Another title for the Popsugar Reading Challenge. Theme: A Book With a Two Word Title. The Strain is everything I want in a horror novel and more. A complete change featuring a wonderful combination of two well-known tropes. It is a beautiful example of how a writer can take what's already been written and turn it into something new. If you haven't already, I invite you to view my Popsugar Reading Challenge list.
My Review:Del Toro proves to the horror community that he has earned his place amongst the masters of the supernatural horror. Teaming up with Chuck Hogan, these two wizards show how something so familiar to the horror genre can be twisted into something completely new. The Strain is set-up in multiple views with interludes outlining the beginning of the novel's dark antagonist while taking great care not to introduce him too early. It begins when a plane carrying over 200 passengers suddenly goes dark on the airstrip. Ephraim Goodweather and his team are called in to investigate the strange occurrence. What they discover winds up being something straight out of a horror film, challenging Eph's reliance on pure scientific explanation. This book has it all. A colorful cast of characters, each with their own struggles and flaws that develop the further along the story goes. It has a mysterious antagonist with the capability of infecting people in ways unknown to modern day, romanticized vampires. Each character is faced with new challenges, forcing them to change what they always thought to be true, shattered in an instant by a supernatural force. The Strain takes the undead and makes them what they are meant to be - carnal beasts with a lust for human blood. It combines the well-known and beloved biological outbreak theme and makes it into a unique concept by turning the vampire virus into just that - a virus. Del Toro and Hogan use the power of imagery to paint vivid pictures so the reader can formulate their own versions of what the "revenants" look like without going into depth of description. They utilize the horror author's tool-kit - suspense, shock value, gross out factor and tension - and push them to create a fast-paced novel capable of keeping readers wanting to turn pages. The hook of the book is especially extraordinary by introducing the plane and then following it to its imminent doom. The Strain is a novel I've personally been craving. At times it does move slow, adopting some of Stephen King's dragging dialogue and scenes describing everyone's daily lives. However, despite this, del Toro and Hogan are capable of keeping the reader engaged. Something not many horror novels are able to do in today's clutch of authors. I have nothing but the highest recommendations to readers looking to see a vampire virus as it should be - pure, devastation. Have a book you want to recommend? Want me to review yours? I'm always looking for new books to review! Be sure to read my review policy before contacting me.
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AuthorMy name is Iona Caldwell. I'm the author of the British Occult Fiction, Beneath London's Fog set to be published by FyreSyde Publishing October 2019. When I'm not busy weaving worlds of the arcane and dark, I'm spending time out in nature. I love books. My biggest inspirations are H.P Lovecraft, Stephen King, Neil Gaiman and Edgar Allen Poe. I blog about many things but mostly everything bookish. Archives
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