The Passage

A Novel (Book One of The Passage Trilogy)

By: Justin Cronin

Narrated by: Scott Brick, Adenrele Ojo, Abby Craden

Length: 36 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

New York Times best seller.

This thrilling novel kicks off what Stephen King calls “a trilogy that will stand as one of the great achievements in American fantasy fiction".

Now a FOX TV series!

Named one of Paste’s best horror books of the decade.

Named one of the 10 best novels of the year by TIME and one of the best books of the year by The Washington Post, Esquire, U.S. News & World Report, NPR/On Point, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, BookPage, and 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

©2010 Justin Cronin (P)2010 Random House

Critic reviews

“[A] blockbuster.” (The New York Times)

“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)

amazing

Loved it, after about 10hrs it seems to slow down but pay attention everything will come together. Loved it, buying part 2 now.

Entertaining, but a bit disjointed.

For the most part, I really enjoyed this book. However, the ending felt a little flat: 30+ hours of listening, and all of a sudden it was over. I listened to the final hour twice just to see if I had missed some key resolution, and apparently, I hadn't... Also, and this will only apply to those of you who have read this book, or will read it: I never got the initial significance of one of the main characters, Amy.

***Minor Spoiler Alert***

What brought her to the attention of the "research center" so much so that within hours of being dumped by her mother at the convent, the two "FBI" agents were ripping her out of the hands of the nun at the zoo? From the super secret "recruitment" of death row inmates to causing an Amber Alert a day later just made no sense to me...

***Spoiler finished***


Otherwise, getting a glimpse into how such a post-apocalyptic society might develop was pretty interesting. Think about it: if the lights went out today, would you, or anyone you know, be able to get them back on?

All things considered, this book is well worth a credit.

Loved it

I read the very mixed reviews on this and have never read anything by this author in the past. I was very pleasantly surprised. I loved the symbolism and the depth of the characters as they developed in the story. The elements of fear, connectedness, loss, and hope are very powerful. I look forward to the continuing story from this author. I also thought the narration was great.

Good book

Listening to this book is definitely an investment of time. However, unlike others, I was captivated by the story. It did end a little abruptly but I am not put off by a less than tidy ending. It ends with a new beginning implied. I hope Cronin continues in a new book with the rest of the story. I can see the next title as "The War." If you think of it in terms as a continuing story, the book ends at the only place it could.

...Um... I didn't hate it.

What did you like best about The Passage? What did you like least?

The story was good. The second two-thirds was damn near Great. I was disappointed in the way it abruptly ends one story line and starts another one. I really hated the way it goes from straight narrative to diary entries and e-mails and such.

Any additional comments?

There were moments in this book that were really good, I mean five star quality story telling. However, it was really awful, boring, and stupid in some parts.

Bottom line: I'm not in any hurry to get the sequel.

What Happened

Ending left me up in the air and left to my own imagination. Not sure if I liked that at all. Oh! Well.

Good Writer/Bad Editor

If I only read a couple of books each month this would have been a disappointment. But, since I'm constantly either reading or listening to books -- and since I tend to read just about anything -- it wasn't all that bad. In general I thought the writing was good but it needed some serious pruning down. So much of the plot was repetitious and predictable. The foreshadowing leading up to the ending was more interesting than the conclusion itself and much was left unresolved. As far as vampire/zombie thrillers go, it was okay.

perfect

this was my second listening of this book. I love everything about it. I love these characters and what happens to them.

The Passage

I enjoyed the story line. The narration was good. I hope others enjoy the book also.

amazing book

Great characters awesome story arc I will be buying the next two books 100% chance