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)

The Passage

Fascinating story. Just like a high action movie, The Passage will keep you on the edge of your seat. The characters are believable, the quest they find themselves on is to save humanity itself from annihilation. Read the series , or better yet, listen to it, with your lights on. Remember, when they come, they come from above. All eyes!

Couldn't put down

I read this book a couple months ago (audio) didn't write a review and couldn't remember what it was about or if I liked it. Downloaded it again to see if I could remember and listened to the whole thing again cover to cover.
Note to self: loved this book of survival. Great characters - young competent. Yes it's about vampires but not in your face (don't like vampires). Scott brick did a fine job - no silly voices or agonizingly arrogant main character (is that what drives me nuts about Scott brick, or I don't know...).

Good book, but the narrator ruins it.

I like the story, setting, and the flow of the story. The dialog can be somewhat dull at times, but not enough to be an issue. The real problem is that the narration is awful. It is getting harder to continue listening. Just dull and plodding narration.

Mind Candy

Fun and entertaining, but it won't change your life. The Shakespeare quotes at the start of each part try to class it up as something more meaningful than what it is.

Could very well be in our future.

It takes a few starts to get hooked! However, once you're in you're in! You won't want to stop listening but yet you don't want the story to end. It is easy to imagine this as a future world.

A Credit Well Spent...

It with some trepidation that I purchased this book but couldn't be happier that I did. The story, characters and narration are all exceptional, and most importantly kept my interest throughout. As always, Scott Brick does a fine job of spinning the tale and his transition from one character to another is delivered smoothly and without notice.

I have already purchased the second in the planned trilogy and definitely would recommend this book to all. Give it a listen, I'm positive you will be as happy as I was.

Good dark-ish fun!

Yeah. It's another dystopian series. But it's fun. It's dark without being as macabre as much of the dystopian works out there. I fell in love with the characters and enjoyed going along for the ride, safe in my pre-viral world.

Sad is over.

I was hooked from the start. Made my long drives something I looked forward to.

I Loved this book

If you could sum up The Passage in three words, what would they be?

Deep character development

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

The Vegas trip

Which character – as performed by the narrators – was your favorite?

Walgast

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

cried

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed the deep character development but I still felt like every character had a deeper truth than Cronin was willing to let us know. Loved the narrator but I did speed him up to 1.5 mostly because I felt like a viral and could never satisfy my hunger for the book.

Mesmerizing

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes I would recommend to a friend. As a matter-of-fact I have recommended to many. Spend about 8 hrs a day in my car and listened to this while I would drive. Actually looked forward to my next day of travels. So excited about the sequel, downloading it now!