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emtees's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book is just a lot of book. I loved it, but it didn’t feel like the experience of reading a book so much as a seemingly endless journey through a story that kept changing focus, always staying engaging, but getting further and further from where it started, so that by the time the plot looped around back to the beginning it felt like it had been nearly as long for me as for the characters since those original events played out. And considering the book features a time jump of nearly a full century, that’s saying something.
The first section of the book takes place in a near future - though a near future written from the perspective of about 2010 that now feels a bit dated (Hurricane Katrina and 9/11 style terrorism are cultural obsessions). Even in these early chapters, the world is already sliding towards dystopia - New Orleans has been destroyed by floods and the country is covered in checkpoints that make any kind of anonymous travel impossible. In this version of a dark US, Brad Wolgast, an FBI agent on the verge of retirement, and his partner travel from one prison to another, recruiting men sentenced to death row into a secret government project that is using a virus discovered in the jungles of South America to attempt to cure… death, basically, or at least aging. The build up of this first section is really well done - there’s Brad’s story, which includes his personal tragedies, only slowly spooled out; a series of emails from a scientist detailing the dramatic situation under which the virus was discovered; and the story of Amy, a young girl from a mundanely sad background who, due to a series of coincidences (maybe? The role of coincidence in this story isn’t always clear and there always appears to be a hint that some sort of destiny in in play) is selected to become the latest victim of the project. Cronin sells the cynicism and conflicting goals of the various scientific, military and intelligence figures behind Project Noah so well that you actually believe such an obviously dumb project could go forward, and that the fall out from it that destroys civilization as we know it is inevitable. When the collapse comes, Wolgast ends up on the run with Amy, hiding out as the dystopia around them reaches them only in rumors.
And then the story jumps forward a hundred years and we meet the real hero, Peter, a young man living in an isolated community of human survivors who is sure that his life is meant to contain more than it does. Peter gets the opportunity to prove that when a mysterious girl arrives in his community, mute and yet able to communicate, bearing a military chip that seems to be sending a signal to a distant location. A girl named Amy.
The story here is so massive, with tons of side characters and their internal and external journeys, that it got hard to keep track of it all at times, but Cronin masterfully ties it all together in the end. In the beginning I was often unsure what I was supposed to focus on - did the time jump mean that all the characters from the first section were just gone and I didn’t need to remember anything about them? Does it matter that we know one of the death row inmates who participated in the project wasn’t actually guilty of anything but kindness to a lonely woman? What about the backstory of Lacey, a nun who tries to help Amy, or the journal entries of a young girl who survived the initial chaos of the apocalypse? The answer is yes, Cronin makes it all matter (well, maybe not the death row inmate, but I expect that to come into play in later books.) I don’t just mean that he ties the plot up neatly, little hints you could almost miss fitting together at just the right moment, although he does do that in brilliant form, but that the emotional struggles of the characters, their relationships with each other and their experiences of despair and faith, all matter. Themes reoccur in a way that feels literary, whether that’s the importance of remembering our stories, hinted at through the sections told in journal form that are being read a thousand years in the future, or even the changed meaning of Project Noah, from a reference to the long life of the biblical figure to a hint at the way humanity will survive. For all that this is an adventure story, an apocalyptic journey, a horror novel, it is also a deeply emotional and soulful book about survival. I cannot wait to pick up the next one.
The first section of the book takes place in a near future - though a near future written from the perspective of about 2010 that now feels a bit dated (Hurricane Katrina and 9/11 style terrorism are cultural obsessions). Even in these early chapters, the world is already sliding towards dystopia - New Orleans has been destroyed by floods and the country is covered in checkpoints that make any kind of anonymous travel impossible. In this version of a dark US, Brad Wolgast, an FBI agent on the verge of retirement, and his partner travel from one prison to another, recruiting men sentenced to death row into a secret government project that is using a virus discovered in the jungles of South America to attempt to cure… death, basically, or at least aging. The build up of this first section is really well done - there’s Brad’s story, which includes his personal tragedies, only slowly spooled out; a series of emails from a scientist detailing the dramatic situation under which the virus was discovered; and the story of Amy, a young girl from a mundanely sad background who, due to a series of coincidences (maybe? The role of coincidence in this story isn’t always clear and there always appears to be a hint that some sort of destiny in in play) is selected to become the latest victim of the project. Cronin sells the cynicism and conflicting goals of the various scientific, military and intelligence figures behind Project Noah so well that you actually believe such an obviously dumb project could go forward, and that the fall out from it that destroys civilization as we know it is inevitable. When the collapse comes, Wolgast ends up on the run with Amy, hiding out as the dystopia around them reaches them only in rumors.
And then the story jumps forward a hundred years and we meet the real hero, Peter, a young man living in an isolated community of human survivors who is sure that his life is meant to contain more than it does. Peter gets the opportunity to prove that when a mysterious girl arrives in his community, mute and yet able to communicate, bearing a military chip that seems to be sending a signal to a distant location. A girl named Amy.
The story here is so massive, with tons of side characters and their internal and external journeys, that it got hard to keep track of it all at times, but Cronin masterfully ties it all together in the end. In the beginning I was often unsure what I was supposed to focus on - did the time jump mean that all the characters from the first section were just gone and I didn’t need to remember anything about them? Does it matter that we know one of the death row inmates who participated in the project wasn’t actually guilty of anything but kindness to a lonely woman? What about the backstory of Lacey, a nun who tries to help Amy, or the journal entries of a young girl who survived the initial chaos of the apocalypse? The answer is yes, Cronin makes it all matter (well, maybe not the death row inmate, but I expect that to come into play in later books.) I don’t just mean that he ties the plot up neatly, little hints you could almost miss fitting together at just the right moment, although he does do that in brilliant form, but that the emotional struggles of the characters, their relationships with each other and their experiences of despair and faith, all matter. Themes reoccur in a way that feels literary, whether that’s the importance of remembering our stories, hinted at through the sections told in journal form that are being read a thousand years in the future, or even the changed meaning of Project Noah, from a reference to the long life of the biblical figure to a hint at the way humanity will survive. For all that this is an adventure story, an apocalyptic journey, a horror novel, it is also a deeply emotional and soulful book about survival. I cannot wait to pick up the next one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Death
Moderate: Pregnancy
Minor: Suicide
Lots of body horror and death by vampires. A main character is pregnant through the book and has a difficult, though successful, child birth scene near the end. There is a brief mention of suicide.jackbifrost's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Infidelity, Violence, Blood, Grief, Abandonment, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Animal death, Suicide, and Murder
Minor: Racial slurs
paguroidea's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Flyers, what a letdown. Strong start and a lot of character introductions with backstories that dead ends over and over. The whole book felt at the end like it’s just setting up the rest of the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Violence
Moderate: Animal death, Torture, and Pregnancy
Minor: Suicide
teabex's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
A fascinating story with interesting characters, unpredictable twists, and epic journeys. It covers a vast set of plot lines and times, in would could have been three separate books itself. I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the series!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Cursing, Physical abuse, Rape, Torture, and Pregnancy
Minor: Animal death, Cancer, Child death, Confinement, Suicide, Medical content, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
katiecentabar's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.75
I tore through this trying to finish in 2023 but came up short, so it’s my first of the new year. This book is cinematic and fascinating. Though overlong and with coincidences that made me go “really?” I enjoyed it a lot. I’ll probably finish the series
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Grief, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Animal death, Miscarriage, Suicide, Pregnancy, and War
cryosphinx's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
It happened fast. Thirty-two minutes for one world to die, another to be reborn.
My mom got the series for me for Christmas and DEMANDED I read it because I like me some post-apocalyptic novels, not so much vampires but I rolled with it.
What I did like is that this book gives you the moments that led up to the end of the world before jumping forward ~100 years after the fallout. I didn't mind the time skip that much, or the even larger one that comes and goes (because it still makes sense) but the book really slogs when that time skip happens. I understand that Cronin needed to world build the colony but it was hard to keep track of all the new characters, who they were, and who was important. It's just jarring because the pre-apocalypse does the same thing: a ton of characters and who is important and who does what. Then we time skip, dump all those characters, and do it all over.
The book itself could have probably been edited down shorter. Some of sections where the POV changes to one of the other characters spends more time than necessary building a character who ultimately isn't a plot critical character.
I did enjoy the ending sections where the POV changes and gives insight into some the mysteries, but ultimately, some mysteries are left unsolved like Amy is special but WHY is she special? Which I hope get answered in the next book or I'll be big mad.
So yes, it gets real slow and boring in some parts but I think it was worth plowing throigh to get some of.the more exciting parts and a lot of the prose IS really good.
My mom got the series for me for Christmas and DEMANDED I read it because I like me some post-apocalyptic novels, not so much vampires but I rolled with it.
What I did like is that this book gives you the moments that led up to the end of the world before jumping forward ~100 years after the fallout. I didn't mind the time skip that much, or the even larger one that comes and goes (because it still makes sense) but the book really slogs when that time skip happens. I understand that Cronin needed to world build the colony but it was hard to keep track of all the new characters, who they were, and who was important. It's just jarring because the pre-apocalypse does the same thing: a ton of characters and who is important and who does what. Then we time skip, dump all those characters, and do it all over.
The book itself could have probably been edited down shorter. Some of sections where the POV changes to one of the other characters spends more time than necessary building a character who ultimately isn't a plot critical character.
I did enjoy the ending sections where the POV changes and gives insight into some the mysteries, but ultimately, some mysteries are left unsolved like
So yes, it gets real slow and boring in some parts but I think it was worth plowing throigh to get some of.the more exciting parts and a lot of the prose IS really good.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Murder, Pregnancy, and War
Minor: Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Suicide, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
tealightfultomes's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Suicide, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
minanonim's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
While the start is a bit slow, the story picks up pace halfway in. It was definitely a good choice on my part to go with the audiobook, and turn up the speed (I did this from the beginning). However, I must say, this book has ALL OF THE TRIGGER WARNINGS, like any trigger warning you can think of is probably in there somewhere. Please be careful if you, unlike me, have a heart.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Cancer, Terminal illness, and Vomit
julianne95's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I had tried to read this book a few times before I finally got through it, but it was all worth it in the end. The entire story changes so much throughout that it feels like you're kinda reading several different books. You end up really wanting to know what happens next so I can't wait to start reading the next book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship and Sexual assault
Moderate: Cancer, Death, Pedophilia, Suicide, and Torture
meganpbennett's review against another edition
The Passage is a fascinating book, but it got far too post-apocalyptic for me. And that doesn't include all of the ethical and moral issues with the first 25%.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail