The Ferryman: A Novel

by Justin Cronin

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Next to impossible to put down . . . exciting, mysterious, and totally satisfying.”—STEPHEN KING
 
From the author of The Passage comes a riveting standalone novel about a group of survivors on a hidden island utopia—where the truth isn’t what it seems.

A POLYGON BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

The islands of Prospera lie in a vast ocean, in splendid isolation from the rest of humanity—or whatever remains of it.

Citizens of the main island enjoy privileged lives. They are attended to by support staff who live on a cramped neighboring island, where whispers of revolt are brewing—but for the Prosperans, life is perfection. And when the end of life approaches, they’re sent to a mysterious third island, where their bodies are refreshed, their memories are wiped away, and they return to start life anew.

Proctor Bennett is a ferryman, whose job it is to enforce the retirement process when necessary. He never questions his work, until the day he receives a cryptic message:

“The world is not the world.”

These simple words unlock something he has secretly suspected. They seep into strange dreams of the stars and the sea. They give him the unshakable feeling that someone is trying to tell him something important.

Something no one could possibly imagine, something that could change the fate of humanity itself.

• ISBN10: 052561947X
• ISBN13: 9780525619475
• Publish Date: 2 May 2023
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Random House USA Inc
• Imprint: Ballantine Books Inc.
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 560
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780525619475

Reviews

[Quirky Cat]

Book Summary:

The world is crumbling. Thankfully, places such as Prospera, an isolated archipelago, help protect humanity from the horrors of the world. Well, mostly. In this world, everyone has their health (physical and mental) monitored. Should they drop below ten perfect, they must retire.

That's where Proctor Bennett comes into play. He's a Ferrymen – one of the people who help (or force) others to retire. The proximity to the process allows Bennett realize that things are not as they seem and that his world is built on lies.

My Review:

Do you remember that 2005 film, The Island? That's what The Ferryman immediately made me think of. And that feeling kept cropping up, even as I was in the depth of this book. So if you're looking for a modern rendition, The Ferryman is the book for you.

Interestingly, The Ferryman combines many different elements and genres together. It isn't wholly science fiction, nor is it wholly fantasy. And it certainly has more than a dash of thriller and dystopian elements. It felt like the right balance between these parts, keeping the tension rising as we go along.

The Ferryman is admittedly a larger book – clocking in at over 500 pages. That said, it's worth the read! The pacing makes it so that you don't feel the page count, and it is easy to stay invested when there's always some new twist peeking around the corner.

Highlights:
Dystopian World
Thriller
“The Island” vibes

Thanks to Ballantine Books and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

The Ferryman is a standalone dystopian SF/mystery/thriller by Justin Cronin. Released 2nd May 2023 by Penguin Random House on their Ballantine imprint, it's 560 pages and is available in hardcover, large print paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. 

This is a sprawling complex book full of philosophical rumination and moral questions about existence and purpose. It's slow moving (ponderous) in places, and there are twists which are so heavily foreshadowed as to be fairly obvious. Being dropped into the middle of what's going on, along with the author's parsimonious information-sharing, makes for uncomfortable and disoriented reading. It seems to be a normal response, given the extant reviews, and it was certainly my experience as well. 

Around the 45-50% mark, the book becomes a lot clearer and a more linear storytelling style. Although it's not at all derivative, it will likely appeal to fans of Blake Crouch and J.A. Konrath. For readers who insist on clear-cut unambiguous denoument and resolution, this ending will not necessarily satisfy. On a second re-read of the last 100 pages, I'm still not entirely sure I could describe how it ended and not get a rap across the knuckles with a ruler. 

Four stars. Wonderful author, well written but vaguely discursive ending. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes. 

[chymerra]

Prospera is an island utopia that the mysterious Designer founded to shield people from climate change and the general chaos of the outside world. Death is not known in Prospera. All residents wear a monitor embedded in their arms, and those monitors measure their physical and mental health. Once the meter falls below 10 percent, the citizens must retire to the Nursery. There, their memories are wiped, their bodies rejuvenated, and they are readied to start life again as a teenager. But things are beginning to change in Prospera. The support staff, who mainly live in the Annex, are beginning to question their place in the social order of the island, and a resistance group is formed. While that is happening, Proctor Bennett, the Director of Social Contracts, is having a crisis. He has been dreaming, something no one on the island should be able to do. Proctor also received a cryptic message from his father shortly before his father forcibly retired. Running into roadblocks, Proctor starts to realize that there is more going on in Prospera than he realized and that Prospera isn’t what he thinks it is. What will happen when Proctor uncovers the truth? Will he be able to handle it?

I first heard about The Ferryman when I read several reviews on blogs I follow. What I read got me very interested in reading it. But I figured I would have to wait for it to be published to read it. It so happens that I saw it was on Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine’s NetGalley page as a wish. So I figured I would wish for it and see if I got it. And as you can see, I did. I was very excited; this became the book I read this spring. I hyped it up in my mind, and I became a little wary about it. Usually, when I get so excited to read a book, I get let down. Not in this case. Nope, this book definitely delivered for me!!

The Ferryman centers its storyline around Proctor. Proctor is an Elite. From the age of 15/16, he grew up lacking nothing on Prospera. He eventually married an artist and became head the Director of Social Contracts (who oversaw the ferryman). Life was good until it wasn’t. The author briefly explains Proctor’s early life, including the death of his beloved mother. More focus was on Proctor’s dreams, his rapidly falling stats on his monitor, and his shaky mental health. Everything started to happen after Proctor was forced to retire his father, and his father kept repeating a word over and over. That starts Proctor’s digging into the truth, and what he uncovers is amazing and, frankly, a little scary (and I am applying what was revealed in the last part of the book to this statement)

The other main storyline in The Ferryman centers around Thea, The Annex, Mother, and the resistance. The author did a wonderful job of keeping me guessing how Thea was involved and why she sought out Proctor. And when he melded the storylines, it was gold. I loved it!!!

There was a major secondary storyline involving the heads of the society. I can’t get much into it, but everything they were doing made sense once it was explained. I can’t give any more detail than that. But I was a little surprised by what Proctor did at the end. I was left scratching my head at first, but then I thought of the old saying: Keep your friends close but your enemies closer. Then it made perfect sense.

The characters in The Ferryman were well-written and fleshed out. I wish I could go more into them because there is more to their characters than what is revealed at first. I loved the comparisons once the author dropped his bombshell. It made sense.

I liked Proctor. He was a natural leader, but he was so confused by what was happening to him. I liked that even his dreams kept telling him to do things. I also liked that his dreams hinted at something that could destroy him. When that was revealed, it did. But then he got back up and resolved to keep fighting.

I thought Thea was awesome. I had her pegged as someone totally different than what she was portrayed as. Her actions throughout the book showed that. She loved Proctor to the point where she was willing to let him go.

The end of The Ferryman was amazing. The author explained everything that was going on in the book. And when I say everything, I mean everything. All of my questions were answered, and then some. Did I agree with what Proctor did at the end of the book? Not really, but I got why he did it. There was also a big twist involving Thea that I maybe should have seen coming, but I didn’t.

I recommend The Ferryman to anyone over 21. There is language, mild sexual situations, and violence.

Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Ballantine Books, NetGalley, and Justin Cronin for allowing me to read and review The Ferryman. All opinions stated in this review are mine.