The Passage by Justin Cronin

Release Date: Out now!

Publisher: Orion

Pages: 963pgs

The Story

First, the unthinkable: a security breach at a secret U.S. government facility unleashes the monstrous product of a chilling military experiment. Then, the unspeakable: a night of chaos and carnage gives way to sunrise on a nation, and ultimately a world, forever altered. All that remains for the stunned survivors is the long fight ahead and a future ruled by fear—of darkness, of death, of a fate far worse.

As civilization swiftly crumbles into a primal landscape of predators and prey, two people flee in search of sanctuary. FBI agent Brad Wolgast is a good man haunted by what he’s done in the line of duty. Six-year-old orphan Amy Harper Bellafonte is a refugee from the doomed scientific project that has triggered apocalypse. He is determined to protect her from the horror set loose by her captors. But for Amy, escaping the bloody fallout is only the beginning of a much longer odyssey—spanning miles and decades—towards the time and place where she must finish what should never have begun.

The Review

THE PASSAGE was one of the most hyped up books of 2010 and I've been meaning to read it for a long, long while, especially after reading so many raving reviews on it. But, like with most good old books that we are dying to read, I've never quite got the chance to explore this awesome-sounding book . . . until now that is. So as of today, it is really simple to say that I'm kicking myself here because I wished I had picked up this book sooner than I did. Not only is this book cryptic, engaging, and even more terrifying than any other post-apocalyptic book I have ever read, but it's also one of the most epic books I have read in my entire life and let's just consider my own mind blown. Completely.

 

From a world-building perspective, while some elements of the book closely follow the post-apocalyptic worlds including titles such as The Road, I Am Legend and Dawn of the Dead, but what made THE PASSAGE so much different and stand on its own two feet (assuming books even have feet) is the way that it was written and the story that clearly channels all of the right elements to entertain readers, while also showing readers just what an awesome writer Justin Cronin IS. Honestly I think this book deserves every bit of praise it has been receiving over the past few years since its release because I have no words at all - and for once I'm actually speechless here, and there are no words that could possibly do this book justice anymore than what I am saying now.

 

The same instances go along with the characters as well. Both large and varied right from the beginning of the book, THE PASSAGE contains a large set of characters that are both human and infected alike, and not once did I get distracted by the many voices that we are soon introduced to: from the tragic young woman Jeanette Bellafonte, to the wondrous and completely faithful Sister Lacey, to the hardened FBI agent Wolgast and to the mesmerizing and unearthly young girl named Amy. They were ALL so in-your-face-amazing, especially this girl character named Amy who was such an addictive character when it came to reading from her perspective and she was my favourite character in the entire book since she was uber-amazing in every way! And, even for such a large book, I have to say that the author did such a splendid job in crafting his peculiar, odd world while still keeping each one of his own characters as engaging as the next one you will meet along the way. That is quite a talent I must say and boy I was a total sucker for it . . . I hanged off every word, every chapter and every page to be honest with you!

Overall, THE PASSAGE, the first book of an adult trilogy (yes two more books are in the works so let's hi-five each other in the glory of it all), is without a doubt the best book I've read this year and this review doesn't even begin to describe my many feels for this book alone. So if you're eager for a tale about a world that is already crumbling to the masses of ruin and utter devastation, and one that is erasing what's left of the human population along with it, then I would highly highly recommend this book to you all. It's just one of those books where you MUST READ before own our world meets the apocalypse (hopefully not too soon!).

The Rating

5/5 stars