American Suckers

Justin Cronin, The Passage, 2010
At the start of this epic horror/action adventure a little girl asks her father if the creatures reported by the news to be destroying America are like the vampires in movies.  He replies that no, they are not: vampires in movies are noble creatures who wear capes and knock on your door before coming in.  These "vampires" that turn America into a post-apocalyptic wasteland after just a few months are more like hoards of zombies.  Known as "virals", these somewhat mindless monsters glow in the dark, move in groups and jump from tree to tree (or skyscraper to skyscraper) on their quest for blood.  For all that is known, only a small group of survivors exist in the whole continent - holed up in a fort in the Californian mountains that needs to be fully lit during the night and constantly guarded against viral attacks (one of the best notions of the novel is that some of the humans have never seen the stars because they have never had a night without lights.)

Cronin knows how to manage a large cast of characters and crank up the suspense, keeping a lot of the horror off stage.  He's not afraid to jump several decades into the future when necessary or use e-mails and diaries as entire sections.  I first heard of this novel through an online discussion on the best "beach reads" for 2010.  It really is a great page turner and a good alternative from all the "nice" vampires that have recently cropped up (Twilight, True Blood).  Just don't expect - like thousands of disappointed readers - to have everything wrapped up by the end: it's part of a trilogy.  Also don't be surprised if it ends up as a TV/film series very soon.