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The Passage |  | Author: Justin Cronin
Publisher: Doubleday
Category: Book
List Price: CDN$ 32.95
Buy New: CDN$ 19.25
as of 9/7/2010 10:50 CDT details
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New (5) Used (1) Collectible (1) from CDN$ 19.25
Seller: gardencitybooks-ca
Rating:  13 reviews
Sales Rank: 114
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1st
Pages: 784
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.6
Dimensions (in): 9.6 x 6.4 x 1.8
ISBN: 0385669518
EAN: 9780385669511
ASIN: 0385669518
Publication Date: June 2010
Availability: Usually ships within 1 - 2 business days
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 13
 The Passage - what's all the hub-bub about? August 31, 2010
Nona_69
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I don't see it as an epic novel and as thrilling as everyone here has been reporting. To be honest, there were moments when I wanted to put the book away and just stop reading it - how much excruciating detail does one need to provide about something that isn't really all that relevant to the overall story?
I thought the character development was somewhat lacking, the plot not even close to being believable - 100+ years in a compound? Seriously? I know it's fiction but - I suppose I was expecting a lot more based on what everyone's been saying. I wasn't drawn in as I was reading it. I'd committed to reading the book, so I finished it - but it's a long, drawn out read and a huge commitment that, in the end, I would rather have read something else more exciting.
 The Passage August 13, 2010
Pauline
The Passage by Justin Cronin starts in 2016 and spans one hundred years in a post-apocalyptic world that is dominated by The Twelve and their victims. The twelve are zombie-vampire like creatures that use to be human, but became infected with a virus designed by the United States Army and the virus changed them into powerful zombie-vampire beings.
The twelve were death row criminals and the government offered them immortality if they choose to become infected with the virus. The results are disastrous and the world is destroyed by the creatures the twelve become. There is one girl named Amy who also received a perfected form of the virus and she becomes a totally different type of viral and plays a pivotal role in the story of seeking out the twelve.
The story begins with Amy and the twelve being infected with the virus and then the twelve escape and havoc wrecks the world. The story then goes forward 92 years to a colony of human survivors who live their lives in fear of the virals that rule the world. The colonys daily life is spent defending themselves from attacks from the virals. Eventually Amy shows up at the colony and one of the twelve has an influence on the colonys weak minded and havoc rules the colony.
A group of people leave the colony with Amy to seek out Colorado where Amy originated from and in the process they discover other groups of people still alive and fighting or in some cases conforming to the virals.
In the end they are able to destroy one of the twelve and his followers and they form a band to seek out the other eleven to destroy them and free the world.
I found the last one hundred to two hundred pages of the book to be riveting and the first one hundred pages to be interesting, but the other four hundred pages not as exciting. I would of liked to have had more information about the virus being developed and how certain things happened,like how did Amy all of a sudden show up at the colony, how did she get there and why, we are expected to just accept the fact that she magically shows up? The book needs more detail of how things happened and the motivation behind peoples actions. The dialogue seems a bit stiff and needs to flow more and have more emotion and reality added. I did not seem to attach to any characters in an emotional way; they just do not seem real. It reminds me a lot of "I am Legend" with just a tinge of "Twilight" thrown in. The last part of the book I enjoyed the most, I found learning about the twelve and Amy to be fascinating and the development of Peter and Lish as characters was welcomed. A bit more detail and better dialogue and it would have been a great read.
A World of 'Virals' August 8, 2010
Jeffrey Swystun (Ottawa & New York)
I prefer the bloodsuckers in The Passage to the well groomed teen variety that has lately dominated the genre. Especially when these vampires create a post-apocalyptic America. The story begins by taking the reader through how these 'Virals' were created from an army project gone wrong. This vampiric virus rapidly wipes out the vast majority of the population. The plot then moves abruptly forward many decades to show how small bands of survivors are getting on. Many of the human settlements resemble those of early settlers and the armies that do exist are like the Union Army probing the west following the Civil War. It is a little long-winded at close to 800 pages but ably sets up the second entry in what is to be a trilogy. Credit must be given to the premise and the interesting characters both of which held my interest and will ensure my return to Cronin's imagined world.
A rollercoaster Ride July 29, 2010
Cheryl Dumais (Calgary, AB Canada)
This novel was very long and there were times when I wanted to quit on it but in the end I perservered and was glad that I did. As others have mentioned it was something like The Stand which I loved but it goes beyond that story with what is clearly going to be at least a trilogy and could easily be 12 novels if he so chooses. It is a rollercoaster ride of ups and downs and is not predictable which for me was sometimes frustrating but if you want suspense and are patient read it. If you want a safe predictible read this is not the book for you. This story is not what I would call a happliy ever after story. Be prepared to have your heart ripped out on and off. Having said that it is a story of the human fight for survival and at times they win, but not always.
Long, but well worth the investment in time! July 28, 2010
Deejon (Edmonton Canada)
Although from the description it sounds like something that would never happen, the story is written in a way that convinces the reader that it could. Justin Cronin has a wild mind, looking forward to reading his other books!
Showing reviews 1-5 of 13
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