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The Passage  By  cover art

The Passage

By: Justin Cronin
Narrated by: Scott Brick, Adenrele Ojo, Abby Craden
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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

What listeners say about The Passage

Average customer ratings
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  • 4 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Listen, hold your breath, she is coming

I read this book a few years ago and couldn't put it down, then bought the audible edition in preparation for the sequel "The Twelve", to be released in Australia soon. I expected to fast forward through much of it, just wanting to re-familiarise myself with the storylines, plot and characters. I have been unable to separate myself from my iphone ever since. Scott Brick does a remarkable job narrating this complex, deeply human, apocolyptic but somehow real story of humankind destroying itself while trying to save itself. The story itself is vast in scope and scale taking the listener from the beginning of the end, travelling on waves of , connection, loss and grief while twisting through the horror of isolation and desolation. The novel leaves no stone unturned in its intricate and amazingly imagined evolution to a time when just a few people remain. The reader knows 'she is coming' but those who remain are yet to realise that their safe place, their world (enriched by just the right amount of modernity to make it believable) is about to become very, very different....
I had rated "The Passage" as one of my favourite sci-fi reads of all time and it still is, but listening to it has coloured in and defined the story, made the characters seem like close relatives and I just can't wait to see them again in "The Twelve".

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Tops

The main reason i gave this 5 stars is not because it was one of the best books i have read, although it certainly is great, but because this book is so bloody long and it never loses you, and there is no way for myself that it seems that long... great....

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Nothing has beat this book yet in my library.

What made the experience of listening to The Passage the most enjoyable?

I really enjoyed this book and the following sequels. I usually pass these type of books up as not interested in the main topic (vampires). However this is not your ordinary vampire story. This puts an entirely new spin on vampires to the point of which they probably would be if ever real. Excellent characters and the book spans generations with some interesting outcomes.

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

The Remaining by D.J. Molles. Also worth a read. Not vampires but Zombies. Again, not a topic I usually listen too, but both of these Authors have come up with a unique portrayal of them. Very gripping.

Have you listened to any of the narrators’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes, Scott Brick is a great Narrator and is how I got onto this. I often search for books based on others I have listened to by the same narrator. He is very good.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Impossible, this book and the series are very long, but if I didn't need to eat, sleep and work I probably would have listened to it all in one go.

Any additional comments?

Don't let the topic of vampires put you off. Trust me, they're not vampires its not even close to vampires and thank god is absolutely nothing like twilight. This book is worth a read and would make an excellent mini series.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

the best book I have read for a couple of years

there are two styles of books I like to read
first type I called it easy read, where the story line is simple and no complication, these books are easy to find
the second types is where complicated plots, stories and writing. I enjoyed this book so much I make excuses to clean my house so I can listen to it, because that only time I have time to listen to my audio books. It keep me so enthralled that it kept me from doing other things. The only fault with this book is I have to wait till next year for the next instalment. I also bought a paper copy as well to add to my library of favourite books.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

How can an ending sneak up on you after 36 hours?

At first I thought I'd scream at the melodramatic narration (Scott Brick), trying to make every syllable drip with nuance, but either he settled down or the story just got me in, because I really did look forward to my daily commute to hear the next chapters.

It's an epic, and I'd often rewind because I thought I'd missed something, only to find it was explained further down the track. In that way, it may have been a better story to read than listen to. Also, so many characters make it a bit hard to keep track of everybody, but ultimately it was an engaging story and well worth the cost of the download.

As others have said, it's only part 1 of a possible 3 books. The ending was a bit of a cliff hanger - in fact I often felt through out the book Cronin was writing it with a movie screen play in mind.

The story reminded me of the movie I Am Legend (Richard Matheson book) and a little of the book Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood. (which is also a great audio book)

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

not a bedtime story

Scott Brick, the narrator, has such an engaging manner it was a real pleasure to listen to him telling the story. As for the story itself it, was seriously unnerving. To such an extent that while I will often listen to audio books to help me nod off at night this story kept me awake and when I did get to sleep my dreams were full of "virals" and the like. Notwithstanding this a really great listen.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

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.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

WOW...just......WOW

Where does The Passage rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This would have to be the best book I have ordered in the years I have been an Audio customer, and the very fact I am moved to write my first review should speak volumes.I ordered it, not really knowing too much about it, but I got it, intrigued to find out what these people have in common and I got lucky!.This book has it all.......and more
After about twelve hours, I felt a little sad, knowing it was coming to an end soon, having forgotten the length.To my delight, when I looked it up, I had another twenty odd hours of it.Excellent!...I thought. And yet I was still...ohhhhhhhh noooooo when it ended.Where did the 36 hours go?

My only regret is I cant give it more stars.Get the book.I would say its worth two credits at least, and for it to only cost one is a bonus.You wont be disappointed.As for me....next part please.......soon!

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Passage?

This book is filled with so many "moments" I find it hard to choose just one, but the moment Peter and Amy meet for the first time really got me.I literally held my breath for them.

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

The main narrator (Scott Brick) felt comfortable with the story, and brought each character so vividly to life that I could see them in my mind.Great choice of narrator.Brilliant.A good narrator can make or break an audiobook and Mr Brick nailed this one good.

Who was the most memorable character of The Passage and why?

The character I liked most was Brad Walgast.He was written as a wounded, jaded man, just doing a job who immediately had his heart touched by a little girl, and would do (and did) anything to protect her.

Any additional comments?

YES!..........Part two please! I'm in withdrawal.!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic Epic Story.. Really drags you in.

What did you like best about this story?

i liked the believability of the characters

What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Awesome narration. really brings depth to the different characters and emotion to the story. He really engages your mind and its quite easy to sink into the story for hours.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Worth the time

Definately not the story I had anticipated. I love a long read, with lots of characters and complicated parts. The beginning was excellent and for a while, I couldn't stop! I kinda wished he could have kept up that type of storytelling for the entire book but the pace slowed in the middle with the need to establish characters and set the background for the next book. Hope the next installment is as good as the first part of this book. Be a winner for sure if so.

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1 person found this helpful