The Passage (novel)
.jpg) |
|
| Author | Justin Cronin |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | David Lindroth |
| Cover artist | Tom Hallman |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, horror, science fiction, vampire fiction, fantasy, dystopian fiction |
| Publisher | Ballantine Books |
|
Publication date
|
June 8, 2010 |
| Media type | Hardcover |
| Pages | Hardcover, 766 pp; Paperback, 879 pp |
| ISBN | |
| Followed by | The Twelve |
The Passage is a novel by Justin Cronin, published in 2010 by Ballantine Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York. The Passage debuted at #3 on the New York Times hardcover fiction best seller list, and remained on the list for seven additional weeks. It is the first novel of a completed trilogy; the second book The Twelve was released in 2012, and the third book The City of Mirrors released in 2016.
The Passage begins in the near future and details an apocalyptic and, later, post-apocalyptic world that is overrun by vampire-like beings who are infected by a highly contagious virus. What begins as a project to develop a new immunity-boosting drug based on a virus carried by an unnamed species of bat in South America eventually becomes the virus that transforms the world. The novel begins in 2016 and spans more than ninety years, as colonies of humans attempt to live in a world filled with superhuman creatures who are continually on the hunt for fresh blood.
Cronin first began developing his ideas for The Passage in 2006 when his daughter asked him to write a book about a "girl who saves the world." He set out to write a book that combined elements of multiple genres, most predominantly horror, science fiction, and fantasy. Cronin wanted his vampiric creatures to seem like real-world organisms that might have inspired the vampire stories he knew from his childhood and the vampire-like creatures found in the folklore of numerous cultures. Cronin described writing the book as feeling "natural", and having come "very quickly". Cronin said that the title is a reference to the characters' journeys, and the journey "from life to death". Cronin said that many of the places featured in the novel were selected because they were places he had lived, and that he decided to "travel every mile my characters did, to capture not only the details of place, but the feeling of place."
The National Post called The Passage "Homeric" and "one of the creepiest books of 2010". The book has earned comparisons to The Stand, and earned Cronin comparisons to Michael Crichton.Publishers Weekly criticized Cronin's use of certain "tropes" of the genre, but added that "he manages to engage the reader with a sweeping epic style." Booklist said that the book was so similar to The Stand that it "required some fact-checking to ascertain it was not written under a new King pseudonym." USA Today said that The Passage "could be the best book of the summer." The New York Times Book Review said that The Passage is "A blockbuster…astutely plotted and imaginative". The Los Angeles Times said The Passage is "as stirring as it is epic", and even described a portion of the book as "nearly flawless", though it also describes some of the narration as "portentous and slack". The San Francisco Chronicle selected The Passage as one of the best science fiction and fantasy books of 2010, and describes the book as being "action packed" and "rousing".
...
Wikipedia