The Passage trilogy readalong discussion
The Passage
>
INTRODUCTION TO READALONG
date
newest »
newest »
Isn't City of Mirrors out on 5/24? Ahhhh...wait! Is release date later in UK??
Isn't City of Mirrors out on 5/24? Ahhhh...wait! Is release date later in UK??
Marc, I know it's wrong of me to ever 'assume' anything; however -I did with your timeline. With 5 chapters scheduled for this week, and then you posting a Discussion thread for Ch. 1 on Monday; I made the assumption that each day a Discussion thread for the next chapter would be posted. Yet, here we are at Friday night (at least for me in CDT) and only 2 threads are posted (Ch 1&2), and Sunday we start Ch.'s 6-9. Are we covering 3-4-5 over the w/e? Will there be a thread for each chapter?
Mod
The discussions will be on random - sorry for the confusion! I will try posting more (towards 5, instead of 3) if you are enjoying them :D
:) Thanks for the clarification, Marc! Looking forward to all of them!
I've never participated in a Goodreads readalong, so my apologies if this is out of line. Is there any chance of just opening up threads for each section or group of chapters so that those of us who feel compelled to keep reading or those of us who also want to read The Twelve prior to The City of Mirrors can comment or discuss as we go?
Marc, are you out there? What's happening with The Twelve read-along?
Has Marc 'gone viral'? Has he been drawn into The City of Mirrors??
It's a Croninesque chapter-ending cliffhanger and a half!!
Maybe his batteries failed and the lights went out!!
Janet wrote: "I've never participated in a Goodreads readalong, so my apologies if this is out of line. Is there any chance of just opening up threads for each section or group of chapters so that those of us wh..."Hi, Janet. You can start your own thread in the unofficial discussion section. Use the desktop version, not the app. Come back to this thread and you will see this path at the top: The Passage > INTRODUCTION TO READALONG. "The Passage" is a link, click on it and at the top of the topics list there is a "new topic" link. Happy reading!
Mod
Oh no!! Sorry to hear that. Sending positive thoughts to you and your family.
Very sorry to hear about your loss Marc. Thank you for all the hard work on the read-a-long; had we known we could have helped out. Let us know if we can still help out, I'm sure many of us would be happy to :)
There's so much to all the books that I re-read The Passage and The Twelve starting just about the date of the release of City of Mirrors in the US. And I just finished that last week.The whole trilogy is rather visionary. And there's a strong spiritual bent to the whole trilogy as well. Its not just about vampires and evil men, or on the other side about courage, despair, redemption, resiliency or honor.
And Justin Cronin has said in various interviews that as he got into the story, he then mapped out the whole saga. Not necessarily in detail, but enough to include hints or characters along the way in The Passage that would be critical later on.
And if you think these books are long, realize he's also said that normally he goes back through the first complete draft and starts eliminating parts or drastically condensing them down.
If you haven’t read The Passage by Justin Cronin then you’ve so far missed out on one of the very best examples of SFF released this decade. It’s really that simple. The Passage is a book that takes the very best elements of multiple genres - fantasy, western, horror, science fiction, dystopian/post-apocalyptic - and blends them all together to create a truly extraordinary experience.
For those who have not read The Passage before, bear with me whist I set the scene.
The American government has been experimenting on death row inmates in a secret facility. They’ve been infected with a virus that gives them many of the traits we’d associate with vampires: incredible strength, improved healing and an insatiable bloodlust. They seem to be closing in on the secrets of rejuvenation, potentially immortality, until, inevitably, there is a breach and the virus is released on the world’s population.
Now, you may be thinking, “Hmm... Vampires...”, but hang on just a minute! We aren’t talking sexy, sparkling vampires or those dressed in frilly shirts, wearing decorative jackets and brandishing cheesy lines. In fact, Justin Cronin (should he be reading) is likely wincing at the word ‘vampire’ I’ve used to far (sorry, Justin!). Rather, his monsters are the source, the truth behind all the legends in movies, books and video games we’ve consumed over the years. They are a biologically and physiologically plausible result of a virus that has existed on this planet for a long time in a remote area of the globe.
As the novel progresses, mankind falls and we end up in a post-apocalyptic world closer to medieval times than modern. For the remaining population, every day of survival is a triumph. The book is about humanity, how people can come together and find a way to survive even the end of the world. It is also about hope and what individuals are willing to risk for a better tomorrow.
What makes this book so special is the tale Justin Cronin tells is as likely to touch you and provoke your thoughts as it is get your heart pounding and scare you. It’s as much a tale of people as much as it is vampires and our crumbling world.
Now, The Passage is a real commitment. The UK Edition is not too far off 1000 pages and the page-turning prose of the author means that it is easy to overlook some of the more subtle details or not take quite enough time to appreciate the experience. Additionally, some people have told us they’ve had the book on their list to read for ages, but the weighty tome has sat on the shelves intimidating them. Another common complaint was that so much of the book seems written to encourage reflection and conversation and yet they had no one to talk about it with.
Well, Gollancz, Orion and Fantasy-Faction have come up with an idea to solve all these potential The Passage problems and give readers who want to do a re-read of The Passage (and the sequel, The Twelve) before the third and final book in the series, The City of Mirrors, is release in June.
Each week I will be posting a summary of the chapters we have read, pointing out anything I think is interesting, exploring what the writer may have been thinking when he wrote a certain element of the story and raising a few questions for the community to debate.
The posts will appear on here and the conversations will happen inside our Goodreads Group here.
Here is the schedule:
March 21 Chapters 1-5
March 28 Chapters 6-9
April 4 Chapters 10-16
April 11 Chapters 17-20
April 18 Chapters 21-26
April 25 Chapters 27-38
May 2 Chapters 39-47
May 9 Chapters 48-58
May 16 Chapters 59-67
May 23 Chapters 68 to End
Once we’ve finished The Passage, we will progress onto The Twelve and then The City of Mirrors. :) I will be posting a schedule for The Twelve towards the middle of May.
Well, my friends, that’s it for this week. Go pick up that copy of The Passage and read the first five chapters. Once you’ve done that come back here and chat with the rest of us about the week’s reading!
I will be posting a discussion topic up each day from tomorrow!!!!