The Passage

by Justin Cronin
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Publish Date: June 08, 2010
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Overview

"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. He 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-towards the time and place where she must finish what should never have begun.

Author Information

Justin Cronin

Justin Cronin is a graduate of the Iowa Writer's Workshop, and a professor of creative writing at La Salle University in Philadelphia. His work has appeared in many literary journals.

Editorial Reviews

A human-created virus has infected humankind, mutating most into superstrong, near-immortal vampiric creatures. The "virals"-also called "jumpers" and "dracs" (after Dracula, of course)-can leap 20 feet through the air at a bound and split a human (or a horse, or a cow) in half with their bare hands. A small band of men and women embark on a cross-country trek, looking for a way to protect the few remaining uninfected humans from extinction. With them travels an enigmatic prepubescent girl who talks to the virals with her mind and seems to have been born 100 years before. VERDICT The monsters in this compulsive nail biter are the scariest in fiction since Stephen King's vampires in Salem's Lot. Although the novel runs 700 pages, Cronin is a master at building tension, and he never wastes words. Shout it from the hills! This exceptional thriller should be one of the most popular novels this year and will draw in readers everywhere. [See a profile of Cronin in "Editors' Spring Picks," LJ 2/15/10; see also Prepub Alert, LJ 2/15/10; 15-city author tour.]-David Keymer, Modesto, CA Copyright 2010 Reed Business Information.

Customer Reviews

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Showing 1-10 of the 30 most recent reviews

1.Review from
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Posted April 19, 2011 by , North Bend, WA
2.A very long Passage -but worth the journey

Posted March 17, 2011 by Bob Rose Jr., Kansas City

The Passage is one of the most literary horror novels I've ever read. Cronin blurs the line between literature and genre, much in the way Puzo, Vonnegut, and Heller did in decades past. His characters are unforgettable and his landscape is a perpetually worsening nightmare for all those involved. Yet, what sets Cronin's book apart from so many others in the horror field is an optimistic undercurrent of loyalty, love, and faith. The Passage is as much a treatise on hope and perserverence, as it is a vampire novel.
3.Great - little boring - SUPER!!!

Posted February 04, 2011 by Pinkmagic, Where my heart is

Please be patient as this is my first review and english not my mothertongue. We went for honeymoon to Mauritius and I loaded my Reader with approx 25 books for three weeks ;o) PC Cast, Kathy Reichs and so on. First I was scared off by +/- 900 pages - as this seemed a lot to work through between sunbath, beach and Piny Coladas. But then I started reading and was fascinated- Unfortunately the whole part with Amy and the FBI Agents did not meet my taste and I almost quitted (?). But stobborn as I am, I decided to through it til the end - and was really whiped off my feet. If you try to forget the approx. 200 pages with the FBI yakyakyak You will find yourself in an apocalyptic nightmare with a lot of good survival ideas and develop sympathy for the characters. If you like that kind of stories get yourself World War Z - you will digg that too. So with some long hours on the middle part, I was glad I had bought myself a booklight on Dubai Airport during transfer, as I kept reading through some nights, too. I can only say: ENJOY!
4.Good, would have been great if it was shorter.

Posted November 07, 2010 by Levi, Lansing, MI

I started this book at a blistering pace but began to fizzle of in the middle. Others have said that this could have been left out but everything ended up working together in the end.
I love apocalyptic stories and was excited when I saw King endorsed this one. Theplot was great and the characters were even better. This is a good read for someone looking for a different take on the usual vampire novels. The ending will leave you wanting more and waiting for book 2 to come out.
5.Excellent Read

Posted October 22, 2010 by Paul Simpson, Mesa, AZ

This one was hard to put down, and I gave up many hours of sleep for it. Cronin blends conspiracy theories with biotech, vampires, sci-fi, and post-apocalypse all into one book. How will the remains of the human race survive after a supervirus wipes out North America? This book, in my opinion, comes close to describing it! Some fantasy, some reality, with an undercurrent of romance thrown in... Cronin delves deep into the human psyche with this novel, and makes me want to read his other works as a result. Thought-provoking, and full of action. A MUST READ!
6.I fell in love...

Posted September 20, 2010 by Audrey, Yuba City, CA

This is a review from another reader and I could not have said it better myself -

"Every once in a while, a book comes along and it ruins all other books for a time. This was one of those books for me. Beautifully written (easy yet poetic), great characters and believable dialog. I breezed through the 800 pages in less than a week -- so don't let that scare you off. The book is like a mix of Stephen King's The Stand and Richard Matheson's I am Legend, but with more finesse. His suspense is wonderfully mastered....Best fiction I've read all summer too. "
7.A view to a post-apocalyptic world.

Posted September 04, 2010 by Panos Karmiris, Athens

Brilliant! Just brilliant. A captivating story about what our world could turn to. A must read!
8.LOOOONG

Posted August 29, 2010 by Heather, louisville

I thought this book sounded like a book I would really enjoy and at 1st I was right. Then it went on and on and I just could not wait for it to be over. I only finished it because I paid for it and that was so disappointing!!!
9.Boring

Posted August 28, 2010 by Mike, Baton Rouge, LA

I suppose, in all fairness, one should not review a book one does not finish ... but I just couldn't! I quit half way through it because it became dull and unfocused for me ... whish I had my money back!
10.Started out good but then...

Posted August 27, 2010 by Paula, Tucson

I was riveted for the first half of the book. But by midway through, the entire story line had become boring and pointless. The author droned on and on about the same things, but never actually moved the story forward. It got so bad, in fact, that I put it down several months ago and have not returned to finish. And I doubt I will. In my opinion, read the first part but skip the last.