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The Night Eternal

Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan
William Morrow (2011)
ISBN 9780061558269
Reviewed by Ray Palen for RebeccasReads (11/11)

Having already become one of the top director’s in the world with his dark visionary masterpieces such as: “Pan’s Labyrinth”, “The Orphanage” and “Hellboy”, auteur Director Guillermo Del Toro boldly enters the world of horror/thriller fiction.  To make matters even more difficult, he has chosen to enter the currently overexposed genre of vampire fiction.  With assistance from crime/thriller writer, Chuck Hogan, the pair have penned a new vampire trilogy that started with the first two releases "The Strain" and "The Fall" and now finishes with "The Night Eternal."

The initial problem, and the same that is found with any trilogy, is the ultimate let down that is felt when the third novel or film does not measure up to its’ predecessors. This is especially challenging when the first two installments in the trilogy are top notch.  That being said,  "The Night Eternal" is a decent read and does indeed tie up all the loose ends and pose a finale to the saga.  Unfortunately, it does not have the break-neck pace or interesting confrontations that filled the pages of the first two novels.

We are once again drawn into the battle of a small group of rebellious humans who are attempting one final run at bringing down the leader of the vampire plague; the nefarious one known simply at the Master.  The leader of the human rebels is Dr. Eph Goodweather, former head of the Center for Disease Control and one of the first people on earth to uncover the vampire epidemic.  He has special motivation as the Master has captured his thirteen-year-old son, Zack, and attempted to turn him against his father and the remaining humans (much in the same fashion as he did to Eph’s ex-wife and Zack’s mother in the prior novel).

The challenge that the human ‘freedom fighters’ face is all but insurmountable in scope.  There is only night left on the earth as nuclear winter blankets the land with sun filtering through the poisoned air for a mere two hours each day  making the propagation of the vampire species that much easier.  However, Eph and company have a secret weapon on their side.  They have teamed up with a half-breed offspring of the Master, known to them as Mr. Quinlan, and he knows the secret to stopping the Master for good.

This will involve the possession of an ancient text and artifacts that the entire group must risk their lives to find --- if it even exists.  Who among them will be willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to save their race and do they even stand a chance against such mighty odds?  The vampire clan, known as the strigoi, is fearless and the proposal of turning the tide against them and the darkness they have instilled across the planet is what keeps the pages of "The Night Eternal" turning until the final climatic battle..

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