Comes out June 2nd and sounds like it is worth checking out. Link (http://www.amazon.com/Strain-Book-One-Trilogy/dp/0061558230/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1243869912&sr=8-1) to the Amazon page which has a clip of Del Toro explaining the book.
Deke Rivers
06-01-09, 11:53 AM
yep..im looking forward to this in spite of Entertaiment Weeklys less than stellar review..woudl really liek to know how much GDT contributed to it though
Geofferson
06-01-09, 12:09 PM
EW's review for reference: http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20281090,00.html
The Strain (2009)
Chuck Hogan, Guillermo del Toro
By Jeff Jensen
Guillermo del Toro has been a busy man since nabbing an Oscar nod for his Spanish-language art-house fantasy Pan's Labyrinth in 2007. He helmed a summertime crowd-pleaser, Hellboy II, produced more than five movies, and began writing the screenplays for his next directorial effort, a two-part adaptation of The Hobbit. Now the Mexican auteur has coauthored The Strain, a sci-fi vampire opus that's a cross between The Hot Zone and 'Salem's Lot. It's hard to believe he found time for such an ambitious project — and after reading the book, it seems clear he didn't.
The Strain was co-written by Chuck Hogan, whose résumé is largely composed of mass-market thrillers. This newest credit seems to recycle ideas from del Toro's 2002 vampire movie Blade II and Hogan's 1998 novel The Blood Artists, whose freaky scenario has egghead heroes scrambling to hunt down a plague carrier. In The Strain, a plane lands in New York, nearly all passengers dead, victims of a mysterious contagion. Biohazard experts bust their brains for a scientific solution despite evidence to the contrary: blood-drained victims, neck abrasions, a coffin filled with dirt, etc. They are set straight by an aged Holocaust survivor who's spent his life hunting an ancient vampire that preyed upon the infirm at his concentration camp. But as they set out to stop the übervamp from turning Manhattanites into either food or foot soldiers in his grand war on humanity, you realize The Strain — far from wrapping up — is but the first chapter in a trilogy. There's more? Really?
The Strain is a competently constructed piece of entertainment, and I'll give it bonus points for shaking up some vampire clichés. No fangs here; instead, these creatures use — oh, why spoil one of the book's few surprises? What's missing in The Strain is the idiosyncratic artistry and the alchemical fusion of high and low pop that made Pan's Labyrinth so special. The novel could have used a little less Hogan and little more del Toro. C
SuckaMC
06-01-09, 12:46 PM
I was just coming here to post this... I will jump into this no problem.. I'm a sucker from apocalyptic stories and this seems to fit the bill. I'm in.
djmont
06-01-09, 01:46 PM
I gave this 100 pages or so... And it took some effort to get that far.
Didn't work for me.
charles1028
06-03-09, 04:25 AM
I'd give it a shot. I too love the apocalyptic stories.
thematahara
06-08-09, 05:15 PM
I'm about 1/2 way though this. I find it pretty entertaining so far, and has been hard for me to put down. Definitely not a typical vampire story. These are more of a cross between vampires and zombies. I'm also a sucker for a good apocolyptic story, so this is very fun so far.
Ms. M
06-18-09, 02:04 PM
I'm almost done with the book and I've been very happy with it. Its been my favorite horror novel since World War Z. Never been crazy about romantic vampires, so I quite enjoy these not-at-all romantic ones.
SuckaMC
06-25-09, 02:44 AM
Finished this about a week ago. I really liked it and enjoyed the pseudo-science of the vampires. They are pretty nasty. Now I have to sit back and wait till next year to see how it plays out. One book a year? ugh.
I really like the rat exterminator but all the characters are fun.
movieking
07-01-09, 04:10 PM
So I just started this today, and since it is a part of a trilogy, I am wondering if this book has a satisfying conclusion, or does it just set up part two?
12thmonkey
07-01-09, 04:12 PM
So I just started this today, and since it is a part of a trilogy, I am wondering if this book has a satisfying conclusion, or does it just set up part two?
That's what I'm wondering, too. I'm about 200 or so pages in, and am enjoying it quite a bit.
lopper
07-01-09, 04:49 PM
Depends on your definition of satisfying, I suppose.
It certainly ends on a darker note and sets up the second book pretty well, but I wouldn't classify it as "satisfying."
It's been a week or so since I finished it, so maybe I've forgotten something though.
Deke Rivers
07-02-09, 08:42 AM
it doesnt really conclude much and yes it pretty much is a setup for the next one..like most planned trilogys.
that being said ..Im really looking forward to the next one..
movieking
07-04-09, 09:07 PM
I wasn't that impressed with the book. It doesn't have much of a conclusion but it does set up the next one. It's too bad, because there could have been a satisfying conclusion, IMO:
Just kill Sardu, and deal with the Anicients like him (that we find out about towards the end of the book) in the other books. Of course, maybe leaving him alive to square off with the others may turn out better, but it didn't feel like this book had a proper ending, IMO.
Also, I found the book pretty repetitive:
since we have a number of scenes where people are looking for their loved ones only to discover they've turned and then are attacked
Overall, I'd have to agree with the aforementioned EW grade.
I agree with the Ew review -- it passes the time, but doesn't even stick in your head like some of Stephen King's apocalpytic tales do. There's some interesting ideas but also some really bad, cliched writing in it. Very little of Del Toro's distinctive stamp on it, but in the end I've read many better vampire novels than this one.
marty888
08-03-09, 09:15 AM
Yes, good but not great. You probably won't be sorry you took the time to read it, but it's not a must.
Buy: