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kaiser0075 's review for:
The Passage
by Justin Cronin
It was, to say the least, daunting staring at Justin Cronin's The Passage as it sat on my bookshelf for the better part of six months. This almost-900 page tome looked like it was going to require some serious concentration and a well-developed sense of patience. And I was right, it did require both of these things. But, I'm happy to report, it was more than worth it.
That said, let's start with the not-so-good in that it would be remiss not to acknowledge there are times within The Passage when the pace stops to a crawl. In fact, a less charitable name for the novel might be "The Padding" because there is a great deal of filler here that, narratively, could be removed without affecting the plot at all. Most of this is in Cronin's descriptions of what feels like every detail on display. The amazing thing, however, is that I never really minded this, such is the strength of the writing.
Cronin's prose is, simply put, mesmerising. I've rarely had the honour of reading an author who was able to pull me in so effectively with his flowing and literary wordplay. Compelling, magnetic, gripping, absorbing - Cronin's writing is all of this and more.
The story is The Stand-ish in scope and feel.
A novel like this borrows from many genres, so it would be inaccurate to call it a horror or a fantasy or even a sci-fi work, when instead it's closer to being a hybrid of all three. Very long story short, if you have a penchant for apocalyptic writing, and are prepared to wade through some intricate detail to become immersed in some incredible story-telling, The Passage is definitely for you. My order for the sequel is currently being processed, and it will be going into the top 10 on my TBR pile as soon as it arrives.
4 Cries of "All Eyes" for The Passage.
That said, let's start with the not-so-good in that it would be remiss not to acknowledge there are times within The Passage when the pace stops to a crawl. In fact, a less charitable name for the novel might be "The Padding" because there is a great deal of filler here that, narratively, could be removed without affecting the plot at all. Most of this is in Cronin's descriptions of what feels like every detail on display. The amazing thing, however, is that I never really minded this, such is the strength of the writing.
Cronin's prose is, simply put, mesmerising. I've rarely had the honour of reading an author who was able to pull me in so effectively with his flowing and literary wordplay. Compelling, magnetic, gripping, absorbing - Cronin's writing is all of this and more.
The story is The Stand-ish in scope and feel.
Spoiler
The first quarter or so of the book effectively serves as a prologue to the apocalypse, introducing us to the main character of the trilogy before flashing forward almost one hundred years to the aftermath of what has befallen the world. At first, it was disconcerting to have to start again with all new characters, but rest assured that by the end of the novel, the introductory sequence will have been proven necessary several times over. I also greatly enjoyed that the army in this end-of-the-world scenario are not led by a madman and full of the lowest scum of society looking to take advantage of the protagonists, but instead is made up of reasonable individuals who are about as helpful as they could realistically be.A novel like this borrows from many genres, so it would be inaccurate to call it a horror or a fantasy or even a sci-fi work, when instead it's closer to being a hybrid of all three. Very long story short, if you have a penchant for apocalyptic writing, and are prepared to wade through some intricate detail to become immersed in some incredible story-telling, The Passage is definitely for you. My order for the sequel is currently being processed, and it will be going into the top 10 on my TBR pile as soon as it arrives.
4 Cries of "All Eyes" for The Passage.