The Passage

Oh, I did enjoy this book! I did, I did!

The Passage by Justin Cronin

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


What the what, Justin Cronin? This book is a series? How did I miss that? (You might think my keen powers of observation would have informed me that, when the title on goodreads reads thusly, The Passage (The Passage, #1), I might get clued in.... But alas, those keen observation skills must not be so keen as I believed!)



Anyway, so I sort of vacillated here. Between four and five stars, but then, when it comes right down to it, I was engrossed from the beginning and didn't want to put it down. So for that alone, I decided on five stars. My one and only beef was the language. A lot (and I do mean a lot a lot) of eff words. I've taken up a habit now when I see the word in writing - a little tip from my best friend. I say "fish" in my head whenever it pops up. Seriously, peeps. It helps defuse the harshness and sometimes even makes me laugh. And it is my last name...so there's that.



Okay, well enough with all the nonsense, and let us just get on with why this book was so stupendous. (BTW - I love that word, don't you? Just say it out loud...stupendous! Awesome). Now really, on with the show!



First of all, Justin Cronin is a cliff-hanger Jedi warrior. He only gives you enough of the puzzle so that you aren't completely frustrated, but not too much so that you really know too much about what is going on. Piece by piece he builds the mystery of the virals, vampire like beasts who've pretty much taken over the entire globe, leaving few survivors in their wake.



I've sort of made it a habit of swallowing books whole like the reading glutton I am. So I chose, instead, to read this over the course of a few weeks. And it was hard. Really hard! I wanted to stay up late and finish it on several occasions. However, I didn't. And that waiting for the next part made it all the more enjoyable.



Second of all, it's a grown-up vampire tale without all the romantic drama, the over-the-top sexuality, or the good vampire/bad vampire trend. Actually, it's just creepy. Which is even better, in my humble opinion. It's subtle...sneeking. So these virals have spread out over the country, and us regular folks can't go out at night. Every time someone is out and about and twilight begins to fall, my heart would beat a little faster. Because what in the world are they doing out wandering about like that when they know the virals could pounce any second? It's sort of the whole unseen thing that makes it eerie and haunting.



Third - the back story is interesting and exciting. I can't say much here because I don't want to give anything away. But the story of how the virals came to be and how they can be stopped unfolds over the entire story, slowly. And when the big battle comes...well, just wow! It's frightening and monstrous.



Fourthly: the plot movement. The action was well paced. And Cronin fills the lulls with stories about the characters that make them endearing. You feel invested in the story and in the people who live in it. His pacing was near perfect. At times, he jumps quickly between settings and characters, especially during action sequences. At times, he moves slowly and builds the story and the characters. He's a fantastic story teller...and this really is a reader's novel.



Finally - why must this be a series and why must a I wait until 2012 to read the next book? (And please don't let the second book be an epic fail like another series I just started but shall not mention...pretty please!!!)



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