Review of The Passage by Justin Cronin

Welcome to my review of The Passage by Justin Cronin!

Summary

With a large cast of characters, Cronin tells the story of a vampire apocalypse. When a test subject breaches security at a secret U.S. government facility in Denver, chaos ensues. In a matter of minutes, the world changes for the worse and people become either prey or predator. At the center of it all is Amy Harper Bellafonte. An orphan, and the last test subject at the secret facility. The hope for a brighter future rests in her hands.

Review

If you’re looking for a quick recommendation, yes, I would definitely recommend this book!

This book is a long one, but only because Cronin takes the time to tell the story of how the world fell into chaos. He shows readers exactly how the apocalypse happened, instead of throwing us right into the middle of it. In other words, Cronin is a great world-builder. He takes the time to set up each character: who they are, their likes and dislikes, their fears, and their backstories. That way, we are attached to each and every one of them by the end of the book.

I find Amy’s character the most fascinating. She’s so young, but the amount of power she holds is incredible. I rated it four stars instead of five because Cronin can be a lot like Stephen King in that there are a lot of details that I could do without. I know they help create a clearer picture of the future in the book, but sometimes I struggled with losing interest. It took me a while to finish it not just because it was long, but because my disinterest grew during certain sections of the book.

I guess it’s a problem with pacing. As there were dry sections where nothing happened, and then times when there was a lot going on. There were also times where it was difficult to understand exactly what was happening. I know I have a problem with skimming during the more action-packed parts of a book, and maybe that was part of the problem, but I found it difficult to understand descriptions sometimes. Especially near the end of the book.

The book was made into a show, but I have not seen it yet. Overall, I would recommend this book to a busy mom. But keep in mind that it may take a while and there are lots of different characters to keep track of. Be sure you’re willing to make a commitment with this one, but also know that it is a great scary/apocalyptic read.

Rating

Four out of five stars

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If you enjoyed my review of The Passage by Justin Cronin, you might also like Bird Box by Josh Malerman. Check out my review!

If you’re interested in purchasing The Passage, here are some quick links to buy the book on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. And, if you’re interested to see what others think, here’s the link to the book on Goodreads.