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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
This is one of those books I'd been vaguely aware of for a while, but I read it on the recommendation of Boyfriend. I took it on holiday with me, which in hindsight was not a great idea as the whole things kicks off of an airplane! It took quite a long time to get going, but it was an entertaining read although a strange one when you're sunbathing in baking hot bright sunshine!
A plane lands at JFK airport being losing all power and going completely dark. Dr Ephraim Goodweather and his Canary Project rapid response CDC team go in to investigate. There are only four survivors on board, with no obvious cause of death for the other passengers, plus there is a mysterious and unaccounted for coffin like box in the hold. Discredited professor turned pawn broker, and Holocaust survivor, Abraham Setrakian knowing something about what is happening and must convince Eph of the truth before the vampire virus takes over New York.
I did enjoy this book, I barely put it down over three days but it did take a very long time for the action to get going. I found it frustrating because it was so obvious where the story was going to go but we were plodding along. It wasn't until about 75% through that the really good interesting stuff started to happen. I suspect that the sequel might be better now we've gotten through all the set up hopefully it'll contain the juicier stuff!
I liked Eph well enough although he was a bundle of clichéd drinking problem and divorce. In fact every singe character neatly slides into a TV Trope! Setrakian (wise old man) was definitely the most interesting character, I mean the guy is a Holocaust surviving Vampire hunter! He has a badass sword in his walking stick. I liked the exterminator Vaz too although he isn't in it much until the end. The vast chunk of this book is told from male perspectives, in point of view chapters. There are only two female characters: Nora and Kelly. Eph's CDC partner and love interest, and Eph's (slightly nagging, opponent in custody battle) ex-wife. Nora is capable, brave and clever, but largely defined by her relationship to Eph and you only get to know her from his perspective. I'd much more have preferred some point of view from her, but I have a suspicious that I'd then be annoyed at how that well written. Kelly has a some passages where she must decide whether or not to run away with her son, as Eph pleads with her too. Again she's torn between her new and old lovers. How will she convince her new partner to run on the advice of the old one he is jealous of? Seriously lady take your son and run, screw that guy and his man feelings if he won't listen! Then she just becomes a plot device to fuel some of Eph's man pain. So.. not a very good book when it comes to the development of female characters! (Or any, but the representation of the women is shocking).
I've not read much in this genre, but I liked the way that the vampirism is described more scientifically as a virus. The white worms in the blood which spread it was a particularly icky idea. Plus the weird tongue with a little mouth on it was cool and disgusting! The science stuff is still mixed up with more traditional vampire lore and mythology stuff although I did get a bit muddled on that. There were seven original ancient beings; three in the Old Word and three in the New World and the one who is a big of a dick and wants everything. This guy is The Master, the one who has started spreading the virus and by coming to the USA has presumably started up some kind of ancient vampire turf war for the next book.
It's more of a 3.5 than a solid 4 stars. I went for 4 because I did read it all very quickly and couldn't put it down at times. It kept be gripped when I was sitting waiting in the airport and on the plane. It's not one I'll rave about, and I did I think over all enjoyed The Passage more (the only other book I've read in this genre, although that's pretty flawed too). The writing of The Strain was not great.. there were a few lines that nearly made me laugh out loud they were so contrite and cheesy. I wish I'd highlighted them on my Kindle!
So it's just kind of Alright. Not amazing but not bad. If you like these kind of vampire horror books give it a go, it'll pass the time! Although if you are easily annoyed by clichés maybe give it a miss. I'm not sure how well it'll translate in the a TV series, which apparently they've just done. I'll have to check it out, I'm interested to see what changes they make. I'll also borrow The Fall, and see if thing get any better for the sequel!
A plane lands at JFK airport being losing all power and going completely dark. Dr Ephraim Goodweather and his Canary Project rapid response CDC team go in to investigate. There are only four survivors on board, with no obvious cause of death for the other passengers, plus there is a mysterious and unaccounted for coffin like box in the hold. Discredited professor turned pawn broker, and Holocaust survivor, Abraham Setrakian knowing something about what is happening and must convince Eph of the truth before the vampire virus takes over New York.
I did enjoy this book, I barely put it down over three days but it did take a very long time for the action to get going. I found it frustrating because it was so obvious where the story was going to go but we were plodding along. It wasn't until about 75% through that the really good interesting stuff started to happen. I suspect that the sequel might be better now we've gotten through all the set up hopefully it'll contain the juicier stuff!
I liked Eph well enough although he was a bundle of clichéd drinking problem and divorce. In fact every singe character neatly slides into a TV Trope! Setrakian (wise old man) was definitely the most interesting character, I mean the guy is a Holocaust surviving Vampire hunter! He has a badass sword in his walking stick. I liked the exterminator Vaz too although he isn't in it much until the end. The vast chunk of this book is told from male perspectives, in point of view chapters. There are only two female characters: Nora and Kelly. Eph's CDC partner and love interest, and Eph's (slightly nagging, opponent in custody battle) ex-wife. Nora is capable, brave and clever, but largely defined by her relationship to Eph and you only get to know her from his perspective. I'd much more have preferred some point of view from her, but I have a suspicious that I'd then be annoyed at how that well written. Kelly has a some passages where she must decide whether or not to run away with her son, as Eph pleads with her too. Again she's torn between her new and old lovers. How will she convince her new partner to run on the advice of the old one he is jealous of? Seriously lady take your son and run, screw that guy and his man feelings if he won't listen! Then she just becomes a plot device to fuel some of Eph's man pain. So.. not a very good book when it comes to the development of female characters! (Or any, but the representation of the women is shocking).
I've not read much in this genre, but I liked the way that the vampirism is described more scientifically as a virus. The white worms in the blood which spread it was a particularly icky idea. Plus the weird tongue with a little mouth on it was cool and disgusting! The science stuff is still mixed up with more traditional vampire lore and mythology stuff although I did get a bit muddled on that. There were seven original ancient beings; three in the Old Word and three in the New World and the one who is a big of a dick and wants everything. This guy is The Master, the one who has started spreading the virus and by coming to the USA has presumably started up some kind of ancient vampire turf war for the next book.
It's more of a 3.5 than a solid 4 stars. I went for 4 because I did read it all very quickly and couldn't put it down at times. It kept be gripped when I was sitting waiting in the airport and on the plane. It's not one I'll rave about, and I did I think over all enjoyed The Passage more (the only other book I've read in this genre, although that's pretty flawed too). The writing of The Strain was not great.. there were a few lines that nearly made me laugh out loud they were so contrite and cheesy. I wish I'd highlighted them on my Kindle!
So it's just kind of Alright. Not amazing but not bad. If you like these kind of vampire horror books give it a go, it'll pass the time! Although if you are easily annoyed by clichés maybe give it a miss. I'm not sure how well it'll translate in the a TV series, which apparently they've just done. I'll have to check it out, I'm interested to see what changes they make. I'll also borrow The Fall, and see if thing get any better for the sequel!
I was never into vampires but damn it now I am!
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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:
Complicated
I really liked this book. Have to agree that the characters are a bit thin, but horroraspects of this book really works.
I had a difficult time with some of the scenes in this book. I admit to fastforwarding through anything that had to do with the killing of kids or animals. The writing is so well written and graphic, I got a tad nauseous with the attacks on the adult characters. I listened to them, but barely made it. *shudder*
It's an interesting take on the vampire lore, it is indeed a virus that is transmitted through the bite, but it's not a typical vampire teeth gnaw. It's a growth under the tongue that lashes out and goes to town on the victim, which turns the victim into a vampire almost immediately. The affected vamps don't like sunlight and silver can do a big ol' number on them. Killing by beheading is the best way, crosses and holy water aren't very effective with this virus.
Because of the fastforwarding scenes and fast switching from one scene to another caused me to not like the story as much as I could have. It's a good horror story, though, and worth a listen or a read.
Four vampiric virus beans....
It's an interesting take on the vampire lore, it is indeed a virus that is transmitted through the bite, but it's not a typical vampire teeth gnaw. It's a growth under the tongue that lashes out and goes to town on the victim, which turns the victim into a vampire almost immediately. The affected vamps don't like sunlight and silver can do a big ol' number on them. Killing by beheading is the best way, crosses and holy water aren't very effective with this virus.
Because of the fastforwarding scenes and fast switching from one scene to another caused me to not like the story as much as I could have. It's a good horror story, though, and worth a listen or a read.
Four vampiric virus beans....
I'm a del Toro fan so I was excited to start reading this and it started out well enough, but then they go to the vampires. Tired of all things vampire-related so this was a bit of a chore to finish reading. I didn't read the synopsis before reading this so I was quite disappointed it was about vampires. I probably won't read the sequel (if there is one since this one was left pretty unresolved) just because it'll consist of more vampires.
this is strangely hard to review . . . while it was genuinely creepy and full of bizarre, atmospheric set-pieces, the writing, um, blows. seriously.
on the upside, I was generally impressed with the horror of the familiar that's going on here. as the greater new york area is infected with vampirism, the small changes we see build tension aplenty, and the modifications the new vampires make (I'm thinking of the westchester basement, specifically) are exactly enough to be both interesting (how smart! the dog shed! those creative vampires!) and alarming (oh crap! the back shed! those vampires that will KILL ME WHEN I WALK THE DOG!). also, in a departure from current vampire trends (?!), the creepy vampire/zombie/plague vectors are alarming and suit my sense of what actually should be upsetting about vampires.
on the downside (aside from the general gore, because I'm a wimp), this wasn't actually a novel. yeah, it was bound up nicely and available in my library, but it wasn't a novel. it was a movie, or should have been. it's intensely visual (the subway tunnels! the dirty fingernails! the daughter returning home!), and the images overpower the rest of the book. characters (and pieces of equipment) arrive in the middle of scenes, with no indication where they came from. people use language they have no reason to know (or at least to be facile with). metaphors are overabundant and sometimes questionable. these are all things that would be either corrected or unnoticeable in movie form, but in a book? that kind of crap doesn't fly.
also, lose the peeing vampires. seriously.
on the upside, I was generally impressed with the horror of the familiar that's going on here. as the greater new york area is infected with vampirism, the small changes we see build tension aplenty, and the modifications the new vampires make (I'm thinking of the westchester basement, specifically) are exactly enough to be both interesting (how smart! the dog shed! those creative vampires!) and alarming (oh crap! the back shed! those vampires that will KILL ME WHEN I WALK THE DOG!). also, in a departure from current vampire trends (?!), the creepy vampire/zombie/plague vectors are alarming and suit my sense of what actually should be upsetting about vampires.
on the downside (aside from the general gore, because I'm a wimp), this wasn't actually a novel. yeah, it was bound up nicely and available in my library, but it wasn't a novel. it was a movie, or should have been. it's intensely visual (the subway tunnels! the dirty fingernails! the daughter returning home!), and the images overpower the rest of the book. characters (and pieces of equipment) arrive in the middle of scenes, with no indication where they came from. people use language they have no reason to know (or at least to be facile with). metaphors are overabundant and sometimes questionable. these are all things that would be either corrected or unnoticeable in movie form, but in a book? that kind of crap doesn't fly.
also, lose the peeing vampires. seriously.
Full Review at Foil the Plot
"They have always been here. Vampires. In secret and in darkness. Waiting. Now their time has come. In one week, Manhattan will be gone. In one month, the country. In two months—the world." –Amazon.com
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The Strain starts on a high note with an airplane landing at JFK—only something goes horribly wrong. Mid-landing the plane ceases all movement. No lights, no noise, no nothing. After several failed attempts at raising the flight crew, the CDC is called to the scene under the leadership of Ephraim Goodweather. On boarding the doomed flight, he finds that all of the passengers, save four, have died under mysterious circumstances. Eph and his team investigate the cause of these deaths, fearing a viral outbreak could be to blame. The supernatural answers he finds cause him to question science, God and life as he knows it. Eph eventually teams up with a rag-tag band of misfits, including an old man who has previously encountered this strain, desperate to stop the ancient evil that's plaguing their city.
Sounds promising, right? I thought so. I picked up this book with high hopes, expecting nothing but the best from my man, Guillermo del Toro. I mean, with a repertoire that consists of Pan’s Labyrinth, Hell Boy and Mimic, how could you possibly mess it up? So then why was it so hard for me to finish reading it? Why was I left feeling so completely malcontented? Let me break it down for you. When you’re a die-hard fan of someone’s work, there is a certain caliber of quality that you come to expect from them. I picked this book up for the simple fact that I wanted to be thoroughly creeped out. Del Toro is a master at the creep-factor.
And don’t get me wrong; there were parts in this book that did just that. But that’s also the problem—the scary parts were too far and few between. The pacing was all wrong and in those down moments, I was completely bored. The beginning is so strong and then, all too quickly, it falls flat and it’s this way throughout the duration of the novel. What little action we’re left with is interspersed with really random tangents and it does nothing but detract from the actual story. I think the other big issue was the schizophrenic jumps in POV making it a challenge to follow. We’re given the story from a multitude of perspectives yet I found it hard to really connect or care about any one of them. It’s difficult to discern who’s a main character and who’s playing a supporting role because one is particularly memorable.
Bad as it was, I must, however, give Hogan and del Toro their due credit. When they get it right, they really nail it. There were parts where I was gripping the armrests of my seat (yes, I unknowingly read it on a plane), anxiously waiting to find out what happens next. There were also parts where the suspense builds just enough tension to keep you hooked and wanting for more. The opening and closing chapters do this particularly well. I also really enjoyed their updated take on the vampire myth. These aren’t your usual sensationalized, overly-sexed vamps. They are ruthless, ugly and monstrous; not something we see very much of in today's entertainment. And what I really appreciated was the sci-fi spin woven through the book, making vampirism a plague of sorts. The lines between science and the supernatural are blurred in a way that feels very much like something out of a Michael Crichton or James Rollins novel, and that pleases the super geek in me.
"They have always been here. Vampires. In secret and in darkness. Waiting. Now their time has come. In one week, Manhattan will be gone. In one month, the country. In two months—the world." –Amazon.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Strain starts on a high note with an airplane landing at JFK—only something goes horribly wrong. Mid-landing the plane ceases all movement. No lights, no noise, no nothing. After several failed attempts at raising the flight crew, the CDC is called to the scene under the leadership of Ephraim Goodweather. On boarding the doomed flight, he finds that all of the passengers, save four, have died under mysterious circumstances. Eph and his team investigate the cause of these deaths, fearing a viral outbreak could be to blame. The supernatural answers he finds cause him to question science, God and life as he knows it. Eph eventually teams up with a rag-tag band of misfits, including an old man who has previously encountered this strain, desperate to stop the ancient evil that's plaguing their city.
Sounds promising, right? I thought so. I picked up this book with high hopes, expecting nothing but the best from my man, Guillermo del Toro. I mean, with a repertoire that consists of Pan’s Labyrinth, Hell Boy and Mimic, how could you possibly mess it up? So then why was it so hard for me to finish reading it? Why was I left feeling so completely malcontented? Let me break it down for you. When you’re a die-hard fan of someone’s work, there is a certain caliber of quality that you come to expect from them. I picked this book up for the simple fact that I wanted to be thoroughly creeped out. Del Toro is a master at the creep-factor.
And don’t get me wrong; there were parts in this book that did just that. But that’s also the problem—the scary parts were too far and few between. The pacing was all wrong and in those down moments, I was completely bored. The beginning is so strong and then, all too quickly, it falls flat and it’s this way throughout the duration of the novel. What little action we’re left with is interspersed with really random tangents and it does nothing but detract from the actual story. I think the other big issue was the schizophrenic jumps in POV making it a challenge to follow. We’re given the story from a multitude of perspectives yet I found it hard to really connect or care about any one of them. It’s difficult to discern who’s a main character and who’s playing a supporting role because one is particularly memorable.
Bad as it was, I must, however, give Hogan and del Toro their due credit. When they get it right, they really nail it. There were parts where I was gripping the armrests of my seat (yes, I unknowingly read it on a plane), anxiously waiting to find out what happens next. There were also parts where the suspense builds just enough tension to keep you hooked and wanting for more. The opening and closing chapters do this particularly well. I also really enjoyed their updated take on the vampire myth. These aren’t your usual sensationalized, overly-sexed vamps. They are ruthless, ugly and monstrous; not something we see very much of in today's entertainment. And what I really appreciated was the sci-fi spin woven through the book, making vampirism a plague of sorts. The lines between science and the supernatural are blurred in a way that feels very much like something out of a Michael Crichton or James Rollins novel, and that pleases the super geek in me.
While the story is fun the writing is mechanical, the plot decisions predictable, and the characterization makes me groan. You know immediately who has plot immunity and who doesn't, the writing has very little sense of immediacy, and there are constant condescending asides.
Worst of all is that the main character takes an overdose of stupid pills near the end of the book and makes decisions that endanger the less narratively important characters rather wantonly. Probably the worst...
[SPOILER ALERT]
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
...is when he keeps another character from destroying his vampire ex-wife, and then IMMEDIATELY starts lamenting about how she's going to hunt her son forever, that their custody battle isn't over...now it's supernatural! Thanks for spelling that out for me. I don't know that I'm smart enough to have figured out the parallel themes there on my own. =/
Bad guy gets away, vague menace over plot-immune son of main character persists (thereby removing all tension when he's supposedly in danger), new menace introduced. It almost reads like it was written by numbers. Anyway, it was fun, but the end was more aggravating than cathartic or gripping, and I'm normally an easy mark for this sort of story (I quite liked 13 Bullets, Obsidian Butterfly, They Thirst...).
I'm hoping they get better, because I already own all three!
24SEP13 Update: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Strain_(TV_series) dear god I hope it's better as a TV show than a book. I have a lot of faith in FX due to the Bridge and the Americans, but... *crosses fingers*
Worst of all is that the main character takes an overdose of stupid pills near the end of the book and makes decisions that endanger the less narratively important characters rather wantonly. Probably the worst...
[SPOILER ALERT]
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
...is when he keeps another character from destroying his vampire ex-wife, and then IMMEDIATELY starts lamenting about how she's going to hunt her son forever, that their custody battle isn't over...now it's supernatural! Thanks for spelling that out for me. I don't know that I'm smart enough to have figured out the parallel themes there on my own. =/
Bad guy gets away, vague menace over plot-immune son of main character persists (thereby removing all tension when he's supposedly in danger), new menace introduced. It almost reads like it was written by numbers. Anyway, it was fun, but the end was more aggravating than cathartic or gripping, and I'm normally an easy mark for this sort of story (I quite liked 13 Bullets, Obsidian Butterfly, They Thirst...).
I'm hoping they get better, because I already own all three!
24SEP13 Update: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Strain_(TV_series) dear god I hope it's better as a TV show than a book. I have a lot of faith in FX due to the Bridge and the Americans, but... *crosses fingers*