bettyehollands
Written on Nov 12, 2017
The high-concept thriller with a supernatural edge from the world-famous director, whose films include Pan’s Labyrinth and Hellboy.A plane lands at JFK and mysteriously ‘goes dark’, stopping in the middle of the runway for no apparent reason, all lights off, all doors sealed. The pilots cannot be raised.
When the hatch above the wing finally clicks open, it soon becomes clear that everyone on board is dead – although there is no sign of any trauma or struggle. Ephraim Goodweather and his team from the Center for Disease Control must work quickly to establish the cause of this...
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The high-concept thriller with a supernatural edge from the world-famous director, whose films include Pan’s Labyrinth and Hellboy.
A plane lands at JFK and mysteriously ‘goes dark’, stopping in the middle of the runway for no apparent reason, all lights off, all doors sealed. The pilots cannot be raised.
When the hatch above the wing finally clicks open, it soon becomes clear that everyone on board is dead – although there is no sign of any trauma or struggle. Ephraim Goodweather and his team from the Center for Disease Control must work quickly to establish the cause of this strange occurrence before panic spreads.
The first thing they discover is that four of the victims are actually still alive. But that’s the only good news. And when all two hundred corpses disappear from various morgues around the city on the same night, things very rapidly get worse. Soon Eph and a small band of helpers will find themselves battling to protect not only their own loved ones, but the whole city, against an ancient threat to humanity.
Perfect for fans of Dean Koontz’s The Eyes of Darkness
- ISBN13 9780007310258
- Publish Date 2 June 2009
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 9 April 2010
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher HarperCollins Publishers
- Imprint HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 416
- Language English
- URL http://harpercollins.co.uk
Reviews
leahrosereads
Written on Aug 10, 2014
After reading very mixed reviews, I almost decided to pass on trying The Strain by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan, but I’m glad I didn’t.
While the book did have its faults, overall, I really enjoyed...Read more
3ish Stars
After reading very mixed reviews, I almost decided to pass on trying The Strain by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan, but I’m glad I didn’t.
While the book did have its faults, overall, I really enjoyed the story. My biggest issue with this, wasn’t the writing or the majority of the characters, but rather the constant change between stories within the novel. We see so many different sides, but several of them, to me, were unnecessary to read about.
The Strain mostly follows Ephraim Goodweather (a/k/a Eph), a doctor with the CDC, specifically their Canary project. His job is to investigate potential biological threats, and when a plane mysteriously breaks down at JFK airport and all of the passengers are found dead, Eph and his team are called in to investigate the cause behind the deaths. With no outward signs of damage, and autopsy results that are bizarre, Eph and his team definitely have their work cut out for them.
During the plane investigation, a pawnbroker, Setrakian sees this mystery for what it really is, and takes it upon himself to warn Eph about the upcoming plague...that plague is viral and it’s creating vampires. So Eph, Nora (one of his team members as well as love interest), and Setrakian run around NYC trying to stop this outbreak before it spreads uncontrollably. With no one believing them, and the vampires working against them, they end up having an extremely hard time accomplishing their tasks.
We meet several other characters, including Gus (a gang member who I believe will be more important in the later books of the trilogy), Fet (a pest control worker who discovers the plague on his own, and has enough adaptability to keep himself safe), Kelly (Eph’s soon to be ex-wife (show spoiler)[who is used against Eph by the vampires in a very tragic way] ), Eph’s son, Zack (a young adolescent dealing with his parents’ divorce as well as a possible apocalypse. Poor kid cannot catch a break). On the big bad’s side, we meet - The Master (Buffy-esque name in my opinion, but that’s just who I grew up with), Bolivar (a rock star who was on the plane but survives. (show spoiler)[He hosts the Master in his body] ), and Eldrich Palmer (a dying old man, who wants to live forever. (show spoiler)[He’s the reason the Master makes it to the US in the first place...that bastard!] ).
Like I said, overall, I liked this book. I did feel like having too many voices throughout the novel was a hinderence, but in the end, I just read those stories quickly (maybe a little too quickly) and got back to the meet of the story, with Eph, Nora and Setrakian. I really liked those three characters in general, and when Fet enters their group, I still felt the dynamics worked really well.
I’m sure I’ll end up getting the second book in the trilogy to continue this story, because I’m definitely interested to see where it goes...especially with the characters introduced near the end of the book.
After reading very mixed reviews, I almost decided to pass on trying The Strain by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan, but I’m glad I didn’t.
While the book did have its faults, overall, I really enjoyed the story. My biggest issue with this, wasn’t the writing or the majority of the characters, but rather the constant change between stories within the novel. We see so many different sides, but several of them, to me, were unnecessary to read about.
The Strain mostly follows Ephraim Goodweather (a/k/a Eph), a doctor with the CDC, specifically their Canary project. His job is to investigate potential biological threats, and when a plane mysteriously breaks down at JFK airport and all of the passengers are found dead, Eph and his team are called in to investigate the cause behind the deaths. With no outward signs of damage, and autopsy results that are bizarre, Eph and his team definitely have their work cut out for them.
During the plane investigation, a pawnbroker, Setrakian sees this mystery for what it really is, and takes it upon himself to warn Eph about the upcoming plague...that plague is viral and it’s creating vampires. So Eph, Nora (one of his team members as well as love interest), and Setrakian run around NYC trying to stop this outbreak before it spreads uncontrollably. With no one believing them, and the vampires working against them, they end up having an extremely hard time accomplishing their tasks.
We meet several other characters, including Gus (a gang member who I believe will be more important in the later books of the trilogy), Fet (a pest control worker who discovers the plague on his own, and has enough adaptability to keep himself safe), Kelly (Eph’s soon to be ex-wife (show spoiler)[who is used against Eph by the vampires in a very tragic way] ), Eph’s son, Zack (a young adolescent dealing with his parents’ divorce as well as a possible apocalypse. Poor kid cannot catch a break). On the big bad’s side, we meet - The Master (Buffy-esque name in my opinion, but that’s just who I grew up with), Bolivar (a rock star who was on the plane but survives. (show spoiler)[He hosts the Master in his body] ), and Eldrich Palmer (a dying old man, who wants to live forever. (show spoiler)[He’s the reason the Master makes it to the US in the first place...that bastard!] ).
Like I said, overall, I liked this book. I did feel like having too many voices throughout the novel was a hinderence, but in the end, I just read those stories quickly (maybe a little too quickly) and got back to the meet of the story, with Eph, Nora and Setrakian. I really liked those three characters in general, and when Fet enters their group, I still felt the dynamics worked really well.
I’m sure I’ll end up getting the second book in the trilogy to continue this story, because I’m definitely interested to see where it goes...especially with the characters introduced near the end of the book.
boghunden
Written on Jul 9, 2012
Jeg har sidder her og kigger på skærmen i 20 minutter uden at skrive noget nu. Jeg ved ikke helt, hvor jeg skal starte… De første 20 sider var rigtig uhyggelige, når man som jeg er en rigtig tøs ;) De næste 30 var også godt skræmmende. Derfra blev det mindre uhyggeligt, men stadig spændende. Vampyruniverset har ikke overtaget bogen, men er der bare som en naturlig del af universet. Der var rigtig mange personer at følge og det gjorde det hele lidt forvirrende, men samtidig satte det lidt perspektiv over det hele, man fik indblik i hvor mange mennesker denne her virus gik udover.
Det var fantastisk at læse en bog, hvor vampyrerne faktisk var, ja, vampyrer af instinkt og ikke bare et folk hovedpersonerne falder for. Befriende faktisk.
Jeg har aldrig læst en bog i denne vampyr-thriller genre før, men blev faktisk helt bidt af det (oh, sweet irony!) og jeg skal helt sikkert læse videre i trilogien.
Det var fantastisk at læse en bog, hvor vampyrerne faktisk var, ja, vampyrer af instinkt og ikke bare et folk hovedpersonerne falder for. Befriende faktisk.
Jeg har aldrig læst en bog i denne vampyr-thriller genre før, men blev faktisk helt bidt af det (oh, sweet irony!) og jeg skal helt sikkert læse videre i trilogien.
Michael @ Knowledge Lost
Written on Feb 17, 2012
It is refreshing to read a vampire novel, written the way you would expect a vampire novel to be written. While Guillermo del Toro’s vampire are different to the typical vampire at least they don’t sparkle like fairies. Del Toro has given a truly thrilling novel full of heart racing scenes and a unique blend of old vampiric mysticism and the modern infestation typically made popular with the Resident Evil games/movies. While I would love to give this book 4/5, I have to say this book reminded me too much of I am Legend by Richard Matheson to warrant this score. The Strain is a dark and enjoyable horror novel that I would highly recommend for anyone interested in reading an exciting vampire novel.
ibeforem
Written on Dec 13, 2010
It’s been a few weeks since I finished this, and I’m still not completely sure what I thought about it. On one hand, it was a interesting, creepy twist on the vampire. No brooding looks or sparkling skin here, just gore and horror. On the other hand, you could really tell that a screenwriter was one of the authors. Things jumped around A LOT. There were many times when I just wanted to get back to our main heroes: Eph, Nora, and Setrakian. The reason we were following some of these secondary characters became clear in the end, but I still think some of the other scenes could have been cut. The book does end on a cliffhanger with little to no resolution, so that’s something to keep in mind before you pick it up. I liked our core team of protagonists, so I’ll probably pick up the second book to see what happens to them. It’s hard to imagine a way for New York to get out of this mess.
Eve1972
Written on Jul 17, 2010