„Before she became the Girl from Nowhere – the One Who Walked In, the First and Last and Only, who lived a thousand years – she was just a little girl in Iowa, named Amy.“ (page 3)

About

The Passage by Justin Cronin reached third place on the New York Times bestseller list after its publication in 2010 and spent 17 weeks in the rankings. The book is the first volume of a trilogy, with the second part, The Twelve, released in 2012. The third volume, The City of Mirrors, was published in 2016. Even before the book was published, Fox 2000 and Ridley Scott’s Scott Free Productions acquired the rights for a film adaptation in 2007. The trilogy was made a TV series in 2019. The idea for The Passage originated from Cronin’s daughter’s request for him to write a book about a girl who saves the world.

Plot

Immortality. A long-cherished desire of humanity. It is within reach when a team of researchers discovers a virus that seemingly extends life dramatically. Project Noah is launched, and twelve death row inmates are secretly injected with the virus in exchange for a pardon. But the experiment does not go as planned—the inmates’ immune systems fight back, and the test subjects mutate into horrifying, vampire-like creatures with seemingly psychotic powers.

The last hope for success is Amy, a six-year-old girl with no parents, no family. The researchers believe that her still-developing immune system might yield better results, so they secretly kidnap her and bring her to the research facility. She is injected with the virus, and it changes her. But then, disaster strikes. The twelve test subjects manipulate their guards, break free from their high-security cells, and unleash a massacre like no other. Now immortal but stripped of their humanity—driven by bloodlust and endowed with superhuman strength—the twelve escape into the Canadian wilderness, carrying a highly contagious virus with them. Only Amy and her protector, Wolgast, manage to flee into the mountains. But even there, they may not be safe from the looming apocalypse.

Nearly 100 years after this catastrophic event, the world is a shadow of its former self. Only a few humans have survived the spread of the virus, living behind walls illuminated by bright artificial lights. But the batteries and power sources are weakening, and when the lights go out, the virals come. The situation in the colony grows increasingly desperate as aggressive virals attack the protective walls more frequently.

Then, one night, a girl appears. Alone, she emerges from the wilderness and stands before the colony’s walls. And suddenly, there is a spark of hope.

„When all time ended, and the world had lost its memory, and the man that he was had receded from view like a ship sailing away, rounding the blade of the earth with his old life locked in its hold; and when the gyring stars gazed down upon nothing, and the moon in its arc no longer remembered his name, and all that remained was the great sea of hunger on which he floated forever – still, inside him, in the deepest place, was this: one year. The mountain and the turning seasons and Amy. Amy and the Year of Zero.“ (page 211)

For readers…

…that are looking for a frighteningly authentic depiction of an apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic scenario that is completely different from typical science fiction, willing to immerse themselves in a somewhat epic narrative.

Rating

This book is a small phenomenon for me. I bought it in its release year, 2010, and immediately started reading. However, my progress was extremely slow, and after about 80 pages, I gave up entirely. The book remained untouched on my shelf for some years until I picked it up again and gave it another chance. And my goodness—how glad I am that I did!

Admittedly, the first part of the book held little appeal for me; it felt too drawn out, too excessive, too boring. But then, I was completely hooked. I devoured this nearly 800-page work like I rarely do with science fiction. It’s not just one of those apocalyptic sci-fi stories—which I usually can’t stand. It’s something entirely different. I would even dare to say it is a monumental text, full of fascination, brilliant ideas, intricate connections, and incredible suspense.

At first, the narrative threads are a bit confusing, as little is explained, but as the story unfolds, everything becomes clear. You realize that the initial confusion only adds to the brilliance of the story. The language further enhances the atmosphere, making you feel as if you are witnessing something of immense historical significance. Cronin’s writing gives the text a sense of grandeur and importance, making you almost forget that it is all fiction.

The entire scenario is meticulously crafted, leaving hardly any questions unanswered—except for those likely to be resolved in the next volume. Even the numerous side plots are followed up in a way that feels satisfying to me. Rarely have I read a fiction story with such a strong sense of reality.

This book is epic, and I would believe every word—if I didn’t know it was all made up.

Definitely WORTH READING.