Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date: 6/2/2009
Pages: 416
Synopsis
The visionary creator of the Academy Award-winning Pan's Labyrinth and a Hammett Award-winning author bring their imaginations to this bold, epic novel about a horrifying battle between man and vampire that threatens all humanity. It is the first installment in a thrilling trilogy and an extraordinary international publishing event.
The Strain They have always been here. Vampires. In secret and in darkness. Waiting. Now their time has come. In one week, Manhattan will be gone. In one month, the country. In two months—the world.
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.
The Strain They have always been here. Vampires. In secret and in darkness. Waiting. Now their time has come. In one week, Manhattan will be gone. In one month, the country. In two months—the world.
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.
My Thoughts/Review
I really liked this book but I don't think it lived up to the hype and what I thought it would be like. I loved the premise with The Strain and the vampire aspect. I just didn't like the writing of it and it might have to do that I really didn't like the person that did the audiobook. The book flip flops between many different characters and some of the times it would come back to a character and I would completely forget who they were or it was a new character with really no introduction to who they were. Sometimes I would have to remind myself who the characters were. There was way to many characters in this book, especially background characters, that in my opinion didn't really have to do with the book. The background characters did give the book some depth but some of them were really unneeded.
What I will say is that it was written like it was a movie and that part I did like. It would make a great movie Guillermo del Toro is a famous director and you can tell both the authors wrote this more like a movie then a book. The opening of the story really intrigued me with the airplane landing and then completely shutting down and no one responding from inside. That is a really unique way to start a book. The main characters were okay but none of them were really relatable to me. They mostly seemed pretty flat in my opinion. Goodweather and Satrakin were interesting, I just think for being main characters they could have been more developed and showed a little depth. I liked them both and how they reacted to the vampires I just wish they were more relatable to me.
The way that the authors made their version of a vampire was very interesting and unique, I liked that part too. I mean these are definitely not your ordinary vampire, they are a whole new breed. Another thing I did really like was the scare factor this book had especially when I would listen to the audiobook. A couple times when I was listening to it at night I got a little creeped out and scared. That is definitely a plus and one aspect to read this book for. I really loved all those creepy parts. The ending was okay. I thought most of the book was pretty predictable. I really do wish the ending was done more in an excitable way instead of just going to the bad guy and trying to kill him. The end didn't really leave on that much of a cliffhanger or me wanting more, except maybe for the reader just needing to see what happens with the fight against the vampires and where the characters go from here, but that is all. I really do not know if I want to read the next two books in this series. I will probably read book two but I might need some convincing. Anyone want to convince me who has read this book or series? =]
What I will say is that it was written like it was a movie and that part I did like. It would make a great movie Guillermo del Toro is a famous director and you can tell both the authors wrote this more like a movie then a book. The opening of the story really intrigued me with the airplane landing and then completely shutting down and no one responding from inside. That is a really unique way to start a book. The main characters were okay but none of them were really relatable to me. They mostly seemed pretty flat in my opinion. Goodweather and Satrakin were interesting, I just think for being main characters they could have been more developed and showed a little depth. I liked them both and how they reacted to the vampires I just wish they were more relatable to me.
The way that the authors made their version of a vampire was very interesting and unique, I liked that part too. I mean these are definitely not your ordinary vampire, they are a whole new breed. Another thing I did really like was the scare factor this book had especially when I would listen to the audiobook. A couple times when I was listening to it at night I got a little creeped out and scared. That is definitely a plus and one aspect to read this book for. I really loved all those creepy parts. The ending was okay. I thought most of the book was pretty predictable. I really do wish the ending was done more in an excitable way instead of just going to the bad guy and trying to kill him. The end didn't really leave on that much of a cliffhanger or me wanting more, except maybe for the reader just needing to see what happens with the fight against the vampires and where the characters go from here, but that is all. I really do not know if I want to read the next two books in this series. I will probably read book two but I might need some convincing. Anyone want to convince me who has read this book or series? =]
Overall I give this book...
Very Scary, Unique Book. =]
3 out of 5 Stars
3 out of 5 Stars
Thanks for Visiting and Happy Reading
-Michael
I would try to convince you to read the 2nd book, but I need to read book one first.
ReplyDeleteMy hubby just read this one last week(ish) and said about the same thing as your review. Unique idea, but not something to 'crap your pants over' (if I'm remembering his words correctly :-)
ReplyDeleteGreat review!