The Strain by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan
Fiction/Horror, 585 pages
ISBN: 978-0-06-155824-5
Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins

FTC Disclosure: Purchased

[muffled] Is it safe to come out now? [pulls covers off] Whew, daylight.

Read this book and tell me if you don’t at least spend one night sleeping under the covers with the lights on.

I dare you.

Well okay, I bet some of you can, but I’m a bit of a wuss and couldn’t.

And it wasn’t the gore, although there is enough of it. It was never gratuitous though.

Vampires aren’t a new concept, but Del Torro and Hogan create theirs in a fashion so well done you honestly think that in some ways, it’s plausible. Not so much the superstition-based aspect, but environmentally or genetically, an insidious virus can potentially cause the fall of mankind.

Where there’s smoke, there’s fire and throughout the centuries tales of monsters have survived. Why? That’s for psychologists to debate. As for us pedestrian thinkers it’s just plain scary as hell and part of us knows better. But the other part wants to feel validated that some of our base fears are justified. That we aren’t delusional or crazy.

I liked this story. It had my heart going several times and that’s what it’s all about. This is a thrilling ride of a read.

I would go on, but I’ve given enough away and I see other reviews are making the rounds. As I believe a reader should always get several opinions, I’ll just say go read the others thoughts then get your hands on a copy of this book!

• Linus’s Blanket (reviewed Jan 24, 2011)
• My Favourite Books (reviewed May 17, 2009)
• Wordsmithonia (reviewed Jan 18, 2011)

Oh, and you may want to be sure you read this during the day. With the doors locked. And you know, sleeping with a nightlight isn’t so childish. Really.