First in a new trilogy coauthored by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan, Strain is one of the best vampire horror reads to hit the market in a long time. Opening with the telling of an old folk tale meant to frighten children, the story moves to air traffic control at present day JFK airport and the routine landing of an international flight. Shortly after touchdown, it becomes clear there is a serious problem with the aircraft and Ephraim Goodweather, an epidemiologist with the CDC becomes involved.
For Ephraim, who is dealing with the emotional turmoil of an unwanted divorce and attempting to gain custody of his son Zach, the timing of this emergency investigation couldn’t be worse. When Abraham Setrakian, an elderly professor who survived the Holocaust hears about the mysterious aircraft, he knows his long wait is approaching the end game. With the unleashing of a sinister infection, downtown New York once again becomes Ground Zero and it will come down to a handful of determined fighters to root out the evil at its source. The cost of failure could spell the end of humanity at the hands of an ancient foe.
Brilliantly twined subplots, genuine feeling characters and even pacing combine in this masterly told horror tale with some unlikely heroes. The authors include believable medical expertise and an unusual disease vector which adds an original twist to the vampire mythology. This is going to be a series to watch.
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