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This epic tale is truly exhilarating stuff but what makes The Passage work so well is not its massive canvas, but the concentration on its human characters, notably six-year-old redhead Amy Harper Bellafonte.
Epic, apocalyptic, heart-wrenching, catastrophic, mesmerizing...
Older lads of the Stephen-King adoring type who might feel left out by Meyer's feast of girl power can devour the doorstep du jour: Justin Cronin's novel The Passage, with its apocalyptic plague of the viral undead.
It more than lives up to the considerable hype. An exhilarating epic that easily rises above the flood of run-of-the-mill vampire tales. To Cronin's credit, the pace never falters, despite the near 800-page length. The breathtaking plot eventually circles back around, and the conclusion will leave you gasping. A modern classic in the making.
The Passage is a magnificent gift of a novel about the journey, not the answers (bear in mind, this is the first book of a trilogy). Beautifully written on an epic scale, it is a book that transcends genre.
There are enough human themes to raise it well above the average horror.
You can't label it a thriller, horror, science fiction, supernatural or literary fiction because actually it's all of those and more. Cronin has a vision and imagination that has no bounds. It's a fantastic read that will grip you, entertain you, horrify you all in one go.
You can't label it a thriller, horror, science fiction, supernatural or literary fiction because actually it's all of those and more. Cronin has a vision and imagination that has no bounds. It's a fantastic read that will grip you, entertain you, horrify you all in one go.
The Passage is a superbly-written, well-paced and convincingly-characterised novel where the situation and characters remain in the imagination long after it is finished. This could be the start of something major indeed.
A truly epic masterpiece that will have you hanging on for dear life for both its conclusion and the next volume.
Cronin's massive novel transcends its clichιs and delivers a feverishly readable post-apocalyptic-cum-vampire chiller. It's not only a brilliantly told story, with thrilling plot twists and graphic action sequences, but a moving psychological portrait of survivors facing up to the poignant fact of a lost past and a horrifically uncertain future.
Every so often a novel-reader's novel comes along: an enthralling, entertaining story wedded to simple, supple prose, both informed by tremendous imagination. Summer is the perfect time for such books, and this year readers can enjoy the gift of Justin Cronin's THE PASSAGE. Read 15 pages, and you will find yourself captivated; read 30 and you will find yourself taken prisoner and reading late into the night. It had the vividness that only epic works of fantasy and imagination can achieve.
What else can I say? This: read this book and the ordinary world disappears.
To arrange an interview or for competition or review copies please contact Sophie Mitchell: sophie.mitchell@orionbooks.co.uk 020 7420 5634
