The Passage by Justin Cronin is Great and I’m Not Just Saying That Because I’m Drunk

Title: The Passage

Author: Justin Cronin

836 pages

Publisher: Random House

Buy The Book: Amazon

Summary:

First, the unthinkable: a security breach at a secret U.S. government facility unleashes the monstrous product of a chilling military experiment. Then, the unspeakable: a night of chaos and carnage gives way to sunrise on a nation, and ultimately a world, forever altered. All that remains for the stunned survivors is the long fight ahead and a future ruled by fear—of darkness, of death, of a fate far worse.
As civilization swiftly crumbles into a primal landscape of predators and prey, two people flee in search of sanctuary. FBI agent Brad Wolgast is a good man haunted by what he’s done in the line of duty. Six-year-old orphan Amy Harper Bellafonte is a refugee from the doomed scientific project that has triggered apocalypse. He is determined to protect her from the horror set loose by her captors. But for Amy, escaping the bloody fallout is only the beginning of a much longer odyssey—spanning miles and decades—towards the time and place where she must finish what should never have begun. (Summary provided by Random House.)

My Thoughts:

Quite honestly, I read The Passage by Justin Cronin right before I left for my cruise a few weeks ago. I didn’t have time to write a review, because faster than Buster Poindexter could say “Hot Hot Hot,” I was on a cruise ship heading to Cozumel to celebrate my ten year anniversary with my husband. Sure, I packed the book in my suitcase with my notebook and my iPhone. My intentions were grrrrreat! But alas, I didn’t write a proper review. Also, I have just finished my fourth glass of La Crema Pinot Noir, so I’m a little tipsy. Oopsies! I’m relying heavily on my notes.

Here is my review (apologies to Justin Cronin):

Normally, I like my vampires sparkly or Viking. You know, a nice vampire with just a dash of ruthlessness. A vampire I can take home to Mom and Dad, marry, and eventually raise 2.5 vampire babies with. However, when reading The Passage by Justin Cronin, I was pleased to find that I can still be terrified of vampires. In a day and age where the vampire mythology has become heavily romanticized, Cronin takes the notion of the sensitive, vampire hunk and rips it to shreds. (This entire paragraph was in my notes verbatim. See what a good girl I am! Warning: It gets a little fuzzy after this.)

Here are the rest of my notes as emailed to myself from my iPhone:

WTF would I do if I didn’t have access to US weekly! How would I cope not knowing how Tom, Katie and Suri were handling the crisis? Would Perez still be online? (or would the vamps eat him first?)
How dare jc make these vamps nonsexy and scary-like! I like my vampires hot and turned at age 17 w/ carefully tousled hair that reeks of SEXI not YUCKY w/ glass shard teeth (whatever that is…)
Or kissable dr vampires w/ blonde locks that can round on me anytime w/ just a dash of ruthless Eric Northmen Viking  vampire in the mix and you’ve got a killer vampire novel but this one is about the humans and immortality is nothing to be desired in this book

It is crucial to keep in mind that I was not drunk as I sort of am now when I wrote these haphazard, lazy run ons notes. I guess I just didn’t think I would be using this book on my site. Anywhoooo… I’m using these notes now, because my drunk ass I think it’s funny.

What can be gained from the above notes:

1) I am apparently very worried I would not have access to US Weekly after the apocalyptic, vampire virus spreads across America.

2) I am also very worried the vamps would eat Perez Hilton.

3) The viral vamps are not sexy enough for me. (Uhmmm…What the Hell is wrong with me? Why do I care about how sexy vamps are?)

4) This book reminds me of the fragility of the human race.

5) I enjoy Cronin’s representation of vampires or “Virals” as frenzied immortals that no human would want to become.

In addition to the above thoughts, I also remember thinking that The Passage had many similarities to Stephen King’s The Stand when I read it. This is a huge compliment coming from me, because I was crazy about The Stand back in high school in the early nineties. I think The Stand was my first experience with post apocalyptic literature, and I instantly fell in love with the genre. So basically, I like the book even though the vampires were not sexy and actually scary. See, I’m not that shallow!

To sum up this train wreck of a review, The Passage is a fantastic piece of post apocalyptic literature. Cronin’s contribution to the vampire mythology is very original. Even though I worry about the fate of US Weekly, Tom, Suri, Katie, and Perez Hilton in the world Cronin created, I highly recommend his book.

*Tune in next time for a much more coherent review. I promise. In the meantime, feel free to comment on this catastrophe piece.:)

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Tagged as: Book Review • Justin Cronin • Random House • The Passage • Vampires • Vamps • Virals