After the enjoyment I got out of del Toro and Hogan's first modern-day vampire-slaying epic, it should come as no surprise that I eagerly picked up the second volume- The Fall. Del Toro and Hogan managed to not only meet my expectations after the Strain but to exceed them. I can imagine this is what it must've been like when eager Star Wars fans left the theatre after The Empire Strikes Back.
It seems odd that the title would be "The Fall," because although there is certainly a depiction of the fall of mankind, it seems like evolution and development are key themes throughout the story. The vampires of the last book that were, with the exception of the master, feral, violent, animals with no mental capacity, evolve somewhat in this second installment. Vampires who have been turned earlier begin to develop and gain qualities that allow some of the earlier vampires to become distinct characters. This is certainly a credit to the series because we get to put faces to the enemy in some of the Master's lieutenants including the Nazi commandant Eichorst and the Marylin Manson-esque Gabriel Bolivar.
The Master himself becomes a truly despicable character in this volume as well. I said in my review of The Strain that this book reads like a zombie story, and while that is still partially true, The Fall becomes something that stands alone in its presentation of a truly LOATHSOME villain in a genre that is usually antagonized by a faceless scourge. Some of the actions The Master commits in this book might actually make you sick (especially a certain scene with a bus filled with blind children). Del Toro and Hogan have created a villain that readers can truly hate which is harder than one might think.
The protagonist characters continue to shine with Ephraim and Zachary Goodweather, Vasilly Fet, Nora Martinez, and the badass slayer himself, Professor Abraham Setrakian, all returning in their ongoing fight against the master and his constantly growing forces. They are joined by Gus, a hispanic gangbanger who was a minor character in the first book, a welcome addition as well as an intriguing link between humanity and the three ancient vampires of the new world, new characters who are sure to interest readers.
There were multiple points in the narrative where I realized that del Toro and Hogan must have planned everything out in the long-term timeline before they even began writing. Tie-ins and allusions to stuff that happened in the first book are well supported and believable. In many series like this, the sequels are written to fit their predecessors ("Hey Harry Potter, remember that diary you destroyed five years ago? That was one of Voldemort's horcruxes! Way to go!!!), the storyline in the Fall was clearly known to the authors as they were writing the Strain. The sole exception to this may be a small bit of Setrakian's backstory involving his wife, but the "this-was-clearly-adapted-for-a-sequel" version actually fits better with the plot as a whole.
The story continues to leave the reader guessing while also keeping them at the edge of their seat. The action is even pumped up a level from the last volume to the point where there is never a dull moment. Plenty of cliffhangers still leave the reader begging for more and unfortunately for me, more won't be coming until the concluding volume "The Night Eternal" is released this October. A must-read for those of you who take my advice and read The Strain. Believe me...once you are 100 pages into this series, what I say about it won't matter...you'll find your own reason to LOVE this series.
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