaller role. They were also joined by the enigmatic and worldly Abraham Strakian who was a survivor of the Jewish holocaust and had been hunting ‘the evil’ for many, many years. Also towards the end of the book there were a few other characters introduced that I can imagine will play a larger role in the subsequent books. I really liked all the main characters and unlike some other horror stories the author didn’t skip over letting you get to know them well, I was invested and I found myself screaming at them to run away instead of opening that door...
Although I really enjoyed the story of The Strain, it really isn’t anything new to the genre. However, I did like that the vampire 'strain' was like a realistic disease type spread of some other virus as it would occur in a city setting. It read like the authors had done their research and the virus took out whole neighbourhoods and communities, just like a virulent disease might do. I will give a slight warning that this book did have a few gory scenes in it, but it wasn’t too bad – I much more prefer the creepy kind of horror to the blood and guts type that can just make your stomach churn.
I am really looking forward to reading the next one in the series when I get round to buying it. I completely recommend The Strain if you are in the mood for a creepy, tension building horror. I know The Strain is not everyone's cup of tea but I do like a good scary read every so often, as long as my doors are locked and my puupies are on guard duty - not that they'd be much help, unless the monsters are allergic to puppy saliva :)
This book had been on my radar for a while, as I am an avid reader of horror and science fiction. I pushed myself to jump on it in anticipation of the premiere of FX’s TV adaptation of the book, because I’m one of those “the book is always better” kind of people and I’m a glutton for punishment in that I want to know all of the things that TV/movie producers are ruining for me.
The Strain follows a CDC scientist as he investigates an epidemic of a vampiric blood parasite. The science behind the illness, while explained, kind of takes a backseat to the history of the epidemic. This made me a little sad as I love the science-y parts, as in [b:The Andromeda Strain|7670|The Andromeda Strain|Michael Crichton|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388889327s/7670.jpg|997271], the [b:Infected|2331954|Infected (Infected, #1)|Scott Sigler|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1430766326s/2331954.jpg|2338528] trilogy, and [b:The Dragon Factory|6962671|The Dragon Factory (Joe Ledger, #2)|Jonathan Maberry|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388255103s/6962671.jpg|7200420]. I found this book heavier than I expected and it took me much longer to read than I anticipated. It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy it, it’s just that it was a little bit more of a struggle to lose myself in it. I did not read the other two novels in the trilogy, because I wanted to spend more time reading something else I thought I could jump deeper into
The Strain follows a CDC scientist as he investigates an epidemic of a vampiric blood parasite. The science behind the illness, while explained, kind of takes a backseat to the history of the epidemic. This made me a little sad as I love the science-y parts, as in [b:The Andromeda Strain|7670|The Andromeda Strain|Michael Crichton|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388889327s/7670.jpg|997271], the [b:Infected|2331954|Infected (Infected, #1)|Scott Sigler|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1430766326s/2331954.jpg|2338528] trilogy, and [b:The Dragon Factory|6962671|The Dragon Factory (Joe Ledger, #2)|Jonathan Maberry|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388255103s/6962671.jpg|7200420]. I found this book heavier than I expected and it took me much longer to read than I anticipated. It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy it, it’s just that it was a little bit more of a struggle to lose myself in it. I did not read the other two novels in the trilogy, because I wanted to spend more time reading something else I thought I could jump deeper into
3.5 of 5. I picked up this book because I was enticed with the new cover (I know I'm not supposed to do that, but sometimes I can't help myself and do, and surely most of you too). Anyway, I kind of hated myself for doing so because it is another vampire book and I'm just sick of them. But the thing is, it's different from the ones I've read — the Sookie Stackhouse series, and, well, Twilight — so I was engulfed in it.
It is a great book! Great read. Perhaps it was not really, really good, but I enjoyed it — kind of like Walking Dead. Right now I'm just excited to watch the FX series!
It is a great book! Great read. Perhaps it was not really, really good, but I enjoyed it — kind of like Walking Dead. Right now I'm just excited to watch the FX series!
Everything checked out okay upon landing approach of a Boeing 777 at JFK International Airport. But when it stalled prior to reaching the gate, air traffic controllers were stumped. It seems that the plane just died. No humming engines; electrical functions were dead, and attempts to communicate were met with silence. Theories started to circulate: Was it a terror attack? Hijacked? No one could’ve predicted what was lying in wait at the belly of that plane.
Dr. Ephraim Goodweather’s personal life is on a tailspin. He’s fighting for custody of his son; he’s still madly in love with his wife, and he’s been having an affair with a colleague for an undetermined period of time. All those are going to be shoved aside as his career as an epidemiologist will be put to the test with this infection that will sweep New York. While he and his cronies at CDC try to figure out what caused the death of all but four of the passengers of the plane, a former professor and pawnshop owner, Abraham Setrakian is about to have his chance to finally kill a lifetime enemy. Together, they will try to stop the spread of the epidemic.
In the backdrop is a solar eclipse, which is also enough to send a population into a frenzy. No sunlight means, the monsters are free to roam about the country. Although there was very little significance in the first book, I have a feeling that the authors have a grander plan for the mention of this event in book two. Because I hardly read anything of worth in the first book.
I am not a reader of horror. I’m not even a person who could be paid to sit through an episode of Ghost Hunters (fake as that show is). When I saw the trailer for this series, I was drawn by its allusion to a contagion of sort. See, I can’t get enough of those. I love watching films about a virus that has the potential to wipe out mankind. The Strain is a different beast altogether.
How best to explain this book? Well, if you’ve read novels about the vampire lore, you know that if a vampire bit you, you will go through a change. The monster turns you into its kind. But what happens exactly? What sort of biological change does a human body go through that turns in into a blood sucking predator? This book has its explanation…sort of. But while they are vampiric in nature (sunlight kills them, blood sings to them), they are the worst imaginable monsters. They don’t just suck blood, they are also carnivores. They have the combined appetites of a zombie and a vampire. If that’s not enough to give you nightmares, then the thought that the organism that lives inside them has the capacity to find another host simply by burrowing itself into a skin should do the trick.
So listen, this book is just the beginning of this harrowing tale. People that survived the plane perished one way or another, and the best thing about it is that each one of the gory story was told in their perspectives. You will see a story about a wife with a debilitating dependence on her husband, who unfortunately, was infected. What was she to do now? She can’t even function when he goes away for business. A rock star who’d been known for some really fucked-up antics both on and off the stage; an ambitious lawyer whose grand plans to make partner was stymied by her growing need to eat her kids; a little girl who came home on her own after she was declared dead. And there are other stories. Each one more horrific than the next.
The story unfolds in a slow, deliberate progression that perfectly fits the superior thriller of an ambiance the authors were going for. The burgeoning suspense and the taut tension will have you reading to your heart’s content. My foremost complaint about this series has nothing to do with the book. It’s the tv series that’s starting to drive me mad. None of the characters’ actions were computing, and I’m livid that there seems to be an absence of creative input from the writers regarding the characters’ actions (most specifically, Nora). Regardless, I think this is the first tv series that the husband and I will be following religiously. That’s a big deal because I don’t watch tv and my husband is permanently glued to all 156 (approx.) ESPN channels.
Dr. Ephraim Goodweather’s personal life is on a tailspin. He’s fighting for custody of his son; he’s still madly in love with his wife, and he’s been having an affair with a colleague for an undetermined period of time. All those are going to be shoved aside as his career as an epidemiologist will be put to the test with this infection that will sweep New York. While he and his cronies at CDC try to figure out what caused the death of all but four of the passengers of the plane, a former professor and pawnshop owner, Abraham Setrakian is about to have his chance to finally kill a lifetime enemy. Together, they will try to stop the spread of the epidemic.
In the backdrop is a solar eclipse, which is also enough to send a population into a frenzy. No sunlight means, the monsters are free to roam about the country. Although there was very little significance in the first book, I have a feeling that the authors have a grander plan for the mention of this event in book two. Because I hardly read anything of worth in the first book.
I am not a reader of horror. I’m not even a person who could be paid to sit through an episode of Ghost Hunters (fake as that show is). When I saw the trailer for this series, I was drawn by its allusion to a contagion of sort. See, I can’t get enough of those. I love watching films about a virus that has the potential to wipe out mankind. The Strain is a different beast altogether.
How best to explain this book? Well, if you’ve read novels about the vampire lore, you know that if a vampire bit you, you will go through a change. The monster turns you into its kind. But what happens exactly? What sort of biological change does a human body go through that turns in into a blood sucking predator? This book has its explanation…sort of. But while they are vampiric in nature (sunlight kills them, blood sings to them), they are the worst imaginable monsters. They don’t just suck blood, they are also carnivores. They have the combined appetites of a zombie and a vampire. If that’s not enough to give you nightmares, then the thought that the organism that lives inside them has the capacity to find another host simply by burrowing itself into a skin should do the trick.
So listen, this book is just the beginning of this harrowing tale. People that survived the plane perished one way or another, and the best thing about it is that each one of the gory story was told in their perspectives. You will see a story about a wife with a debilitating dependence on her husband, who unfortunately, was infected. What was she to do now? She can’t even function when he goes away for business. A rock star who’d been known for some really fucked-up antics both on and off the stage; an ambitious lawyer whose grand plans to make partner was stymied by her growing need to eat her kids; a little girl who came home on her own after she was declared dead. And there are other stories. Each one more horrific than the next.
The story unfolds in a slow, deliberate progression that perfectly fits the superior thriller of an ambiance the authors were going for. The burgeoning suspense and the taut tension will have you reading to your heart’s content. My foremost complaint about this series has nothing to do with the book. It’s the tv series that’s starting to drive me mad. None of the characters’ actions were computing, and I’m livid that there seems to be an absence of creative input from the writers regarding the characters’ actions (most specifically, Nora). Regardless, I think this is the first tv series that the husband and I will be following religiously. That’s a big deal because I don’t watch tv and my husband is permanently glued to all 156 (approx.) ESPN channels.
(English translation at bottom)
Disfruté tanto este libro.
Hacía mucho, desde mediados de los noventa, que no leía una historia de vampiros me que emocionara tanto como lo hicieron Del Toro y Hogan en "Nocturna".
¡Cuidado! Es un libro que te lo puedes devorar en una sola sentada.
La verdad es que con el "Vampire-Boom" de los últimos años, no me daban ganas de leer historias de vampiros adolescentes. Sin embargo, Del Toro y Hogan logran deshacerse del arquetipo del bello, erótico y romántico vampiro moderno (aquel que llevara a su máximo esplendor Anne Rice en sus crónicas vampírica y fuera prostituido por Stephenie Meyer), por un nuevo prototipo que retoma a orígenes oscuros, orgánicos y terrenales, haciendo referencias sutiles al origen del mito muy arraigado en enfermedades medievales como "las porfirias", dándole una respetable explicación científica a este nuevo tipo de 'vampiro parasitario'.
Amé a los personajes, a todos y cada uno de ellos: Eph y Nora me recordaron un poco a los protagonistas de "La Radio de Darwin" de Greg Bear; Abraham Setrakian es una excelenta mezcla entre Aaron Lightner de Anne Rice y Abraham Whistler, personaje de Blade de Marvel Comics; me divirtió mucho la encarnación de Gabriel Bolívar como una referencia directa a Marilyn Manson y Alice Cooper y definitivamente, Vasily Fet es el mejor y más divertido de los protagonistas.
La historia, excelente. Siento que Del Toro y Hogan consolidaron una muy buena mancuerna, y claramente llegas a percibir las partes del libro que son totalmente "Del Torescas" y aquellas en donde entra la habilidad literaria de Hogan para a aterrizar, concretar y dar forma al argumento.
R.
---> English translation <---
I really enjoyed this book.
It has been a while, since the 90s, that I have read a vampire's story that thrilled as much as Del Toro and Hogan did in "The Strain"
Be careful! This is a book that can be read entirely in just one sit.
To be honest, after the "vampire boom" of the last few years I have not being interested or excited to read teen vampire stories. Nevertheless, Del Toro and Hogan achieved to get rid of the beautiful, erotic and romantic modern vampire archetype (the one that Anne Rice took it to its maximun shine, and was prosituted by Stephanie Mayer), for a new vampire prototype that goes back to dark, organic and earthling origins, making kind references to the original's myth origin, deeply rooted to medieval decieses, giving a good scientific explanation to this new "parasite vampire".
I loved the characteres, each one of them: Eph and Nora remindedme to Greag Bear's Darwin's Radio main characteres; Abraham Setrakian is an excelent modern mix between the Anne Rice's Talamasca member Aaron Lighnter and Abraham Whistler, Marvel Comics character and mentor of Blade; the incarnation of Gabriel Bolívar amused me as a direct reference to Marilyn Manson and Alice Cooper; and last but not at least, Vasily Fet is my favorite character.
Excellent story, very well told. I feel that Del Toro and Hogan consolidated a very good team, yo can clearly get to perceive while reading the book where "Del Toro ends and Hogan begins".
R.
Disfruté tanto este libro.
Hacía mucho, desde mediados de los noventa, que no leía una historia de vampiros me que emocionara tanto como lo hicieron Del Toro y Hogan en "Nocturna".
¡Cuidado! Es un libro que te lo puedes devorar en una sola sentada.
La verdad es que con el "Vampire-Boom" de los últimos años, no me daban ganas de leer historias de vampiros adolescentes. Sin embargo, Del Toro y Hogan logran deshacerse del arquetipo del bello, erótico y romántico vampiro moderno (aquel que llevara a su máximo esplendor Anne Rice en sus crónicas vampírica y fuera prostituido por Stephenie Meyer), por un nuevo prototipo que retoma a orígenes oscuros, orgánicos y terrenales, haciendo referencias sutiles al origen del mito muy arraigado en enfermedades medievales como "las porfirias", dándole una respetable explicación científica a este nuevo tipo de 'vampiro parasitario'.
Amé a los personajes, a todos y cada uno de ellos: Eph y Nora me recordaron un poco a los protagonistas de "La Radio de Darwin" de Greg Bear; Abraham Setrakian es una excelenta mezcla entre Aaron Lightner de Anne Rice y Abraham Whistler, personaje de Blade de Marvel Comics; me divirtió mucho la encarnación de Gabriel Bolívar como una referencia directa a Marilyn Manson y Alice Cooper y definitivamente, Vasily Fet es el mejor y más divertido de los protagonistas.
La historia, excelente. Siento que Del Toro y Hogan consolidaron una muy buena mancuerna, y claramente llegas a percibir las partes del libro que son totalmente "Del Torescas" y aquellas en donde entra la habilidad literaria de Hogan para a aterrizar, concretar y dar forma al argumento.
R.
---> English translation <---
I really enjoyed this book.
It has been a while, since the 90s, that I have read a vampire's story that thrilled as much as Del Toro and Hogan did in "The Strain"
Be careful! This is a book that can be read entirely in just one sit.
To be honest, after the "vampire boom" of the last few years I have not being interested or excited to read teen vampire stories. Nevertheless, Del Toro and Hogan achieved to get rid of the beautiful, erotic and romantic modern vampire archetype (the one that Anne Rice took it to its maximun shine, and was prosituted by Stephanie Mayer), for a new vampire prototype that goes back to dark, organic and earthling origins, making kind references to the original's myth origin, deeply rooted to medieval decieses, giving a good scientific explanation to this new "parasite vampire".
I loved the characteres, each one of them: Eph and Nora remindedme to Greag Bear's Darwin's Radio main characteres; Abraham Setrakian is an excelent modern mix between the Anne Rice's Talamasca member Aaron Lighnter and Abraham Whistler, Marvel Comics character and mentor of Blade; the incarnation of Gabriel Bolívar amused me as a direct reference to Marilyn Manson and Alice Cooper; and last but not at least, Vasily Fet is my favorite character.
Excellent story, very well told. I feel that Del Toro and Hogan consolidated a very good team, yo can clearly get to perceive while reading the book where "Del Toro ends and Hogan begins".
R.
A reread before tackling the rest of the series. Still agree with the 4 star rating.
Really liked this book. A new take that pulled in and explained a lot of the mythology surrounding vampires. Listened to the audio version and the reader did an amazing job building the suspense. My one complaint is that the ending took the story away from the science of what was happening into more fantastical areas. Really looking forward to the next one.
Really liked this book. A new take that pulled in and explained a lot of the mythology surrounding vampires. Listened to the audio version and the reader did an amazing job building the suspense. My one complaint is that the ending took the story away from the science of what was happening into more fantastical areas. Really looking forward to the next one.
I really enjoyed the beginning of this book. It was well written and had a good hook. I liked the governed characters and the procedural elements of the plot. After 155 pages I decided the descriptions were too gruesome for my active imagination. This is just not my cup of tea.