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quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
Vampires have arrived in New York City – and humans are no longer at the top of the food chain ...
It’s 2 months after THE STRAIN. Owing to the authorities refusal to accept the vampire threat, New York City has fallen to the Master’s control. Some New Yorkers try to flee, choking the bridges and tunnels off the island. Those who remain fall to the vampires who come out every night to claim them for their Master.
Abraham Setrakian, Nora Martinez, Vasily Fet, Ephraim Goodwater and Ephraim’s son Zack remain and regroup after their failure to kill the Master. Setrakian knows that the key to defeating the vampire threat lies in a book coming up for auction and is determined to get it. But so too is the Master and his plans for mankind – aided by the fabulously wealthy Palmer – are highly developed.
While Nora is charged with getting Zack to safety, Setrakian and Ephraim join forces with teenage criminal Gus (who’s been recruited by America’s indigenous vampires to stop the Master) in a last desperate bid to secure humanity’s continued existence.
Having been disappointed with THE STRAIN, I was hoping that Del Toro and Hogan would step up their game in this sequel. They didn’t.
Although the idea of vampirism as a parasite is developed in a coherent way, the plot is utterly predictable and the characters walking clichés. Ephraim is a renewed alcoholic, his guilt at seeing his ex-wife Kelly become a vampire conflicting with his desire to save his son from the same fate. Nora’s a side-line character, watching and hating Ephraim’s alcoholism – she accepts the charge to get Zack to safety but is equally keen to help her own mother escape (who, naturally, has Alzheimer’s). The only well-rounded character is Abraham, whose history with the Master is explored through a series of fast-paced flashbacks that give him depth.
In terms of the story, every twist is telegraphed well in advance. An interesting storyline involving Gus working for America’s own vampires isn’t fully developed while Kelly’s desire to claim her son is left on the margins and giving Vasily a blog only emphasises how all the voices sound the same.
The denouement is hurried, with Del Toro and Hogan so keen to give the crisis a global scope that they make huge leaps of logic that defy credulity. The set up for the concluding book promises a real uphill struggle, but if the writing remains this sub-average, I won’t be checking it out.
The Verdict:
I thought that THE STRAIN was too clichéd and predictable but THE FALL is even worse. Frankly, the way in which each ‘twist’ is telegraphed makes for dull reading and while there are some sparks (notably the development of Abraham’s back story) the result was boring. It will take something very special to make me want to read the concluding book to this trilogy.
THE STRAIN was released in the UK on 16th September. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the ARC.
Vampires have arrived in New York City – and humans are no longer at the top of the food chain ...
It’s 2 months after THE STRAIN. Owing to the authorities refusal to accept the vampire threat, New York City has fallen to the Master’s control. Some New Yorkers try to flee, choking the bridges and tunnels off the island. Those who remain fall to the vampires who come out every night to claim them for their Master.
Abraham Setrakian, Nora Martinez, Vasily Fet, Ephraim Goodwater and Ephraim’s son Zack remain and regroup after their failure to kill the Master. Setrakian knows that the key to defeating the vampire threat lies in a book coming up for auction and is determined to get it. But so too is the Master and his plans for mankind – aided by the fabulously wealthy Palmer – are highly developed.
While Nora is charged with getting Zack to safety, Setrakian and Ephraim join forces with teenage criminal Gus (who’s been recruited by America’s indigenous vampires to stop the Master) in a last desperate bid to secure humanity’s continued existence.
Having been disappointed with THE STRAIN, I was hoping that Del Toro and Hogan would step up their game in this sequel. They didn’t.
Although the idea of vampirism as a parasite is developed in a coherent way, the plot is utterly predictable and the characters walking clichés. Ephraim is a renewed alcoholic, his guilt at seeing his ex-wife Kelly become a vampire conflicting with his desire to save his son from the same fate. Nora’s a side-line character, watching and hating Ephraim’s alcoholism – she accepts the charge to get Zack to safety but is equally keen to help her own mother escape (who, naturally, has Alzheimer’s). The only well-rounded character is Abraham, whose history with the Master is explored through a series of fast-paced flashbacks that give him depth.
In terms of the story, every twist is telegraphed well in advance. An interesting storyline involving Gus working for America’s own vampires isn’t fully developed while Kelly’s desire to claim her son is left on the margins and giving Vasily a blog only emphasises how all the voices sound the same.
The denouement is hurried, with Del Toro and Hogan so keen to give the crisis a global scope that they make huge leaps of logic that defy credulity. The set up for the concluding book promises a real uphill struggle, but if the writing remains this sub-average, I won’t be checking it out.
The Verdict:
I thought that THE STRAIN was too clichéd and predictable but THE FALL is even worse. Frankly, the way in which each ‘twist’ is telegraphed makes for dull reading and while there are some sparks (notably the development of Abraham’s back story) the result was boring. It will take something very special to make me want to read the concluding book to this trilogy.
THE STRAIN was released in the UK on 16th September. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the ARC.
