Review: The Passage by Justin Cronin

“I don’t know what we’ll find in Colorado, if we ever get there. I’m not even sure it matters. All those years, waiting for the Army, and it turns out the Army is us.” 
The Passage – Justin Cronin

Close your eyes and put yourself far into the future. Imagine a newly discovered virus is being experimented with, that the people experimenting with it are the military. That out of twelve experiments they’ve created human-vampire-like monsters. Beings that glow, that fear light, that live off the blood of humans and animals, that kill and massacre and destroy the entire North American continent. That no one will survive their bloodlust, except a handful of the population, living in a Colony in California. So goes The Passage.

Epically long, fantastically detailed, The Passage starts with the discovery of the virus and the creation of Project NOAH and takes us on an insanely intense journey. It’s the end of the world as we know it, and Cronin has created our destruction. But he’s also created our heros, a band of survivors from the Colony who embark on a journey to find the source of a signal. A signal embedded in a chip implanted at the base of the neck of a young girl named Amy. A girl who doesn’t speak, but sees and knows. A special girl.

With Amy, a few survivors must risk their lives to save the world. The first part of a trilogy, The Passage is headed to the bestseller list and beyond. There’s a reason the buzz is so loud about this book: it’s amazing. It’s dark and suspenseful; it’s not a lighthearted read and many people die, but there is hope. There is always hope. And love, and destiny.

It is impossible not to be immersed in the story, fully living with the characters and the things that happen to them. The virals are everywhere, and you can feel them in the dark, you fear for the lights to go out. Cronin has created an alter-universe where his imagination knows no bounds, but is creatively reigned in by the plot. Truly remarkable, this is a phenomenal book, thrilling and captivating, and the future movie had better do it justice.

June 8, 2010. Mark that day on your calendars. Pre-order, get to the store, do whatever you want to get the book, but know that if you don’t, you’ll find yourself left in the dark. Read it and then wait, like me, for 2012 (The Twelve) and 2014 (The City of Mirrors).

5 stars

(I received this book from the publisher for review)