Title: The Passage
Author: Justin Cronin
Release Date: June 8, 2010
Pages: 784
Source: Kindle
If you have ever asked yourself, "What would I do if the world as I know it ends today? How would I survive in the wake of a natural disaster, alien warfare, biochemical attack, etc?" then you will like this book. For those of you, who like me, like to let your imagination get the best of you, prepare to let it run wild during The Passage.
The classic apocalyptic plot line begins when a well-meaning scientist creates a virus meant to cure humans of all illnesses. The U.S. Army financially backs this experiment in hopes of using the virus to make super soldiers who can live through almost anything. This is of course, is where everything goes tragically wrong.
The words, "vampire fiction" have been thrown around in association with this book and I would like to put that misconception to rest right now. The "vampires" in this book, also known as "virals", "smokes" and "dracs", are not peacoat-wearing teenage introverts full of angst and a case of white makeup. No, these bad boys are more like the zombie-ish killers in the movie I Am Legend, scary enough to make you look over your should the next time your walking anywhere alone at night.
With the world taken over by this virus, all of civilization collapses. Hundreds of years later, we find our main characters living in a small colony that has managed to survive. Although they have been so removed from what they call "the time before" that their generation can't even fathom a television, a lusty romance novel, or even the ocean. The cities, as we know them, are now ancient ruins.
It is here, in this colony, that the book really came to life for me. I couldn't stop myself from devouring every page as this new world was unveiled, describing every aspect of this society and how they built it from the ground up. The adventure gets even more exciting as the colony discovers it's running out of its life-saving resource, the only thing separating their life from the deadly virals who are constantly hunting them. As the main characters race to save their colony, they realize that their survival, and perhaps that of the whole world, might depend on one girl--the only girl to survive since "the time before", the only girl to survive the virus.
Don't let the heftiness of this book intimidate you. Though it is 700+ pages, it is not meaninglessly drawn out and reads very fast. It is such a page-turner in fact, you'll be wishing for a few hundred more pages when you're done. Good thing The Passage is only the first book in Justin Cronin's intended three-book series.
Book Rating: 4 out of 5: I recommend it!
Love the blog! I usually don't like these sci-fi/ vampire type books, but I might have to give this one a try!
ReplyDeleteI think you should. I'm usually not a sci-fi fan either. But like I said, the best part of this book wasn't the sci-fi, it was getting to know the characters and how they made a life for themselves under these crazy circumstances. They formed a whole different kind of society, from how they raised their kids to the career paths that were open to them. And all of it was dictated by basic day-to-day survival. Pretty interesting stuff!
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