Customer Reviews

The Night Eternal

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(26)
2 star:		(16)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

If you are reading this review, you've already made it through the first two books, and you want to see if the conclusion is worth your time.

It is.

This is an action-packed story, set two years after the Fall of humanity at the hands of the vampires. The characters from the first books appear to be the only resistance, and they have to figure out how to win back the world. All while the main character, Eph Goodweather, tries to also free his son, taken captive by his vampire ex-wife in the last book.

What follows is a page turning thrill-ride, with narrow escapes, decent characterization, and finally, a backstory explanation and conclusion. As with the previous books, this is very well paced and will hold your attention as you read through to the very end.

It is not without flaws, however. The backstory was adequate, but a departure from the rest of the series. From the start, the authors have soaked us in the scientific aspects of vampirism, including its spread and the biology of a vampire (to be fair, ripped from Del Toro's movie, Blade II). The ultimate explanations are more mystical than scientific, and it seems odd to have gone to all the trouble of making two main characters scientists and exhaustively explaining the biology of vampires, only to make the origin decidedly non-scientific.

Whatever. It wasn't enough of a problem for me to have not really enjoyed the book, just not getting the fifth star from me.

If you have gotten through the first two books, you really should finish the trilogy. You'll have fun, and that's really what these types of books are about, isn't it?

I enjoyed the first two installments of the trilogy, so when this climactic book finally hatched I grabbed it like a starving strigoli. Unfortunately, it wasn't nearly as tasty as it should have been. What a shame.

In this episode, we join our heroes many months after the events in the second book. Earth is mostly overrun with vampires, all controlled by the Master with two purposes in mind: 1) breed mankind for food, and 2) stop Eph Goodweather from finding the Master's Achilles heel. With the excellent setup from " The Strain" and "The Fall", what could go wrong with this scenario?

Plenty - here are my "unholy trinity" of disastrous literary tropes: First, the authors trot out some turgid Old Testament angel mythology to explain the vampire genesis, thus mutating the story into R-rated Judeo-Christian fiction. In addition, blatant deus ex machina helping hands pop up a couple of times to save our heroes and propel the plot. Finally, the influence of the second and third "Blade" movies is so shameless you might as well watch them vs. reading this book.

Most of the other problems with "Night Eternal" stem from the above three issues, with the only redeeming factor being our previously well-earned investment with the main characters. "Night Eternal" feels like a totally different book than the other two, and not in a good way. It's easily one of the most disappointing conclusions to a series that I've ever read. You have been warned.

I loved the first two books in this trilogy ("The Strain", and "The Fall"). The authors' take on vampires was interesting, the action was great, and the characters are well developed. But, I think they totally changed the tone in this third book. The plot of "The Night Eternal" reminds me of the Star Trek episode with the Borg. The plot has been written into a corner with an enemy too powerful to defeat, so Data logs into the Borg and tells them to go to sleep. Or in "Independence Day" - turns out you can log into an advanced alien network with a Mac computer and blow them all to hell. I was very disappointed with this tedious third book in The Strain trilogy.

** SPOILERS **

"The Night Eternal" has way too many "deus ex machina" moments that really cheesed me off. The ISS falls at just the right time to save the characters. Why did it fall? Because God's dog told the astronaut on board to bring the ISS down. At the end, another ray of sunshine appears suddenly to help the bomb go off.

But what really set my teeth on edge was the Old Testament origin BS. Sodom and Gomorrah? Lot? Archangels? Pieces of an archangel turning into vampires? Stupid prophecies? In the first two books, it is apparently clear that the vampires are some sort of product of nature. Ephraim and Nora determine the complex life cycle of the vampires (virus, worms, etc.), and with Setrakian's help figure out the creatures' weaknesses. As it turns out, it's all just magic, and really stupid magic at that.

I found the plot in this book to be quite tedious and unbelievable compared to the first two books. The malnourished and beaten down heroes somehow manage to wheel around Manhattan, New Jersey, and beyond without any problem, hacking hundreds of vampires in every battle. The Master and his two dozen helicopters for some reason can't stop them from reaching the magic island. It was all too easy. I suppose everything is easy when god himself is helping you defeat the ultimate evil. And it doesn't hurt that the ultimate evil is apparently quite moronic. Though why god would create the ultimate evil in the first place ... never mind.

The third and final book in this series (after The Strain: Book One of The Strain Trilogy and The Fall (The Strain Trilogy)) almost screams MOVIE! As I read it, I couldn't help but see the cinematic version on the big screen. That said, I liked it well enough. This was not a "touchy, feely" vampire novel; it mainly consisted of scene after scene of completely implausible battles between the small band of human rebels who hadn't been turned or corrupted and the vampires who were in control of the entire planet. The reader must suspend disbelief at the peril this ragtag band endures and escapes!

Starting off where the second one ended, Dr. Eph Goodweather and the motley crew he leads, are trying in vain to figure out how to get Eph's son back (Zach was kidnapped by his mother and taken to the Master) and how to find the Master and destroy him. In between hiding in their various hidden lairs and combating marauding vampires, they acquire a nuclear weapon that lacks a detonator. Meanwhile, Nora and Fet are drawn closer together and the other supporting characters are dealing with their own personal issues. Guided by The Born (aka Mr. Quinlan, an offspring of the Master), they also seek to discover the place of the Master's origin so they can detonate the bomb there, kill the Master, and bring vampire rule to an end. This new world has undergone a lot of changes since humans were subjugated as blood suppliers (type B+ is preferred) and the darkness descended. There are no computers, cell phones or other modern devices, and any humans not in captivity serve the Master or have been corrupted into the various occupations that keep the vampires fed and humans controlled. The main characters survive unbelievable peril as they try to decipher THE LUMEN, an old silver-edged book that tells about the rise of the Ancients and its relation to the Biblical "fall of the angels" battle. Convoluted? Yes, but it all sort of makes sense in a way that another explanation might not. Some have complained about the religious aspect of the epic, but I thought it fit.

Does this ragtag band of fighters save the day and restore the planet to the humans? The narrative moves at a fast pace and reaches a somewhat predictable conclusion. If not wholly satisfying, the reader will at least be glad to have reached the end. I can't imagine reading this book without having read the previous two. I'm not a huge fan of this genre, which I would call futuristic horror, but I did enjoy this alternative "end of the world as we know it" novel with its unique approach: apocalypse by vampire.

I rather enjoyed the first 2 books... even if in "The Strain" the 'proof reading' was poor- for example, a WWII Nazi's pistol was called a "Ruger" rather than Luger, which is what it would have been.

But this last book... I don't know. The whole premise that the small group of core characters could stay free, when say, Eph could be tracked when he wasn't high or drunk... that whole blocks of New York would be electrified, with internet service no less...that certain countries (England!) stayed free... that the Ancients were linked to old testament angels...

Lot of dubious premises, loose ends not adequately tied up, etc etc. Read it for completeness if you've read the other two... but for myself, I was underwhelmed.

Okay, I've finished the Strain trilogy, which started with The Strain: Book One of The Strain Trilogy, continued on in The Fall: Book II of The Strain Trilogy) and winds up in this "The Night Eternal." This is one series that you will want to read all the books - in order. And it is worth reading. Is it as good as I expected from reading/hearing some of the rave reviews? In my opinion - no. But that is usually my problem with trilogies. Most would be better as one big book with "fluff" taken out.

In "The Night Eternal" there is darkness over the earth, stockyards, breeding pens, starvation, finding an island, Stockholm Syndrome, the Born, exploitation and not just by vampires, a falling "star," feelers.

I didn't especially like the ending in this book. I won't go into why and spoil it but it was far out there.

Am I glad I read all three of these books? Yes. Would I read again? Very probably not. I wish they had been as good as I originally hoped.

For those who haven't read the first two books I would highly recommend you read them first. They are amazing. This book picks up two years after a vampiric virus has infected most of humanity. Most of those that haven't been infected are held as prisoners- they are bled by the vampires or forced to breed to maintain a healthy blood supply for the vampires. A handful of rebels make it their mission to destroy the "Master" (the leader of the vampires). If they can achieve this, they will destroy the vampires and save humanity from complete annihilation.

I loved the first two books in this series. However, I was extremely disappointed with this book. The characters weren't interesting and engaging - at best, they were annoying and predictable - and the storyline fell short. The author focused too much on Dr. Goodweather's depression, which is understandable but I didn't think it was necessary to spend so much time dwelling on his emotional pain. The storyline lacked the same intrigue that captured my imagination in the previous books. The ending brought closure, but was nothing memorable. Although, I'm not crazy about this book, I'm glad I had a chance to finish the series.

Darn! The first two books were so good. At last, vampires who act like vampires! When I finally had that third book in my hands, I cleared two nights, just to be able to devote all my time to reading the final story. I opened the book, expecting to disappear into the story, excited about having a great read once more, and that's when the disappointment began. Somehow the magic was gone.

The story plodded on and on, with the writer doing more talking than the characters. I kept looking for action, and when it would finally appear, it didn't measure up to the first two books. Later, when things finally started moving, it had lost me. It took over two weeks to finish this book, and only hope that things would improve kept me reading. Sad to say, the ending didn't move me at all. It was just over.

Strangely enough, I'm not sorry that I finished the third book. It did give closure to the story, it just was not what it could have (or should have) been.

The first two books were excellent. I was ecstatic to see a vampire series that was not based on supernatural forces, but one that had a scientific base that was well reasoned and explained. This third book changed all that. It threw out all the background in the first two books in favor of god's chosen prophet and angels driving the story. Very disappointing. I wish I had not read it.

Summary: The end of Guillermo Del Toro's Strain trilogy will disappoint some fans with its limited characterization and a turn towards mysticism. I still give it a thumbs up, though. It's probably the weakest of the three, but is still an exciting page-turner.

Del Toro's vivid imagination and creepy, suspenseful sense of style has made him an icon in supernatural movies. Now, as the Night Eternal brings his vampire trilogy to a close, it's safe to say that he and co-author Chuck Hogan have created a similarly inventive, creepy, and thoughtful work of literature. The trilogy isn't high art, but it's a suspenseful and pulse pounding ride, and is well worth your time.

The Night Eternal begins two years after the close of The Fall, and tracks the survivors as they engage in a last ditch struggle against the Master, who now rules a planet consigned to almost eternal night.

What I liked:

- I thought Del Toro and Hogan did a nice job with the characters that they have left, even though they're running out of them. Ephraim Goodweather, Mr. Quinlan, and Gus in particular stand out, and Ephraim's struggle is well characterized and nicely resolved.

- As always, the action and suspense are great. I also continue to appreciate the return to rancid, Nosferatu-style vampires. Del Toro's gross undead are a nice tonic to all the brooding pretty-boys of late.

What could have been better:

- This book suffers from Satrakian's absence. Satrakian was the best character in the bunch, and as implausible as it was to have a 70 plus year old man battling vampires to a stand-still, the series isn't the same without him.

- I didn't personally have a problem with the shift to the mystical (more on that below). But on the other hand, the longer this series goes, the more some of the plot holes start to show. I'm not clear on how the Master plans to sustain his version of civilization on a few hours of sunlight per day. It seems like people would starve to death, the technology would break without a modern human society, and sooner or later, you would still be down to a gaggle of starving vampires. In hindsight, other stuff starts to nag - Satrakian had a human heart beating in a jar and was unable to convince anyone that vampires were real? Alternately, the vampires were so powerful that Satrakian couldn't convince anyone that they exist, but they couldn't find him because he used his wife's maiden name? On the other hand, Del Toro's gift is his imagination and ability to create effective scenes, not rock solid logic, so at some point we need to accept the books for what they are.

- I didn't really feel like I had a sense of what the post-Master society was all about. Except for a visit to a camp and some references to curfew, I didn't get a picture of how people were living their lives. Introducing a new character or two living under the regime might have done a lot to set the scene, and been effective for the plot as well.

Lastly, a comment on the mysticism that has rubbed many reviewers the wrong way: I can see how it might have turned some people off, but it didn't bug me. IMHO, even though Del Toro introduced a sort of scientific explanation for vampirism in the earlier books, it was obvious there was more to the story -- without more, a parasitic worm can't explain telepathy, the inability to cross moving water, or how a reflected image acts differently in a silver mirror than a chrome one. Here, there's a hint that the new mystical elements are what Arthur Clarke might have called a sufficiently advanced technology, indistinguishable from magic. Del Toro mentions that the mysticism is a result of a worldwide "energy field," and once you grant that the vampires are tapping into a worldwide telepathy effect, it's not out of line to grant something that the humans or other living things can tap into as well.