NOVEMBER FEATURE #1: The Night Eternal by del Toro and Chuck Hogan

[paulgoatallen]

[paulgoatallen]

I love this series but, frankly, after reading the PW review (below), I am D-Y-I-N-G to read this so that I can disagree. This year hasn't had as many blockbuster vampire releases as 2010 so I'm really hoping that The Night Eternal delivers..

Publishers Weekly

Del Toro and Hogan’s horror thriller trilogy got off to a rousing start with 2009’s The Strain, but this final volume continues the decline already evident in 2010’s The Fall. Instead of building on the coauthors’ clever modern variations on the classic Dracula motif (e.g., the use of nuclear winter to make life easier for the sun-shunning undead), the conclusion is strictly by the numbers as the various New York City based protagonists, saddled with personal issues on top of an almost hopeless struggle to survive, try to find a way to rid Earth of the vampiric plague that has overwhelmed it in just a few short years. Readers will miss the series’ Van Helsing, Holocaust survivor Abraham Setrakian, killed off in the second installment, since the surviving vampire hunters aren’t nearly as interesting. Still, the power and innovations of the kickoff book should lead del Toro fans to hope he’ll take another crack at a scary novel. (Nov.)

[SciFiCanuck]

I'm onto this one next after Extinction Agenda!  :-)

[dalnewt]

I read this book in 2 days. It's an excellent thriller. The book is fast-paced and very readable. And, the end contained a real surprise. IMO, it's a riveting read which blends thriller fiction with post-apocalyptic and horror elements.

[paulgoatallen]

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dalnewt wrote:

I read this book in 2 days. It's an excellent thriller. The book is fast-paced and very readable. And, the end contained a real surprise. IMO, it's a riveting read which blends thriller fiction with post-apocalyptic and horror elements.

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AARRGGH! Where is my copy???

[paulgoatallen]

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dalnewt wrote:

I read this book in 2 days. It's an excellent thriller. The book is fast-paced and very readable. And, the end contained a real surprise. IMO, it's a riveting read which blends thriller fiction with post-apocalyptic and horror elements.

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Dalnewt:

Overall, how do you feel about this trilogy? Did it collectively stand up to the brilliance of the first book?

[dalnewt]

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paulgoatallen wrote:

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dalnewt wrote:

I read this book in 2 days. It's an excellent thriller. The book is fast-paced and very readable. And, the end contained a real surprise. IMO, it's a riveting read which blends thriller fiction with post-apocalyptic and horror elements.

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Dalnewt:

Overall, how do you feel about this trilogy? Did it collectively stand up to the brilliance of the first book?

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IMO, the trilogy went from a fact-based, Sci-Fi thriller focus to a character-based thriller. "The Strain" remains the best book, IMO. I loved its totally believable scenarios and ominous atmospherics. But, I really enjoyed the Sci-Fi elements and action-packed close of book two. Book three was all about character-based conflicts, both external and internal. Overall, this book was a riveting read, but it didn't give me the 'shudders' like book one did.   

[BrandieC]

I'm a little more than halfway through The Night Eternal, and I'm having a very hard time getting involved in it.  I think the previous two books were far superior, with The Strain being the best.  I agree with dalnewt that The Night Eternal is more character-driven, but Eph's internal conflict is just irritating me.  Like Gus, I just want Eph to GROW UP AND STOP WHINING!  I'm intrigued that there is an interesting twist at the end, so maybe by the time I finish, my opinion will change.  However, for those readers who are not invested in completing the trilogy, I think the lackluster action in the first half of The Night Eternal may well lead to a lot of them just giving up before they reach the end.

[dalnewt]

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BrandieC wrote:

I'm a little more than halfway through The Night Eternal, and I'm having a very hard time getting involved in it.  I think the previous two books were far superior, with The Strain being the best.  I agree with dalnewt that The Night Eternal is more character-driven, but Eph's internal conflict is just irritating me.  Like Gus, I just want Eph to GROW UP AND STOP WHINING!  I'm intrigued that there is an interesting twist at the end, so maybe by the time I finish, my opinion will change.  However, for those readers who are not invested in completing the trilogy, I think the lackluster action in the first half of The Night Eternal may well lead to a lot of them just giving up before they reach the end.

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Zack is a sadistic tool of the Master in this book. I felt sorry for him, but I also wanted to slap him and simply leave with him to the Master's devises. Eph is terribly weak in this book. I was really annoyed with him at times; but, Eph's weakness sets up the tension and suspense. I didn't know whether his failings would doom the groups' chance of defeating the Master, and that kept me reading along with the whole question of whether or not the group would figure out how to defeat the Master. For me the tension kept accelerating throughout the book, and the action really explodes as the book approaches the climax. 

[SciFiCanuck]

Well I haven't read the book yet but it would seem that Eph's actions are probably a direct result of loosing the one thing he cared about most in the world....his son.  Any parent could attest to that.

BUT...  If it were me, I would want to fight like HELL to get him back and take out the b*st*rd responsible for it.  :-)

[paulgoatallen]

I JUST got mine in the mail literally minutes ago!!! I'm just finishing up my review of Extinction Agenda (by Marcus Pelegrimas) and then it's time for some Eternal Night! 

[SciFiCanuck]

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paulgoatallen wrote:

I JUST got mine in the mail literally minutes ago!!! I'm just finishing up my review of Extinction Agenda (by Marcus Pelegrimas) and then it's time for some Eternal Night! 

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Yah you!  LOL  Mine is after Extinction Agenda as well...but I've still got half the book left.  I feel bad for poor Cecil....

On another note my copy of Aloha From Hell just arrived!  :-)

[BrandieC]

Well, I finished The Night Eternal yesterday, and my opinion did not change.  I thought the ending was weak, so, for me, the trilogy ended with a whimper, rather than a bang.

[dalnewt]

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BrandieC wrote:

Well, I finished The Night Eternal yesterday, and my opinion did not change.  I thought the ending was weak, so, for me, the trilogy ended with a whimper, rather than a bang.

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I enjoy the climax because it did involve sacrifice. On the other hand the religious origins were not as compelling to me as scientific ones would have been. <Shrugs> Nonetheless, the religious stuff was interesting and tied everything together.

Eph's weakness, bouts of irrationality and inability to see the big picture from the beginning created tension/suspense and added a wild card to the story, but were somewhat annoying given the decisions he made near the end of the book. Plus I would have preferred the blood worms having no possible influence on Eph's decision. IMO, the whole blood worm thing diminished the sacrifice. 

[paulgoatallen]

I actually loved the ending – if you think about it, it's about as intimate as you can get. If Eph's son wasn't involved and they just "did the deed" – BOOM – to end the trilogy, I think that I wouldn't be as satisfied... with this ending, there was something powerfully "human" about it and I L-O-V-E-D one of the last lines: "Looking back on one's life, you see that love was the answer to everything."

Yes, this was a thrilling end-of-the-world epic with vampiric monsters but I think del Toro and Hogan wanted the ending to be "human" and I thought it was fitting to wrap up such a grandscale narrative with a very personal conclusion.

How could the ending have been better? I'm just wondering what you were looking for...

I really, really enjoyed this book – can't wait to read the graphic novel, watch the movie and buy the lunch box!

http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com/t5/Explorations-The-BN-SciFi-and/Horrific-Pageant-of-Carnage-Del...

[dalnewt]

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paulgoatallen wrote:

I actually loved the ending – if you think about it, it's about as intimate as you can get. If Eph's son wasn't involved and they just "did the deed" – BOOM – to end the trilogy, I think that I wouldn't be as satisfied... with this ending, there was something powerfully "human" about it and I L-O-V-E-D one of the last lines: "Looking back on one's life, you see that love was the answer to everything."

Yes, this was a thrilling end-of-the-world epic with vampiric monsters but I think del Toro and Hogan wanted the ending to be "human" and I thought it was fitting to wrap up such a grandscale narrative with a very personal conclusion.

How could the ending have been better? I'm just wondering what you were looking for...

I really, really enjoyed this book – can't wait to read the graphic novel, watch the movie and buy the lunch box!

http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com/t5/Explorations-The-BN-SciFi-and/Horrific-Pageant-of-Carnage-Del...

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I wasn't disappointed that Eph's son was involved. I was disappointed that the authors felt the need to inject the blood worms into the scenario in terms of Zack. For me it would have been more poignant if that hadn't happened. In other words, the sacrifice would have meant more w/out the worms. Other than that, I loved that it became personal. Zack's inclusion during the climax felt right, and the entire ending was very satisfying.   

[SciFiCanuck]

Well I'm about 3/4 of the way through this book...all I can say is WOW.  So much conflict going on with Eph and everyone.  Gus keeping his vampire mother locked up and feeding her???  Disturbing.  I really like Mr. Quinlan's character though....lucky for them he is fighting on their side.  I really like all the side, interludes explaining a lot of the backstory.  I'm gonna have to stay away from these dark, end of the world books for a while because they are really depressing, LOL! 

I'm really curious to see how it's going to all end.  I can't believe Zach is shooting at people on the streets.  My god, I hope they can even save him.

[dalnewt]

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SciFiCanuck wrote:

Well I'm about 3/4 of the way through this book...all I can say is WOW.  So much conflict going on with Eph and everyone.  Gus keeping his vampire mother locked up and feeding her???  Disturbing.  I really like Mr. Quinlan's character though....lucky for them he is fighting on their side.  I really like all the side, interludes explaining a lot of the backstory.  I'm gonna have to stay away from these dark, end of the world books for a while because they are really depressing, LOL! 

I'm really curious to see how it's going to all end.  I can't believe Zach is shooting at people on the streets.  My god, I hope they can even save him.

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When I read the book it was a perfect Halloween read. You might not think there's any kind of Christmas tie-in, but it exists in a religious explanation for the existence of vampires. 

I loved the characterizations of both Vasily Fet and Gus Elizade in this third book. Fet is strong and pragmatic whereas Gus is all heart, fighting the vamps with his two friends to reclaim his part of Manhattan. Plus, I was fascinated by the way that Gus kept his transformed mother. It was both scary and macabre, but I understood the emotions that led him to keep what remained of his mother.

Zack is gradually corrupted by the Master. He's manipulated and mentally 'turned'. He lives like a pampered prince who can do anything, even shoot at passing humans, so long as he remains loyal to the Master. When I was reading about Zack the thought occurred to me that he remains alive because of the Master. Given the polluted atmosphere, an asthmatic like Zack probably wouldn't last a day w/out the Master's filtered blood. If Eph wasn't so emotionally invested in Zack's survival and, instead, analyzed Zack's situation from a medical standpoint, he'd realize that the only thing keeping Zack alive is the Master. 

[tfadams]

you do know that dark horse comics is doing a comic book adapation of the trilogy?

[paulgoatallen]

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tfadams wrote:

you do know that dark horse comics is doing a comic book adapation of the trilogy?

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That could be cool – I'll definitely keep my eyes out for that!