Book 11: The Fall

The Fall by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan

This wasn't a bad book but it definitely felt like a place holder. Picking up after the events of The Strain, Manhattan is about to be completely run over by vampires. Unfortunately, I didn't care for the characters very much this time around. Abraham, the old vampire hunter, reveals even more of his backstory, and Vasiliy Fet, the exterminator, starts a blog. Additionally, the novel reveals the fate of the young Mexican gangster who was captured by the Ancients, the other old vampires that are at odds with "the Master." All this wasn't too bad, though so many of the characters read like stereotypes. Mostly, I just was very annoyed with Eph. Yes, the world around him is falling apart but could he be less emo about it? I also disliked that the only female character of any importance in this series is now relegated to girlfriend, and caregiver of Zac (well, only important female other than Zac's vampire mother, Kelly). Seriously? Eph is busy feeling sorry for himself, so why not make him the caregiver? I mean, really?

Overall, the novel deals with the continuing spread of the vampire virus, and the group's hopelessness. The sun didn't kill the Master as they'd hoped, and now they are at a loss. However, it turns out that even with all the chaos, a certain cursed and almost mythological book regarding vampires is about to be auctioned off and it may contain the answers they need - if only they had a few million dollars at their disposal. The whole world is now under threat though news is sketchy; for example, flights similar to the one that started The Strain have shown up in other cities, filled with inexplicably dead passengers.

Overall, there were definitely some interesting ideas expressed but for most part that is lost due to the novel's focus on characters like Eph. I know when The Strain appeared, there was some excitement because it was mixing up the current vampire trend, and somewhat more original, but nothing about this novel was very original . . . the characters were mostly cliche, and not very engaging.