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lizzie24601's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
As always, Cronin constructs interesting and nuanced characters and builds a complex and mysterious world that you can get lost in. I didn't see the plot twist coming, but once it did, I couldn't believe I hadn't seen it earlier. I wish we had gotten a bit more from Elise's perspective, and more about Proctor's
My one remaining question:
Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Pregnancy, Blood, Car accident, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, and Gun violence
rsouders's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Child death, War, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: War, Death of parent, Blood, Death, and Police brutality
Minor: Murder, Pregnancy, Infidelity, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Vomit, and Gun violence
Cerebral without trying to hard. Fantastic details tying together throughout the entire book.sturmland's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Murder, Death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Mental illness, and Child death
luverbyrd's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Moderate: Grief, Violence, Sexual content, Gun violence, Death, and Child death
leahvogel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Classism, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, and War
amhud1030's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Medical content, Police brutality, Self harm, Blood, Child death, Cursing, Gun violence, Sexual content, Violence, Death of parent, Grief, Suicide, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Car accident, Dementia, Alcohol, Confinement, Classism, and Infidelity
aileron's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, Child death, Classism, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicide
Moderate: Death of parent and Infidelity
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Car accident
ripxw's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Child death and Grief
Moderate: Violence, Death of parent, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Forced institutionalization, and Death
aimeebaker's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Anyone who was enthralled with Justin Cronin's earlier THE PASSAGE trilogy is probably, like me, eagerly awaiting his latest release, THE FERRYMAN, so I was thrilled to get my hands on an ARC. Set on the utopian island of Prospera, this novel focuses on Proctor, a ferryman whose task it is to escort citizens whose lives are coming to a close to the awaiting ferry. From there, the residents of Prospera are sent to the Nursery where they are, in a sense, reborn and sent back to the island. But, as any sci-fi thriller reader expects, something seems not quite right with this process or the world, and soon, Proctor finds himself trying to unravel what's happening. As a writer, one of the parts I love about Cronin's work is his way of what seems like poking fun at the "rules" of writing. If you've ever been in a creative writing classroom, you've probably been told at some point not to write "genre" fiction. His trilogy, filled with vampires, felt like a challenge to that rule. The Ferryman, meanwhile, breaks one of the most common "rules" in a major way. I can't exactly say which one here since I don't want to spoil his work, but it's fun to watch him pull it off. I don't love this book as much as his trilogy (though I confess, I still need to read the 3rd), but this was filled with the kind of action and plot twists that make me think that if it hasn't been optioned for film rights yet, it will be soon. It's got a cinematic quality to it. Thank you to Ballantine and NetGalley for sending me this eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Graphic: Classism, Death of parent, Child death, Suicide, and Death
goldenbeebookshop's review against another edition
4.0
What I liked:
The dystopian setting had enough unique aspects and mystery around it to stay engaged with the world and I was eager to tease out what exactly was going on.
There are good resolutions and payoffs for a lot of the plot choices that made me look back at some of the book in a new, better, light. Cronin captures the intense emotions of being a parent in a way that hit deep, often with the mostly delightfully simple turns of phrase.
What was neutral:
There are a fair amount of action sequences- primarily car chases and riots. This is content that I tend to skip over in books no matter the genre. This is a me thing and not a book thing, so zero judgment there.
There is a very formal tone to the writing. At first I thought it was intended to conjure a kind of "bygone era" style that one might associate with the 60s in this dystopian world, but I think it might be more about the author's voice. Hard to say, it was neither good nor bad, just a noticeably different style from the more contemporary/colloquial tone of other novels.
I'm wary of dreams as tools in storytelling because generally it's a piece of non reality that while potentially informing us of the character's state of mind, usually doesn't add anything to the story. In this case the dreams are important to the plot so I'm trying to make my peace with all the dream content.
A lot of boat content. I have never wanted to know what anything on a sailboat is called and I have retained none of the names or details of the various boats in this novel. If you love sailing, you may be thrilled by all the nautical details.
What didn't work for me:
The book feels a little long in some places. Admittedly, I like a sharp and lean book, so this is veering into personal preference territory, but I do think that paring down the story just a little bit more might have helped with pacing.
Graphic: Classism, Slavery, Gaslighting, Death, and Mental illness
Moderate: Car accident, Child death, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Police brutality, Blood, Death of parent, and Self harm