The Strain

by Guillermo del Toro

First published 2009

Dr. Ephraim Goodweather leads the CDC's rapid biological response team when a Boeing 777 goes silent on the JFK tarmac. The aircraft sits motionless with shades drawn and lights out. No communication comes from inside. When Eph boards the plane, he discovers something that chills him to the bone. Meanwhile, Abraham Setrakian, a Holocaust survivor who runs a Spanish Harlem pawnshop, recognizes the signs of an ancient threat returning. He knows war approaches. A vampiric contagion begins spreading through New York's streets. Eph teams with Setrakian and other unlikely allies to contain the outbreak. The battle becomes personal as the virus threatens to consume the city where his wife and son live. They must stop the infection before New York falls completely.

Genres: science-fiction, adventure, horror, action

Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful

Tropes: enemies-to-allies, found-family

Setting: New York, Spanish Harlem, JFK Airport

Period: 21st Century

403 pages · Hardcover · William Morrow

Content warnings: violence

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