I've read too much horror fiction to really consider this scary - much of the "horror" bits could really be considered more gross than terror inducing. There were some moments of good imagery; the eerie dead airplane with the dark open hole, Mr. Leech, the burning pit - but overall it was written pretty mechanically.

The technical bits about planes, eclipses vs occlusions, various medical protocol and procedure, rat extermination... these images were as sterile as they sound. I'm a curious person and found most of these tidbits of information interesting, but they did little to support the actual plot in most cases. They seemed to be there if only so the author(s) could justify the time they probably spent researching these things. Maybe if these bits didn't grind the pace of the book to a stuttering halt or jerk me right out of the story the interludes wouldn't have bothered me so much. Even better if they had served to add realism and verisimilitude to a story that clearly wanted to be somewhat realistic in its depiction of a vampire pandemic.

Maybe it would have done, too - if not for the unfailingly stupid actions of the characters and the cookie-cutter stereotype perspectives (genius moral Doctor hero? Conniving, selfish, social-climbing lawyer? Superstitious Haitian nanny? Craven rockstar... really? Really? I could go on, nearly every character was a stereotype and never broke the mold for even a page).

Truly, what is the point of having so many POV's when almost none of them add anything necessary to the plot and aren't even a unique or interesting perspective?

The plot itself is also nothing new. This is hardly a reinvention of vampires. The idea of Vampirism as a disease or virus has actually been done to death (I am Legend, The Passage, the Blade movies, I Vampire, 10 million other things...) So, between cardboard characters, an overused plotline and mechanical descriptions, what's left?

Somewhere in here are the makings of a really good thriller-style horror story. Despite it being hokey and ridiculous I found the old holocaust survivor/professor/pawn broker/vampire slayer's lifelong pursuit of the vampire to be fairly compelling. The idea of a vampire vs. vampire war brewing in the background of this story was intriguing if barely touched upon. Eldritch Palmer could have been a workable, if overdone, villain if he'd had even one interaction with our heroes, or was shown to be a possible threat to the master vampire in any way. But he didn't, and wasn't.

Some of the vampire biology was interesting and well thought out (though some of it was not - why does silver or light hurt it again? Aren't these scientists? They don't even hypothesize about it!) but... what did it add? Is a gross vampire really scarier than a not-gross one? Maybe it depends on what kind of reader you are. The threat that masks itself as human is far more lurking and threatening to me than a zombie-vampire with a fleshworm-stinger growth flailing around like the grossest phallic symbol of all time.

I actually had more issues with it than I even covered here, like the unfortunate and unnecessary divorce/custody battle side-plot. Or Nora, the blandest and most forgettable love-interest of all time who was present in nearly every pivotal scene and yet had scarcely a spoken line or hint of backstory to define her. The repetitious and utterly pointless "person goes into their house, things are amiss, they don't turn on any flashlights or call police and then get attacked" cut-aways (and they were cut-aways, like this is a screenplay and not a novel).

The ending. UGH! I can't even start on that. Rage inducing. So stupid I could've torn my hair out at the roots. Self-scalped. SO! DUMB!! (Guess your transformation from "healer" to "slayer" wasn't as complete. Though I damn wish it were.)

Two stars because I did finish the whole thing, it was a frustrating (squandered potential) but easy read. I will not be reading the rest of the Trilogy. Maybe the TV show will be better.

The Strain - Likewise Book Reviews

8 Reviews