Book Review: The Strain

As much as I like stories about the supernatural, I do not read that many books with vampires. Perhaps it was because most of the vampire books I did read when I was younger did not leave a good impression, since most of them featured an unlikeable, misanthropic heroine who wanted to get together with a brooding bloodsucker with all the personality of a cardboard box.

When I was an undergraduate, I often went to the local Barnes & Noble to see what books were out, and I recalled seeing the Young Adult section filled with a whole bunch of paranormal romance books featuring vampires and werewolves. I suppose most of them were trying to appeal to the same audience that enjoyed Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series, an audience that I was not a part of. I found myself wondering if I would ever be able to find a vampire story that could hold my attention without being some vapid tale of “Idiot Girl meets Angsting Bloodsucker.”

Then, one day at my local library, I found The Strain.

The reason I picked up The Strain was because I really liked the works of Guillermo Del Toro. I loved his movie “Pan’s Labyrinth” and I loved the work he did on the “Hellboy” movies. I loved his works for their sheer imagination, so I thought if there was someone who could do vampires right, it was Del Toro. After all, we are talking about the man who brought us this lovely fellow:

Suffice to say, I was very happy with what I got in this book.

The Strain is written by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan, and it is the first book in a trilogy. It tells the story of a vampire known only as the Master (no relation to the Dr. Who villain whatsoever). The Master had boarded an airline in order to get to the United States and killed all but four onboard. Ephraim Goodweather, a man who works for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, finds himself thrust into a nightmare when the survivors begin to transform, developing a taste for blood and their bodies twisting into more hideous forms. He eventually meets up with an old man named Abraham Setrakian, a man who has fought vampires before and knows their weaknesses. Setrakian has been hunting for the Master for a long time and he is determined to kill the Master before the United States becomes flooded with vampires.

There are two things I especially love about this book. The first is the very first chapter, where we see Setrakian as a young boy listening to his grandmother tell the tale of Jusef Sardu, a nobleman who suffered from gigantism and came back from a hunting trip changed. This is a folktale that is filled with dark mysticism, the sort of folktale I really like. It is a very gripping beginning and a great way to not only indirectly introduce us to the Master, but also gives us a look into Setrakian’s past.

The second thing I love about this book is the vampires.

Vampires have taken all sorts of forms throughout mythology and literature. The bloodsuckers in The Strain are a truly monstrous take on vampires, and that is what I love about them (not that I have anything against the human-like vampires). The vampires of The Strain are pale white fiends with no hair and genitalia, making them very uncanny to look at. Their method of drinking blood is also quite horrifyingly awesome: they have a gigantic red tongue that shoots out of their mouth to stab into their victims and drink them dry. While most of the vampires in this book are somewhat similar to the walking dead in zombie stories, they still manage to evoke dread with every appearance, and you can also feel the tragedy, especially if you had seen some of the characters before their transformation.

If there is something I felt needed some improving, it is the pacing of the story. There are many parts where the story seems to drag a little, and I feel that part of the reason is because so many characters are introduced to us. It becomes a little hard to keep track of who’s who, especially when certain characters seem to fade from the spotlight for a while, only to suddenly appear again. There are also a few places where I felt the characters should be doing something, but they don’t, causing the narrative to stall a bit. Thankfully, such places are very few and barely noticeable for me. When the action starts, it is sure to keep readers on the edge of their seats.

This is a book that all vampire lovers should read. It is a very interesting take on vampires and does a good job bringing the bloodsuckers back to their monstrous roots. I am also aware that a television series based on this book. I have not watched the series, but I would definitely recommend that anyone who likes the series to check out the books that inspired its creation. I will be reviewing the other two books in the trilogy. I have high hopes for both of them after finishing The Strain.