 Hardcover edition | |
| Author | |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Horror novel |
| Publisher | Harper |
Publication date | September 21, 2010 |
| Media type | Print, audio |
| Pages | 320 |
| ISBN | 0061558257 |
| Preceded by | The Strain |
| Followed by | The Night Eternal |
The Fall is a 2010 vampire horror novel by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan. It is the second novel in The Strain Trilogy, and was preceded by The Strain and followed by The Night Eternal .
The vampire race is descended from seven vampiric "Ancient Ones." A vampire faction led by a renegade Ancient known as the Master instigates the takeover of human civilization. Elderly billionaire Eldritch Palmer, having been promised immortality by the Master, uses his influence to create a news blackout, ensuring that the vampires face little resistance. Abraham Setrakian, an elderly vampire hunter, is hopeful that the lost grimoire, Occido Lumen, holds the key to defeating the Master, and searches for it before the Master's forces take over. Setrakian is aided by epidemiologist Dr. Ephraim Goodweather and pest exterminator Vasiliy Fet, who have joined those resisting the vampires. Goodweather also seeks to protect his son, Zach, from his wife, Kelly, who is now a vampire and is driven by an animalistic instinct to convert her family. Meanwhile, the other Ancient Ones enlist gang member Gus Elizalde to destroy the Master.
Former head of the CDC's rapid-response team, the Canary Project, Eph is now a fugitive from the law, trying to prevent the vampire plague from spreading to the rest of the country, and to protect his son Zach from his recently turned ex-wife, Kelly. Having failed to kill the Master in the previous novel, Eph becomes obsessed with trying to kill Eldritch Palmer, convinced that the Master's plan will fail without Palmer's financial backing and campaign of disinformation.
Former second-in-command of the Canary Project, Nora takes an active role in fighting the spreading vampire plague, but finds herself growing distant from Eph, her former lover.
A Holocaust survivor, who first encountered the Master in the Treblinka extermination camp in 1943, Setrakian has dedicated his life to destroying the Master. Having failed to do so through the normal vampire-killing methods, Setrakian re-dedicates himself to the search for the Occido Lumen, an ancient medieval manuscript that he believes contains the secret for eradicating the vampires. He is desperate to complete this quest before he dies of incipient heart disease.
One of the seven original "Ancients," the propagators of the vampire race. Having successfully crossed to America and overrun Manhattan, the Master now seeks to implement the next phase of his plan: causing a nuclear winter that allows only a few hours of sunlight per day. By the end of the novel, he has transferred his consciousness into the body of rock star Gabriel Bolivar. Though he is confident of his victory, he is vexed by Setrakian's efforts to obtain the Occido Lumen, the one thing he and the other Ancients fear.
Former Nazi commandant of the Treblinka extermination camp where Setrakian was held. Eichhorst was transformed into a vampire shortly after World War II and has since been the Master's main servant. Eichhorst's knowledge about imprisonment and exterminating large numbers of people would be useful to the Master's "New Order." A fully mature vampire, Eichhorst nonetheless often dons prosthetics, a wig, and extensive makeup to appear human in order to perform the Master's will in public settings.
In the television series, he is played by Richard Sammel.
With his experience as an exterminator, Fet is useful in employing new strategies to defeat the strigoi. Although his extreme arrogance can sometimes be a road block for the group, Fet, on countless occasions, has assisted the group with a vast variety of ideas.
Recruited by the three American Ancients as a "day hunter" against the Master's strain, Gus assembles a rag-tag band of fighters, including aged luchador Angel and silver-toothed gangster Alfonso Creem.
Having successfully brought the Master to America, Palmer now employs his vast fortune and political influence to discredit Eph and anyone else trying to spread the word about the vampire plague. He has also spent the last ten years building a series of nuclear power plants all over the world in order to create the Master's nuclear winter. However, he is increasingly vexed by the Master's continued refusal to perform his side of their bargain, and transform Palmer into an immortal vampire.
The Director of the Centers for Disease Control, and Eph and Nora's former superior. Taken in at first by Palmer's disinformation campaign, Barnes eventually learns the truth, and decides to collaborate with Palmer and the Master, doing his best to ensure that the vampires' subjugation of the human race is as orderly and peaceful as possible. He comforts himself with the belief that there is no point in resisting the vampires, and all they can do is submit rather than risk the Master's wrath. Eph comes to despise Barnes almost as much as he hates Palmer.
Eph's former wife, now a vampiric drone driven by the need to infect him and their son, Zach.
Known as "the Born", Mr. Quinlan is a rare human/vampire hybrid—the son of a young woman long ago who, while pregnant, was then infected by the Master. Likely the most deadly and skilled hunter in all of human history, he has fought in everything from gladiatorial games in the Roman Colisseum, to modern battlefields. Today, he is the Ancients' chief hunter and bodyguard. He is efficient and loyal, recruiting Gus Elizalde to help him and his squad in their mission to kill the Master. Mr Quinlan is disgusted by his maker's actions, and is determined to stop him at all costs.
Gina McIntyre of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "You have to hand it to del Toro and Hogan. At a time when brooding, sexy vampires are so ubiquitous in popular culture thanks to True Blood and Twilight , the authors finally have given the creatures back some of their nasty, vicious, delicious bite." [1] The San Francisco Chronicle 's Alan Cheuse wrote that "most readers will find themselves turning pages with the momentum of an engaged movie viewer", but criticized the pacing of the early sections, saying "the only problem the book has is that it is a middle volume in a trilogy". [2]
Writer David Lapham and artist Mike Huddleston [3] adapted the novel into a 9-issue story arc for the eponymous comic-book series from Dark Horse Comics. [4]
| Issue | Release Date | Trade Paperback Collection | Hardcover Collection |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | July 17, 2013 | The Strain — Volume 3: The Fall February 5, 2014 ISBN 978-1616553333 | The Strain — Book Two: The Fall April 22, 2015 ISBN 978-1616558369 |
| 2 | August 21, 2013 | ||
| 3 | September 18, 2013 | ||
| 4 | October 16, 2013 | ||
| 5 | November 20, 2013 | The Strain — Volume 4: The Fall July 2, 2014 ISBN 978-1616554491 | |
| 6 | December 18, 2013 | ||
| 7 | January 15, 2014 | ||
| 8 | February 19, 2014 | ||
| 9 | March 19, 2014 |
Executive producer and showrunner Carlton Cuse adapted the novel into the 13-episode second season of the eponymous television series from FX, which ran from July 13, 2014 to October 5, 2014.
The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch is a 1964 science fiction novel by American writer Philip K. Dick. It was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1965. Like many of Dick's novels, it utilizes an array of science fiction concepts and explores the ambiguous slippage between reality and unreality. It is one of Dick's first works to explore religious themes.
Blade II is a 2002 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Blade, directed by Guillermo del Toro and written by David S. Goyer. A sequel to Blade (1998), it is the second installment in the Blade franchise, followed by Blade: Trinity. The film follows the human-vampire hybrid Blade in his continuing effort to protect humans from vampires, finding himself in a fierce battle against a group of mutant vampires who seek to commit global genocide of both vampire and human races. Blade and his human allies are coerced into joining forces with a special elite group of vampires.
In folklore, a silver bullet is often one of the few weapons that are effective against a werewolf, vampire, witch, or other supernatural beings. The term silver bullet is also a metaphor for a simple, seemingly magical, solution to a difficult problem: for example, penicillin circa 1930 was a "silver bullet" that allowed doctors to treat and successfully cure many bacterial infections.
Guillermo del Toro Gómez is a Mexican filmmaker. A recipient of three Academy Awards and three BAFTA Awards, his work has been characterized by a strong connection to fairy tales and horror, with an effort to infuse visual or poetic beauty in the grotesque. He has had a lifelong fascination with monsters, which he considers symbols of great power. He is also known for his use of insectile and religious imagery, his themes of Catholicism, anti-fascism, and celebrating imperfection, underworld motifs, practical special effects, and dominant amber lighting.
David Lapham is an American comic book writer, artist, and cartoonist, best known for his work on the independent comic book Stray Bullets.
Hellboy II: The Golden Army is a 2008 American superhero film based on the Dark Horse Comics character of the same name, created by Mike Mignola. Produced by Lawrence Gordon and Lloyd Levin in association with Dark Horse Entertainment, and distributed by Universal Pictures, it is a sequel to Hellboy (2004) and is the second live-action film in the franchise. Directed and written by Guillermo del Toro from a story he co-wrote with Mignola, the film stars Ron Perlman as Hellboy, alongside Selma Blair, Doug Jones, Jeffrey Tambor, and John Hurt. In the film, Hellboy and the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense must battle a mythical prince who plans to reclaim the world for his magical kindred.
Del Howison is an American horror author, editor and actor.
The Strain is a 2009 vampire horror novel by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan. It is the first installment in The Strain Trilogy, and was followed by The Fall (2010) and The Night Eternal (2011).
Charles Patrick Hogan is an American novelist, screenwriter, and television producer. He is best known as the author of Prince of Thieves, and as the co-author of The Strain trilogy with Guillermo del Toro. Alongside del Toro, Hogan created the television series The Strain (2014–2017), adapting their trilogy of vampire novels.
Justice League Dark, or JLD, is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team made their debut in Justice League Dark #1. The team features some of the more supernatural characters in the DC Universe, handling mystical threats and situations deemed outside the scope of the traditional Justice League. Similarly to the Justice League title, the team features well-known characters such as John Constantine, Zatanna, Doctor Fate, and Wonder Woman while also bringing exposure to lesser-known supernatural characters. The team has starred in an eponymous animated film and in Justice League Dark: Apokolips War.
Richard Sammel is a German actor. He is best known to United States audiences for his role as Thomas Eichhorst in The Strain (2014–2017). He has appeared in more than 100 films and television series since 1991.
The Night Eternal is a 2011 vampire horror novel by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan. It is the final novel in The Strain Trilogy beginning with The Strain and continuing with The Fall.
The Strain is an American horror drama television series that aired on FX from July 13, 2014, to September 17, 2017. It was created by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan, based on their novel trilogy of the same name. Carlton Cuse served as executive producer and showrunner. Del Toro and Hogan wrote the pilot episode, "Night Zero", which del Toro directed. A thirteen-episode first season was ordered on November 19, 2013. The pilot episode premiered at the ATX Television Festival in Austin, Texas, in early June 2014.
Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia is an American animated fantasy television series created by Guillermo del Toro and produced by DreamWorks Animation Television and Double Dare You Productions for Netflix, based on the 2015 novel Trollhunters by del Toro and Daniel Kraus. It follows the story of James "Jim" Lake Jr., a teenage boy who finds a mysterious amulet and stumbles across a secret realm inhabited by trolls and other magical creatures. Soon afterward, he and his friends are charged with protecting the world from the dangerous monsters that lurk in the shadows of their small suburban town.
"Night Zero" is the first episode of the American television series The Strain. It first aired on FX on July 13, 2014.
The Strain is a 2009 vampire horror novel by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan.
The Shape of Water is a 2017 Mexican-American romantic dark fantasy film directed and co-produced by Guillermo del Toro and written by del Toro and Vanessa Taylor. It stars Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Doug Jones, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Octavia Spencer. Set in 1962 Baltimore, Maryland, the film follows a mute custodian at a high-security government laboratory who falls in love with a captured humanoid amphibian creature and decides to help him escape from death at the hands of an evil colonel. Filming took place on location in Ontario, Canada, from August to November 2016.
The following is a list of unproduced Guillermo del Toro projects in roughly chronological order. During his decades-long career, Mexican filmmaker and author Guillermo del Toro has worked on a number of projects that never progressed beyond the pre-production stage. Some of these projects fell into development hell and are presumably canceled, while some were taken over and completed by other filmmakers.
The Strain is an American vampire horror media franchise created by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan.
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio is a 2022 stop-motion animated musical dark fantasy film directed by Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson, with a screenplay by del Toro and Patrick McHale. Matthew Robbins and del Toro's modified Pinocchio story, drawing from the 1883 Italian novel The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi and was strongly influenced by Gris Grimly's illustrations for a 2002 edition of the book. The film reimagines the adventures of Pinocchio, a wooden puppet who comes to life as the son of his carver Geppetto. Set in Fascist Italy during the interwar period, the film stars the voice of Gregory Mann as Pinocchio and David Bradley as Geppetto, alongside Ewan McGregor, Burn Gorman, Ron Perlman, John Turturro, Finn Wolfhard, Cate Blanchett, Tim Blake Nelson, Christoph Waltz, and Tilda Swinton. Pinocchio was the final film credited to Gustafson before his death in 2024.