The Fall: Book Two of the Strain Trilogy
(Libby/OverDrive eBook, Kindle)

Acclaimed film director Del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth) and popular thriller writer Hogan (Devils in Exile, 2010) turn in the second entry in their vampires-versus-humanity trilogy, after The Strain (2009). Just two months after vampires landed at New York's JFK airport, civilization is fast disappearing as the vampiric virus makes its way across the country and the world. Disgraced former Center for Disease Control director Eph Goodweather is leading a small but fierce band of resistors, but he is increasingly sidetracked by the devastating attacks of his ex-wife, Kelly. She has been turned into a vampire and is now after her dear ones, specifically her 11-year-old son, Zack, who both fears and longs for his mother. It's left to the wily old vampire fighter Setrakian, a former professor and Holocaust survivor, to come up with a game plan. He determines that the key to defeating the vampires lies in an ancient and valuable book, which is currently on auction at Sotheby's. All he needs is $25 million and some chutzpah to save humanity. With its taut pacing and macabre fight scenes, many of which take place in NYC's old subway tunnels, this scary novel should appeal to fans of both vampire and horror novels.--Wilkinson, Joanne Copyright 2010 Booklist

Set over the course of three intense weeks, Del Toro and Hogan's gripping second volume in their near-future vampire trilogy picks up where The Strain, the first volume, left off, as the undead, aided by elderly Eldritch Palmer, one of the world's three richest men, tighten their hold on the planet. Epidemiologists Ephraim Goodweather and Nora Martinez, Holocaust survivor Abraham Setrakian, and Vasiliy Fet, "New York City Bureau of Pest Control Services worker and independent exterminator," oppose the vampires (or strigoi), as they did in the first book. Setrakian pins his hopes for stopping the vampires on tracking down a 17th-century grimoire that describes the origins of their leaders, the Seven Original Ancients. Despite the story's essential grimness, the authors manage to inject some sardonic humor, even as the plot developments will leave readers wondering how the concluding book can possibly end well. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

The writer/director of Pan's Labyrinth and Hellboy and Hogan pair up again for the follow-up to their best-selling debut, The Strain. A vampiric virus has conquered New York City and threatens to spread across the country and around the world. CDC team leader Eph Goodweather takes to the streets to combat these savage creatures who are locked in their own war. The Old World Ancients are raging against the New World vampires in a grudge match to dominate the planet. Driving this conflict is the Master, a clever and astute orchestrator of chaos. -VERDICT Fast-paced, action-packed, and even better than the first volume, this fun and scary read is highly recommended for thriller and horror fans. Newcomers to the trilogy will have no trouble following the story line. Buy multiple copies. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 5/15/10.]-Carolann Curry, Mercer Univ. Medical Lib., Macon, GA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Acclaimed film director Del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth) and popular thriller writer Hogan (Devils in Exile, 2010) turn in the second entry in their vampires-versus-humanity trilogy, after The Strain (2009). Just two months after vampires landed at New York's JFK airport, civilization is fast disappearing as the vampiric virus makes its way across the country and the world. Disgraced former Center for Disease Control director Eph Goodweather is leading a small but fierce band of resistors, but he is increasingly sidetracked by the devastating attacks of his ex-wife, Kelly. She has been turned into a vampire and is now after her "dear ones," specifically her 11-year-old son, Zack, who both fears and longs for his mother. It's left to the wily old vampire fighter Setrakian, a former professor and Holocaust survivor, to come up with a game plan. He determines that the key to defeating the vampires lies in an ancient and valuable book, which is currently on auction at Sotheby's. All he needs is $25 million and some chutzpah to save humanity. With its taut pacing and macabre fight scenes, many of which take place in NYC's old subway tunnels, this scary novel should appeal to fans of both vampire and horror novels. Copyright 2010 Booklist Reviews.

A vampiric virus is upon us all-which you already know if you've read The Strain, the best-selling first book in this trilogy, sold to 28 countries. Here, Old World and New World vampires bare fangs, even as the Centers for Disease Control's Eph Goodweather seeks to protect his son from his newly born vampire wife. Look for the first of director Del Toro's two-part The Hobbit next year. With a one-day laydown on September 21 and a 250,000-copy first printing. Copyright 2010 Reed Business Information.

The writer/director of Pan's Labyrinth and Hellboy and Hogan pair up again for the follow-up to their best-selling debut, The Strain. A vampiric virus has conquered New York City and threatens to spread across the country and around the world. CDC team leader Eph Goodweather takes to the streets to combat these savage creatures who are locked in their own war. The Old World Ancients are raging against the New World vampires in a grudge match to dominate the planet. Driving this conflict is the Master, a clever and astute orchestrator of chaos. VERDICT Fast-paced, action-packed, and even better than the first volume, this fun and scary read is highly recommended for thriller and horror fans. Newcomers to the trilogy will have no trouble following the story line. Buy multiple copies. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 5/15/10.]—Carolann Curry, Mercer Univ. Medical Lib., Macon, GA

Set over the course of three intense weeks, Del Toro and Hogan's gripping second volume in their near-future vampire trilogy picks up where The Strain, the first volume, left off, as the undead, aided by elderly Eldritch Palmer, one of the world's three richest men, tighten their hold on the planet. Epidemiologists Ephraim Goodweather and Nora Martinez, Holocaust survivor Abraham Setrakian, and Vasiliy Fet, "New York City Bureau of Pest Control Services worker and independent exterminator," oppose the vampires (or strigoi), as they did in the first book. Setrakian pins his hopes for stopping the vampires on tracking down a 17th-century grimoire that describes the origins of their leaders, the Seven Original Ancients. Despite the story's essential grimness, the authors manage to inject some sardonic humor, even as the plot developments will leave readers wondering how the concluding book can possibly end well. (Oct.)