You’d think that the sensible response to this discovery would be to napalm the damn jungle, but since when was the military ever sensible in apocalyptic fiction? No, our army thinks the whole thing is totally awesome, and promptly begins the usual let’s-create-indestructible-super-soldiers experiments on death row inmates they’ve shipped to super-sekrit underground labs in Colorado, a state that should probably rethink its real estate laws regarding super-sekrit underground labs. They're virals, and pretty boys like Twilight’s Edward wouldn't last a picosecond. We open in 2016 with the discovery of a virus deep within the sultry Bolivian jungles that has the disagreeable effect of transforming you into a rampaging, blood-drinking beast that glows in the dark. Fans of end-of-it-all tomes like The Stand and Robert McCammon’s Swan Song, who have been wondering why no one seems to be writing books like those anymore, will without a doubt take to The Passage like vampires to virgins. At the height of his powers thirty years ago, this is very much the kind of seminal work of dark fantasy King might have produced. For a tale that cannot, in all honesty, be said to be especially original, The Passage still manages, by virtue of its canny combination of sensitivity and spectacle, to make its mark. Cronin proudly leaves no trope behind.īut Cronin is a highly skilled wordsmith with an affinity for character favorably comparable to that of a young Stephen King, his most obvious literary kindred spirit, with the added benefit that he isn’t simply recycling the same dozen or so stock characters King seems to have gotten fond of. Government experiments gone awry? Desperate groups of human survivors fighting for their lives from within barricaded enclaves? And a child to represent the last, best hope for humanity? You name it, it’s here.
Cronin steals from his influences as wantonly as Quentin Tarantino. Looks to me like more writers ought to start consulting their kids.Īn apocalyptic epic running over 760 pages in hardcover, The Passage spans a century of time and details the downfall of humanity at the hands, teeth, and claws of the virals. Not bad bank for an idea Cronin got from his nine-year-old daughter. It was good enough to earn Houstonian Justin Cronin a $3.75 million payday from Ballantine, with an additional $1.75 million thrown in by Ridley Scott for the film rights (it eventually emerged as a miniseries).
Here’s The Passage’s elevator pitch: The Stand meets I Am Legend by way of 28 Days Later. Share book reviews and ratings with Thomas, and even join a book club on Goodreads. Book cover artwork is copyrighted by its respective artist and/or publisher. All reviews and site design © by Thomas M.
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