The Strain [Hardcover]

 

 

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Everybody now knows of Guillermo del Toro, the genius filmmaker of things dark, grotesque and fantastical.

So it's no surprise that his first foray into fiction, "The Strain," is a masterpiece of horrific lyricism and ghastly atmosphere. Del Toro's talents mesh seamlessly with those of thriller/mystery author Chuck Hogan, slowly building up a suspenseful story of vampiric infection that threatens to engulf the entire human race. Half gut-clenching horror, half police procedural.

When Flight 753 lands at JFK, the entire plane goes dead -- and all but four passengers are found pale, bloodless and peacefully dead. And a giant cabinet is missing from the hold.

While a special disease unit tries to figure out the cause of death, Dr. Eph Goodwater starts investigating the mysterious disappearance of a cabinet from the hold. And strange physical changes begin occurring not only on the four survivors, but on the undecayed corpses in the morgue -- white blood, tracheal growths, enhanced senses, and a growing thirst for blood.

While ordinary people begin transforming into stinger-tongued horrors, Eph and his assistant Nora find Abraham Setrakian, an elderly pawnbroker who has fought the vampires since World War II. Fortunately he knows their weaknesses... and the ghastly Master who has broken an ancient truce. In just a few days, New York City is swarming with undead horrors, and

In some ways, "The Strain" initially seems like a 21st century version of "Dracula": a plane full of the dead, a coffin full of soil, and a little old man who knows way too much about vampires. But this book doesn't have a shred of Victorian romanticism or ornateness -- it's an intricate twist of New York City, scientific analysis, and grotesque horrors from darkened corners of the Old World.

And Del Toro and Hogan's writing styles complement each other beautifully. On one hand, Hogan builds up spooky suspense to hang over the plot, and manages to make the pathology and procedurals interesting. And del Toro embroiders it with moments of lyrical beauty (the occultation that stares "down at the earth with glowing, gossamer-white hair"), but he also splashes it with loads of pure horror (the heart in a jar that sends out suckers to snag blood).

And the vampires del Toro creates are the most horrific I've seen in a long time -- trust me, these are not sexy, romantic angsty immortals. They're corpses possessed by a ghastly virus that reshapes the body into a cancerous husk filled with parasitic worms. Also a stinger-tipped tentacle-tongue in yawning jaws. And while del Toro freaks us out enough with the biological changes, he also infuses the vampires with a genuine sense of evil. It's more than just a disease.

There's a pretty wide-ranging cast of characters here -- billionaires, housekeepers, doctors, street thugs, lawyers, and even a shock-rock-star in the Marilyn Manson vein. Eph is a likable protagonist -- a kindly genius with family issues and a rocky custody battle. Abraham serves as the Van Helsing of this story, and the authors use flashback chapters to explore how his battle started -- in a concentration camp.

As for the villain, the Master is a truly spinechilling one, all the more so because he uses the corrupted body of a saintly young man, and now dwells in one of the most horrific spots in New York City.

"The Strain: Book One of The Strain Trilogy" brings vampires back into the horror fold, and blends the talents of both Chuck Hogan and Guillermo del Toro. Gripping, chilling... and not over.

This book is a great mix of horror and action and does its job of making you feeling creeped out and keeping you interested in the plot so you don't put it down and continue reading page after page until you're either sleepy, or you're finished the entire story.

Action you ask? plenty of it! I like how this book just captures your attention immediately and best yet there are hardly any parts where the action stops. What I like about this book is, you get the sense of chaos about to errupt and you actually see it in development until things just hit the fan (so to speak) and by then it's too late to do anything.

There's plenty of unanswered questions and the ending leaves you with wanting a lot more. Unfortunately the second part of this trilogy is not to be released until 2010 (I'm not sure exactly when, they just gave out the year of its' future release on the backflap of the book). So obviously, I will probably have to reread this book again when the second one comes out. It's worth a second read though I think.

I'd have to say, this book does have certain similarities to Bram Stoker's Dracula (there I gave you a hint on what this book entails) (But it's not what you think!). You do have a Jonathan Harker, a Van Helsing type character, and even a Mina (not really though, sort of) which I found rather interesting and I wonder if the authors did that on purpose or it was just a creative fluke. The characters in the novels are all right and they are developing I think considering this is the first novel of a trilogy, perhaps you will see them develop more with the other two books. (I like Setrakian the most in my opinion).

I definitely do not recommend this book if you don't like blood and gore. There's a lot of it and it's very graphic. But if you don't mind, and if you like a good scare, this book does a great job of keeping you engrossed and making your skin crawl (in a good way).

Everybody now knows of Guillermo del Toro, the genius filmmaker of things dark, grotesque and fantastical.

So it's no surprise that his first foray into fiction, "The Strain," is a masterpiece of horrific lyricism and ghastly atmosphere. Del Toro's talents mesh seamlessly with those of thriller/mystery author Chuck Hogan, slowly building up a suspenseful story of vampiric infection that threatens to engulf the entire human race. Half gut-clenching horror, half police procedural.

When Flight 753 lands at JFK, the entire plane goes dead -- and all but four passengers are found pale, bloodless and peacefully dead. And a giant cabinet is missing from the hold.

While a special disease unit tries to figure out the cause of death, Dr. Eph Goodwater starts investigating the mysterious disappearance of a cabinet from the hold. And strange physical changes begin occurring not only on the four survivors, but on the undecayed corpses in the morgue -- white blood, tracheal growths, enhanced senses, and a growing thirst for blood.

While ordinary people begin transforming into stinger-tongued horrors, Eph and his assistant Nora find Abraham Setrakian, an elderly pawnbroker who has fought the vampires since World War II. Fortunately he knows their weaknesses... and the ghastly Master who has broken an ancient truce. In just a few days, New York City is swarming with undead horrors, and

In some ways, "The Strain" initially seems like a 21st century version of "Dracula": a plane full of the dead, a coffin full of soil, and a little old man who knows way too much about vampires. But this book doesn't have a shred of Victorian romanticism or ornateness -- it's an intricate twist of New York City, scientific analysis, and grotesque horrors from darkened corners of the Old World.

And Del Toro and Hogan's writing styles complement each other beautifully. On one hand, Hogan builds up spooky suspense to hang over the plot, and manages to make the pathology and procedurals interesting. And del Toro embroiders it with moments of lyrical beauty (the occultation that stares "down at the earth with glowing, gossamer-white hair"), but he also splashes it with loads of pure horror (the heart in a jar that sends out suckers to snag blood).

And the vampires del Toro creates are the most horrific I've seen in a long time -- trust me, these are not sexy, romantic angsty immortals. They're corpses possessed by a ghastly virus that reshapes the body into a cancerous husk filled with parasitic worms. Also a stinger-tipped tentacle-tongue in yawning jaws. And while del Toro freaks us out enough with the biological changes, he also infuses the vampires with a genuine sense of evil. It's more than just a disease.

There's a pretty wide-ranging cast of characters here -- billionaires, housekeepers, doctors, street thugs, lawyers, and even a shock-rock-star in the Marilyn Manson vein. Eph is a likable protagonist -- a kindly genius with family issues and a rocky custody battle. Abraham serves as the Van Helsing of this story, and the authors use flashback chapters to explore how his battle started -- in a concentration camp.

As for the villain, the Master is a truly spinechilling one, all the more so because he uses the corrupted body of a saintly young man, and now dwells in one of the most horrific spots in New York City.

"The Strain: Book One of The Strain Trilogy" brings vampires back into the horror fold, and blends the talents of both Chuck Hogan and Guillermo del Toro. Gripping, chilling... and not over.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Good
Book arrived a little bit later then expected, but I would blame Canadian Customs for that.
The condition of the book was about 3.5/5

Published 8 months ago by MK

4.0 out of 5 stars Real monsters; no sophisticates or teen-bait here
Guillermo Del Toro is best known as the director of dark and imaginative films, including Pan's Labyrinth, The Devil's Backbone and both Hellboy movies. Read more

Published 15 months ago by Andre Farant

1.0 out of 5 stars a disappointment
I wanted to like this book because I had great expectations upon realizing who the authors were and how talented they were...having seen both The Town and Pan's Labyrinth. Read more

Published 16 months ago by brenda ough

5.0 out of 5 stars It's like watching a movie...
I couldn't put the book down! Simply amazing! Well written...i've read the 2nd book, now i can't wait for the 3rd one to come out!

Published 16 months ago by Nanzzz

5.0 out of 5 stars Better then most movies
It has been a long time since I have bothered buying the second book in a trilogy - never mind the hardcover version (because I couldn't wait for the softcover to be released)... Read more

Published 19 months ago by Glen Thompson

4.0 out of 5 stars Don't let bad reviews keep you away...
I think one very important thing to know it that this it the first book in a trilogy. Many of the negative reviews are from people who don't seem to know this clearly pre... Read more

Published 20 months ago by James Renouf

2.0 out of 5 stars Stock Vampire Story, Mediocre at Best
As a fan of Del Toro's cinematic work and vampire novels, I picked up this novel with hopes of a nice change from the recent rash of sparkly, angst ridden vampires that seem to be... Read more

Published 20 months ago by Carly P.

1.0 out of 5 stars This book is really, really bad.
My wife bought this book based on the scores of very positive reviews contained inside the cover. I read it through because I finished my own novel and didn't have access to any... Read more

Published 21 months ago by David Bartlett

4.0 out of 5 stars The Beginning of Something Horrifying!
This book, although it was somewhat slow to start; to build up all the anticipation and suspense. Once it got going I could not put it down and now I want more. Read more

Published on Aug 14 2009 by David A. C. Reinhardt Jr.

2.0 out of 5 stars I expected better from the writer of Pan's Labryinth
This is a stock standard horror novel and really wasn't worth reading; in fact, I think it's even substandard for horror novels, which is something. Read more

Published on Aug 6 2009 by Living Away

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