The Passage by Justin Cronin
Publication Date: June 8, 2010
Publisher: Ballantine Books
I am late to the game, but just in time for the third book in The Passage trilogy, well, after I begin and finish the second one, The Twelve, that is, and at this rate I should be reading or listening to The City of Mirrors, oh, about sometime next year.
I began this audiobook at the beginning of May and for every commute since, I listened to it until I finished it this afternoon. Thirty-six plus hours of listening. And, for not a single one of them was I bored. In fact, I have to tell you that listening to this book when you’re driving may not be the best idea ever. It’s intense and engrossing and sometimes frightening enough that if someone walks by your car, you may jump in your seat. I did.
The book blurb would lead you to believe that this is a book about Amy, a little girl born to an unwed mother and when the mother realizes she can no longer take care of Amy, leaves her at a convent in the care of Sister Lacey. But while Amy is at the core of this epic novel, there is so much going on that, for a while, you almost forget about Amy.
Also, the blurb might tell you it’s about vampires. These aren’t the type of vampires that have filled so much fiction in the past ten years. These are monsters and they have pretty much decided the fate of the world.
If you decide to undertake this novel, pay attention to everything because Cronin has really structured The Passage so that almost every seemingly insignificant detail matters, which I think is quite an achievement in a novel that consists of 766 pages. He never just throws in filler or prose that goes nowhere. There is nothing flowery just to be flowery. I found it impressive.
Another incredible fact about The Passage is that not much of it is predictable. Imagine a story of 766 pages in which the author has evaded predictability. Even the last paragraph of the novel will throw you.
As for the audio version of the book, it was narrated by Scott Brick and I thought he did a great job. He injected just the right amount of drama to make it an excellent listen. If you listen to many audiobooks, you’ve probably heard him before.
If you like apocalyptic, supernatural novels, you would enjoy The Passage.
From Amazon: The Passage
rating: 
(5 out of 5 butterflies)
On your recommendation, I’ll give it a try, though I’m not sure the genre will agree with me. We’ll see.
Cheers,
Frank
Cronin started out as a literary writer and won a prize for his short story collection. I think the fact that he’s a literary novelist is what makes this much better than a typical read in that genre. So hopefully I won’t have led you astray, but if you get it from the library at least you won’t have wasted money if you decide not to finish it! 🙂