The Passage by Justin Cronin

[Ariane]

Sarah wrote: "I wonder if anyone else would be up for reading The Twelve?!"
I am taking a break right now but I will read it

[Cherie]

I am sorry, but I have been trying to finish other series books and have not been participating in this buddy read. I have been talking to Amy all along though and she is about where you were on Nov 6th, Sarah. I would be good with a Buddy Read for The Twelve after the new year. I started it once, but did not get far. Maybe I can finish my reread of The Passage by then.

[Suzanne]

I loved The Passage and have The Twelve on my bookshelf! I'm with Cherie - if you want to add it after the new year, I'm in!

[Janice, Moderator]

Sarah wrote: "Ah I see! I don't know about that platform. If they are using chapters I guess they must correlate to the actual book chapters.

End of chapter 3 OK so now I understand (as much as Wolgast does) wh..."

Re msg 38 where you asked about pedophiles... (view spoiler)[ Yes, they do use medications to curb sexual desires. It's called chemical castration. I learned about it when I saw the movie The Imitation Game and then did further research on Alan Turing. He was convicted of homosexuality ( it was illegal at the time - imagine!) and part of his sentence was chemical castration. It was one of the things that contributed to his depression and ultimate suicide. (hide spoiler)]

[Janice, Moderator]

I'm about to start Chapter 11 - (view spoiler)[ Wolghast and Doyle have Amy and they are bringing her to Colorado. They've stopped at the fair, and have been spotted by a trooper. The chase is on. Sykes has sent a chopper to interceded. (hide spoiler)]

I'm finding it a bit slow while it's building the background and setting up the situation. I find the writing to be reminiscent of Robert McCammon for some reason. I also found it interesting that the first victim (view spoiler)[ Fanning from the expedition in South American, is called Zero - as in Patient Zero? (hide spoiler)]

Did others find it slow going at first? I keep looking at the percentage marker on the ebook and thinking that I'm not making much progress. Dang these chunksters! I have three of them on the go right now.

[Sarah]

I agree with your comparison to McCammon Janice. The writing style for sure. There are parts which are slow on action as the story builds. I didn't seem to have a problem with it but some of the others did, perhaps that's why they rated it lower than me. And that was my guess about Fanning.

[Janice, Moderator]

That's pretty much what I expected. My problem is more impatience with trying to get through these chunksters than with the enjoyment of the story. I'm quite liking it so far. I've built kind of a liking, or a trust perhaps for (view spoiler)[ Wolgast, Sykes, and Richards but I suspect that in the long run, they are going to turn out to be the bad guys. (hide spoiler)]

[Sarah]

Hard to tell the future is as the little green dude often says ;-)

[Janice, Moderator]

Oh, I have a question, and maybe it will be answered later in the book, but about Amy at the zoo - (view spoiler)[ How did Sykes know so quickly about Amy? She had been dropped off at the convent by her mother and Sykes immediately deployed Wolghast and Doyle. The other thing is why were they not able to diffuse the situation with them grabbing the child at the zoo? They were able to get a governor's pardon for Carter, surely they'd be able to shut that investigation down before it turned into a manhunt. (hide spoiler)]

Must get to work! TGIF!!

[Ariane]

It is kind of slow at the beginning, but I is totally worth it.
I didn't give it 5 stars because for me, the middle of the book was long and not necessary to the story. But maybe it is for the sequel, I don't know it yet...

[Sarah]

Not sure Janice (view spoiler)[I guess they thought it would be easy to get Amy as she appeared to be an orphan to them. Then the nuns got involved then the zoo thing happened and it was so public in the way they took her. I guess that was the difference compared to Carter. The people involved around him were bought and he was a death row inmate who no one cared about. As for how Sykes knew Amy was at the convent, I have no idea. (hide spoiler)]

[Janice, Moderator]

That hit me right away, the fact that (view spoiler)[ they knew about Amy instantly. Even the authorities in the area didn't know.

That makes sense about the snatch being so public. (hide spoiler)]

Looks like I've resurrected the buddy read. Hehehe!

[Cherie]

Janice wrote: "Re msg 38 where you asked about pedophiles..."

re your spoiler about AT. I did not know that. I own his biography by Andrew Hodges. Someday I will get to it. It is 762 pages.

[Cherie]

Janice - I feel like I knew the answer about Amy and how they knew about her when I read it the 2nd time, but I have forgotten. (view spoiler)[it has something to do with her "gift" (hide spoiler)]

Ariane - I felt some of the middle was long and slow and wondered if it was necessary or not too, but I just let it carry me along.

[Janice, Moderator]

Did you see the movie "The Imitation Game", Cherie? I really enjoyed it. He was a very fascinating man.

[Sarah]

Re. AT (view spoiler)[I recently read a book which had him as a character in so all that you mentioned about him was in that. But i hadn't known about it before then. Crazy they used the meds for homosexuality. I get them prescribing it for peadophiles. I wonder if they do the same for rapists too. (hide spoiler)]

[Janice, Moderator]

Ok, just have to say this. Richards (view spoiler)[ is a bastard! (hide spoiler)]

[Sarah]

Lol. I had a snigger when i saw your original post Janice saying (view spoiler)[you were kind of liking/trusting Richards. Definitly a bastard. (hide spoiler)]

[Janice, Moderator]

I suspected that. I hate when (view spoiler)[ I get led into a false sense of security. There's a sense of betrayal when I start out liking a character only to find out they're the bad guy. (hide spoiler)]

[Sarah]

Where have you got to now?

[Janice, Moderator]

Amy is (view spoiler)[ at the compound, is sick. Wolgast is trying to engage her so that she comes out of the coma and Lacey has snuck past the guards. (hide spoiler)]

I thought hard about what I wanted to do today. I could do my own paperwork, I could do housework, but reading won out. I started The Orenda on audiobook but I think I'll set it aside and pick up this one. It's calling to me.

[Sarah]

That's a good spot that you're at there i reckon. I remember enjoying that section. I've not got anything done at all today, reading or anything else. I had an optical migraine last night and it's left me feeling rough today.

[Janice, Moderator]

That sounds rough, Sarah. I hope you shake it soon.

I've left off now at Part III, where (view spoiler)[ the children have been moved into the Sanctuary, and a whole new society and hierarchy has been set up. (hide spoiler)]

[Suzanne]

I'm reading The Twelve right now and have started Part IV - The Cave. It has been a couple of years since I read The Passage, and I feel there was a steep acclimation for me to recall the last book and where the current book fits. I was good until part III - The field, and then I felt a bit lost. I'm feeling better about it now, but not as engaged as the first two parts yet.

[Janice, Moderator]

I finished The Passage last night around 1:30 in the morning. It's not surprising that I'm tired now. :)

I'm up to speed with the rest of you and really looking forward to our upcoming buddy read on The Twelve.

I thought I would offer a couple of comments on the ending of The Passage.

(view spoiler)[ I cried when Lish declared that she was pledged to the army and turned her back on Peter. I guess it probably was in character for her to do something like that, but I thought she had more of a bond with Peter to just cut him out of her life like that. Now, that she's been infected and "cured", I'm hoping that she and Peter will be a couple.

I wonder if Theo and Maus were protected on the farm by Wolgast. It just made more sense to me that it would have been him instead of Theo & Peter's father.

I'm thinking that Sara, Hollis, Theo, Maus and the baby were killed in Roswell. It said that Sara's journal was found at the site of the Roswell Massacre. It could be that they escaped somehow. That seems to be a recurring theme. But, I have to ask just how many lives does Theo have?

I was glad to see Wolgast back in the story. I was wondering how that was going to evolve because he shows as a character on the book page for The Twelve. I was wondering if the story bumps back and forth in time. But it looks like he'll be part of the group.

And what is Peter? There were hints at the end that there's something special about him - like Lacey, Auntie, and Amy. Does he have a gift of some kind? I'm intrigued to find out. (hide spoiler)]

[Ariane]

Now that I am reading your thoughts Janice, I am remembering the end of the story and looking forward to reading The Twelve... because my thoughts were pretty similar to yours (view spoiler)[ except for Peter and Theo's father, I can't stop thinking that there is more to his story that we have to learn, if not why even mention him? (hide spoiler)]

[Sarah]

Suzanne wrote: "I'm reading The Twelve right now and have started Part IV - The Cave. It has been a couple of years since I read The Passage, and I feel there was a steep acclimation..."

You'll have to come join us over in The Twelve discussion. I think we have it down for 6th April but the thread is already up and running if you want to comment.

[Sarah]

I'm pleased you enjoyed it Janice. I'm going to read through this thread again to refresh my memory a little before starting the Twelve.

[Cherie]

Me too, Sarah!

[Janice, Moderator]

All ready for The Twelve. It will be perfect timing for me since I'm driving home on the 6th, so will be able to start that night.