The Passage: A Novel (Book One of The Passage Trilogy)

The Passage was the least satisfying book that I have read in the past decade. It is a narrative that is devoid of art and style. It is the poster child for the void that has infected speculative fiction for twenty years. Every minute that I spent reading this book was a waste of valuable time. Dear readers if you are interested in civil breakdown and Armageddon, spend your time reading The Road by Cormac McCarthy or David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas. Cronin is a great writer who listened to his agent and should have listened to his heart. His agent and his bank account, however are doing very well. I am sure he will self correct and return to the realm of great writing and superior literary works. He is technically a great craftsman.

Book was a bit long and a bit muddy the first third of the book, and with all the characters (main and secondary) and disjunct journal or government doc entries. but if you can past it, but it's one of the most immerse books I've read in a long time. I the small things in the beginning of the book end up having major impacts later down the road. Definitely stick l it and finish. its absolutely worth the money

I am still torn about this book. The first part of it moved quickly and was engrossing. The second part jumps 97 years and takes a while for the reader to catch up. The writing was very well done, visually descriptive and evocative. The characters and plot lines were all archetypes and felt borrowed from every horror/thriller/zombie/vampire movie I've ever seen. We go through so much with these characters, I felt kind of cheated by the cliff hanger ending. He uses one device way too many times and that makes for an unreliable narrator. I could not recommend this book whole heartedly. Writing--amazing. Plot--very familiar in many ways. It needed editing.