Line #44 Literature/TheStrain


1	[[quoteright:313:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hogan_night_eternal.jpg]]
2	''The Strain'' is the first book in a horror trilogy by crime novelist Chuck Hogan and acclaimed director Creator/GuillermoDelToro.
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4	The first book chronicles the arrival of an airplane at JFK airport filled with dead bodies drained of their blood. Dr. Ephraim Goodweather of the CDC is called in to investigate, but is baffled by the virus that seems to have killed these people. That is, until an old man provides him with information that this is ''not'' a virus, but another V-Word: Vampire.
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6	Followed by two sequels: ''The Fall'' released in 2010 and ''The Night Eternal'' in 2011. The book has been adapted into a TV show by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan, Series/TheStrainTVSeries, and also an (extremely faithful) comic book adaption.
7	-----
8	!!The book includes examples of:
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10	* ActionSurvivor: Ephram Goodweather
11	* AfterTheEnd: ''The Night Eternal'' [[spoiler:is set after the nations nuked each other, plunging the world into nuclear winter, allowing the Master and his legions to take over the world.]]
12	* ArchEnemy: Setrakian to the Master.
13	* ArmorPiercingQuestion: Palmer insists that the Master will honor his promise to make Palmer immortal, since the Master's plan could never have worked without him. Eph replies that the Master has already turned thousands of "ordinary" people into vampires "for free", and asks simply, ''"Then why is he making you wait in line?"''
14	* ArtifactOfDoom: The ''Occido Lumen.'' It's a book that details the origins of the vampire race, and wherever it goes, death and destruction follow.
15	* ArtisticLicenseReligion: A variant. The book tries to present the idea that what eventually wound up in scripture was a diluted version of the truth, but some of the more unique ideas presented include the idea that [[spoiler: Azriel, the Archangel of Death who is viewed as a very kind entity in Islam and certain other variations of the Abrahamic faiths, went mad and murdered another Archangel.]]
16	* BarbieDollAnatomy: The vampires are shown to be missing genitalia. This crosses over with BodyHorror when you realize that their genitals have literally rotted off.
17	* BlindSeer: A group of blind children are turned to create good trackers.
18	* BigApplesauce: When evil heads to the New World, which city will he land at? The book explains this to some extent - [[spoiler:although New York is an island, inconvenient if you can't cross flowing water without being invited, it has a vast underground system perfect for hiding in. It's also implied that the Master, a spirit of evil and destruction, is attracted to the site of the World Trade Center where so many died]].
19	%%* BigBad: The Master.
20	%%* BigGood: Setrakian.
21	* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: At the end of the third and final book, the Master and his minions are destroyed, but Eph and many other characters are also dead. Plus, human civilization is utterly devastated.]]
22	* BodyHorror: The transformation from human to vampire is quite detailed, including how the lungs are turned inside out to form the stinger.
23	* ButWhatAboutTheAstronauts: Global Vampire attacks prevent NASA from retrieving the three astronauts on ISS. The American astronaut provides commentary on the state of the world from above while Ground Control provides exposition on the state of the rest of the world.
24	* CaptainsLog: Eph's Diary and Fet's Blog provide a bit of emotional insight and additional exposition.
25	* TheChessmaster: Eldritch Palmer.
26	* CollectorOfTheStrange: As a pawnbreaker Setrakian has many strange things, but then you get down to his basement and see that he has kept a vampire heart alive in a jar by pricking his finger every day among many other things.
27	* CrazyPrepared: Setrakian's armory of anti-vampire weapons. Explained in that he's had nearly sixty years to amass and collect them.
28	* DarkerAndEdgier: The vampires in this trilogy are probably some of the nastiest ever put to paper. They're bloodthirsty monsters that are shells of who they once were, with absolutely no attractive traits whatsoever. ''The Fall'' is this to ''The Strain,'' with its extremely pessimistic view of ThePowerOfLove, the rapid downfall of the human race at the hands of the Master, and a DownerEnding that paves the way for an even bleaker setting in the final book.
29	* DeadlyBook: All who have possessed the cursed book ''The Occido Lumen'' (or ''Silver Codex'') have met with corruption or death, and it leaves a wake of destruction.
30	%%* DealWithTheDevil: Eldritch Palmer's deal with the Master.
31	%%* DemonicPossession: One of the Master's abilities.
32	* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: After re-killing her husband, Hermann -- who had been described as a [[Main/RapeAsDrama "rapist"]] one of the worms slips into her [[Main/NauseaFuel through her anus]].
33	* DyingMomentOfAwesome: [[spoiler:Setrakian goes down the way he lived, kicking vampire ass.]]
34	** Former Luchadore the Silver Angel gets a similar moment in the same scene; [[spoiler: he dons his old mask, charges into the fight between Setrakian and the Master, and effectively slaps the latter across the face with his old signature move, which is amazing given the Master's speed.]]
35	* EnemyMine: Near the end of ''The Fall,'' [[spoiler:Setrakian and the hunters team up with the Ancients to use their acquired wealth to obtain the ''Occido Lumen'' at an auction. The Ancients are hoping Setrakian will hand it to them so they can destroy it, but he has other plans.]]
36	* {{Expy}}:
37	** The Goth rock star, Gabriel Bolivar, seems to be based on Marilyn Manson, with the exception that Bolivar is described as being very handsome.
38	** Center for Disease Control Director Everett Barnes' resemblance to Colonel Sanders is likely based on former Surgeon General Everett Koop.
39	** As an evil old rich guy with failing health who has spent years searching for the secret to vampiric immortality, Eldritch Palmer has a ''lot'' in common with Dieter de la Guardia, the villain from del Toro's debut film ''Film/{{Cronos}}''.
40	** The Silver Angel is one to Wrestling/ElSanto, legendary MaskedLuchador BigGood of Lucha Libre and cult film series fame.
41	** Quinlan is more or less [[Film/BladeTrilogy Blade]], due to his backstory [[spoiler:in which his mother was fed upon and infected by the Master, transforming Quinlan while he was still in the womb.]] He also shares some similarities with [[Film/BladeII Jared Nomak,]] considering [[spoiler:his quest for vengeance against his "father" for turning him into a monster.]]
42	* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: Augustin "Gus" Elizalde. He's a Mexican gangbanger, but he cares very deeply for his stay-at-home mother.
43	* FantasticRacism: The Ancients see humans as mere cattle, and the Master is even worse.
44	* FateWorseThanDeath: The fate of the Nazi vampire, Dr. Dreverhaven. Setrakian dismembers him, places him in a coffin, and drops him in the sea, forever cut off from the Master. [[AssholeVictim And given the horrific implications of his crimes, there couldn't have been anyone in this series more deserving of it than him]].
45	* FullFrontalAssault: Several of the vampires that escape from the morgue have their clothes removed. One of them is a fat guy who gets in a fight with Gus.
46	* {{Fingore}}: While he was in a concentration camp, [[spoiler:Setrakian had the fingers on both of his hands broken by the Master, with the intention that this would lead to his death in the way that he most feared (being killed by the Nazis and thrown into a mass crematorium). While it failed to attain the intended goal thanks to a last minute prisoner revolt, it resulted in his hands being permanently disfigured.]]
47	* FirstFatherWins: Played painfully straight with Matt in The Strain. Matt is painted as a milquetoast coward, works to divide Kelly and Eph and his thinking Eph's crazy and trying to get attention leads to [[spoiler:both he and Kelly staying in New York and dying]]. His ultimate [[spoiler: turning and destruction by Eph was probably the closest you can get to outright murdering of a "substitute father" without actually feeling guilt.]]
48	%%* GentleGiant: Yusef Sardu, before his transformation.
49	%%* GothSpirals: The italics words in the book have this certain flair.
50	* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: Eph dies detonating the nuke that destroys the Master.]]
51	* HeroWithBadPublicity: Palmer uses his connections to paint Ephram in very unfavorable light in the media.
52	* {{Homage}}: To {{Dracula}}; the famous scene in Creator/BramStoker's novel when the ''Demeter'', a Russian ship, runs aground crew-less in England is updated in this novel to a Boeing 777 which inexplicably shuts down completely shortly after landing. The Master's going to New York parallels Dracula going to London.
53	* HorrorHunger: Ansel Barbour's arc. His thirst for blood steadily growing, he tries eating and drinking everything out of the fridge... only to be aroused by the bloody meat. [[spoiler:This all culminates in him feeding on the family dogs.]]
54	* IHaveYourWife: [[spoiler: It doesn't end well. She is infected by the Master and turned against her family.]]
55	* JarOfTheBizarre: Abraham Setrakian keeps the still-beating heart of his vampirized wife in a jar, because [[StakingTheLovedOne he can't bear to fully destroy her]].
56	* JustifiedTrope: Every single [[OurVampiresAreDifferent break from traditional conceptions of vampires]] is explained. Religious artifacts have no effect, but when vampires were first known to the world in the middle ages, the church used them as an opportunity to increase their own power by saying only God could kill them. Garlic is ineffective, but its usefulness in folk remedies and its unpleasant smell gave rise to the belief. Their stinger leaves only a small, thin slit, but Head Hunters are shown to execute humans with long, vaguely fang-like iron spikes, making two wounds to the neck appear as a bite. They don't turn into bats and wolves, but before houses had basements and cellars, they would hid in caves near towns, driving the animals in them out into the town. A similar effect happens in New York, but with rats.
57	* LargeAndInCharge:
58	** The Master's initial body comes from Sardu, a 19th century German aristocrat suffering from gigantism who is two and half meters tall. [[spoiler:After his body is damaged he takes Bolivar's.]]
59	** "Mr. Quinlan", the Ancients' head... headhunter, is described as being very large.
60	*** [[spoiler:To be fair, Quinlan is a half-breed created by The Master feeding on but not killing a pregnant woman in ancient Rome.]]
61	** Vasily Fett is described as "filling the doorway."
62	** Angel Hurtado, a former wrestler is also very large.
63	%%* LockedRoomMystery : A plane filled with dead bodies certainly qualifies.%%Word cruft.
64	* LooksLikeOrlok: The Master bears a resemblance -- in particular, his face is described as particularly vile, capable of inciting terror all by itself.
65	* MagicalJew: Professor Abraham Setrakian, a Romanian Jewish academic, Holocaust survivor and vampire hunter. He initially serves to [[CassandraTruth provide ignored warnings about the impending vampire pandemic]] before taking a leading role in combatting [[BigBad The Master]], providing guidance and leadership to other characters in fighting him [[spoiler: up until his own death]].
66	* MamaBear: Kelly - though that's not necessarily a good thing.
67	* MarriedToTheJob: Type 2 for Goodweather.
68	* TheMirrorShowsYourTrueSelf: A vampire's reflection will appear blurred in a silver-backed mirror.
69	* MentorOccupationalHazard: [[spoiler: Setrakian.]]
70	* MoneyIsNotPower: Eldritch Palmer was incensed when the European "Ancients" refused to turn him into a vampire, since they had already done so to other men who didn't have nearly as much money as him; after he uses his wealth and influence to arrange the Master's [[spoiler:nuclear winter]], he demands that the Master fulfill his half of their bargain. The Master responds by [[spoiler:ripping his head off.]]
71	* NoMrBondIExpectYouToDine: Eph's meal with Eldritch Palmer in ''The Fall''. Later, Nora's dinner with [[spoiler: Dr. Barnes]] in ''The Night Eternal''.
72	* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast:
73	** Eldritch Palmer. Seriously, '''[[EldritchAbomination Eldritch]]'''?
74	** As an extra bonus, the company Palmer owns is called the Stoneheart Group. Not ''quite'' as blatant, but you'd think an image consultant would suggested changing it to something that makes them sound less like TheHeartless.
75	* OurVampiresAreDifferent:
76	** The vampires are creatures called strigoi, who have pale, hairless bodies and a stinger, a long tentacle-like organ inside their mouth and throat tipped with a needle-like barb that they shoot into a victim's throat to feed. Strigoi are created by a human becoming infested with blood worms; even a single worm getting into someone's body will cause the transformation. The worms pass into a strigoi's victim through its stinger as it drains their blood, and if a strigoi bleeds, the exposed worms will seek out the nearest living person to infest. While they are disposed by sunlight and silver, religious artifacts have no effect. Setrakian notes how many vampire myths are based on common misconceptions. Their stingers are misconstrued as fangs. They can't turn into animals like bats and rodents, but drive such animals from their dwellings. They aren't invisible in mirrors, but--on silver-backed mirrored surfaces--appear to be shaking, allowing them to be instantly identified.
77	** In-universe, Mr. Quinlan. He lacks the blood worms, and is identified as unique by his masters. His backstory is explained in ''The Night Eternal'': [[spoiler:The Master was a quasi-adviser to Caligula, and as such had anything he desired, including a below-ground chamber where he fed on virgins. When Caligula was deposed, The Master was in the process of feeding off a pregnant woman, who subsequently escaped. Quinlan was born as a half breed, known as The Born. The Lumen mentions other Borns, who would have been destroyed when The Master set off the nukes of the other six Ancient Ones at the end of "The Fall".]]
78	** [[spoiler:The original seven vampires were all born from the blood of Azriel, the Archangel of Death.]]
79	* OffWithHisHead: This is a common way to dispose of a vampire.
80	* PapaWolf: Ephram
81	* {{Pride}}: The Master has this to a [[FatalFlaw fault]]. One could say that aside from silver and sunlight this is his biggest weakness.
82	* ThePowerOfLove: Is actually not a good thing in this series. Love for another in human terms is perverted into Vampire Need, which means they will never stop hunting the ones they loved.
83	* RedShirt: In the middle of the story, several characters get introduced in fairly great detail only to get turned into vampires.
84	* RightManInTheWrongPlace: Dr. Ephraim Goodweather.
85	* SexualExtortion: [[spoiler:Dr. Barnes offers Nora a job at his mansion to get her and her mother out of the concentration camp; however, he makes it pretty obvious what kind of 'service' he expects from her.]]
86	* ShoutOut:
87	** Abraham Setrakian, a former professor from East Europe, a call back to Abraham Van Helsing of ''Literature/{{Dracula}}''.
88	** Eldritch Palmer is a none-too-subtle shout-out to Creator/PhilipKDick's ''Literature/TheThreeStigmataOfPalmerEldritch''.
89	* ShownTheirWork: Chuck Hogan certainly did his research about rat trapping, the distribution of fuel tanks in the Boeing 777, cutting tool brands and types, and the intricacies of getting into a biohazard suit. At times borders on TechnologyPorn.
90	** Then leans into the outright comical when he decides the audience needs to be told what tort law and solar eclipses are.
91	* ShutUpHannibal: while holding Eph captive, Palmer delivers a long speech, explaining that humanity's subjugation by the Master and his vampire strain is just natural evolution, and Palmer, by helping the process along, has just realized this ahead of everyone else. Eph, completely unimpressed, replies:
92	-->You know, Mr. Palmer, you're not insane. You're not even truly evil. What you are, Mr. Palmer, is '''desperate'''.
93	* SmugSnake: The Master who despises humans and even the other Ancients. His arrogance causes occasional setbacks for his master plan.
94	* TheProfessor: Setrakian.
95	* TheRenfield: Eldritch Palmer. He allied himself with The Master because [[ImmortalitySeeker he wants to live forever.]]
96	* ThoseWackyNazis: In The Fall we meet a few vampire Nazis.
97	* UndeadChild: One of the original victims from the aircraft is a child. After that, [[spoiler: given the nature of the pandemic, it's pretty much inevitable that there are quite a few]].
98	* UntranslatedCatchPhrase: Abraham Setrakian spouts a phrase (which is not printed) in his native Romanian before dispatching vampires. He later says it means "My sword sings of silver", but it sounds better in the old language. [[spoiler: Eph later says it in English when he tries to kill The Master.]]
99	* VampireHunter: Setrakian again [[spoiler: and almost the entire core cast by the end of the novel - those who haven't been turned into vampires, anyway]].
100	* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Eldritch Palmer.
101	* TheVirus: Vampires are viruses incarnate as Eph puts it.
102	* WeHardlyKnewYe: Angel doesn't do or say much during his appearance in "The Fall" until his [[spoiler: HeroicSacrifice at the end.]]
103	* YouHaveFailedMe: [[spoiler: The Master kills Palmer, though Eichhorst later suggests to Setrakian that the Master always planned to do so]].
104	* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: [[spoiler: After confirming that all the arrangements Palmer has made to create a global nuclear winter are ready to go, The Master kills Palmer]].

Context Literature / TheStrain