The Passage by Justin Cronin

[DennisK]

Justin Cronin's The Passage is the first book of a post-apocalyptic trilogy involving creatures with superhuman physical abilities. The story is somewhat modeled from the traditional vampire, but the creation of this creature was the product of science-gone-wrong in the form of a communicable virus that transformed ordinary people into blood thirsty monsters. The monster's one weakness was that they could not stand to be in bright light. The fate of all mankind was at stake. Cronin did successfully create a sense that humanity was truly on the brink of extinction, for it seemed the whole of North America's population had been affected by the virus. A quarantine was created which isolated America, but its effectiveness was questioned as no radio communication could be established after 100 years of the virus' outbreak.
After a hundred years of the virus' outbreak, the story takes us to a small community of people living in a fortress located somewhere in Oregon. For all they knew, they were the only surviving humans on the face of the earth. Their only defense was the use of primitive weapons, and the flood of light that was created by aging technology. An extraordinary event occurred when a young girl (Amy) appeared all by herself at their gate. No one could explain where she came from and how she was able to survive all by herself. There was an esoteric sense of the girl. She was not communicative, and people who were scared and superstitious began to regard her as a threat.
Michael Fisher, the community's technical help, with the help of his sister Sara, discovered a small receiver embedded just under the skin of Amy. It was receiving a automated signal that had a source within the state of Colorado.
The bulk of Cronin's story was about the adventure a group from this settlement experienced as they traveled, with Amy, from Oregon to Colorado. They were looking for answers to Amy's mystery, and driven by the hope that they may find a way to survive after their power source fails.
I'm not a fan of vampire stories, but I must admit that I found the story captivating. I found myself looking forward to opportunities that allowed me to settle down with the book. I give the book a 4 out of 5 rating. I am now reading the second book of this trilogy – The Twelve.

[gali]

I have read this book and loved it. I have started the second and found it boring, so quit it. I hope you will enjoy the second book more than I did.

[DennisK]

I get the feeling he is getting hung up on justifying the first book. He has turned the clock back to when the virus was taking hold and he is telling stories of individuals during that time. I am hoping, somewhere in this second book, that he will pick up from where he left off in the first book. I am hoping he will continue the story rather than rehash the first book.

[gali]

I get the feeling he is getting hung up on justifying the first book. He has turned the clock back to when the virus was taking hold and he is telling stories of individuals during that time. I am hoping, somewhere in this second book, that he will pick up from where he left off in the first book. I am hoping he will continue the story rather than rehash the first book.

I think I quit around that part. I would love to read your review of it after you finished it (even with spoilers). I have heard the third book is better and may give it a chance.

[DennisK]

I get the feeling he is getting hung up on justifying the first book. He has turned the clock back to when the virus was taking hold and he is telling stories of individuals during that time. I am hoping, somewhere in this second book, that he will pick up from where he left off in the first book. I am hoping he will continue the story rather than rehash the first book.

I think I quit around that part. I would love to read your review of it after you finished it (even with spoilers). I have heard the third book is better and may give it a chance.

gali, I just finished the second book of this trilogy. Like I mentioned previously, he turned the clock back to when the infestation began – rather than continuing the story at the point where the first book left-off. At first, I was a little disappointed, but after reading it, I can understand why he did this. The story required it. I don't know how he could have done otherwise. It will pick up from the first book's ending, somewhere around halfway through. The first half of the book will introduce new characters, but just when I felt settled in with their stories, he would jump to a new character leaving a number of lose ends dangling from the previous character's story. Not cool! But eventually, the characters from the first book emerge, and all those loose ends start to weave into some neat little knots.
His style seemed to me a little more poetic than the first book. There were a couple of passages I even stopped to reread just for the pleasure. I personally didn't find the story as gripping as some stories I've read – in that it wasn't hard to put down, but it was always a pleasure to pick it back up. If you enjoyed the first book, I think you will enjoy this one if you can get through the first half.

[gali]

I get the feeling he is getting hung up on justifying the first book. He has turned the clock back to when the virus was taking hold and he is telling stories of individuals during that time. I am hoping, somewhere in this second book, that he will pick up from where he left off in the first book. I am hoping he will continue the story rather than rehash the first book.

I think I quit around that part. I would love to read your review of it after you finished it (even with spoilers). I have heard the third book is better and may give it a chance.

gali, I just finished the second book of this trilogy. Like I mentioned previously, he turned the clock back to when the infestation began – rather than continuing the story at the point where the first book left-off. At first, I was a little disappointed, but after reading it, I can understand why he did this. The story required it. I don't know how he could have done otherwise. It will pick up from the first book's ending, somewhere around halfway through. The first half of the book will introduce new characters, but just when I felt settled in with their stories, he would jump to a new character leaving a number of lose ends dangling from the previous character's story. Not cool! But eventually, the characters from the first book emerge, and all those loose ends start to weave into some neat little knots.
His style seemed to me a little more poetic than the first book. There were a couple of passages I even stopped to reread just for the pleasure. I personally didn't find the story as gripping as some stories I've read – in that it wasn't hard to put down, but it was always a pleasure to pick it back up. If you enjoyed the first book, I think you will enjoy this one if you can get through the first half.

Thank you. I loved the first book, but the second one bore me to death so I quit it. Do you think it is possible to read the third book without reading the second one?

[DennisK]

I think I quit around that part. I would love to read your review of it after you finished it (even with spoilers). I have heard the third book is better and may give it a chance.

gali, I just finished the second book of this trilogy. Like I mentioned previously, he turned the clock back to when the infestation began – rather than continuing the story at the point where the first book left-off. At first, I was a little disappointed, but after reading it, I can understand why he did this. The story required it. I don't know how he could have done otherwise. It will pick up from the first book's ending, somewhere around halfway through. The first half of the book will introduce new characters, but just when I felt settled in with their stories, he would jump to a new character leaving a number of lose ends dangling from the previous character's story. Not cool! But eventually, the characters from the first book emerge, and all those loose ends start to weave into some neat little knots.
His style seemed to me a little more poetic than the first book. There were a couple of passages I even stopped to reread just for the pleasure. I personally didn't find the story as gripping as some stories I've read – in that it wasn't hard to put down, but it was always a pleasure to pick it back up. If you enjoyed the first book, I think you will enjoy this one if you can get through the first half.

Thank you. I loved the first book, but the second one bore me to death so I quit it. Do you think it is possible to read the third book without reading the second one?

Personally, I tend to be regimented when dealing with continuing sagas I suppose you can glean something of the story by jumping to the last book, but there is much you will miss. In the second book, he made references to excepts from the first book without very much explanation. Many of the first book's characters will continue into the third book, and much has happened to them in the second book. You'll probably catch the gist of the story, but I fear you will be missing much of its color.

-- 14 Jul 2016, 00:36 --

P.s. Just started reading the last book ..... It does a fairly good job of summing up the second book .... You may not have to read the second one afterall

[gali]

P.s. Just started reading the last book ..... It does a fairly good job of summing up the second book .... You may not have to read the second one afterall

Great! Thank you for the update. Please let me know your thoughts about the book after finishing it.