Day 173: The Fall

The Fall by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan.  ISBN: 9780061558221 (ARC - publishes Sept. 21, 2010).

This kept a really good dark tone for most of the book.  Except for the blog entries by Fet.  Really?  Blogging?  During the vampocalypse?

Dear readers, I promise you one thing: if things start going down where my family and I will potentially be attacked by vampires, I will not be blogging about it.  I will be hiding my ass away from the world.  Someone else can be the internet hero.  I think blogging is important; I think it is an excellent way to provide information to people who want it and an even better outlet for people to share their thoughts (even if it's only with 30-something readers).  I do not think it will matter so much during a time of crisis in which everything is going to hell.

I also found the concept a bit ridiculous.  The population of New York was decimated or turned vampire, brown outs were occurring constantly, cell phone towers were down, and yet somehow Fet had regular enough internet access to update his blog.  Even updating sporadically, this seems a bit far to ask us to suspend our disbelief.  And really, who thinks it would be a good idea to blog their way through the end times?

It probably won't be an issue.  Not because they won't come eventually, but because I doubt anyone will have time or the stability to do it.  But if you had the chance...would you?  Would you blog the apocalypse?

My review can be found on Goodreads.

Day 172: The Fall

The Fall by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan.  ISBN: 9780061558221 (ARC - publishes Sept. 21, 2010).

These are not romantic vampires.  These are vampires that poop.  Everywhere.  All the time.  They are apparently related to rats, or at least share many characteristics with them, namely they can't throw up and they are incontinent...and their urine and feces glows in UV lights (with rats it's black light).  Applying this behavior to other vampires is hilarious.  Cullen squatting over a toilet constantly, whilst sparkling and dropping nuclear-glow turds definitely appeals to my puerile since of humor.

Another thing I liked about this was the vampires as parasitic viruses.  The virus seems to be carried and sustained by a worm, which prolongs the life of the host, but weakens it to sunlight and (for some reason) silver.  Somewhat similar to the superior Necroscope series, but I like the semi-scientific explanation of vampires and how they work.  On some level, it makes the vampires more and less terrifying at the same time.  Less terrifying because if there's a scientific explanation, there's a scientific solution.  More terrifying because it puts the phenomena on our level; it makes it real.  It makes everyone susceptible to it, because you don't have to do anything stupid like invite a vampire into your house or break a cursed seal on some bottle or be walking out on a full moon.

You know what else makes vampires terrifying?  Their humanity.  But it has to be that perfect balance of human and depravity.  I know for me, I'm not afraid so much of the monster, but of the human, and not knowing where the line is.  It's part of the reason I enjoyed the Buffy versions of vampires, the idea that the demon enhanced current underlying violent and hidden tendencies.  Even as they were making fun of the vampires (namely Spike), you could imagine them being placed in a different setting and completely wreaking havoc.  In the end, what's more horrifying than what we can do to each other?  We expect horrible things from monsters. To realize that we are the monster...who is safe from that?

My review can be found on Goodreads.