The Strain by Guillermo del Toro, Chuck Hogan

3.62 AVERAGE

shaneaintfunny's review against another edition

3.25
dark mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
I actually really enjoyed this book! Found it in my boyfriend’s house and I love me some apocalyptic/zombie tropes in books so I immediately started it and couldn’t put it down, I just needed to know how this all shakes up! Now, are there some loose ends that you never get an explanation for or figure out what happened? Oh 100%, some character’s faiths are unclear for sure, but overall the plot is quite fast-paced and does not get too caught up in the details, which you just have to roll with! Writing can be a lil kitsch at times, my fave line for to explain this would be  “it went straight up, like Paula Abdul” which as a gay made me laugh, but as an English major also made me laugh cause like I know what you mean but that is a ridiculous way to describe that, but anyways, 3.25, a solid fantasy-apocalypse done with vampires, that maintains a tense, fast paced but at times is halted by it’s writing! Has definitely gotten me back into reading so I would recommend if you’re looking for something with easy language and easy plot to follow and get lost in!

duckie83's review against another edition

5.0
dark emotional tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
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karfield's review against another edition

3.75
dark mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: N/A
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No
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zephirah's review against another edition

4.0
Enjoyed this book the first time around, and now I'm reading it a second time for book club! I still give it a 4 star rating, but it was much more entertaining the first time through.
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imstephtacular's review against another edition

4.0
adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
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muscleboyz's review against another edition

3.0
I enjoyed this, mostly for the audiobook version as read by Ron Perlman. Quick, easy pulp. Del Toro's influence of imagery is pretty obvious, but still vivid.

coubroughclan13's review against another edition

It wasn’t what I expected. 
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sicksadlit's review against another edition

3.5
dark mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

thndrstd's review against another edition

4.0
A collaboration by Guillermo Del Toro, best known as director of Pan's Labyrinth and the Hellboy movies, and Chuck Hogan makes vampires what they were always meant to be - creepy, nasty and vile. There are no Edwards, Angels or even Lestats or Louis's here. Vampirism is a disease. It is a virus in human form.

The book is fast paced and fun, with moments of genuine creepiness and gore. Some of the "innovations" here I felt were lifted from Blade 2 which Del Toro also directed, but I loved that movie and it didn't take anything away for me.


(This review refers to an advanced readers' copy. The book is due out June 2, 2009.)

anna_carina's review against another edition

3.0
Absoluter Hollywood Style. Nicht nach meinem Geschmack. Die Reihe wird nicht weiter gelesen.