THE PASSAGE by Justin Cronin

What a tome. 950+ pages of a genre I could not decide on - but after googling feel quite safe in saying 'apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction'. Initially I would have said horror - dracula; maybe science fiction - experiments gone wrong; fantasy even? I have googled plot lines of the 2nd and 3rd books - more of the same, all of which have equally stunning reviews and ratings, but think this is enough for me!

Having said all that, this is really really good, if somewhat overwhelming and decidedly unpleasant in its subject matter. I couldn't stop reading this, staying up to the small hours several times. It is fantastically put together, really good characters, much of it believable, horrifying, dazzling. I wouldn't say I loved it, but it was a great read, transporting me to somewhere I didn't particularly want to go, but still holding my breath to read what was going to happen next.

So many reviews of this already on line and everywhere else so very brief plot outline. An experiment that started in South America to develop a virus gets spectacularly out of control, resulting basically, in the death of America. There are always survivors in these things - think Cormac McCarthy's The Road, and that is what the bulk of the novel is about. It is also the story of a little girl, Amy, who is infected with the virus, but due to her youth does not die, becoming another type of being, the only person who can stop the complete destruction of the world as we know it.

So good, so scary, so challenging, so terrifying and now I can punish myself further by watching the TV series 'loosely' based on the novel, whatever that may mean. Reviews so far - average, maybe proof yet again that the book is always better than the film/TV series.


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