I surrendered a large chunk of my life to this
series based on the recommendation of a twitter friend. I told him that whether
or not I liked this book was going to determine if he was trustworthy forever.
That’s kind of how book recommendations go, right? Super important, people! Don't be that person who recommends crappy books.
Anyway, the series in question is The Passage
by Justin Cronin. The final book dropped in May 2016, illustrating how
important it is to read series after they are finished if you don’t want to
wait the lifetime of a child to finish a story! I mean, really! I don’t have
that kind of long- term attention span.
Book One: The Passage
The Passage starts with Amy, a six year old
girl who is abandoned in a convent by her mother of low standing. Amy has a
strange way with animals, it seems, though we never really get to hear much
about that. The story settles into Amy’s beginning somewhere in present day
right before and immediately following an outbreak of epic proportions. The
book also takes us about 100 years into the future where descendants of the
outbreak have created a small town where the lights stay on all night for
safety, the children are recruited to The Watch, and the generators are
failing. 766 pages
Book Two: The Twelve
Present day: The infection is spreading and
people are trying to survive and protect the ones they love. The strain is too
much for some and as minds start to snap in the middle of chaos, there are far
reaching consequences with our friends who are living 100 years in the future
where the enemy isn’t exactly what it seems. Of course, not all of the
surviving humans made it by being nice and collaborative. This book won the Good Reads Choice Award in 2012, if that tells you
anything. 568 pages
Book Three: The City of Mirrors
In the future: There’s been a respite from
constant threat but it may be that the greatest darkness of all is complacency.
(Oooo, I’m deep, huh!?) Some of our favorite characters are missing or in
hiding. Some of our favorite characters have flourished and some are dead dead
dead. The survivors are feeling safe, but that just makes them ripe for the
picking. And we find out how this shit started in the first place. “One last
time light and dark will clash, and at last Amy and her friends will know their
fate." 602 pages
At a combined page count of 1936, it’s a commitment
if you like quick reads. Here are the top two things that make it worth it:
The characters: There may be a few of them that
we don’t get much back story on, but only a few. The relationships don’t feel
forced and the characters are consistent and well thought out. Amy is a bit of
a mystery to me but she remains a bit of a mystery to everyone I think. I
wonder if we find out more about her weirdness in the epilogue. Characters are described rather than "named" as being from diverse backgrounds which I think really works pretty well.
The World Building: You are THERE. In all the
spaces and times, Justin Cronin sits you down in the moment and gives you the
360 view. This fan art is basically what the words create in your mind!
Anyway, this is my public declaration that Terry Maggart's book recommendation didn't suck.
Other Series Review posts:
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