"The Strain", a novel

by Giullermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan

Had I known this was only the first part of a trilogy, I probably wouldn't have bothered starting this book, at least until all three parts are written. Not knowing that, and having read some very positive reviews, I dived into it.

The Strain is a vampire novel. Now, if you've finished rolling your eyes and before you click away, let me quickly tell you that it's not the soapy, new-era-vampire kind of a story, where the vampire is young and cool and good looking and the main female character falls in love with him. No, it's a darker story, based on an ancient legend from Romania (though not Transylvania) of a beast that sucks blood and kills people for food and, sometimes, fun. Actually, we are introduced, although only in passing, to a story in which six such ancient creatures divide the world among them-three remaining in the old world of Eurasia, and three somewhere in North America. Alas, there's a seventh, rogue bloodsucker, who stayed in Europe, and during the World War 2 feasted in concentration camps. The number seven is the one who usually disturbs the balance of power and truce between the two trios.

The story starts with the landing of a plane on JFK airport in New York. Shortly after landing, all contacts are lost with the aircraft and the emergency crew is sent to examine the situation. The post-9/11 procedure is complicated, but eventually the crew enters the plane to find everybody aboard dead. The government's chief epidemiologist is called and he discovers that there are four survivors.

At the same time an old Jew, the owner of a pawn shop, reminisces about his days in concentration camp in Poland where he met Strigoi the vampire. He was only a boy then, but somehow survived. Now, he is an old man and the only one who guesses what happened to the passengers and the crew of the airplane. He is quintessential mr. good guy, a little weird and old fashioned, but honest and just.

To set the stage, there's one more important detail to know: vampires can't cross big bodies of water (rivers, lakes, oceans, etc.) on their own. To do so, they must be helped by humans. Which, of course, is a curtain call for mr. bad guy - a shadowy millionaire who has survived most of his life thanks to dialysis machine and who is tired of dying without expiring, so he decided to help himself becoming immortal by hiring Strigoi. Of course, Strigoi is the ancient vampire number seven, the one who's meant to screw up with the other six.

Okay, so far so good. The dead plane passengers wake up, suck the blood from their families, turning half of Manhattan into a vampire party. The old Jew teams up with the epidemiologist and together they fight what the doctor calls "the virus". And, naturally, the bad millionaire is pulling strings and throwing obstacles at our brave world-saving team.

That's it in a nutshell. I have to point out a few neat details which make this vampire story quite unique: your old vampires don't grow fangs and go about masked as bats. Their transformation is explained so well, it seems almost medically possible. There's an organism, transmitted by the plasma of the bitten ones, which feeds on the blood of the living. It destroys all the organs of the body, taking over as the only living force which keeps the body moving as an empty vessel, therefore there's no need for sleep, or brain-controlled functions. As for the bloodsucking, there's a stinger which grows deep in the man's throat. It's attached to the trachea (the windpipe). The trachea gets detached from the bronchial tubes, and shoots out from vampire's mouth with the stinger on its end. It can extend to about 6 feet long, which is a fair reach for any vampire.

Since the story is set at the modern time, no holy water or garlic can harm the vampires. Disappointingly though, they are still slain by silver weapons and burnt by the sunlight. Ah, well, some things never change.

Guillermo del Toro, a co-author with Chuck Hogan, is a movie director, and the story develops like in a movie-the scenes are well described, vivid and believable. Although the whole vampire concept brings nothing new, the physiological explanation of their bloodsucking ways is innovative and deserves attention, and so does the crisis set in terrorist-weary America. While I can't say I'll rush to read the two following parts, The Strain kept me entertained. (3/5)