The Fall (Strain Trilogy Book 2)

The Fall: Book Two of The Strain Trilogy

By Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan

This is the second book that follows The Strain, one of the most entertaining vampire stories I have ever encountered. It starts exactly where the previous book ended. I highly recommend re-reading the first before beginning this adventure.

Characters are expanded and struggling to survive in a world being quickly consumed by this ancient plague. New characters are presented and add more and more richness to this story. I love the world that was painted and the tension that was created (and continually built) so completely. The story has taken turns I didn’t expect and is filled with the incredible imagery of del Toro, one of my absolute favorite character designers/ directors. The image of the ancients is so brilliantly haunting that I cannot wait to see them on the screen whenever this trilogy is made into film.

I love this series. Maybe, as a “serious literature academic” I shouldn’t, but I do. I can’t wait for the next book to come out and will probably be bummed out when that one is over and I have nothing else to look forward to. Okay, that might have been a little melodramatic, but finishing the last page and knowing that I have to wait all the way to October for my next fix seemed like cruel and unusual punishment.

It’s not the best fiction ever and definitely has some plot holes here and there but, because I am truly in love, I see it through rose-colored glasses. Once you start the trilogy, you will be wearing those same glasses too, believe me. To quote my friend Erin, who has her MA in literature, “There are a couple things that don’t make sense but I seriously don’t care because it was awesome!” These books are undeniably fun and tell a unique and exciting story.

Read these books and then message me and tell me all about how much fun you had and how much it pains you to wait for the third and final book! Believe me, I understand your struggle and have been searching for other zombie/undead fiction to hold me over in the meantime. Though, I have to admit, part of me is excited to have a reason to reread the first two books again (and by ‘part of me’ I clearly mean my entire self).