Sunday, October 17, 2010

The Fall by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan


From the Publishers: From the authors of the instant New York Times bestseller The Strain comes the next volume in one of the most imaginative and frightening thriller series in many, many years Last week they invaded Manhattan. This week they will destroy the world. The vampiric virus unleashed in The Strain has taken over New York City. It is spreading and soon will envelop the globe. Amid the chaos, Eph Goodweather-head of the Centers for Disease Control's team-leads a band out to stop these bloodthirsty monsters. But it may be too late. Ignited by the Master's horrific plan, a war erupts between Old and New World vampires, each vying for control. At the center of the conflict lies a book, an ancient text that contains the vampires' entire history . . . and their darkest secrets. Whoever finds the book can control the outcome of the war and, ultimately, the fate of us all. And it is between these warring forces that humans-powerless and vulnerable-find themselves no longer the consumers but the consumed. Though Eph understands the vampiric plague better than anyone, even he cannot protect those he loves. His ex-wife, Kelly, has been transformed into a bloodcrazed creature of the night, and now she stalks the city looking for her chance to reclaim her Dear One: Zack, Eph's young son.With the future of humankind in the balance, Eph and his team, guided by the brilliant former professor and Holocaust survivor Abraham Setrakian and exterminator Vasiliy Fet and joined by a crew of ragtag gangsters, must combat a terror whose ultimate plan is more terrible than anyone has imagined-a fate worse than annihilation.

My Review:
This is the second book in a trilogy. I really enjoyed reading this book although at times I found that it lagged a bit. I really liked the first book and knew I just had to have the 2nd and 3rd books when they came out. What I like about this novel is that it has vampires in it but they are vampires at a very primal animalistic level. Rather than being 100 year old men who still go to high school, the ancients are focusing their energy on total domination of the human race. For all the Twilight fans out there who are going to be upset with that last sentence, I still enjoyed reading Twilight. Don't get me wrong, it was a good series but at times I found myself wondering why on earth would these vampires go back to high school. I know I personally wouldn't want to go back to high school and date a teenager (too much angst for me). Anyhow, it's time to get back to The Fall. As much as I enjoyed the first book, I found myself needing to go back and re-read parts of it because I couldn't remember exactly what had happened. I think that could be because I read so many books in a year it's sometimes hard to get all the characters straight. I am also wondering if it would have been better to wait and read The Fall until the last book comes out. I found myself wanted to know what is going to happen next when I finished the book and I hate that I have to wait to find out. That being said, I think the author did a good job of ending the 2nd book of the trilogy. I find that sometimes it can read like the end of a chapter but in this case it seemed like a logical place to end the book. I love the characters in these books. All the characters come from such different backgrounds but find a way to come together to kick vampire butt. One is a doctor, one is a pest control man, one is a former gang member and another is an old Holocaust survivor. All in all this was an excellent book and I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

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