The Passage

By: Justin Cronin

Narrated by: Scott Brick, Adenrele Ojo, Abby Craden

Length: 36 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

Amy Harper Bellafonte is six years old, and her mother thinks she's the most important person in the whole world. She is.... Anthony Carter doesn't think he could ever be in a worse place than Death Row.... He's wrong. FBI agent Brad Wolgast thinks something beyond imagination is coming.... It is. The Passage.

Deep in the jungles of eastern Colombia, Professor Jonas Lear has finally found what he's been searching for - and wishes to God he hadn't. In Memphis, Tennessee, a six-year-old girl called Amy is left at the convent of the Sisters of Mercy and wonders why her mother has abandoned her.

In a maximum security jail in Nevada, a convicted murderer called Giles Babcock has the same strange nightmare, over and over again, while he waits for a lethal injection. In a remote community in the California mountains, a young man called Peter waits for his beloved brother to return home - so he can kill him. Bound together in ways they cannot comprehend, for each of them a door is about to open into a future they could not have imagined.

And a journey is about to begin. An epic journey that will take them through a world transformed by man's darkest dreams, to the very heart of what it means to be human. And beyond. The Passage.

©2010 Justin Cronin (P)2010 Orion Publishing group

Not For the Faint Hearted

Justin Cronin is a master at weaving a story around human emotions and reactions. But if you're looking for something warm and fuzzy choose another because this is in NO WAY A ROMANTIC TALE where everyone lives happily ever after. Cronin seems to have an amazing gift for getting in to the reader's mind - or in this case, the listener's mind. A very descriptive style that allows you to sink so deeply in to what the characters are feeling that it often becomes quite heavy going. Its altogether possible that you might need to take a break every now and then because its a bit overwhelming. You name the emotion and its in this book: fear, despair, love, grief, joy, desperation, hope, jealousy, faith, evil. But don't be fooled in to thinking its all just a yarn about touchy/feely stuff, because there is great depth and variety in the story line - how the characters feel is wholly (and believably) related to the action and story line. I nearly ignored this book based on the cover art. At first glance I was tempted to think it was simply a book about an abandoned little girl. But the addition of 'Something is Coming' enticed me to read the full description. Its always nice when you find a book that provides such bang for your buck (in terms of both quality and listening time). This is a long book but I never lost interest or wondered where the hell the story was headed. About to start on the next in the series - you really cant go wrong with Scott Brick. This book was primarily read by Scott with short journal extracts performed by Adenrele and Abby. If you're looking for a great read that's based around tough choices in extreme circumstances you're likely to enjoy...

Good story annoying narrator

It's a long book and the narrator gets irritating- he sounds like Captain Kirk after a while

Can't stop!!

What did you love best about The Passage?

All of it!! Mainly though the believability of all the characters and the story that follows each of them. You really feel invested in each of them.

What other book might you compare The Passage to and why?

Probably "The Stand" but only because thats another end of the world epic.

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

Its Scott Brick. Nothing more to say!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The first chapter really got to me. I won't spoil it but as a grown man it was the closet I've come to crying at the first part of any book.

Any additional comments?

Hands down one of the best books I have ever read.

Disturbing!

Although one has to give Justin Cronin credit for incredible imaginative and descriptive powers, I cannot recommend this book as I found it really disturbing and violent. Obviously it would appeal to some people, but not to me. Extremely well developed characters and detail. The narrators performance was a little over the top, particularly when he tried to imitate accents, which was irritating.

Be careful with this one.

My main reason for choosing this was for the reading by Scott Brick – I love his style.

The rave reviews surprise me.

The start is very good even if a little predictable but I was hopeful for a great 36 hours.
Maybe I'm just not into post apocalyptic novels. I have a greater faith in humankind to make more of things and to be more sensible.

Warning semi-spoiler coming.

The set up for the future colony was stupid and hence the whole of the last 2/3rds of the story became irritating. The quasi religious stuff was interesting and showed great promise, but was never fully developed. As ever I always hang in to the end hoping there will be relevance to the boring bits in the middle. But no. I think the author realised that eventually he wasn't actually going anywhere with the story so just called it a day, much the frustration of many, but for me a relief.

Overall avoid this one if you like your stories to have a semblance of rationality about them.

Too long

I love a great long book but this one was not for me. Loved how it started but then it lost me over and over again. Each to their own, you may love it as I know others have.