The Fall (del Toro and Hogan novel)

The Fall is a 2010 vampire horror novel by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan. It is the second novel in the The Strain Trilogy, and was preceded by The Strain and followed by The Night Eternal.

Plot synopsis

The vampire race is descended from seven vampiric "Ancient Ones." A vampire faction, led by a renegade Ancient known as the Master, instigates the takeover of human civilization. Elderly billionaire Eldritch Palmer, having been promised immortality by the Master, uses his influence to create a news blackout, ensuring that the vampires face little resistance. Abraham Setrakian, an aged vampire hunter, is hopeful that the lost grimoire, Occido Lumen, holds the key to defeating the Master, and searches for it before the Master's forces take over. Setrakian is aided by epidemiologist Dr. Ephraim Goodweather and pest exterminator Vasiliy Fet, who have joined those resisting the vampires. Goodweather also seeks to protect his son, Zach from his wife, Kelly, who is now a vampire and is driven by an animalistic instinct to convert her family. Meanwhile, the other Ancient Ones enlist gang member Gus Elizalde to destroy the Master.

Reception

Gina McIntyre of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "You have to hand it to del Toro and Hogan. At a time when brooding, sexy vampires are so ubiquitous in popular culture thanks to True Blood and Twilight, the authors finally have given the creatures back some of their nasty, vicious, delicious bite."^[1] The San Francisco Chronicle‍ '​s Alan Cheuse wrote that "most readers will find themselves turning pages with the momentum of an engaged movie viewer", but criticized the pacing of the early sections, saying "the only problem the book has is that it is a middle volume in a trilogy".^[2]

References