Book Review: 'The Passage' by Justin Cronin

'The Passage' is a post-apocalyptic fiction where U.S. government-made vampires have wiped out most of humanity. Wait! I know that sounds shit. Haven't vampires been done to (un)death? They're actually more like zombie/vampires. This is not helping is it?

Anyway, despite the blurb and description, 'The Passsage' is a great novel. Plenty of post-apocalyptic coolness, a great mystery to keep you theorising and some interesting characters. It reminds me of 'The Family Trade' which I read a few weeks ago in that there is nothing new about the book, it's a reworking of several themes and story lines that have been done before. But it brings all these ideas together and tells a damn good story that pushes the genre forward and this can only be a positive.

This is a long novel and it took me a long time to read (physical books tend to lack attention in winter; I can curl up under the covers in the warm darkness and read an ebook). But a lot happened in the book. There was a great introduction to the event, then a journey.
Yes, it's a quest book.

'The Passage' has left me with some great sequences and imagery in my mind. Cronin can definitely bring post apocalyptic middle America to life. I enjoyed this greatly and look forward to starting the second book in the trilogy, 'The Twelve'.