The Passage

A Novel (Book One of The Passage Trilogy)

By: Justin Cronin

Narrated by: Scott Brick, Adenrele Ojo, Abby Craden

Length: 36 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

New York Times best seller.

This thrilling novel kicks off what Stephen King calls “a trilogy that will stand as one of the great achievements in American fantasy fiction".

Now a FOX TV series!

Named one of Paste’s best horror books of the decade.

Named one of the 10 best novels of the year by TIME and one of the best books of the year by The Washington Post, Esquire, U.S. News & World Report, NPR/On Point, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, BookPage, and Library Journal.

“It happened fast. Thirty-two minutes for one world to die, another to be born".

An epic and gripping tale of catastrophe and survival, The Passage is the story of Amy - abandoned by her mother at the age of six, pursued, and then imprisoned by the shadowy figures behind a government experiment of apocalyptic proportions. But Special Agent Brad Wolgast, the lawman sent to track her down, is disarmed by the curiously quiet girl and risks everything to save her. As the experiment goes nightmarishly wrong, Wolgast secures her escape - but he can’t stop society’s collapse. And as Amy walks alone, across miles and decades, into a future dark with violence and despair, she is filled with the mysterious and terrifying knowledge that only she has the power to save the ruined world. Look for the entire Passage trilogy:

• The Passage
• The Twelve
• The City of Mirrors

©2010 Justin Cronin (P)2010 Random House

Critic reviews

“[A] blockbuster.” (The New York Times)

“Mythic storytelling.” (San Francisco Chronicle)

“Magnificent...Cronin has taken his literary gifts, and he has weaponized them...The Passage can stand proudly next to Stephen King’s apocalyptic masterpiece The Stand, but a closer match would be Cormac McCarthy’s The Road: A story about human beings trying to generate new hope in a world from which all hope has long since been burnt.” (Time)

Beautifully written. A nice surprise.

Would you consider the audio edition of The Passage to be better than the print version?

I only listened to the audio so I can't say.

What other book might you compare The Passage to and why?

It reminded me quite a bit of The Stand but it was its own unique tale in its own right.

What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Scott Brick was a great narrator. He does the characters very well, (I always knew who was speaking) without detracting from the story ...doesn't try to steal the show. He also has a beautiful voice, nice and even, great breath control. I like audio books for when I go to bed at night, I love listening to a story in a soothing voice. The woman who did Auntie's voice was also great. I really didn't care for Sarah's narrator at all but luckily it only pops up a couple of times for a short time.

Any additional comments?

I was looking for something mysterious, intriguing, maybe some supernatural or sci fi that makes you want to turn the page but not a facile soap opera. This hit the mark. I looked forward to getting back to it every day. It's long, involved and poetic. I'm reading the the second in the series starting now. The premise had me dubious but it was very good. I also like that it jumps around in time lending itself to an epic tale. The narrator was great, glad he is doing them all. Nice and long, well worth the credit. Great job Justin Cronin. I did feel he left one detail a little sloppy but I will finish the series, maybe it gets tied up later.

Good story

What did you love best about The Passage?

Gripping story

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Mystery was good

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

Performance

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Really turned off when I discovered vampires. I will not cont series.

A Contemporary Twist On Noah's Arch & LOTR, sorta

The scope of this Armageddon Tale is dwarfed only by the intimate details of relationships and the lovely moments that make life worth fighting for: making snow angels, understanding a photograph, knowing the love of a parent.

Powerful moving book

Where does The Passage rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

In my top #10

Have you listened to any of the narrators’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Scott Brick is one of my favorite narrators

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, I listened to it gradually.

Sci-Fi Dracula and much more!

Scary and captivating,incredible humane, despairing at times to the point of getting so anxious that had to stop for a while to regroup. Most of all: ONCE YOU START YOU CAN'T STOP !
Performance is very good. Just right for the book.
One bad thing: The end left me hanging. What happened with the sequel?! Please don't tell me is like "The Way of Kings" or "Reckless" !!!
Even so it is sooooo worth it.

well thought out

well written, fresh spin on an old genre. I very much enjoyed it. very detailed like that of a stephen king novel.

interesting story but very, VERY long-winded

The story is quite interesting - this being the only reason why I continued to listen past the first 3 to 4 hours.
But it is both written and read in a very long-winded fashion. Nothing is left to the readers/listeners imagination - everything is detailed out in sometimes excruciating detail.

Scott Brick as narrator always takes my some time to get used to as I find his reading style a bit "depressing". In this case, his style seems to slow down the pace of the story even further than it is already written.

Even though, the whole story was interesting enough to make through to the end, anyway.

attention to detail would have been nice

good story line, but they're magazines, not clips. there are no bolts on rifles with charging handles and a few other discontinuity points and incorrect details

wow!

it drags in the beginning but hang in there!! it's worth it. this book is great!

60% Good.

This book was delivered in five parts to my ipod. The first part was great, the second and third parts were overly long to the point of almost being boring; I almost gave up! I'm glad I didn't because the last two section's were good, and in the end I was satisfied.