The PassageJustin Cronin
Oh, The Passage. I loved it, I hated it, it drove me insane.
Let's break those reactions down a bit, shall we?
ADORE
The best part of The Passage? The beginning. The reader knows shit's gonna hit the fan, but it takes awhile to hit. No problem: the buildup is the best part. Meanwhile, the characters in the first third are complex, interesting, and sympathetic, and the plot is tight and fast-paced. At this point in the novel, glowingvampires virals couldn't tear me away from the book.
SNORE
...that is, until I hit the middle, when anything bright and/or shiny could distract me from reading. At this point, the shit has met the fan, mess = everywhere, and people are fighting for survival. Except that each fight is soooo drawn out and -- dare I say it? -- BORING. (How can fighting deadly creatures be boring you ask? Trust me, it's possible. Had the novel been condensed by, oh, maybe 300 pages, I would have gotten jiggy with it.*) Also, there are SOOOO many characters and many of them are alike, making it hard to differentiate between Dude A who hates vampires and Dude B who hates vampires. The characters who did stand out, meanwhile, weren't terribly likable and/or interesting, with only one or two exceptions.
LAKDJFAKORE
Finally, other aspects of the novel drove me insane. Like, Alicia. We're told again and again (and again) how tough she is, how she's such a badass blah blah blah and how she NEVER cries. And then, once we're introduced to these "facts," she cries in NEARLY EVERY SCENE she's in -- all the while saying "don't tell anyone I'm crying." SHUT UP ALREADY, YOU BIG BABY!
Note: this crybaby is WAY more entertaining than Alicia. LOL FOREVER
Let's break those reactions down a bit, shall we?
ADORE
The best part of The Passage? The beginning. The reader knows shit's gonna hit the fan, but it takes awhile to hit. No problem: the buildup is the best part. Meanwhile, the characters in the first third are complex, interesting, and sympathetic, and the plot is tight and fast-paced. At this point in the novel, glowing
SNORE
...that is, until I hit the middle, when anything bright and/or shiny could distract me from reading. At this point, the shit has met the fan, mess = everywhere, and people are fighting for survival. Except that each fight is soooo drawn out and -- dare I say it? -- BORING. (How can fighting deadly creatures be boring you ask? Trust me, it's possible. Had the novel been condensed by, oh, maybe 300 pages, I would have gotten jiggy with it.*) Also, there are SOOOO many characters and many of them are alike, making it hard to differentiate between Dude A who hates vampires and Dude B who hates vampires. The characters who did stand out, meanwhile, weren't terribly likable and/or interesting, with only one or two exceptions.
LAKDJFAKORE
Finally, other aspects of the novel drove me insane. Like, Alicia. We're told again and again (and again) how tough she is, how she's such a badass blah blah blah and how she NEVER cries. And then, once we're introduced to these "facts," she cries in NEARLY EVERY SCENE she's in -- all the while saying "don't tell anyone I'm crying." SHUT UP ALREADY, YOU BIG BABY!
Note: this crybaby is WAY more entertaining than Alicia. LOL FOREVER
Ultimately, The Passage was OKAY. I'm glad I got the Kindle version rather than the hardback. I'll probably read the second and third installments; even though I don't really care about the characters, I'm interested in seeing where this is headed.
In a nutshell: Good, boring, then okay, The Passage makes vampires scary and interminable.
Bibliolatry Scale: 4 out of 6 stars (I almost did 3.5, but am feeling charitable; take this rating with a grain of salt.)
FTCBS: personal Kindle version, mwah ha ha ha ha ha
*why yes, apparently it IS 1997, thank you very much
In a nutshell: Good, boring, then okay, The Passage makes vampires scary and interminable.
Bibliolatry Scale: 4 out of 6 stars (I almost did 3.5, but am feeling charitable; take this rating with a grain of salt.)
FTCBS: personal Kindle version, mwah ha ha ha ha ha
*why yes, apparently it IS 1997, thank you very much
5 comments:
I feel the same way about The Passage. It was a good story but I didn't love it. The ending broke my heart. Ugh! I will be reading the next two installments too. I want to know what happened at the settlement with everyone gone.
I've got this one on the TBR pile, but first, thanks to catching I Am Legend on the TV one Saturday night a couple of weeks ago (exciting life, I know), I have started reading Matheson's book. Just going on having seen the movie but not either book, they sound kind of similar. Have you read Matheson's book and would you say that's an accurate assumption? Just wondering how the two compare if that's the case.
Lesley, yes, I've read Matheson's book, and I'd say there are only a few similarities (mainly the "viral" part)
However, because of the sheer length of Cronin's story, there's a lot in it not found in Matheson, especially since Matheson focuses on only one person, whereas Cronin focuses on dozens.
i haven't read this book and might just steer clear. i'm a bit done with vampires for the moment.
the video was horrifying. seriously, i'm disturbed by what i saw. those parents need to get that kid some therapy. :(
I keep getting confused by your vampire references, to the point where I have to remind myself that you're being facetious ("wait, The Passage is about Vampires..or it isn't..or..wait..") Great review, though. You confirm what I was worried about, with all the hype. I felt the book was getting a bit overblown and, while I'm sure it's good and I will probably pick it up sometime, I don't feel it is necessary to rush out and get it now (unless I want to be one of the "cool kids" reviewing it this month).
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