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The Strain
(The Strain Trilogy #1)
by
A Boeing 777 arrives at JFK and is on its way across the tarmac, when it suddenly stops dead. All window shades are pulled down. All lights are out. All communication channels have gone quiet. Crews on the ground are lost for answers, but an alert goes out to the CDC. Dr. Ephraim "Eph" Goodweather, head of their Canary project, a rapid-response team that investigates biolo
...more
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Hardcover, 403 pages
Published
June 2nd 2009
by William Morrow
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Sunday, July 12th. 10:00 PM EST on FX.
Community Reviews
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Start your review of The Strain (The Strain Trilogy, #1)

Imagine that you’re reading one of those Twilight books as Edward is whispering chaste sweet nothings into Bella’s ear, and it was oh-so-romantic-and-couldn’t-you-just-die-OMG-OMG-OMG. Suddenly Edward’s head flips back and his throat opens up like he just became a Pez dispenser. A six foot stinger/sucker thing flies out, and it zaps that silly girl right in a major artery and drains her dry in about twenty seconds while parasitic worms take over her corpse and turn her into a mindless bloodsucki
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What if vampires were real, ancient, and spread their vampirism like a virus? That's the central premise of The Strain, and I was on board from the first page. Ultimately, it was a disappointment for me, and I won't be reading the other books in the trilogy.
This book starts out with so much promise. It's a taught, intense, compelling thriller that gradually introduces compelling characters that it's easy to care about.
Then, in its middle third, it starts to wobble a little bit. The characters st ...more
This book starts out with so much promise. It's a taught, intense, compelling thriller that gradually introduces compelling characters that it's easy to care about.
Then, in its middle third, it starts to wobble a little bit. The characters st ...more

This is a terrible book. Nearly all of the characters were caricatures straight out of Central Casting, or TV Tropes. We had the Wise Old Guy, the Street-Smart Shitkicker, The Brain, and The Chick. Oh, and speaking of The Chick, there were two: the love interest of the Brain and the nagging, irrational Ex-Wife -- because Ex-Wives must never be charming and smart -- mother of The Wesley Crusher son of The Brain. The whole book reads as though somebody figured out how to do Novel-By-Numbers and ma
...more

It was alright. I kinda got lost. Zero stars for the dogs!! And the milky stuff - ewwwww. I hate milk and this made me want to gag! I still have to fight gagging when watching the first Alien for the millionth time 😂

Happy Halloween 🎃
Mel 🖤🐺🐾 ...more

Happy Halloween 🎃
Mel 🖤🐺🐾 ...more

This is a striking example of what is officially called literatherapy. So tired from finals (finishing a semester-long draft--ending with 322 pages [!] plus a non fiction piece PLUS grading... [This is sooo irrelevant,) but a good assessment of this reviewer's desperate mindset whilst reading the novel]) I REALLY had to do something about the overstimulated brain, to lull my senses significantly and inspire me to finally do something to chillax--so I got this from the library, deciding that del
...more

Sep 27, 2010
Craig
rated it
it was ok
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
should-have-been-better-than-it-was,
horror
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.

This just isn't very good. After a promising and creepy opening, it devolves into repetitive ridiculousness. The writing is also just not good and sometimes laughable, providing such gems as this:
"Eph too had been turned. Not from human to vampire, but from healer to slayer."
I did somehow finish it. My wife did not. I'm sure del Toro will eventually make a movie out of this and it will be one of the rare occasions that the movie is better than the book. ...more
"Eph too had been turned. Not from human to vampire, but from healer to slayer."
I did somehow finish it. My wife did not. I'm sure del Toro will eventually make a movie out of this and it will be one of the rare occasions that the movie is better than the book. ...more

This is the first of a planned trilogy. The director of Pan’s Labyrinth and an award winning mystery author brings their vision to the vampire tale.

Del Toro and friend - from Geek Nation
The Strain is a fast, entertaining read, with a twist to the rationale for vampirism that is fun, if a bit derivative. In fact a lot of this book is derivative, cobbling together elements from a host of books and films. There is a scene that is reminiscent of the haunted ship sequence in Dracula. In the origina ...more

Del Toro and friend - from Geek Nation
The Strain is a fast, entertaining read, with a twist to the rationale for vampirism that is fun, if a bit derivative. In fact a lot of this book is derivative, cobbling together elements from a host of books and films. There is a scene that is reminiscent of the haunted ship sequence in Dracula. In the origina ...more

6.0 stars (this one may make it onto my "All Time Favorite" list). This is instantly on my list of the top five Vampire stories I have ever read (or in this case read and also listened to on audiobook). I am not a "vampire" book reader in general meaning I do not buy every new vampire story that comes out. I do read a lot of SF/Fantasy/Horror and so I do come across them on a fairly typical basis. For me, what makes a great vampire novel is when you can create a completely original (or mostly or
...more

If you have found yourself reading vampire fiction and thought, "You know what this needs? Vampires urinating and defecating on their victims. Also, tongues that shoot out of their necks with stingers on the end. And, make sure that they have worms crawling out of their milky white blood."
Then, boy, do I have the book for you!!
As for me:

You need rubber gloves to touch this book, it is so gross.
This book is so disgusting that I need a bath in bleach right now to clean off the yuckiness in my brai ...more
Then, boy, do I have the book for you!!
As for me:

You need rubber gloves to touch this book, it is so gross.
This book is so disgusting that I need a bath in bleach right now to clean off the yuckiness in my brai ...more

(Music fades.)
Me: Welcome back to the studio everyone, we have a wonderful surprise for you. Joining us for a few minutes on the airwaves today are two men that have transformed the vampire world: let’s welcome Chuck Logan and Guillermo Del Toro.
Let’s start with you Chuck. You are the recipient of a 2005 Hammett Award for your novel PRINCE OF THIEVES, and are the bestselling author of numerous others. I have to admit, I just saw Ben Affleck’s version of your novel PRINCE OF THIEVES, renamed The ...more
Me: Welcome back to the studio everyone, we have a wonderful surprise for you. Joining us for a few minutes on the airwaves today are two men that have transformed the vampire world: let’s welcome Chuck Logan and Guillermo Del Toro.
Let’s start with you Chuck. You are the recipient of a 2005 Hammett Award for your novel PRINCE OF THIEVES, and are the bestselling author of numerous others. I have to admit, I just saw Ben Affleck’s version of your novel PRINCE OF THIEVES, renamed The ...more

Security Question:
Please answer the following question to proceed with the review.
What is your idea of a vampire?
a.A sparkly 'Monster' like this:

b. A vicious, stinger flaring Monster like this:

If you answer (b), read on. Else, you might find this review a little offensive.
The First Bight:
When I saw that Guillermo del Toro had written a book, I simply could not wait to read it. Reason: He's the Master of dark fantasies. No no, not paranormal eroticas, which people try to pass off unde ...more
What is your idea of a vampire?
a.A sparkly 'Monster' like this:

b. A vicious, stinger flaring Monster like this:

If you answer (b), read on. Else, you might find this review a little offensive.
The First Bight:
When I saw that Guillermo del Toro had written a book, I simply could not wait to read it. Reason: He's the Master of dark fantasies. No no, not paranormal eroticas, which people try to pass off unde ...more

“...to all the monsters in my nursery: May you never leave me alone.”
While the Strain may deliver a nifty TV show, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a great book.
While that may sound contradictory, trust me, that’s the way it read. Guillermo del Toro is used to making movies and you can feel the sense of 'scene changes' in the book. You can tell it's for the sake of reading the story and plot rather than reading through character's experiencing story and plot. Lots of tell, little show, there is ...more

3.5 stars, with a slight nudge toward 4.
I have had this book on my To-Read list for a while, but never got around to reading it until now. I'm glad that I read it because it was pretty good, and parts were very creepy. I didn't find it scary and had no problem sleeping or anything reading it, but there were parts that had a higher than average creep factor, and it was nice.
I liked that this book had a realistic baseline, and felt like it could truly happen. Don't get me wrong, I like the tradit ...more
I have had this book on my To-Read list for a while, but never got around to reading it until now. I'm glad that I read it because it was pretty good, and parts were very creepy. I didn't find it scary and had no problem sleeping or anything reading it, but there were parts that had a higher than average creep factor, and it was nice.
I liked that this book had a realistic baseline, and felt like it could truly happen. Don't get me wrong, I like the tradit ...more

This series was very problematic, in my opinion. Please read the full review for the series here on my blog.
Book one was the only book truly worth the attention. Like I said, it started out quite original, like any catastrophy or epidemic story, and I have to say, it was very cinematic! No wonder, it's co-written by Guillermo del Toro. The book reads pretty much like a show – in scenes. Most things are indeed tell, and not show, which put you in the middle of the action. The tension is ...more
Book one was the only book truly worth the attention. Like I said, it started out quite original, like any catastrophy or epidemic story, and I have to say, it was very cinematic! No wonder, it's co-written by Guillermo del Toro. The book reads pretty much like a show – in scenes. Most things are indeed tell, and not show, which put you in the middle of the action. The tension is ...more

A nice and breezy read, though nice isn't quite the right word and the breeze is a bit fetid! The Strain is an increasingly rare (ahem) strain of badass vampire novels. There are no well-coiffed, sexy, maudlin vampires in this book, they just "vant to suck your blood" (without the Lugosi style Euro-accented declaration). Of course talking about how de-fanged, lame and sparkly vampires have become since the advent of Twilight has become a trope for vampire books review so I just want to get it ou
...more

May 30, 2009
Danielle The Book Huntress (Back to the Books)
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Vampire fiction fans
Recommended to Danielle The Book Huntress (Back to the Books) by:
I like the Del Toro's movies
This was probably a 3.5 star read for me. It was good, but it could have been better. I think the writing lacked a certain polish, although I did like some of the imagery. And it definitely was scary!
Story:
The vampires in this book were both disgusting and fearsome. I admit that thinking about the vampires and their nasty stinger and how they would excrete their waste products gave me the shivers (both in repulsion and fear). I liked the scientific angle employed in this story, taking an ancient ...more
Story:
The vampires in this book were both disgusting and fearsome. I admit that thinking about the vampires and their nasty stinger and how they would excrete their waste products gave me the shivers (both in repulsion and fear). I liked the scientific angle employed in this story, taking an ancient ...more

First off, I have to say that I am not the kind of person that enjoys writing bad reviews. I love books, all books pretty much, and I’m really easy to please. Yet this book was a letdown of utter proportions and I can’t contain my frustration with it. I had been eagerly awaiting The Strain for months, I had heard nothing but good things from all the book related cites I visit and all of the catalogues I receive, not to mention the raving reviews it got everywhere else. The one question I have fo
...more

I have not seen the show created from this material. I DVR’d it but the thing got full and it was deleted. That may have been for the best . . .
The Strain begins when a passenger plane lands with its windows all darkened and none of its 199 passengers getting off the plane. Is it a terrorist attack or something even more insidious?
I’ll give you a hint. It’s the second one and this part of the book is so very creepy!
There was something on that plane that is now wreaking havoc on the family membe ...more
The Strain begins when a passenger plane lands with its windows all darkened and none of its 199 passengers getting off the plane. Is it a terrorist attack or something even more insidious?
I’ll give you a hint. It’s the second one and this part of the book is so very creepy!
There was something on that plane that is now wreaking havoc on the family membe ...more

Although I like Del Toro and really enjoyed Trollhunters, no amount of admiration can salvage this book. When it comes to scary stuff, the gold standard in my book is Stephen King. The two main talents that make King horror royalty are:
One - Intense characterization - He can quickly introduce characters and within a page you feel you know them, you are rooting for them, and - when you turn the page - are devastated when they comes to a terrible end. The authors of this book lack that ability, ev ...more
One - Intense characterization - He can quickly introduce characters and within a page you feel you know them, you are rooting for them, and - when you turn the page - are devastated when they comes to a terrible end. The authors of this book lack that ability, ev ...more

The Strain Is a Disappointment: Or, 4 Reasons Why Twilight Is a Better Book than The Strain
I confess that I am a newcomer to vampire fiction. It was the buzz surrounding Meyer's Twilight that dragged me into the genre and I found myself pleasantly piqued to see what else it had to offer. You can imagine, then, my immense pleasure at discovering Guillermo Del Toro's remarkable essay in the New York Times about why we hunger for monster fiction generally and vampire fiction specifically. The essay ...more
I confess that I am a newcomer to vampire fiction. It was the buzz surrounding Meyer's Twilight that dragged me into the genre and I found myself pleasantly piqued to see what else it had to offer. You can imagine, then, my immense pleasure at discovering Guillermo Del Toro's remarkable essay in the New York Times about why we hunger for monster fiction generally and vampire fiction specifically. The essay ...more

Jul 13, 2014
Mike (the Paladin)
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
horror,
urban-fantasy
* Note: I reviewed this some time ago but updated it today (1/8/18) to fix a typo.
Well....I like this book, though it's got some really annoying parts. I vacillated from 5 stars to 3 stars.
This is another take on the vampire legend. Those are a dime a dozen now of course, but this one isn't bad. (It's not a spoiler to let you know that the religious remedies don't work again...as usual now). This time vampirism is spread by a virus. Not a new idea, but it's done well here. The book may put you i ...more
Well....I like this book, though it's got some really annoying parts. I vacillated from 5 stars to 3 stars.
This is another take on the vampire legend. Those are a dime a dozen now of course, but this one isn't bad. (It's not a spoiler to let you know that the religious remedies don't work again...as usual now). This time vampirism is spread by a virus. Not a new idea, but it's done well here. The book may put you i ...more

This was good, really good I have the sequel waiting at home for me and can't wait to start.
There are a lot of characters so it did take time for me get everyone straight.For whatever reason everytime Gus come around I was like "who the Hell is Gus" and had to sort of go back and get reaquainted with him. I appreciated that this was shorter then The Passage(what isn't? am I right?). It seemed like Hogan and Del Toro got everything right for me, the length, not too much gore, lots of eerie creepy ...more
There are a lot of characters so it did take time for me get everyone straight.For whatever reason everytime Gus come around I was like "who the Hell is Gus" and had to sort of go back and get reaquainted with him. I appreciated that this was shorter then The Passage(what isn't? am I right?). It seemed like Hogan and Del Toro got everything right for me, the length, not too much gore, lots of eerie creepy ...more

Heck yes!! This book was legit the perfect combination of action, suspense, science fiction, horror, drama, it had it all!! I've been a huge fan of the TV series for a long time now and decided to re-watch the entire series during the month of October, which got me wondering how the novels read in comparison. I will say that book one covered about half of the first season, but it read very much the same as the show and there weren't really any changes that I noticed, so it will be very interesti
...more

This review refers to the audiobook version.
4.5 -- but I am going with the 5 above because, you know, I am usually really mean and it is the holiday season.
First, I am shocked and appalled, well actually just shocked, that my most trusted Goodreads reviewers only gave this an average of about 3.5 stars. Usually I feel like I am the one who is too critical and won't give a novel that isn't on some book award list somewhere more than 3 stars. Nonetheless, I loved this book despite the rousing okay ...more
4.5 -- but I am going with the 5 above because, you know, I am usually really mean and it is the holiday season.
First, I am shocked and appalled, well actually just shocked, that my most trusted Goodreads reviewers only gave this an average of about 3.5 stars. Usually I feel like I am the one who is too critical and won't give a novel that isn't on some book award list somewhere more than 3 stars. Nonetheless, I loved this book despite the rousing okay ...more

"Dead Airplane + Solar Eclipse = Not Good"
This thriller of a read begins when an arriving Boeing 777 stops dead in its tracks on the runway with zero communication from within, and continues amidst the darkness of a solar eclipse with a virus from hell and "Thriller"- like zombies threatening to infect you with their disgusting oral stingers at every opportunity.
Book One of this vampiric trilogy is action-packed with convincing characters and an interesting storyline. Definitely recommend if you
...more
A thrilling story of a race against time for the human populace as a virus strain like no other before has landed in the USA and the living become turned, the scary part is they head home and come after their loved ones first. There is a master of the dark set to dominate the underworld of the vampires that leads the story on to next novel. A action packed race against the spread of vampires, forces of good and evil, survival and death, would make a good movie.
For interview and trailers click li ...more
For interview and trailers click li ...more
topics | posts | views | last activity | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Letras Macabras: Nocturna, de Guillermo del Toro & Chuck Hogan | 31 | 147 | Feb 06, 2021 06:11PM | |
Ezslimfit Complete Keto | 1 | 1 | Jan 31, 2021 05:09AM | |
Play Book Tag: The Strain - Guillermo del Toro & Chuck Hogan (4 stars) (TRIM) | 1 | 14 | May 12, 2019 08:12PM | |
Goodreads Librari...: The Strain Trilogy Publication Dates are off | 2 | 17 | May 01, 2018 08:44AM | |
VAMPIRES DON'T SP...: The Strain-FX Network | 14 | 43 | Oct 31, 2017 07:21AM | |
How did that happen? | 2 | 43 | May 20, 2015 08:48AM |
Guillermo del Toro is a Mexican director mostly known for his acclaimed films Pan's Labyrinth, The Devils Backbone, Crimson Peak and the Hellboy film franchise. His films draw heavily on sources as diverse as weird fiction, fantasy, horror, and war. In 2009, Del Toro released his debut novel, The Strain, co-authored with Chuck Hogan, as the first part of The Strain Trilogy, an apocalyptic horror s
...more
Other books in the series
The Strain Trilogy
(3 books)
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