The Passage by Justin Cronin

766 pages

"IT HAPPENED FAST.

THIRTY-TWO MINUTES

FOR ONE WORLD TO DIE,

ANOTHER TO BE BORN.

First, the unthinkable: a security breach at a secret US 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 a doomed scientific project that has triggered apocalypse. Wolgast 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 - toward the time and place where she must finish what should never have begun." -Dust Jacket

This is a hard book to review because I feel like I will be justifying its biggest flaw. First, let me say that it is difficult for me to stop reading a book once I've started it. I'll do it if I find something offensive, for instance A Million Little Pieces by James Frey with its language that started on page 1 and which turned out to be made up anyway, but most of the time I become invested in the story and want to see it through to its conclusion. I think that's why I read so many young adult/kids' books - they're safe and good. You don't have to worry so much about coming across crap. This book's crap? Language. But it doesn't start until around the 100th page. By then you're (I'm) sucked in. The author enjoys using the "F" word. I hate that word anyway, but what I really hate is when that word is used in a way that doesn't even make sense. For me, the "F" word is the go-to word for someone too dumb to come up with something smarter. But this author is plenty smart - and so are his characters - which is why it's so frustrating. I had to read with a pen in hand so I could cross out the bad words.

So huge justification aside, this story was really good and smartly written. I'd recommend it without reservation if it didn't have language. (I can recommend my copy without reservation because all the swear words are crossed out.) One of the things that I like about stepping out of the YA/Kids genre is that you get books that don't always end happily ever after. This book has characters that you really care about and things don't always end well for them. They have to make difficult and brave choices and the author isn't afraid to write things that will make you sad.

This story starts in the near future with a military disaster that results in the end of the world as people know it. Then in the middle it flashes forward 100 years in the future to a colony that is fighting for its survival. There are also writings "discovered" that flash forward even farther than that. There are a lot of characters but the author does a good job blending them all together in a coherent way. Amy is the constant character throughout. I don't want to give too much away because there are some great twists and turns in this book but her fate and destiny are tied to all of the characters.

This book ends with more than one cliff-hanger. I closed the cover thinking "Noooo! That can't be the end!" It's not. I googled the book and found out that this is going to be a trilogy. The darned trilogy! Why does every book seem to have to be a trilogy?! As much as I was hoping for more at the end of this story I kind of liked how it ended and wish that would really be the end. Some books should let the reader imagine what happens next. But there is a book 2, supposedly slated to come out in September of this year and titled The Twelve. The second book will go back in time 100 years to right after the disaster in Colorado and give you a different point of view of those events. That should be interesting.

Dear Mr. Cronin,
Please, please lose the language. I really want to recommend this to my friends and put it on my favorites list. I also don't want my kids to see me writing in books!