The Night Eternal

The Night Eternal by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan
kindle book purchased from amazon.com
Description from Goodreads:
The nail-biting vampire thriller from the world-famous director of Pan’s Labyrinth and Hellboy.The night belongs to them, and it will be a night eternal…After the blasts, it was all over. Nuclear Winter has settled upon the earth. Except for one hour of sunlight a day, the whole world is plunged into darkness. It is a near-perfect environment for vampires. They have won. It is their time.Almost every single man, woman and child has been enslaved in vast camps across the globe. Like animals, they are farmed, harvested for the sick pleasure of the Master Race.Almost, but not all. Somewhere out there, hiding for their lives, is a desperate network of free humans, continue the seemingly hopeless resistance. Everyday people, with no other options – among them Dr Ephraim Goodweather, his son Zack, the veteran exterminator Vassily, and former gangbanger Gus.To be free, they need a miracle, they need divine intervention. But Salvation can be a twisted game – one in which they may be played like pawns in a battle of Good and Evil. And at what cost…?

My take:
I had high hopes for the ending of this trilogy. I really liked the first two books, The Strain and The Fall and I hoped that the final installment would live up to the other two. I thought the beginning started of well except for the fact that between the events of the second book and the opening of the third book two years had passed.  This took away some of the urgency I felt while reading both the Strain and The Fall. I was disappointed in the time lapse for some reason. I don't know if it made me feel that people were just not as strong and willing to fight as I would have liked or if it just felt like too long a time gap between the books. At any rate, that did bother me some.

I really liked Mr. Quinlan, the Born, and his storyline. How he was created and his mission of revenge lasting for centuries was really exciting and interesting. I would love to read more about his story. Ephraim Goodweather was much the same, only worse, if possible. The strain of having lost his son to the Master and not knowing his fate has turned Eph further into himself and the relief he so desperately seeks is briefly found in his constant drug use.  He has managed to run everyone off with his distance, moods, erratic behaviour and drug use.

The story unfolded much the way I expected and I enjoyed the ride for awhile.  I was really pleased with the direction the story was going especially with the history of the Master and the archangels -- up to a certain point. And then my reaction went something like: uh. . . hmmmm. . . really? mmmm REALLY? I'm not so sure about this. . .

Now, having said that, I can't really fault too much else. Things happened that should have and some that I wished hadn't, but for the overall story, it works. I think.  But for some reason, that particular point in the plot just bugged me and I couldn't recover the same amount of enthusiasm afterwards.  I don't want to say exactly what, but if you read it you can tell what I'm talking about.

The trilogy as a whole was quite good and I really loved how totally creepy and dark the vampires in the books are. I think I would suggest the series to friends who like dark stories and then I would want to know what they thought of the particular points that bothered me which have to do with exactly how the Master was created. If anyone who has read it cares to give me their opinion regarding this, I would love to read it.

The Fall

The Fall by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan
purchased
Summary from Goodreads:
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 take:
I think I liked The Fall as much as I liked The Strain.  This, the second book in the trilogy, goes into more of the history behind the strange happenings of The Strain. I could slow down to read and enjoy the back story presented in The Fall whereas the pace of The Strain seemed just frenetic to me.  We find out how Setrakian first encountered the Master and what happened to his wife and just exactly why he goes to such extremes to be prepared.  But then, naturally, towards the end, the pace picks up and leads to the ending which has me anxious to see how it all ends.

The vampires in these books are nothing like many of the vampires I've been reading about lately. I wouldn't say that they are "better", but they are most definitely creepier and dangerous and very worrisome. This is a dark book with little hope for the future of humankind.  There is this thing that the vampires do -- going back for their "Dear Ones" - family members, those they were closest to in life - because of a need to bring them into the new group. And, in this book the vampires are the victims of a parasite - so they are no longer really themselves, but controlled by the parasite from inside. The description of this parasite is very gross, but actually seems to be based on something that exists in nature - making it even creepier.

The struggle between the Master and The Ancients is interesting and I hope there will be more history about them in the third book.  I really enjoyed the storyline with Angel, the Mexican wrestler turned movie-star and the local gang members who are new and interesting characters and kept the action and tension going in this book.

This is not a feel good type of book, but it you are in the mood for a creepy, dark tale in time for Halloween, you might give it a try -- after reading The Strain, of course.  I am eagerly awaiting the next book, The Night Eternal. The title doesn't sound very optimistic.