The Fall by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan

Title:  The Fall
Authors: Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan
Pages:  320
Genre:  Horror
Source:  Harper Collins

From the authors of the instant New York Times bestseller The Strain comes the next volume in one of the most imaginative and frightening thriller series in many, many years Last week they invaded Manhattan. This week they will destroy the world.

The vampiric virus unleashed in The Strain has taken over New York City. It is spreading and soon will envelop the globe. Amid the chaos, Eph Goodweather—head of the Centers for Disease Control's team—leads a band out to stop these bloodthirsty monsters. But it may be too late.

Ignited by the Master's horrific plan, a war erupts between Old and New World vampires, each vying for control. At the center of the conflict lies a book, an ancient text that contains the vampires' entire history . . . and their darkest secrets. Whoever finds the book can control the outcome of the war and, ultimately, the fate of us all. And it is between these warring forces that humans—powerless and vulnerable—find themselves no longer the consumers but the consumed. Though Eph understands the vampiric plague better than anyone, even he cannot protect those he loves. His ex-wife, Kelly, has been transformed into a bloodcrazed creature of the night, and now she stalks the city looking for her chance to reclaim her Dear One: Zack, Eph's young son.

With the future of humankind in the balance, Eph and his team, guided by the brilliant former professor and Holocaust survivor Abraham Setrakian and exterminator Vasiliy Fet and joined by a crew of ragtag gangsters, must combat a terror whose ultimate plan is more terrible than anyone has imagined—a fate worse than annihilation. [via GoodReads]

The Fall is the second installment in Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan's The Strain trilogy.  In The Strain an airplane full of dead passengers is found on the tarmac of JFK and shortly thereafter chaos ensues.  Vampires... and not of the teen heartthrob nor sparkly variety.  These are more animalistic in nature and have one goal in particular... total world domination.

This book reads almost like a movie... it's actually detailed and vivid enough that you have a clear picture of exactly what is going on.  Told in the same style as The Strain, you have various viewpoints and resulting vignettes.  Sometimes these different points-of-view can be a little disorienting, but once you get the gist of the storytelling, you see how clever it all is as it comes together.

Although I found The Strain to be more of a scientific thriller than a horror story... The Fall was definitely more horror.  Very dark, action-packed and with the perfect mix of sci-fi and fantasy you'll find it to be quite the page-turner.  While I personally enjoyed The Strain better than I did this second installment, I still would not pass up on the chance of reading this series in its entirety.  Eternal Night the third in the trilogy is scheduled to release in late 2011 - I cannot wait!

My Rating: