The Strain

[Mimzy]

If you're sick of vampires that moan and groan about their mortal existence, refuse to drink human blood, and wear far too much body glitter, do I have a book for you! The Strain, by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan, is a return to what vampires used to be. A return to the time when vampires were scary and think of humans purely as a food source.

Because I'm no good at writing book reviews, here's the promo from Amazon:

A Boeing 777 arrives at JFK and is on its way across the tarmac, when it suddenly stops dead. All window shades are pulled down. All lights are out. All communication channels have gone quiet. Crews on the ground are lost for answers, but an alert goes out to the CDC. Dr. Eph Goodweather, head of their Canary project, a rapid-response team that investigates biological threats, gets the call and boards the plane. What he finds makes his blood run cold.

In a pawnshop in Spanish Harlem, a former professor and survivor of the Holocaust named Abraham Setrakian knows something is happening. And he knows the time has come, that a war is brewing . . .

So begins a battle of mammoth proportions as the vampiric virus that has infected New York begins to spill out into the streets. Eph, who is joined by Setrakian and a motley crew of fighters, must now find a way to stop the contagion and save his city--a city that includes his wife and son--before it is too late.

In a lot of ways The Strain is closely related to Stoker's Dracula. The opening scene, with the dead plane, closely resembles Dracula's empty ship when he comes to England. Also, the name of the first passenger found alive (Redfield) is similar to the sole survivor found on Dracula's ship (Renfield). However, Del Toro and Hogan have changed the vampire myth a bit too. Instead of fangs, these vampires have stingers under the tongue that can pierce the blood vessels of their victims from several feet away. Also, newly turned vampires seem to resemble zombies more than anything else.

All in all, I found the book very enjoyable and can't wait until the next volume comes out. Considering that one of the authors is Guillermo Del Toro, you can really see how easily and well this book could be turned into a movie as well. (Probably directed by Del Toro which... would actually be pretty awesome. I love his work.)

[Paegan2246]

I admit it..I adore the Hellboy movies and Pan's Labyrinth. I have this book but haven't read it yet. One of the scariest vampires in literature is The Master in Salem's Lot. That book creeped me out for months. I'm hoping this is as good or better.

[suecsi]

I liked this. I was initially a bit put off as I get a bit sick of all this vampire romance stuff and everyone jumping on the bandwagon.

But it is nothing like that - it is a horror/thriller story, first and foremost, and I am eagerly awaiting the next in the series.

[kilohertz53]

I really enjoyed "The Strain" precisely because the vampires were degenerate, disgusting, zombie-like creatures. Creeped me out in a good way.

"The Strain" is supposed to be the first volume of a trilogy, but I haven't found any information about when the next volume might be published.

[megthered]

I have just finished The Passage and was very wary of starting The Strain, but I was told it was good so I started it. I am on page 200 and love it. It is creepy, but it's really a page turner/

[ski_power]

"If you're sick of vampires that moan and groan about their mortal existence, refuse to drink human blood, and wear far too much body glitter, do I have a book for you! The Strain, by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan, is a return to what vampires used to be. A return to the time when vampires were scary and think of humans purely as a food source."

Sounds like Telebrands doesn't it Love it

[FlorenceArt]

I don't know... I kind of like the idea of tormented vampires, although if they don't have a sense of humor it can get too much. But I doubt those in The Strain have a sense of humor.. have they?

I don't much like scary books, but I'll try to find out more about this one. Does Amazon have an excerpt? I'll go look.

[Paegan2246]

The sequel is called The Fall and is available for pre-order on Amazon; to be released 9/21/10

http://www.amazon.com/Fall-Book-Stra...0940606&sr=1-1

[yakuzaboss]

I just finished reading The Strain and all I can say is WOW! This book was amazing. I cant wait to get into The Fall. I'd start reading it tonight but I pretty much spent this lazy Sunday reading The Strain and my eyes are really tired.

[Billjr13]

The Fall is out tomorrow! I really liked the The Strain, and I am ready to jump in again.

[Loss Stop]

Began reading this a couple days ago, about halfway through it. So terribly written. Don't understand the high rating this book has gotten. It reads like terrible fan fiction from someone who's watched too many crummy Hollywood movies.

Was really excited for it too. Loved Pan's Labyrinth and the Hell Boy movies.

[Duiker]

Does anyone know where I can get a good epub version of this book? I've bought it twice now. Once from Books On Board and once from Kobobooks. Both files caused my Kobo to crash when I opened them. Also the formatting was horrific.

[Latinandgreek]

I've had this on my TBR list. Now that Hallowe'en is coming up I should give it a read.

[dcross9818]

Originally Posted by Duiker

Does anyone know where I can get a good epub version of this book? I've bought it twice now. Once from Books On Board and once from Kobobooks. Both files caused my Kobo to crash when I opened them. Also the formatting was horrific.

I haven't had an issue with my copy from sony, but I don't know if the DRM works with Kobo, Kobo works with my sony reader.

---dcross9818

[Exer]

Originally Posted by Loss Stop

Began reading this a couple days ago, about halfway through it. So terribly written. Don't understand the high rating this book has gotten. It reads like terrible fan fiction from someone who's watched too many crummy Hollywood movies.

Was really excited for it too. Loved Pan's Labyrinth and the Hell Boy movies.

I agree completely. I finished the book and had absolutely no desire at all to look for the next installment. I found most of the scenes highly unlikely and unbelievable and ended up with no emotional attachment to any of the characters.

Also the big, bad villain came off as such a joke that I was rolling my eyes through the whole final confrontation.

On the other hand, I loved The Passage. That story was rolling around in my brain for weeks after finishing the book. The ending was a surprising and thrilling. One of those books where I had to groan to know the story was over and I had to wait until the next part was published.