Chuck Hogan Books In Order

Publication Order of The Strain Trilogy Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of The Strain Graphic Novels

Publication Order of Anthologies

Chuck Hogan is an American writer best known for writing horror and crime fiction thrillers. He has several novels under his belt, including the widely acclaimed The Strain trilogy, and other freestanding novels such as The Killing Moon, and Devils in Exile. With his novels being so popular, it was not a surprise when his 2004 published nove,l Prince of Thieves was adapted into a film titled The town, in 2010. The novel went on to receive rave reviews from the Stephen King the Grandmaster of the horror genre who named it one of the best novels of the year. The movie went on to win the Hamlet Prize for excellence in crime writing. His most known series of novels, The Strain was written in collaboration with author Guillermo del Toro, the Mexican dark fantasy fiction writer. He currently resides in Boston with his family. In his free time, you will find Chuck playing some karaoke with his son who plays bass. Smash Mouth’s All Star is his all-time favorite jam, and he plays it anytime he can.

The Strain series of novels is Chuck Hogan’s most popular works such that, it was not a surprise that it was ultimately adopted into a TV series. Hogan has been highly involved in the writing and production of the TV series and hence the TV version of the story retains a lot of the plotlines and characters from the books. Hogan has always been interested in writing of novels and script writing for TV, as evidenced by his writing of the critically acclaimed and award winning movie the Town. Nonetheless, he has never been one to collaborate in the writing of his novels. He asserts that the collaboration he had with Guillermo was an interesting one as it allowed him to get different perspectives that he may incorporate in future works. Chuck Hogan is an incredible talent as he moves with ease from the writing of thriller novels such as the Prince of Thieves, to horror novels such as the Strain.

One of the things that makes The Strain trilogy series of novels so different is that it bucks the trend of making vampires romantic and non-scary, which had gained currency in the past few years. The Strain series has some of the scariest vampires that make for some great narratives for the hard-core horror enthusiast. Having lived on vampire stories such as Dracula during his childhood, Chuck Hogan was keen to revive the old vampire lore, that he was certain many people were still partial to. Chuck has always been interested in the old-fashioned vampire who was not romantic. As such, the vampire in The Strain series of novels is a hollow corpse that has been taken over by an evil spirit. In an interview, Hogan asserted that his vampire is based on vampires as created by the father of this genre of fantasy fiction, John W. Polidori. However, while the Polidori vampire is a monster and romantic hero rolled up in one, Hogan feels that there is room for both versions, hence his adoption of the all evil vampire. The fact that no one seemed to be doing the brutal vampire coupled with the fact that he was a fan of the purely evil vampires such as Count Dracula made the idea of an evil empire very appealing.

Chuck Hogan’s freestanding novels are just as edgy and as engaging as his vampire series of novels. Hogan typically maintains a theme for most of his novels and his crime fiction thrillers are not the exception. His most popular novels such as The Prince of Thieves, The Killing Moon, and Devils in Exile have the theme of men who participate in crimes against their society, who feel so guilty afterwards, that they turn back and try to undo their wrongs. An interesting component in these stories is that they also have a historical component of deep, deadly secrets that will tear the community apart if they come to light. Just like in The Strain, these novels exhibit Hogan’s trademark talent for crisp pacing, soul deep characterization, and unflinching realism, that make for some of the most satisfying of thrillers.

The Strain published in 2009 is one of Chuck Hogan’s most popular novels, and the most popular in the Strain series. The series opens with a Boeing 777 arriving at JFK that suddenly stops dead on the tarmac. All communication is dead, its lights are out, and the window shades have been pulled down. With the ground crew lost for answers, Dr. Ephraim Goodweather of the CDC boards the plane to investigate, after arriving with his biological threats rapid response team. But what the team finds makes their blood run cold. Meanwhile Abraham Setrakian a Holocaust survivor, and former professor who now runs a pawnshop in Harlem has a feeling that a horrible war is brewing. Soon enough, the biggest battle since the beginning of humankind has begun as the vampire virus that infected the plane’s passengers spills out into Gotham City. Setrakian and his motley crew of volunteers now join forces with Goodweather’s team to try to save the city, which includes their families, before the contagion spreads any further.

The Fall is the sequel to the first novel of The Strain trilogy, The Strain. The virus soon takes over New York City and rapidly spreads throughout the United States. It is only a matter of time before it goes global reaching a point of no return. Eph Goodweather and his small team from the CDC have not lost hope and will do anything in their power to stop the bloodthirsty vampires. But there is a new twist in the tale as the New and Old World vampires engage in a war for control, with humans caught in the crossfire. Humans remain vulnerable and powerless as the warring forces continue to attack and maul them with impunity. There is no one with a better understanding of the plague than Goodweather, but even he is powerless to protect his family from the bloodthirsty monsters. Kelly his ex-wife meets the Master vampire who turns her into a vampire, condemning her to a life of walking the city streets at dusk. The problem is that she now wants to reclaim Goodweather’s young son Zack. With the future of the globe hanging on a thread, the ramshackle team of former Holocaust survivor Setrakian, CDC chief Goodweather and his team, and exterminator Fet must confront an evil terror against terrible odds. What makes it even worse is that the ultimate plan of the vampire Master is worse than the team could have ever imagined – annihilation would have been a better fate.