THE PASSAGE [Hardcover]

 

 

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Ivy League scientists discover evidence of a vampyric virus and get a military grant to help find and study it. Right away, we smell trouble, and before long, but not before they had sufficient warning, a secret military unit is experimenting on death row inmates, who end up escaping with intentions to spread the virus and destroy the world as we know it. Enter Amy, the final test subject, a six-year-old abandoned innocent, who, unlike the others (called "The Twelve," though I count thirteen), doesn't turn into an evil blood sucker and may turn out to be the salvation of the world.

First of all, I should say this was a lot of fun to read, and it was hard to put down -- apart from a few drawn out digressions and bits of melodrama that dragged. I read it, late into the night, for several nights in a row. Cronin has a way with words, and, against the backdrop of a science fiction and fantasy premise, his story depicts a credible and realistic future. The characters are convincing and the situations unique and engaging -- it's both an intriguing new take on what seemed to be an overdone and worn out genre, and an exciting epic in its own right that even those who hate vampire fiction should find fun. In other words, it's guilt-free fun summer fiction.

Having said that, I think it might have been improved with a tighter structure, and the elimination of a few oddball elements. The story shifts between several different narrative perspectives, which adds to the intrigue - there is an omniscient narrator who sides with the point of view of one or the other characters, there are first person narratives written as if in an email or journal, and there are historical and military archives, that all combine to tell a story that spans a century - from the viral apocalypse to the point where a ragged band of humans with a messianic child in tow decides to do something about it. Most of what happens in between is omitted, and I almost think it might have been better to start near the end and compress the beginnings into a few flashbacks. On the other hand, I enjoyed most of it and apart from a few lengthy chapters I'm not quite sure what I'd want to drop.

A couple of other minor gripes: I was a bit thrown off by the seemingly supernatural elements in a story that otherwise aimed for roots in reality (at least, a science fiction reality, where viruses can make human beings live quite long and get some cool powers and dark desires). For example, there's a little girl who has a psychic connection with animals, even before there was a semi-plausible science-fiction explanation. At the very least it would be a pretty odd coincidence that the girl they picked seemingly at random as a young test subject happened already to have psychic powers -- but it might indicate that the author wants us to take seriously the various flirtations with theology spread throughout the story, suggesting there might be a divine influence here. I would also drop the odd invented expletive from the future: flyers, it's bizarre, and I couldn't figure out for the longest time that "flyers" was a word they were using somewhat like another word that starts with f, but with much less versatility. As far as I can tell, it almost always appears at the beginning of a sentence, as in "Flyers, Peter, can't you do something about this?" Flyers just doesn't have the heft or the weight of a real satisfyingly solid cuss word - assuming that's what it's intended to be. Still, the book as a whole certainly does have the heft and excitement of a blockbuster novel, where you can forgive a few excesses as long as it's thrilling and keeps you on the edge of your seats, caring about the characters and eager to find out what happens next. The Passage did it for me, and I can't wait for the next volume in the projected trilogy.

I tend to agree with many of the 3* reviews, however, I thought the good parts of this book were far too good to give it anything less than 4*.

Unfortunately, Cronin goes into too much detail about characters that have no relevance to the overall story. I found myself rushing through some parts of the book just so that I could get back to the story lines that I cared about. Making this book about 200 pages shorter would probably bump it up to 5* for me.

With that in mind most of the book really is fantastic. In particular, the action sequences, the diary sequences, the humanity of the characters (the relevant ones anyways!).

The Passage
Having really enjoyed "Mary and O'Neill" and "The Summer Guest", I was eager to get started reading "The Passage".
At first I was convinced that Cronin had used some ghost-writers to do the job, and even after reading to the end I'm still not sure. Here is a total departure from his previous style of intense character development, where he invited his readers into the most private thoughts and experiences of his characters, to one of almost pure narrative where the characters are at best cardboard cut-outs and the story is paramount.
The story IS enthralling. It is what kept me reading through all the (unnecessary?) long-winded bits which slowed it down. Completely riveting, which leads me to suspect that the motive behind writing this proposed trilogy was movie rights. Don't be surprised if you see this in your local popcorn palace before long. But do yourself a favor and read the book first - it's always better than the screen version.

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2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing
This book left me perplexed. There were parts that I enjoyed and others where I felt utterly confused and questioning all the rave reviews. Read more

Published 8 months ago by catterwally

2.0 out of 5 stars Over-hyped, Under-delivers
I'm sorry. I've read the reviews this book has received and I just don't get it. Was I reading the right book? Did the other reviewers read the whole book? Read more

Published 9 months ago by D. Duce

5.0 out of 5 stars The Passage
The best book I've read since Lord of the Rings. A gripping adventure with twists and turns throughout. Superbly written and edited. Read more

Published 10 months ago by Larry K Treverton

5.0 out of 5 stars Can't Wait for The Twelve!
One of my favourite books of all time. I've never been so attached to characters in a book. Awesome!

Published 10 months ago by RMD1984

1.0 out of 5 stars So what
At first I was really into the story and enjoying it. I like the end of the world genre. I was surprised when about 200 pages in the world as we knew it ended and it seemed like... Read more

Published 12 months ago by John Haas

5.0 out of 5 stars great tale!
Imagine a future where secret government meddling has resulted in the escape of a virus that transforms most of the human population into vampire-like beings who have more in... Read more

Published 13 months ago by Jane Skinner

4.0 out of 5 stars Apocalypse by monster
The book is huge, like it's a series of novellas rolled into one package. Regardless, I never felt like I was slogging through the pages "just trying to get it done. Read more

Published 15 months ago by Kyle Newton

5.0 out of 5 stars phenomenal
I could not put this novel down, even when my hands were numb from the weight of it. Beautifully written, great character development and a chillingly believable post-apocalyptic... Read more

Published 17 months ago by Marsha Skrypuch

1.0 out of 5 stars Long and disappointing
The book is really disappointing. I don't understand how Amazon can put this book in a row with King's The Stand. Couple of times I really wanted to put this book away.

Published 18 months ago by Damir Azimov

1.0 out of 5 stars Puhleeze
Epic horror? Orange vampires?This author's no Bram Stoker or even Bram Smith.Thank God I didn't purchase this "epic" but borrowed it(Sort of like this author borrowed his idea... Read more

Published 18 months ago by Giovinna

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