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A review by sreddous
The Ferryman by Justin Cronin
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
A highly-detailed, well-crafted, surprising, tense sci-fi story!
The writing style really really works for me. I like that the main character is in first-person narration but the other characters are in third-person. I never got confused on who was talking, and everyone's motivations were clear in my opinion. This is a complex plot with a lot of "was that really real or are we being manipulated?" but that meant that the twists were satisfying because we never really trusted that things were "as they seemed" from the start. So all that stuff was really well-built-up without being predictable!
I thought the characters were also really relatable -- even the slimy, conniving ones, I can see why they'd be doing what they're doing.
There are a few times near the end where it felt a bit "everyone sits down and tells all their knowledge to the audience" but this doesn't happen too often to make any chapters outright boring or anything. I feel like the plot unfolds in ways that aren't too confusing but also not too predictable, and this is a hard balance to reach.
Cool, trippy stuff!
The writing style really really works for me. I like that the main character is in first-person narration but the other characters are in third-person. I never got confused on who was talking, and everyone's motivations were clear in my opinion. This is a complex plot with a lot of "was that really real or are we being manipulated?" but that meant that the twists were satisfying because we never really trusted that things were "as they seemed" from the start. So all that stuff was really well-built-up without being predictable!
I thought the characters were also really relatable -- even the slimy, conniving ones, I can see why they'd be doing what they're doing.
There are a few times near the end where it felt a bit "everyone sits down and tells all their knowledge to the audience" but this doesn't happen too often to make any chapters outright boring or anything. I feel like the plot unfolds in ways that aren't too confusing but also not too predictable, and this is a hard balance to reach.
Cool, trippy stuff!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Violence, and Blood