The Passage: A Novel (Book One of the Passage Trilogy) (Passage Trilogy, #1)

by Justin Cronin

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

As civilization crumbles, 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 oprhan Amy Harper Bellafonte is a refugee from the doomed scientific project, and Brad is determined to protect her. But, for young Amy, escaping is only the beginning of a much longer odyssey—spanning miles and decades—toward the time and place where she must finish what should never have begun in the first place.

• ISBN10: 0385671091
• ISBN13: 9780385671095
• Publish Date: 17 May 2011 (first published 8 June 2010)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: CA
• Imprint: Anchor Canada
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 800
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/isbn/9780385671095

Reviews

[teachergorman]

This novel is a masterpiece, full stop. I think the most apt description I can come up with is War and Peace but with Vampires. That might frighten away people who have not read Tolstoy’s War and Peace, but that sweeping epic focuses on the beauty and tragedy of the relationships of the characters caught up in circumstances beyond their control, and Cronin’s The Passage does the same, only the war is not Napoleon’s invasion of Russia but a surprisingly believable plague story. That the plague is an infestation of vampires might also scare off some readers. I like Bram Stoker’s Dracula and generally resent stories that try to provide scientific explanations for something that clearly defies the laws of physics, but Cronin does this deftly, providing an explanation that’s just believable enough and characters so rich that it never tripped me up. If you enjoy what is best about The Walking Dead, the human drama amidst extreme circumstances, then you will love The Passage. If you enjoy prose that is artfully written, you’ll also love The Passage. Some of Cronin’s sentences are heartbreakingly beautiful, but he avoids the temptation to languish in the beauty of his prose when the story calls for action, and there’s a lot of pulse-pounding action. My only complaint about this book is that it makes authors like me very jealous because it is beyond our poor powers. I did learn quite a bit about vivid description, character development, and story arc, and I encourage any writer to check this one out. I bought both the sequels immediately after finishing it (and tweeted at Justin Cronin to thank him for this gift of a novel), and I encourage you to do likewise!

[pamela]

I absolutely adored Justin Cronin's 'The Passage'. It was moving, hopeful and best of all, it wasn't cheesy like a lot of traditional Vampire fiction can be. The protagonists were all fascinating characters, with just the right amount of character development. Despite this being a 'vampire novel' Cronin brings something completely unique to the mythos. It has elements of zombie plague and even elements of evolution like we see in 'The Girl With All the Gifts'. It's like a dark, tragic, vampire filled fairy story and one I think I'll be coming back to again and again. I'm eagerly awaiting the third book in the trilogy.

[SilverThistle]

I may come back and write a proper review, once my thoughts on it settle but in the meantime...

If it had been half as long I'd have liked it twice as much.

[ibeforem]

This is a book that has been on my “to read” list since it came out and left a plethora of stellar reviews in its wake. So I’m very disappointed to say… I didn’t love it.

Two years past its release, is it a victim of too much hype? Perhaps.

There were certainly parts of the book I liked. You don’t make it through an 800-900 page book without finding something redeemable about it. I thought all of the characters were interesting, even if I didn’t always understand their purpose. Probably 10% of the characters could be cut completely out of the book with absolutely no impact. I liked Wolgast, and one of my favorite parts of the book was when he and Amy were living in the mountains. I also liked Peter, except in his most maudlin moments. My favorite character was actually Sarah, although her role is relatively minor until late in the book.

I also thought the concept was good, if a little extreme. Very apocalyptic. I would have loved to have more information about what happened in-between Wolgast’s time and Peter’s, but I guess that’s what the second book is for. I don’t really agree with its initial characterization as a “vampire” novel, but I guess if you break it down to its simplest form, you can call it that. I enjoyed Cronin’s imagining of a new way of life, where light means life, and government no longer exists.

So what didn’t I like? THE PACING. This book was soooooooooooo slooooooooooow. I’m not a speed reader, but I’m not slow either. I started this book on my Kindle in mid-August, and around the third week of September I hit the 50% mark. At that point, I was so tired of reading it that I knew I had only two choices – give it up, or try to finish it with an audiobook. Turns out, even the audiobook narrator was sloooooooow. Two things saved the rest of the book for me – the ability to play it on double speed on my iPhone, and the fact that things actually started happening in the book. I wish that 90% of the book had been about their journey to Colorado, instead of 25-33%.

So my overall impressions are that I didn’t hate it, but I’m not that excited about it. It did end strong, but it took so long to get to the good that I’m not sure it was worth my time. I may or may not get around to reading the next book.

[Michael @ Knowledge Lost]

I’ve been wanting to read this book for a long time and considering The Twelve is only months away, I figure now was a good time to read it. The Passage is set in the not too distant future; a highly contagious virus has infected the greater masses turning them into vampire-like creatures. This not your typical post-apocalyptic novel; The Passage follows the events for ninety years, starting with the outbreak and patient zero till the colonies of humans attempt to live in a world filled with these creatures.

I went into this novel expecting a post-apocalyptic vampire novel but I was presently surprised with this book. It was pure joy reading something so literary spanning from the apocalypse to the fight for human survival. I’m finding it really difficult to review this book, because I was impressed with it but I need to try and be a little critical because over all I don’t think I could rate the book more than 4 stars.

To begin with this book has so many characters, I was often lost with what was happening with all the characters, I had to keep a note pad and write down little things to remember just to keep my head straight. Simple things like ‘Amy; main protagonist, infected with a form of the virus which has made her immune.’ This has distracted me from fully enjoying this book, but when I had my head straight was all the vital characters, I was able to relax and enjoy the ride this novel took me on.
I also felt this book may have been far too long, but on reflection I can’t really think of anything that I would take out. It wasn’t repetitive and all the plot points just helped flesh out and make the characters interesting and three dimensional. I love how Justin Cronin gives you a story for each character but never really influences the reader to whether or not you like the character. In the end this just make different people like different characters and the writers influences never seen to be a part to the decision making progress.

This is a beautifully written character driven story of survival and humanity. I find myself remembering what it was like reading The Road by Cormac McCarthy; another post-apocalyptic novel that I would also consider literary. The joys of reading something so wonderful and still feel like you are reading genre fiction; it’s a great feeling. Please, don’t be put off but the size of this book, it’s a wonderful read. Having finished the book, my biggest problem is that book two; The Twelve doesn’t come out to October and the final book in the trilogy; The City of Mirrors isn’t set for release till 2014.

[kimbacaffeinate]

The Passage has to be one of the most beautiful, horrifying, page turning, heart stopping books I have ever had the pleasure to read. It brings to mind Stephen King’s The Stand. Cronin’s writing is exquisite. I found myself unable to put this post-apocalyptic book down. It is an epic novel of human endurance, when faced with a catastrophe that will forever change mankind.
A security breach on a secret U.S. government project called NOAH goes terribly wrong. Overnight a virus takes over the world, turning those affected into hunters and those who survive into prey. FBI agent Brad Wolgast sets out to help and protect, six-year-old orphan Amy Harper Bellafonte who is a refugee from the project that has triggered the apocalypse. The dangers and struggles these two face, with the friends they meet along the way, will have you sitting up until the wee hours of night, just to read a few pages more. I found myself asking could something like this happen, what kind of post-apocalyptic person I would be and is this really how the government would handle this. The fast paced ending had me screaming for more and rushing to my computer for details on book 2.

[Terri M. LeBlanc]

The first half of the book really races and then hits a wall that doesn't end until about three-quarters of the way through the novel. Not a good choice if you like all the story lines wrapped up in a nice clean package at the end. After slogging through 700+ pages I was hoping for a little bit better ending.