del Toro/Hogan - The Fall review

The Fall is the second volume of Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan's Strain trilogy. The tale picks up exactly where it left off in the first volume with Abraham Satrakian, Ephraim Goodweather, and Nora Martinez fighting a vampire infestation in Manhattan. They're joined by the exterminator Vasily Fet. Meanwhile, a group of ancient vampires (of the original seven) are attempting to oppose the vampire known only as The Master. They recruit a kid, Augustus, from a street gang in New York. He recruits some rival gangsters in New Jersey before heading back into the city to kick some vampire ass.

The plot of this volume revolves around the heroes' quest to acquire an ancient book known as the Occido Lumens which may hold the secret to defeating The Master. The plot is extremely fast-paced and filled with vampire-slaying action. If you didn't read my review of The Strain, you should know that these vampires are not sexy or sparkly in any way. They are extremely intelligent and brutal and make Evil seem like a fuzzy little puppy.

The character development is pretty solid, especially considering the pace of the novel and the amount of pure action. The plot is interesting, with well-done twists. As is typical for trilogies, The Fall leaves the heroes (and the entire world) in a very dark situation.

I'm definitely looking forward to the release of the third volume, Eternal Night, which is supposed to come out on the Ides of March (beware!). Also, I fully expect the trilogy to be made into at least one movie. So far, I think it work perfectly as a trilogy of movies.




/ [Viking]

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