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The Strain (Hardcover)

by Guillermo Del Toro (Author), Chuck Hogan (Author)

3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)

List Price:	CDN$ 34.99
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Product Details

Hardcover: 416 pages
Publisher: William Morrow (Jun 2 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0061558230
ISBN-13: 978-0061558238
Product Dimensions: 23.9 x 15.8 x 3.1 cm
Shipping Weight: 567 g

Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)

Amazon.ca Sales Rank: #9,638 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
Popular in these categories:
#39 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Horror > Vampires
#39 in Books > Horror > Vampires

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Product Description

Amazon.ca

Amazon Best of the Month, June 2009: Who better to reinvent the vampire genre than Guillermo Del Toro, the genius behind Pan's Labyrinth, and Chuck Hogan, master of character-driven thrillers like Prince of Thieves? The first of a trilogy, The Strain is everything you want from a horror novel--dark, bloody, and packed full of mayhem and mythology. But, be forewarned, these are not like any vampires you've met before--they're not sexy or star-crossed or "vegetarians"--they are hungry, they are connected, and they are multiplying. The vampire virus marches its way across New York, and all that stands between us and a grotesque end are a couple of scientists, an old man with a decades-old vendetta, and a young boy. This first installment moves fast and sets up the major players, counting down to the beginning of the end. Great summer reading. --Daphne Durham

Review

"He elevated gothic horror to art. . . . Bilingual, bicultural, multigenre, he has a voice that feels both fresh and ancient." (Entertainment Weekly )

"[One of] the most original and powerful filmmakers working today." (The Hollywood Reporter )

"[An] amazing writer and director. . . . Pan's Labyrinth places Mr. del Toro in the first rank of world filmmakers." (New York Times )

"A cinematic magician who has never lost his childlike sense of wonder." (Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh in Associated Press )

"His distinctive creatures and otherwordly parables use the realms of fantasy to explore fundamental human issues such as love, alienation, weakness and, of course, fear. [He is] a master of monsters." (USA Today )

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Customer Reviews

8 Reviews

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(4)
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Average Customer Review

3.4 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)

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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ages since we fed looking into living eyes, Jun 6 2009

By	E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

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 The Beginning of Something Horrifying!, Aug 14 2009

By	David A. C. Reinhardt Jr. "moviefanatic007" (Brampton, Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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. Characters are likeable, the story and the suspense was great. I eagerly await the next book in the series; The Fall.

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5.0 out of 5 stars A great read!, Jul 22 2009

By	Karoline - See all my reviews

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).

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Most recent customer reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars I expected better from the writer of Pan's Labryinth
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