That Was One Long Trip - The Passage Review

TITLE: The Passage (The Passage #1)
AUTHOR: Justin Cronin
PUBLISHER: Ballantine Books
PUBLISHING DATE: June 8, 2010

FROM GOODREADS: A IT HAPPENED FAST. THIRTY-TWO MINUTES FOR ONE WORLD TO DIE, ANOTHER TO BE BORN.                                                                                                            First, the unthinkable: a security breach at a secret U.S. government facility unleashes the monstrous product of a chilling military experiment. Then, the unspeakable: a night of chaos and carnage gives way to sunrise on a nation, and ultimately a world, forever altered. All that remains for the stunned survivors is the long fight ahead and a future ruled by fear--of darkness, of death, of a fate far worse.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        As civilization swiftly crumbles into a primal landscape of predators and prey, two people flee in search of sanctuary. FBI agent Brad Wolgast is a good man haunted by what he's done in the line of duty. Six-year-old orphan Amy Harper Bellafonte is a refugee from the doomed scientific project that has triggered apocalypse. Wolgast is determined to protect her from the horror set loose by her captors, but for Amy, escaping the bloody fallout is only the beginning of a much longer odyssey--spanning miles and decades--toward the time an place where she must finish what should never have begun.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  With The Passage, award-winning author Justin Cronin has written both a relentlessly suspenseful adventure and an epic chronicle of human endurance in the face of unprecedented catastrophe and unimaginable danger. Its inventive storytelling, masterly prose, and depth of human insight mark it as a crucial and transcendent work of modern fiction.

MY THOUGHTS: So anyone who has been visiting my blog knows that this review has been a long time coming.  I started reading this book January 1st and honestly wondered if I would ever finish it.  I need to add that I am not afraid of huge books. In fact, some of my all-time faves have been super long (aka - The King).  But this book wasn't only long, it was dense, and it spanned over 100 years in time.  And at times, I felt like it was taking me that long to read it.

"The Passage" is basically a futuristic post-apocalyptic tale - with vampires.  Except they are now fondly referred to as smokes.  These entities were created by the government in order to battle disease and find a cure for everything.  However, this book clearly teaches you not to mess with Mother Nature too much.

So the military took the worst of mankind, horrible criminals on death row, and in trying to do good, unleashed a madness on the world.  It didn't take long for the population to dwindle.  Yet the military did try to remedy their mistake and in doing so took Amy NLN (no last name) and created a possible cure for their madness.  But can she find the people she needs to help her, and will they realize what needs to be done?

"The Passage" really is a great tale.  I never considered DNF'ing it, even though it did fall behind the couch, where it sat for two days, because it was a wonderful reason not to pick it up.  And had I focused solely on this book, and not had other reading obligations and let's say, work and family, it would have easily been finished in less than two weeks.  I loved Amy and will forever envision her as the adorable little girl playing her on the Fox TV series (and if you are watching that, you know that they were way off on their casting - also if you are watching it, know that it and the book should probably be treated as two different tales because they are that different).  I think the beginning of the book, where the author is setting the stage and where Amy is on the run with Agent Wolgast, is my favorite part of the book.  And honestly, the middle, where we go pages and pages without Amy, focusing on a community trying to survive in the New World, dragged a bit.  However, even that section offered characters I grew to love - Theo, Maus, Circuit, Lish and Peter to name a few.  There are tons of people in this book to love...and to hate.

So overall I am pleased with "The Passage."  I am glad I finally picked this book up and since it was a present from Mr. Barb for Christmas, I can say he definitely got his money's worth.  And will I be continuing?  Yes, in fact, I already own the big fat floppy book #2.  If you like survival tales and more importantly, if you like character-driven books (I do), then I do think you will enjoy "The Passage."  Just be prepared to make a commitment because I would never categorize this as a quick read.

RATING: 4 PAWS

AND A SPECIAL THANKS TO ALL MY PALS WHO CHEERED ME ON!!!!