In THE STRAIN, the creator of PAN'S LABYRINTH, Guillermo del Toro, teams up with author Chuck Hogan to write a new kind of vampire tale. Going away from the sex and romance part of your typical vampire novel, THE STRAIN is a book more about un-deadly disease than monster myth. With the wretchedly detailed and lurid descriptions of blood and guts similar to that of Michael Crichton's and the scare factor, nightmare inducing power rivaling that of Stephen King's, del Toro and Hogan make THE STRAIN the next great vampire must-read. This novel will take what you thought you knew about bloodsuckers and turn it upside-down and inside-out, almost quite literally, while simultaneously making you cringe with horror and disallowing you to stop reading.
In a reader-friendly form, short chapters that hop from one scenario to the next act at the vehicle for this fast-paced thriller. A STAR WARS-esque core cast of characters brings depth and emotion to the threatening dilemma that they're facing: Dr. Ephraim Goodweather, the eager but green vampire slayer forced to turn from healer to hunter, Vasiliy Fet, the bad-ass exterminator of rats turned exterminator of vampires, Eldritch Palmer, the mysterious billionaire and vampire lackey, and Abraham Setrakian, the wise old man who has the most knowledge and experience with vampires and can still kick some major vampire ass.
The worst thing I can say about THE STRAIN is that we have to wait until 2010 and 2011 for the blood-tingling tale to continue through the sequels. If you like a good and bloody stimulating page-turner, I highly recommend this novel. At times stomach churning, with its graphic gore, but always thought provoking, with its fresh take on an old fable, THE STRAIN is not your grandmother's vampire story.
Matt B makes this comment
Fri 19 Jun 2009 01:49:44 CDT
vu1992 makes this comment
Thu 18 Jun 2009 23:15:18 CDT