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The Passage

(The Passage #1)

Justin Cronin (Goodreads Author)

4.03 · Rating details · 196,295 ratings · 19,583 reviews

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.

Unaware of each other's existence but bound together in ways none of them could have imag ...more

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Paperback, 963 pages

Published May 12th 2011 by Orion (first published June 24th 2010)

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· 196,295 ratings · 19,583 reviews

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Apr 25, 2010 Ken rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: finished-in-2010, contemporary

THE PASSAGE is a lot like the month of March. It comes in like a vampire thriller and goes out like a batty soap opera. And it's big! Spreading its bat wings, it measures in at 766 pages (or at least the ARC version does). TWILIGHT this ain’t, and regular vampire fare it isn’t either. It’s a hodgepodge of Bram Stoker, Tom Clancy, Stephen King, and John Steinbeck: one if by vampires, two if by military games, three if by bloodbath, and four if by brotherly melodrama.

Overall I liked it. Honest. I THE PASSAGE is a lot like the month of March. It comes in like a vampire thriller and goes out like a batty soap opera. And it's big! Spreading its bat wings, it measures in at 766 pages (or at least the ARC version does). TWILIGHT this ain’t, and regular vampire fare it isn’t either. It’s a hodgepodge of Bram Stoker, Tom Clancy, Stephen King, and John Steinbeck: one if by vampires, two if by military games, three if by bloodbath, and four if by brotherly melodrama.

Overall I liked it. Honest. I don’t read 766 pages during the school year easily. “Big Mo” (that’s “Momentum” to you young folk) carried me through as the Laws of Physics applied. Meaning? Cronin got this off to such a sick start that the action carried me. I couldn’t put it down.

The opening plot line was simple: Dr. Strangelove goes to South America to find the cure for death and instead turns it loose. You can always count on your military brass for that sort of screw up, no? You see, they wanted a serum from these batty vampires living deep in the jungles (only why didn’t they migrate and take in... er, over... the world, like they did later in the book?) so they could extract the GOOD part of vampirism (you know, extended life, superhuman strength, and damn near indestructibility) without the bad part (bad skin, bad breath, restricted diet, No Exit signs in the Mortality Room, etc.). The idea was to give the serum to U.S. soldiers and then look out world! That's right, the USA would be able to kick some North Korean slash Al Qaedan slash Taliban butt!

You know the drill, though: the best laid plans of bats and uniformed men.... At their underground Telluride, CO, fortress, the Army injects 12 death row inmates and one special little 6-year-old girl (hint: key to the book) and keeps them under lock and key (and 12-foot steel walls and multiple doors and so on) for observation. Only the hanging upside down former prisoners, now “virals” (that’s the word for them in this tome), are playing with their guards’ minds because they want to come out and play. Can you say “telepathic disaster”? Uh-huh. All hell breaks loose and the score winds up being Hell 1 and U.S. Army 0.

Here’s where the book takes wing. These nasty hobbits come out of nowhere and rip you open like a can of beets. Every couple of dozen victims are just “scratched” on the throat so they can become part of the Viral Army. And soon America as we know it and love it turns into Cormac McCarthy PlayLand.

Yep. It’s THE ROAD all over again. Dystopia with teeth. And compelling stuff, too. We go to various outposts where certain humans have figured out certain ways to survive. Lights, chiefly. Because the virals are creatures of the night and don’t like the spotlight.

Where the wheels start to wobble is halfway through. Suddenly Cronin plays fast and loose with his own rules. Suddenly a viral attack develops more than two possible results (death and the equivalent of taxes – being a vampire for life). Suddenly “the good guys” (i.e. major characters) are given preferential treatment.

And he delves more deeply into the social life of our hearty crew of humans, too, including a fraternal rivalry between bros named Theo and Peter. This is the Steinbeck part -- East of Eden, West of Transylvania. Here Cronin gets a little too sentimental for my tastes, too, especially with the single “good vampire” Amy, who has none of the bad attributes (elongated bicuspids, penchant for Bloody Marys) but all the good ones (extended life, telepathic abilities, the keys to the city and the book, etc.).

In the end, the virals become less scary, the bag loses some of its punch, and you're flipping pages just to find out how Cronin ties this mess together. Then, when you get to the promised land, you see that he doesn’t. Then you see on the Internet that this is the just the first of three books. Then you say, "Oh, no!" and ask yourself how in hell a book just south of 800 pp. would ever need a sequel when it's too long by far already.

Finally, you collect yourself and recall where you are – the United States of A-Royalties. This, after all, is supposed to be the Summer Blockbuster of 2010! This, after all, is supposed to be money in Cronin's (and Random House's) bank! This is a book already in the cinematic pipelines with Ridley Scott as director. Fasten your seat belts, then. Get home before dark and pay your electric bill, too. This won't be the last you hear of THE PASSAGE.

Five stars for the first half, three for the second. I'll rate it down the middle and let you judge this glorious, bloody mess for yourself.

NOTA BENE: If you like this review AND reading poetry (I know, I know--what are the odds?), check out my vampire-free poetry (hey, a viral rhyme!): Lost Sherpa of Happiness. ...more

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Apr 19, 2011 Garet Wirth rated it liked it · review of another edition

Oh, The Passage. You promised me such wonderful things with your sparkly cover, your titillating title (a passage to WHERE??), and your massive hype. Also your sizable heft, as you are a large, obese book, full of words and things. I figured if I didn't like you, I could use you to stone evil-doers in some town square somewhere. How could I turn you down?

Your promises, though, were only partially fulfilled. While I enjoyed stoning people in the village square with you, your cover was simply too Oh, The Passage. You promised me such wonderful things with your sparkly cover, your titillating title (a passage to WHERE??), and your massive hype. Also your sizable heft, as you are a large, obese book, full of words and things. I figured if I didn't like you, I could use you to stone evil-doers in some town square somewhere. How could I turn you down?

Your promises, though, were only partially fulfilled. While I enjoyed stoning people in the village square with you, your cover was simply too pretty to be true, and your title too vague to really *mean* anything. I still don't know what the passage was, but it was full of vampire-things and massive doses of character backstory that also didn't really *mean* anything... except make you a very, very heavy book. Brick-like, really. I believe next I'll tie a ransom note to you and throw you through a window, just for the giggles.

You had such lovely backstory, such vivid characters in your opening quarter, I couldn't put you down. Well, I could, because you are a fatass and my arms grew lethargic and weak after about an hour, but figuratively speaking. I was hooked, and I loved you for it. Vivid characters, shocking scenery, emotion. You had it all, baby.

But then things changed. Oh, did they change. You forgot your old ways and introduced me to a whole slew of new characters. Characters that I didn't care about, in a situation that seemed so distant and unreal compared to your sharply defined predecessors that I thought perhaps I was reading a different book. Gone were the late nights of voracious reading. Gone were my massive biceps developed from holding you at a readable height. I slogged through you, sometimes telling friends that you were "getting better," even daring to say "really good again" in whispered tones... but you would then disappoint, like a dog who is allergic to grass, and I would yell angrily at perfect strangers that you were a meandering, lame book with stupid characters and unbelievable situations. I finished you, though, because I had devoted a better part of the year reading you, and I had to see it through. Like climbing Everest, I just wanted to *breath* again, but I knew I had to finish you anyway.

And see you through I did, to an ending that only set you up for a sequel, likely full of more meaningless backstory and characters painstakingly developed over 100's of pages only to be forgotten or rendered unimportant. I did not spend 3 weeks reading you to get a cliffhanger, damnit. !@#$ you, The Passage. !@#$ you.

Goodbye, The Passage. You were a good workout, and my man-arms thank you. But you were bit of a slog and kind of boring. Sorry.

...more

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Jul 03, 2010 Ellen rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: novel, sci-fi-fantasy

Later, Keith Olbermann’s words, “WORST PERSON IN THE WO-O-R-R-L-L-D!!!” would echo in my head.

The other morning, my daughter called, crying, and said, “I just did something terrible.”

I froze. As a parent, these words could mean anything. I waited.

“I hit a car. I was trying to move over because the street was narrow. I hit someone’s mirror. I panicked. I just took off. I’m late for work already. They’ll fire me if I’m late. I know I damaged the mirror. I feel awful.” This was all delivered in pie ...more

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Jan 09, 2019 Emily (Books with Emily Fox) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: post-apocalyptic, audiobooks

(3.5) This was a wild ride!

I've been going through my list of "post-apocalyptic books to read" and this one had been recommend to me so much that I had to read it. Within the last year I read The Stand by Stephen King (disease) and Swan Song by Robert McCammon (nuclear war) so it's impossible for me not to compare them.

In The Passage, the apocalypse happens though vampires (not the shiny type!). You get to see the before, during and after through the eyes of a few characters and writing-wise it ...more

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Sep 27, 2017 Matthew rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audio, post-apocalyptic-dystopian, library, 2017, horror

Epic . . . very, very Epic!

I feel like I just read about 5 books. Not because it was long, but just because there is so much story here that changes direction so many times. I cannot believe there are still two books to go . . . I mean, I can believe it because there is more story to tell, but how much more epic can this get!?

4.5 out of 5 stars

This one lost a little for me in the middle due to a blah transition that caused me to lose interest for a period of time. Looking back after knowing what ...more

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Mar 01, 2018 Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: horror-etc, own

Pretty cool!! 😊💕

...more

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Jul 05, 2010 Will Byrnes rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, fantasy, horror

The hype machine was working. With some terrific reviews, this was immediately one of THE BOOKS TO READ for summer 2010, a vampire tale not written by Stephanie Meyer, and not even promoted very much as vampiric. Maybe our capacity for reading vampire novels has clotted somewhat?

The world in question begins in 2022. Gas is $13 a gallon. Iranian jihadists have killed hundreds at the Mall of America. Jenna Bush is Texas guv (this is a horror story, after all). New Orleans, battered by another mons The hype machine was working. With some terrific reviews, this was immediately one of THE BOOKS TO READ for summer 2010, a vampire tale not written by Stephanie Meyer, and not even promoted very much as vampiric. Maybe our capacity for reading vampire novels has clotted somewhat?

The world in question begins in 2022. Gas is $13 a gallon. Iranian jihadists have killed hundreds at the Mall of America. Jenna Bush is Texas guv (this is a horror story, after all). New Orleans, battered by another monster storm, is now an uninhabitable industrial park. An expedition to a remote corner of South America, sponsored by the US Army, is searching for a promising and dangerous virus. What could possibly go wrong? The Passage is nothing if not very, very derivative. Although there are a few nifty new notions within its 766 pages, (I will not spoil them by telling) there will be little here that is not almost immediately familiar. Government projects gone wrong, post-apocalyptic struggles for survival, battles between good and evil, strong people, weak people, and lots and lots of vampires.

That said, I felt that there were almost two complete, independent books within the whole. The first tells of the beginning of the unpleasantness, lasts for 246 pages and is gripping. I hated to put the book down. Even with the been-there-read-that aspect of the book, there was something about the writing of that 246 pages that kept me turning the pages, thirsty for more. As for the remaining 520, not so much. We move forward almost a century and enter the too-familiar landscape of post-apocalyptic survival. Although there were elements here that were interesting, some characters that held promise, I found it a very, very long yawn. I also felt that the author cheated a few times too many in leading us to believe that certain events had taken place when they had not. He even jokes about it in the writing, having one character say out loud what any reader might wonder about how a particular event transpired.

If The Passage had kept up the frantic and so-engaging pace of its long opening, it would indeed have been one of THE BOOKS TO READ this summer. Instead of reading The Passage, though, I would look for an alternate route.

I gave it two stars instead of one because the beginning was so good. Otherwise, I resented the time it took to read this waaaaaay too long book. ...more

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Jul 08, 2010 mark monday rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: alpha-team, after-the-fall, horror-modern

when i read horror, i'm usually looking for: (1) cheap thrills or (2) surreal and metaphysical weirdness or, best of all,
(3) an epic full of dread and melancholy .

there is plenty of the first sort and so much of it is trash. but fun can be had with trashy things and i'm no snob. the second type can be a little more hard to find, but there's a lot to be had as well, if you look in the right places, especially the past. but the third kind, that's the hardest, i've only found a few. Declare, I when i read horror, i'm usually looking for: (1) cheap thrills or (2) surreal and metaphysical weirdness or, best of all,
(3) an epic full of dread and melancholy .

there is plenty of the first sort and so much of it is trash. but fun can be had with trashy things and i'm no snob. the second type can be a little more hard to find, but there's a lot to be had as well, if you look in the right places, especially the past. but the third kind, that's the hardest, i've only found a few. Declare, It, The Terror. and The Passage. in a lot of horror, i'm not exactly eager to slowly lose myself in the world depicted - the experience is often more like a rollercoaster or a fun nightmare. but that last category, those mournful sagas - they are my special favorites. i may not want to live in a novel's world, but if it is a world that is so carefully crafted and then grown, one filled with tragedy and sadness and coming together and coming undone... i find it very easy to get lost in those worlds. it is a great feeling.

so on to The Passage. it is an excellent novel, complete with multi-leveled characters, spiritual mysteries, exciting action set pieces, and the trappings of several genres (vampire, post-apocalypse, and in the first third, an on-the-run-from-the-government-style thriller). the writing is solid, well-crafted, and certainly in no rush. particularly outstanding is the depth of characterization present in even minor or elusive characters such as the scientist Lear or the child molestor Grey. the first third of the novel is pretty much perfect, tightly-paced yet generous with motivation and context, and featuring three of the most warmly written and sympathetic characters i've come across in a while: Agent Wolgast & Sister Lacey & Anthony Carter: fallen agent, unearthly nun, misunderstood criminal. the empathy created by the author for these three and the depth of their background stories... i just really was not expecting that and it was wonderful to experience.

unlike many other readers, i felt the remaining two-thirds were very strong, moving easily between a wide range of physical and emotional landscapes, from complex world-building to pointed irony to moments of eerie beauty to straight-up horror (particularly in the Haven sequence). although it could be said that characterization was a bit less rich in the last two-thirds, the range of emotions depicted was often on a wider and more dynamic scale - the reader is able to watch characters actually grow and change.

i appreciated Cronin's vampires. they certainly run against the current grain! although the threat of their bizarre, bestial presence looms over the entire novel, they remain enjoyably enigmatic and largely in the background. i assume the amount of attention paid to the vampire Babcock and his traumatic past (also very well done) will be paralleled in the sequels by depictions of the remaining vampires.

The Passage has been compared to The Stand; personally i think The Passage is superior. my only real issue is the very ending, which could come across as cheaply ironic and unnecessarily brutal if it wasn't clear that this is only book 1 of 3. i assume that this disturbing cliffhanger of an ending will eventually be resolved with the same sensitivity and grace brought to the rest of the novel's various episodic sequences. ...more

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May 15, 2018 Mark Lawrence rated it liked it · review of another edition

At the start of this book I was pretty sure it would be a 5* read. In the middle I was losing the will to read on and thought it would do well to wring 3* from me. By the end I give it a hearty 3* but just can't bring myself to offer 4.

So, this is a vampire book without the sparkling, the forever sexy trope, or the stalker-horror vibe.

Cronin's writing reminded me a lot of Stephen King, though with a more literary edge (which is not to say that King doesn't have a literary edge ... he does, and i ...more

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Aug 03, 2017 David Putnam rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Great book, loved it. I highly recommend this one for those post apocalyptic fans. The world the author created was vivid and real. The characters were wonderful as was their plight.
One criticism and it might just be the author in me. I thought the outstanding train scene was so well done that it overshadowed the final climax that came later in the book. This threw off the timing of the book just a smidgen. Not a bit deal. That train scene was something else.
Tried the second book in this trilog ...more

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Jul 11, 2015 Ahmad Sharabiani rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, fiction, paranormal, 21th-century

The Passage (The Passage, #1), Justin Cronin

The Passage is a novel by Justin Cronin, published in 2010. It is the first novel of a completed trilogy; the second book The Twelve was released in 2012, and the third book The City of Mirrors released in 2016.

The novel and its sequels were to be adapted into a film trilogy; however, they will now be written for television. The novel is broken into 11 parts of varying lengths.

The story itself is broken into two sections: The first and shorter sectio The Passage (The Passage, #1), Justin Cronin

The Passage is a novel by Justin Cronin, published in 2010. It is the first novel of a completed trilogy; the second book The Twelve was released in 2012, and the third book The City of Mirrors released in 2016.

The novel and its sequels were to be adapted into a film trilogy; however, they will now be written for television. The novel is broken into 11 parts of varying lengths.

The story itself is broken into two sections: The first and shorter section covers the origins of the virus and its outbreak, while the second is set 93 years after the infections, primarily following a colony of survivors living in California.

تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز نوزدهم ماه جولای سال 2015میلادی

عنوان: گذرگاه دوجلدی از کتاب یک سه گانه گذرگاه؛ نویسنده: جاستین کرونین؛ مترجم: محمد جوادی؛ مشخصات نشر تهران، کتابسرای تندیس، 1392، 1394؛ در 1104ص، شابک 9786001821547؛ شابک دو جلدی 9786001820854؛ چاپ دوم 1395؛ موضوع: داستانهای نویسندگان امریکایی سده 21م

عنوان: گذرگاه؛ نویسنده جاستین کرونین؛ مترجمین عماد ذبحی، نوشین جفرودی؛ تهران، آذرباد، 1394؛ در سه جلد؛ شابک 9786006225210؛

داستان گذرگاه، در آینده ای نزدیک، و دنیایی آخرالزمانی، روی میدهد؛ ویروسی بسیار خطرناک، و مسری، در جامعه رها، و بیشتر مردمان، موجوداتی همانند خون آشامها شده اند، و نظام جهانی، از بین رفته است؛ چیزی که بعنوان پروژه‌ ای، برای تولید دارویی، برای افزایش سیستم ایمنی بدن، با استفاده از ویروسی که، از نوعی از خفاشی ویژه، در «آمریکای جنوبی» به دست می‌آمد، شروع شده، در نهایت، تبدیل به ویروسی شد، که دنیا را دیگر کرد؛ داستان رمان، در سال 2014میلادی آغاز شده، و بیش از 90سال ادامه پیدا میکند ...؛ کتاب دوم از این سه گانه با عنوان: «دوازده»؛ و کتاب سوم عنوانش: «شهر آینه ها»؛ است

تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 19/11/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی ...more

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Jun 29, 2010 Eddie rated it it was ok · review of another edition

This book, by far, was the biggest book I've read to date. And I stay away from really big books, usually, because I don't want to get to the end feeling dissatisfied. This big book left me feeling just that. The first 250 pages of this book were brilliant—left me wanting more—Initially. But, the rest of the 766 pages? Not so brilliant. By page 650, I wanted this way-too-long story to be over. I wanted to be taken off of life support and die. I had to convince myself to finish the last 100 pages ...more

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Aug 16, 2010 Kemper rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: apocalypse-now, horror, sci-fi, vampires, playing-god

Good afternoon. This is Wolf Blitzer from CNN’s The Situation Room, the program that tries to make viewers think that you’re seeing the busy hub of television journalism instead of admitting that despite our high-tech looking set and satellite feeds, you’d probably learn more about what’s actually going on in the world by looking out your window.

We turn our focus now to growing rumors that the U.S. Army is conducting secret medical experiments on American soil. The bizarre claims seem like somet ...more

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Apr 11, 2012 Nicholas Sparks rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: nicholas-recommends

Cronin combines two classic and overused literary elements--vampires and the end of the world--and spins them into something entirely fresh and new. To me, it's an amazing accomplishment. ...more

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Oct 25, 2012 Maciek rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: speculative-fiction, post-apocalyptic, big-tomes, dystopia, read-in-2012, reviewed

The hype machine worked! With a delay. The Passage was a publishing sensation of 2010 - cleverly marketed as The Stand meeting The Road, its gorgeous cover (will you just look at these trees!) immediately caught attention of readers, and even its bulk was not discouraging - after all, who does not enjoy getting caught up in a good novel? Publishing details topped the cake: Cronin received a $5 million advance payment: $3.5 for the publishing rights to The Passage and two planned sequel (in North ...more

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May 20, 2016 Andrew Smith rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, apocalyptic, not-finished

I feel that I need to explain my one star rating.

Firstly, it's really not that bad, it’s just that I always award one star to any book I feel compelled to abandon before the end, and I didn't get beyond half way on this one. Secondly, most of the first half is very good but then it descended into the realms of dull, futuristic nonsense of the type that completely switches me off.

Let me clarify. I like apocalyptic tales of the end of the world as we know it. I'm interested in the different ways i ...more

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Jul 01, 2010 Alex rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010

This book got me to the important realization that zombies are just vampires gone retarded.

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Jul 03, 2010 Laura rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: five-star-reads, yikes-it-s-the-apocalypse, and-we-ve-got-fangs, 2010

I haven’t read any of Justin Cronin’s books. I picked this one up solely based on an interview the New York Times did with the author. Of course, the interviewer was asking Cronin if he read Twilight (he hadn’t.) Is Twilight REALLY the be-all, end-all of vampire books? This book runs circles around that teenage sop-fest. A better comparison would be Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Actually, an even better comparison would be to the movie The Village (without the awkward twist) or George Stewart’s Earth ...more

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Mar 21, 2018 Mary ~Ravager of Tomes~ rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: year-2018, 3-star

When it comes to Science Fiction or Fantasy that has a literary aspect to it, I usually have to step back & ask myself:

"Mary, did you enjoy this because it was good? Or did you enjoy it because it was written well?"

Such was the case with Justin Cronin's The Passage. Did I like this book? Well. Yes and no. At times. Sort of. I guess.

This book has its really excellent moments, but it has some not so excellent moments too & that makes assessing the work as a whole difficult to say the least.

It's ...more

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Jul 07, 2017 RedemptionDenied marked it as to-read · review of another edition

All three books (Kindle edition) in the trilogy (The Passage #1, The Twelve # 2 and City of Mirrors #3) are currently on offer: 0.99p in the UK and $0.99 (I think) in the US. No idea how long for. I bought the first two novels, awhile back, when they were on offer; and now, I've finally got the third book, uber cheap. Hope they're good. I might get around to reading them, someday. I hope. ...more

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Oct 12, 2014 Lisa rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Every time I read it this book it's just as good as my first reading. This isn't really a story about vampires. Sure, the Virals are somewhat, sort of, but not really like them at all. It's an apocalyptic type of tale,but what it reminds me of is the book Swan Song, by Robert McCammon. It's every bit as good. Hell, I don't know. I suck at reviews. This story is one of my all time favorites, and if you're not reading it because you think it's a vampire story, then you really are missing out on on ...more

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Mar 01, 2010 Mark rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommended to Mark by: GoodReads GiveAway

Thank you, GoodReads for this Advance Reader's Edition. So hard to rate. Act I is simply superb - brilliantly written, suspenseful, beautiful, a full 5. Act II is cluttered, (too) many actors moving on and off stage, rarely doing anything of consequence while they are there. Act III is a combination screenplay, set-up for a sequel, exciting in a dystopian, end-of-days sort of way, (with a ray or two of hope). ...more

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May 10, 2013 Evgeny rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: scifi

First things first. I need to mention I won this book in GoodReads Giveaways.

A high-secret military experiment (some scientists decided to play God) went Terribly Wrong and as a result a terrible virus is unleashed in the wild. I had trouble suspending my disbelief when I realized the virus already existed in a remote place; it would be more believable if it was artificially created. It kills the lucky majority of infected people; unlucky few who do not die become - for all practical purposes - ...more

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Nov 17, 2017 Stjepan Cobets rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Fans of Sci-Fi, Dystopia and Post-apocalypse genres, Horror

Shelves: horror, apocalyptic-post-apocalyptic, science-fiction, dystopia, supernatural

The book, The Passage (The Passage # 1) by Justin Cronin is a prime example of an excellently written story that the reader draws and draws to read. Although the story dark because the whole world is experiencing apocalypse enormity scale, the book tells the story about people who find themselves in these catastrophic times, who are struggling for daily survival even though the survival conditions are minimal. But in moments in the book I have too many descriptions that sometimes draw attention ...more

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Feb 28, 2019 Kerri rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: most-loved

I already know I'm not going to be able to fully convey how much I enjoyed reading this book - I suppose that's always true to some extent, but when it comes to a story so involved and complex, a few paragraphs on my part won't really do it justice.

It took me a month to read, which is fairly slow for me. There were two reasons for this: I was simultaneously rereading a pile of Saddle Club books, and got completely lost in childhood nostalgia and a much-loved familiar world. I also found that I ...more

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Feb 27, 2018 Helene Jeppesen rated it really liked it

I finished it! 1000 pages set in a dystopian setting in which people all around America start getting a horrendous virus that makes them eat other people. In other words, they become modern Draculas but in an intriguing and very disturbing way (not like Edward in Twilight!).
I was in the mood for a dystopian read and I definitely got one with this book. I’m pleased to have finished it (because it is after all 1000 pages long!), but I’m also pleased that there are two more books to come since thi ...more

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Apr 29, 2010 Shelby *trains flying monkeys* rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: blood-suckers, end-of-the-world, puppysquisher, i-paid-money-for-this-one, read-2016

I've had this book and the second of it's series for awhile. They set on my bookshelf and just look pretty. I would have read them one day...and then the third one came up on Netgalley. I have a Netgalley problem and I requested it, thinking that it would push me to read these. Yeah right.
Then my buddy Edward Lorn started reading this. He started posting updates. He teased me enough that I couldn't keep ignoring these books. Damn it.

So this does have one of my favorite 'end-of-the-world' th ...more

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Jan 15, 2018 Elizabeth Sagan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I AM BABCOCK.
I have never, ever, ever read about the world going to s*** in a more realistic way. This series has the potential of getting into my TOP 5. If not TOP 3. I understand why many people didn’t like the second half of the book; it was because the first part was so damn good that everyone wished it would never end! I wished it too. I stayed till 4AM to finish that first part and it took a while to get used to the sudden time jump. But I came to the conclusion that as it is, the story is ...more

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Jun 25, 2010 Annette2009 rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: my-favorites

A combination of King's The Stand, McCarthy's The Road, and the movie I Am Legend.

Very engrossing; the first third reads like sci-fi thriller, thoroughly setting up the scenarios of the plague that alters the world. I enjoyed the small details of the future world; no spoilers, but look for the name of the Texas governor and certain details about evacuation plans and state secessions.

Unlike others, I enjoyed the second third the best. I found the society and government established to precariously ...more

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Jun 22, 2011 carol. rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: vampires, end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it, sci-fi

Three and a half stars. It was an enjoyable read, enough to keep me reading all day--as in eat-dinner-while-reading kind of day. It is not particularly original (must the vampires glow) and by the end, I was struck by a resemblance to Resident Evil Apocalypse. But, hey, that could be because after a while, aren't all end of the world stories kind of the same?

One possible limitation, depending upon the reader, is that an atmosphere of horror and fear isn't given the chance to grow. I have to agr ...more

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Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
television adaption	7	62	Jul 28, 2019 07:06PM
Quarterly Postal ...: June 2019: "The Passage" Jaime's pick	19	23	Jun 18, 2019 11:01PM
Horror Aficionados : The Passage-TV show	18	85	Feb 19, 2019 07:41AM
What's the Name o...: SOLVED. scifi 2013ish What is left of our race lives behind walls and during the night their lights are always on, Vampire like creatures who bite third “kill” and mind control [s]	5	28	Jan 21, 2019 11:07PM
Pre-Production Through The Series!!!	18	168	Jan 14, 2019 07:22PM
Fantasy Buddy Reads: The Passage [March 8, 2018]	28	70	Jul 29, 2018 11:33AM

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About Justin Cronin

Justin Cronin

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In 2010, Justin Cronin’s The Passage was a phenomenon. The unforgettable tale that critics and readers compared to the novels of Cormac McCarthy, Michael Crichton, Stephen King, and Margaret Atwood became a runaway bestseller and enchanted readers around the globe. It spent 3 months on The New York Times bestseller list. It was featured on more than a dozen “Best of the Year” lists, including Time ...more