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jaushe's review against another edition
2.0
time to read the sequels on wikipedia
edit: very glad i did not read those, woof.
edit: very glad i did not read those, woof.
crustypatriot's review against another edition
4.0
Pleasantly surprised by this one considering the many mixed reviews on Goodreads. While this book has many issues including too many "up to your interpretation" moments and lots of confusing situations that aren't explained well, the world, atmosphere and characters are some of the most engrossing that I have read. Many moments where the author pays homage to "The Stand" and Swan Song" which were clear influences. Not a big issue for me because of how high regard I put those books.
Overall I this this book was great, albeit with many chinks in the armor. Will definitely continue and recommended for anyone interested in the post-apocalyptic genre.
4.2 out of 4 (rounded down to 4)
Overall I this this book was great, albeit with many chinks in the armor. Will definitely continue and recommended for anyone interested in the post-apocalyptic genre.
4.2 out of 4 (rounded down to 4)
jen52's review against another edition
4.0
This was really engaging and somewhat satisfying at the end. For being part of a trilogy, it was long. I think there were parts that could've been condensed and it was confusing about how the characters in the beginning were relevant to the story once it got going. Those relationships were revealed much later than I would like, since it was distracting for me trying to figure it out along the way.
The ending was only partly satisfying, which is to be expected of a book with a sequel. I'm not exactly sure if I'm going to continue the series. I'll move on to something else for a while and see if it remains in my mind as a story I need to finish out.
The ending was only partly satisfying, which is to be expected of a book with a sequel. I'm not exactly sure if I'm going to continue the series. I'll move on to something else for a while and see if it remains in my mind as a story I need to finish out.
picklepig245's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
themrbook's review against another edition
5.0
Cronin had done a fantastic job in creating a very imaginative dystopian future. The prose is elegant and intelligent. The narrative's splicings are done well, almost like a Quenton Tarrantino movie, but better with more purpose--not just doing so for the sake of doing so.
The narrative of a virus creating an apocalypse is in fashion right now, but Cronin takes the kernel and runs with it in a new direction: albeit, a direction threaded through various themes already written successfully, the top one on the list, of course, running directly from Bram Stoker and his Count Dracula. In terms of present-day narratives, this book compares quite well to "The Walking Dead" television series in that while the monsters (virals,zombies) are integral and necessary for the story lines to occur, what is of utmost importance--in the foreground, the thrust--is the drama played out by the survivors.
There were many moments I set the book down to further play out various scenes in my imagination. There is plenty of adrenaline-rushing scenes, there's lots of violence and gore, there is realism played out in the scene/landscape details and characters' developments, and there is plenty of drama, with even some romance thrown in.
Cronin touches on large themes--death, birth, loneliness, good vs. evil, fate and destiny vs. randomness, spirituality, etc. I enjoy how the author encourages his readers to think, contemplate, philosophize, despite the viscerality of the story itself.
"The Passage" is an epic on a grand scale: so grand it will take three books, apparently--all of which I look forward to engaging. If you like Stephen King, this book is for you. Cronin's style has too many similarities to King's for it be just a passing reference.
Dear reader, take this book on and you won't be disappointed. Entertaining, engaging, and intelligent.
The narrative of a virus creating an apocalypse is in fashion right now, but Cronin takes the kernel and runs with it in a new direction: albeit, a direction threaded through various themes already written successfully, the top one on the list, of course, running directly from Bram Stoker and his Count Dracula. In terms of present-day narratives, this book compares quite well to "The Walking Dead" television series in that while the monsters (virals,zombies) are integral and necessary for the story lines to occur, what is of utmost importance--in the foreground, the thrust--is the drama played out by the survivors.
There were many moments I set the book down to further play out various scenes in my imagination. There is plenty of adrenaline-rushing scenes, there's lots of violence and gore, there is realism played out in the scene/landscape details and characters' developments, and there is plenty of drama, with even some romance thrown in.
Cronin touches on large themes--death, birth, loneliness, good vs. evil, fate and destiny vs. randomness, spirituality, etc. I enjoy how the author encourages his readers to think, contemplate, philosophize, despite the viscerality of the story itself.
"The Passage" is an epic on a grand scale: so grand it will take three books, apparently--all of which I look forward to engaging. If you like Stephen King, this book is for you. Cronin's style has too many similarities to King's for it be just a passing reference.
Dear reader, take this book on and you won't be disappointed. Entertaining, engaging, and intelligent.
rac26's review against another edition
4.0
Susan recommended this. I groaned when I thought it was a vampire theme (about page 6), but it is really a plague-survival story. The alternative universe will provoke thought. Bad guys are bad. I think the good guys are good. The rest of us just struggle every day ...
Best bits: How the community evolved to survive. The need for light and electricity and security and secrecy for the kinders ... and a no-tolerance approach to those who broke the rules.
Bits for improvement: How those who broke the rules got away with it! Okay, okay ... the way people died and then kept reappearing (and not as virals either ... although that would be an interesting twist). People who die should stay dead. Mr Cronin needs to introduce more characters (if at all possible).
I look forward to the next two books in the series despite the plot and character difficulties towards the end. It plodded ever-so-slightly.
Best bits: How the community evolved to survive. The need for light and electricity and security and secrecy for the kinders ... and a no-tolerance approach to those who broke the rules.
Bits for improvement: How those who broke the rules got away with it! Okay, okay ... the way people died and then kept reappearing (and not as virals either ... although that would be an interesting twist). People who die should stay dead. Mr Cronin needs to introduce more characters (if at all possible).
I look forward to the next two books in the series despite the plot and character difficulties towards the end. It plodded ever-so-slightly.
ginasiragusa's review against another edition
5.0
What an excellent, fast paced thriller. I will have a hard time waiting for the next installment.
marzipan951's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
bantwalkers's review against another edition
5.0
Whew. Wow. Whew. I mean, like, holy flippin' crap! This is an amazing book!
You know . . . there are vampires.
It's really hot right now.
It's blah . . . blah . . . blah . . . AWESOME!
It's hard not to be let down by a book with a lot of hype. It's also easy to be surprised.
Cronin falls into the latter category of surprising.
Sure this is a vampire book, and the bulk of it is action-y, suspense-y, horror-y, like one might expect a vamp book to be. But it is also nuanced, layered, character rich, and fascinating, especially in the first 250 pages. It keeps a lot of its more literary elements going throughout the whole book, but it becomes more what you'd initially expect later on, moving from action piece to action piece. But it balances both accessible bits and brainy bits quite well. The vampires are scary and Cronin and his editor have a knack for leaving the readers just gasping for air, thinking, "What the freak is going to happen next?" Jeez. It is often quite intense.
It's also big. I was so caught up I didn't want to return it to my library . . . but I did, and bought my own copy just so I could finish the journey faster. Most books over 700 pages don't usually keep my attention this long. Or I start to wonder where the editor was. I think, "This book could stand to lose hundreds of pages." I'm generally in the camp of brevity. Have you ever seen the Gettysburg Address . . . it is short and memorable. However, while reading The Passage, I didn't want a single page, character, word, whatever to be missing. Sure, I guess a little fat could be trimmed, somewhere. That's always true, but it wouldn't really be trimming fat . . . it'd be like, I don't have a proper metaphor, but, ok, it'd be like trimming fat to make it slightly more delicious, instead of most long books needing to trim fat just to be palatable.
Then there is the end. It may cause a bit of a stir. It's bleak. It's also strange. Let me be clear, it isn't my favorite part of the book. It's not that I don't like the intention, but the placement is strange. If there is one flaw it is that, really the whole postscript could have been moved around 10 pages. The postscript could have been the chapter right before the postscript and it would have been a bleak ending, but less strange and more in line with the "there is a silver lining" that seems to run through the rest of the book. But again, I have no problem with the postscript, just that that is how Cronin chose to end the book. If it'd been a movie, I would have immediately rewatched it with commentary to get the author's take on events.
You know . . . there are vampires.
It's really hot right now.
It's blah . . . blah . . . blah . . . AWESOME!
It's hard not to be let down by a book with a lot of hype. It's also easy to be surprised.
Cronin falls into the latter category of surprising.
Sure this is a vampire book, and the bulk of it is action-y, suspense-y, horror-y, like one might expect a vamp book to be. But it is also nuanced, layered, character rich, and fascinating, especially in the first 250 pages. It keeps a lot of its more literary elements going throughout the whole book, but it becomes more what you'd initially expect later on, moving from action piece to action piece. But it balances both accessible bits and brainy bits quite well. The vampires are scary and Cronin and his editor have a knack for leaving the readers just gasping for air, thinking, "What the freak is going to happen next?" Jeez. It is often quite intense.
It's also big. I was so caught up I didn't want to return it to my library . . . but I did, and bought my own copy just so I could finish the journey faster. Most books over 700 pages don't usually keep my attention this long. Or I start to wonder where the editor was. I think, "This book could stand to lose hundreds of pages." I'm generally in the camp of brevity. Have you ever seen the Gettysburg Address . . . it is short and memorable. However, while reading The Passage, I didn't want a single page, character, word, whatever to be missing. Sure, I guess a little fat could be trimmed, somewhere. That's always true, but it wouldn't really be trimming fat . . . it'd be like, I don't have a proper metaphor, but, ok, it'd be like trimming fat to make it slightly more delicious, instead of most long books needing to trim fat just to be palatable.
Then there is the end. It may cause a bit of a stir. It's bleak. It's also strange. Let me be clear, it isn't my favorite part of the book. It's not that I don't like the intention, but the placement is strange. If there is one flaw it is that, really the whole postscript could have been moved around 10 pages. The postscript could have been the chapter right before the postscript and it would have been a bleak ending, but less strange and more in line with the "there is a silver lining" that seems to run through the rest of the book. But again, I have no problem with the postscript, just that that is how Cronin chose to end the book. If it'd been a movie, I would have immediately rewatched it with commentary to get the author's take on events.
tomperignon's review against another edition
3.0
Oh my, I REALLY wanted to love this novel! The first 200 pages were fantastic. I loved the story, the characters, the setting, everything. But when the time shift happened and we landed in the lives of the people in the colony, the novel just dropped off for me. I couldn't care less about the people who were living there. In fact, the only storyline I preferred was Michael's.
I got to about page 500 before I stopped completely, by that point the novel should have finished. There was already 250 pages of filler that could have been cut; pointless backstories, random love triangles, etc.
I'll watch the TV show though. I'm a bit disappointed. But I will say the writing style was great!
I got to about page 500 before I stopped completely, by that point the novel should have finished. There was already 250 pages of filler that could have been cut; pointless backstories, random love triangles, etc.
I'll watch the TV show though. I'm a bit disappointed. But I will say the writing style was great!