The Passage

A Novel (Book One of The Passage Trilogy)

By: Justin Cronin

Narrated by: Scott Brick

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • This thrilling novel kicks off what Stephen King calls “a trilogy that will stand as one of the great achievements in American fantasy fiction.”

ONE OF PASTE’S BEST HORROR BOOKS OF THE DECADE • ONE OF TIME’S TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR • A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post, Esquire, U.S. News & World Report, NPR/On Point, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, BookPage, Library Journal

“It happened fast. Thirty-two minutes for one world to die, another to be born.”

An epic and gripping tale of catastrophe and survival, The Passage is the story of Amy—abandoned by her mother at the age of six, pursued and then imprisoned by the shadowy figures behind a government experiment of apocalyptic proportions. But Special Agent Brad Wolgast, the lawman sent to track her down, is disarmed by the curiously quiet girl and risks everything to save her. As the experiment goes nightmarishly wrong, Wolgast secures her escape—but he can’t stop society’s collapse. And as Amy walks alone, across miles and decades, into a future dark with violence and despair, she is filled with the mysterious and terrifying knowledge that only she has the power to save the ruined world.

Look for the entire Passage trilogy:
THE PASSAGE | THE TWELVE | THE CITY OF MIRRORS

Praise for The Passage

“[A] blockbuster.”—The New York Times Book Review

“Mythic storytelling.”—San Francisco Chronicle

“Magnificent . . . Cronin has taken his literary gifts, and he has weaponized them. . . . The Passage can stand proudly next to Stephen King’s apocalyptic masterpiece The Stand, but a closer match would be Cormac McCarthy’s The Road: a story about human beings trying to generate new hope in a world from which all hope has long since been burnt.”—Time

“The type of big, engrossing read that will have you leaving the lights on late into the night.”—The Dallas Morning News

“Addictive.”—Men’s Journal

“Cronin’s unguessable plot and appealing characters will seize your heart and mind.”—Parade

Critic reviews

“[A] blockbuster.”—The New York Times Book Review

“Mythic storytelling.”—San Francisco Chronicle

“Magnificent . . . Cronin has taken his literary gifts, and he has weaponized them. . . . The Passage can stand proudly next to Stephen King’s apocalyptic masterpiece The Stand, but a closer match would be Cormac McCarthy’s The Road: a story about human beings trying to generate new hope in a world from which all hope has long since been burnt.”—Time

“The type of big, engrossing read that will have you leaving the lights on late into the night.”—The Dallas Morning News

“Addictive.”—Men’s Journal

“Cronin’s unguessable plot and appealing characters will seize your heart and mind.”—Parade

“Cronin has given us what could be the best book of the summer. Don’t wait to dive into The Passage.”—USA Today

“Great storytelling . . . vital, tender, and compelling.”—O: The Oprah Magazine

“Cronin gets it just right; the combination of attentive realism and doomsday stakes makes for a mesmerizing experience.”—Salon

“Magnificently unnerving . . . A The Stand-meets-The Road journey.”—Entertainment Weekly

“Imagine Michael Crichton crossbreeding Stephen King’s The Stand and Salem’s Lot in that lab on Jurassic Park, with rich infusions of Robert McCammon’s Swan Song, Battlestar Galactica and even Cormac McCarthy’s The Road.”—The Washington Post

Long, wordy, not much fun

"The Passage" begins at some unspecified point in the near future -- around 2020, judging from hints in the story -- then proceeds to another unspecified point further into the future -- maybe around one hundred years later. It proposes an intriguing scenario: What would happen if the Army, attempting to bio-engineer a super-soldier, accidentally released an unperfected virus into the human population? This virus turns the people it infects into monsters -- well, it turns them into vampires, to put it tritely. The concept has potential; and, occasionally, "The Passage" fulfills this potential. But, in general, the story drags and strains credibility. The reader, Scott Brick, despite his respected reputation, and despite his adequate acting chops, has an irritating voice; so his reading in no way compensates for the novel's shortcomings, as sometimes happens with mediocre audiobooks read by excellent actors. If you are looking for a fun thriller, I would recommend against "The Passage," as it does not deliver good escape fiction.

Not love or hate, just sort of Meh.

One reviewer said you either love it or hate it, but I didn't fall to either extreme. For me the whole thing, story and performance, just seemed unaffecting. I was so disappointed to go from, "Oh, boy! Almost 37 hours of entertainment." To, "Oh, gee, when is this thing going to be over?" The reviews from professionals were even more amazing: "big ideas"? - hey, it's a zombie/vampire thing; "unnerving" - more like enervating. Humdrum and ponderous.

The story is told with a dreamy quality, and narrator Scott Brick performs it that way - throughout! I admired Mr. Brick's work for the quality, clarity, and tone of his voice. But just how much dreamy can a person take?

The other narrators? Why?? It served no good purpose.

None of the characters or situations grabbed me. That I felt just the slightest twinge of suspenseful tension in a couple of places kept this review from being less than three stars. I won't be looking for any more works by either Mr. Cronin or Mr. Brick, and if something of theirs comes highly recommended to me, I will carefully audition it before purchasing it.

Very very very slow, so slow, wandering mess

I started out really liking the book. I really want to like the book. After about 4 hours of narration of nothing really happening I started to doubt there was any point to the book.

I gave up. Some portions of the story seem to be interested. I know there is a story in there somewhere. It doesn't appear to start in the first few hours (or maybe I feel asleep).

If you really liked "The Host" where the story goes on and on for hours about people's thoughts or feelings or dreams, you will like this book.

If you thought you were going for something energetic then this book is not for you.

I have 200+ audio books. This is in my bottom 10.

Long, choppy boring.

I have not listened to all of this...yet. It is long, choppy, depressing, and really does not hold my interest. I do not want intimate descriptions of vomit. I can't stand detailed descriptions of slime and foulness. I can't stand the language change when the world has changed and people are living like they did in the 19th century. Hard for me to follow. However, my husband enjoyed it and loaded it on my ipod saying I must listen to this. I am about to throw the thing out the window.

Irritating

This enormous story goes on and on and on and then suddenly.... it just stops... left me feeling like there should be another chapter, like I was missing pages. Also consider these elements: Colorado, Las Vegas, a prescient old black lady, a virus that was made by humans and got out of control, etc. The Stand sure comes to mind, and evidentially to just about every reader of The Passage! All said, I thought it an engaging story but I was very disappointed at the sudden stop ending. One feels it should say "to be continued." Many are saying it is his way of setting us up for another enormous volume to follow. I think I would pass. Also there is a woman reader who reads at odd times and she is much too sibilant. That got old fast.