''The Night Eternal'' is a 2011

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...

horror novel by

Guillermo del Toro Guillermo del Toro Gómez (; born 9 October 1964) is a Mexican filmmaker, author, and artist. His work has been characterized by a strong connection to fairy tales, Gothic fiction, gothicism and horror fiction, horror often blending the genres ...

and Chuck Hogan. It is the final novel in ''The Strain Trilogy'' beginning with ''

The Strain ''The Strain'' is a 2009 vampire literature, vampire horror fiction, horror novel by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan. It is the first installment in ''The Strain Trilogy'', and was followed by ''The Fall (del Toro and Hogan novel), The Fal ...

'' and continuing with '' The Fall''.

Plot

Two years have passed since the vampires, led by the Master, used

atomic weapons A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear explo ...

to create a

nuclear winter Nuclear winter is a severe and prolonged anti-greenhouse effect, global climatic cooling effect that is hypothesized to occur after widespread firestorms following a large-scale Nuclear warfare, nuclear war. The hypothesis is based on the fact ...

, which blocked the sun and allowed the vampires to move freely, except for a few hours a day. The vampires restructured society as a

police state A police state describes a state whose government institutions exercise an extreme level of control over civil society and liberties. There is typically little or no distinction between the law and the exercise of political power by the exec ...

. The strongest and the most influential humans were exterminated and those who were spared were made slaves. The weak were forced into camps to harvest their blood. A few survivors manage to resist the vampire occupation.

Epidemiologist Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population, and application of this knowledge to prevent diseases. It is a cornerstone ...

Dr Ephraim Goodweather grows distant from his friends. The Master, occupying the body of rock star Gabriel Bolivar, adopted Goodweather's son Zach as his

protégé Mentorship is the patronage, influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the perso ...

and is grooming the boy to be his next host body. Goodweather's lover, Dr Nora Martinez, left him for exterminator Vasiliy Fet. Following the death of his friend Abraham Setrakian, Fet struggles to decipher the ''Occido Lumen'', a tome holding the key to defeating the Master. He is aided by Mr Quinlan, the vengeful

half-vampire In Balkans, Balkan folklore, a dhampir () is a mythical creature that is the result of a union between a vampire and a human. This union was usually between male vampires and female humans, with stories of female vampires mating with male humans b ...

who was created when the Master infected his then-pregnant human mother. Flashbacks to biblical times reveal the origins of the vampire race. The seven Ancients, including the Master, arose from Ozryel - the

archangel Archangels () are the second lowest rank of angel in the Catholic hierarchy of angels, based on and put forward by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite in the 5th or 6th century in his book ''De Coelesti Hierarchia'' (''On the Celestial Hierarchy'') ...

of death. Ozryel was one of the three angels that God sent to destroy the cities of

Sodom and Gomorrah In the Abrahamic religions, Sodom and Gomorrah () were two cities destroyed by God for their wickedness. Sodom and Gomorrah are repeatedly invoked throughout the Hebrew Bible, Deuterocanonical texts, and the New Testament as symbols of sin, di ...

for their wickedness. Ozryel was overpowered by blood lust while he destroyed the cities, being particularly enthralled by blood itself. When committing other atrocities necessary for cleansing the world he had not actually glimpsed blood before destroying these cities. Soon after, he betrayed and attacked Michael to drink his fellow archangel's blood. Appalled by Ozryel's actions, God punished him by having the other archangels cut his body into seven pieces and scattering them across the Earth. Over time, Ozryel's blood leaked from the burial sites and became sentient, spawning the Ancient Ones. The Master was the last to spawn, from Ozryel's throat. Goodweather deciphers the ''Occido Lumen'' and determines that the Master originated on one of the

Thousand Islands The Thousand Islands (, ) constitute a North American archipelago of 1,864 islands that straddles the Canada–US border in the Saint Lawrence River as it emerges from the northeast corner of Lake Ontario. They stretch for about downstream fr ...

located in the

St Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawren ...

. The survivors detonate a nuclear weapon on the island, killing Goodweather, Zach, Mr Quinlan, and the Master. After the explosion, Nora and Vasily witness a reunion of the purified Ozryel with

Gabriel In the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), Gabriel ( ) is an archangel with the power to announce God's will to mankind, as the messenger of God. He is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and the Quran. Many Chris ...

and

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...

, who had come to take Ozryel back to

Heaven Heaven, or the Heavens, is a common Religious cosmology, religious cosmological or supernatural place where beings such as deity, deities, angels, souls, saints, or Veneration of the dead, venerated ancestors are said to originate, be throne, ...

. The return was only made possible by Mr Quinlan, who brought the Ancients' ashes with him after following the instructions he read in the Lumen. After the Master's death, the remaining vampires disintegrate and the surviving humans are able to rebuild society.

Reception

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...

wrote: "Although there is a certain amount of dispensable hugger-mugger about vampires in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and

s located in Sodom, the main attractions here is the resistance fighters' fierce dedication to their cause. Heroes of tragic dimension are rare in popular fiction, but Goodweather fills the void perfectly. ..The action is non-stop and the fantasy element is anchored in enough satisfying detail to make it believable. .. There's something about seeing vampires massing for an attack in a

Wendy's Wendy's International, LLC, is an American international fast food restaurant chain founded by Dave Thomas (businessman), Dave Thomas on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio. Its headquarters moved to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. As of D ...

parking lot, an act making them more real." The ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...

''s Alan Cheuse wrote: "The novel comes to us in a weird, loose style in which multiple view points proliferate, constantly shifting and re-forming the story, resembling nothing less than montage of fear-making moments that we love to hate."

Adaptations

Comic books

Writer

David Lapham David Lapham is an American comic book writer, artist, and cartoonist, best known for his work on the independent comic book ''Stray Bullets (comics), Stray Bullets''. Career David Lapham started his career in 1990 as a penciller at Valiant Co ...

and artist Mike Huddleston adapted the novel into an 11-issue story arc for the eponymous comic-book series from

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, manga and Artist's book, art book publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon, by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, O ...

Television series

Executive producer and showrunner Carlton Cuse adapted the novel into the 10-episode third and fourth season of the eponymous television series from FX.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Night Eternal, The The Strain (franchise) 2011 American novels 2010s horror novels American horror novels American post-apocalyptic novels American vampire novels Novels about angels Collaborative novels Novels by Guillermo del Toro Novels about totalitarianism Novels about revolutionaries William Morrow and Company books