“The Passage” by Justin Cronin – An Experimental Apocalypse
Justin Cronin is one such author, and his efforts have brought us The Passage trilogy, with the first book being appropriately-titled The Passage.
The epic three-book journey begins as we are acquainted with Amy, a young girl whose life is marked by devastation as she kidnapped and forced to participate in a governmental experiment at the fragile age of six, all while a valiant lawman, special agent Brad Wolgast, does his best to track her down and save her... and he does so, but not before the experiment goes awfully wrong and precipitates the collapse of human society.
Decades later, small patches of survivors live in a world ravaged by a virus that turns people into blood-lusting vampires, leaving no hope for those who have the misfortune of being alive. However, hope still lives on as Amy may be holding a trump card up her sleeve, one that could potentially shift the tides.
At juts over 750 pages, The Passage is certainly an ambitious effort, but perhaps ultimately Cronin stretched himself a bit too thin. The first 250 pages are dedicated to setting up the world, the main characters, and the story that is about to come.
We get to see the slightly futuristic world and its inhabitants before the apocalypse is set in motion. However, right after that the book almost jumps a century forward, showing what feels like a completely new world, populated by people we have no knowledge of or care about... and the ones we've been getting to know all this time aren't coming back any time soon, and not in the way you would expect.
While things do pick up again after a little while, this sudden transition is a poor choice of structure and ultimately makes it harder to enjoy the novel. And while we're still on the topic of flaws, it has to be added that there are numerous segments which reek of filler material and redundancy; as I said before, the novel's length sometimes works to its disadvantage.
On the other hand, there are certainly many positive factors that have to be taken into consideration. While the world building is a tad lacking, the character development is in this novel is something other authors should take note of.
Each and every one of them is given an interesting background and a multifaceted personality, making them into complex people with convoluted drives and emotions. More often than not, they are the central focus of the story, with their interactions and the development of their relationships serving to advance the plot.
In addition to that, once you manage to get into the story a second time after that sudden transition mentioned above, the plot really takes off in some interesting directions and for the most part keeps you interested in how humanity is to turn the tables on a seemingly invincible killer and what fates await those people we've finally come to care about and be interested in.
If it wasn't for the bits of filler content here and there, it could be said that the pace is relentless, always throwing some new and interesting curve balls at the reader. Explained otherwise, the story easily keeps the reader engaged for the most part, always feeding them a little something to satiate the need for progress.
Ultimately, the book's qualities far outweigh its negative points; it's a promising start to the trilogy, one fans of the genre should definitely give a chance.
 | Justin CroninPersonal site Justin Cronin is an American writer who has authored a few novels, his most prolific work being The Passage Trilogy, a story about vampires. Cronin has received the Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award, the Whitling Award, as well as the Stephen Crane Prize. |
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