The Strain

By Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan

Narrated by Ron Perlman

Image From Goodreads

[A plane lands at JFK and mysteriously 'goes dark', stopping in the middle of the runway for no apparent reason, all lights off, all doors sealed. The pilots cannot be raised.

When the hatch above the wing finally clicks open, it quickly becomes clear that everyone on board is dead - although there is no sign of trauma or struggle. Ephraim Goodweather and his team from the Centre of Disease Control must work quickly to establish the cause of this strange occurrence before panic spreads.

The first thing they discover is that four of the victims are actually still alive. But that's the only good news. And when all 200 corpses disappear from various morgues around the city on the same night, things very rapidly get worse. Soon Eph and a small band of helpers will find themselves battling to protect not only their loved ones, but the whole city, against an ancient threat to humanity.]

I've been watching the TV series for a while now (series three has just finished!) and I thought del Toro's take on vampires had such a unique twist that I couldn't help but be drawn in. 

I loved it from the start. So I thought I would try reading/listening to them as well.

I'm happy to say this first book is on par with the TV series. Except for a few differences, they are exactly the same and because I watched it first I can picture everything perfectly!

I love how it's almost read like a script with the headings of each section the whereabouts in the city. 

The dialogue is good, a bit bland at times, and the descriptions are fantastically gross. 

The added music effects were really creepy and helped to break up all of the parts. 

I was so creeped out listening to this that even walking around my empty house in the day I had to put the radio on to ease my nerves!

The characters are the best part. I grew to them quickly in the series and, subsequently, the books. 

The snippets of backstory we get for each character is great, especially for Setrakian.

Fet is my favourite character, although that might be something to do with the TV series too. He still has a sense of humour even amongst all the end-of-the-world-ness going on.

From watching the series first though, I am a little disappointed by the lack of Dutch and Eichorst. Both of these characters were so amazing in the series, I hope they do make an appearance in later books.

I'm definitely intrigued as to whether the next two will follow with the series or branch off. They've certainly left off where series one ended and I can't wait to read the next one!