When you consider that this book was written by Guillermo del Toro (of Pan's Labyrinth and the Hellboy film franchise fame) and Chuck Hogan, the man who wrote the book that became last year's blockbuster hit- The Town, it won't come as much of a surprise that a movie buff like myself would be a little interested. Then, throw in the fact that this book is often compared to the first book I blogged about here and one of the best books I've ever read, Justin Cronin's "The Passage," and you've got a book so tempting that it was almost impossible to stay away. Finally, when you consider that del Toro called in a favor from Hellboy himself, Ron Pearlman, and had him narrate the audiobook, this book became my number one priority. With this much promise, I knew that the book would either be a colossal disappointment or one of the best things I've read in a while. I am glad to say that it was the latter.
The Strain is another modern day vampire epic, but like I said about The Passage, this ain't your teenage niece's vampire book. The vampires are feral menaces that kill ruthlessly and possess a hunger so great that they don't have time to attend high school or look super-angsty like their counterparts in the Twilight franchise or HBO's True Blood. These vampires also go through a metamorphosis that makes them lose most of what makes them biologically human, so they don't even attempt to infiltrate human society. These are monsters, who seek not to be understood, but only to infect and destroy. The Strain feels more like something out of the zombie genre because with the exception of The Master, the ancient and powerful source of the vampire outbreak, none of the vampires speak or communicate in some human-esque fashion.
When recommending this book to others, I explained that "The Strain" is to the vampire genre what Christopher Nolan's films are to Batman. They seek to present the interesting genre in a way that seems realistic and possible. The Strain is in fact an ancient cancerous viral infection that replicates so rapidly that human undergoes a metamorphosis within 24-48 hours. I am not gonna explain the whole of the scientific process in this entry, because that's half of the fun. Del Toro and Hogan also chose to make things historically plausible placing a vampire nest in the sewer system below ground zero and explaining that a similar outbreak of the strain occurred in Europe during WWII in concentration camps, but the deaths and disappearances were written off due to the already overwhelming casualties. History buffs and science geeks alike can delight in "The Strain's" wonderfully constructed world.
Another strong point, like in any apocalyptic or post-apocalyptic story, is the mass of protagonists. The main character, Dr. Ephraim Goodweather of the Center for Disease Control is interesting enough while also providing a neutral enough personality to make him likable to all readers. It is great to watch Eph transform from teetotaling healer to badass slayer while society is undergoing a similar savage metamorphosis. Also along for the ride is Vasily Fet, a New York City pest control worker who fits perfectly with the slaying of vampires because del Toro and Hogan's vampires possess pest-like qualities. Fet is a humongous monster of a man whose no-bullshit brash one-liners are crucial to keeping the story balanced between thrilling action and dark humor. Rounding out the slayers is perhaps the most interesting character,holocaust-survivor turned shamed professor turned pawnbroker Abraham Setrakian is a mixture of Van Helsing and Obi-Wan Kenobi exhibiting both sage-like wisdom and a surprising amount of ass-kicking. The brief accounts of Setrakian's past that break up the story also allow the reader entertaining minor retreats from the main storyline.
It is important to note that the story may be a little slow for some, but there is a purpose for that. Del Toro and Hogan planned for The Strain to be the first of a trilogy before they even began writing it, and the intention of the first book was to focus more on the collapse of society, so the timeline, while covering only about a week, focuses on the early onset of the strain of infection. This is crucial because the authors managed to keep the reader on their toes by always having questions for the reader to contemplate while rewarding the vigilant reader with constant answers to these questions. The end of the book leaves the reader with a few awesome cliffhangers that will for sure have you drooling for the second installment "The Fall."
I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone. The writing style is excellent and this gripping, thrill-a-minute, adventure will be one of the most memorable of your year.
No comments:
Post a Comment