I have been a huge Justin Cronin fan for many years, beginning with his captivating book - The Passage (eventually made into a pretty awful tv show with the amazing Mark Paul-Gosselaar (who, even at his best, had no chance of saving it)). One of the few 5 star review on this blog, it was joined later by The Twelve (a decent sequel) and City of Mirrors (review of all three can be found here). So, imagine my excitement when a new book was announced earlier this summer.
The Ferryman, a less dark, non post-apocalyptic story, was a nice change of pace from his prior novels. Moving into slightly lighter dystopian future, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and finished the 530 pages quickly in under two weeks. The basic premise revolves around the main character who works as a ferryman to take people who are close to dying to a placed called the Nursery to be "renewed". The setting is a beautiful, utopianish country that is hidden from the challenges of the modern world. Of course, not is all as it seems and he begins dreaming (something that was not believed possible), and other class conflicts begin to arise.
As noted, I really couldn't put this down. From the opening pages, I found the book engrossing and the characters, and perhaps more notably, the plot, very engaging. I also found Cronin has improved his delivery and become a writer with smoother prose, better dialogue, and greater hooks than in some of his previous works.
Perhaps what most stuck out to me, especially as I neared the ending and finished the book are the twists and turns and how much that made me think about what I just read. I was even tempted to go back and start over to try and better understand certain plot pieces that didn't fully sink in (I didn't, thanks mostly to the excellent people on Reddit who helped me better understand pieces I missed or misundestod). As I finished the book, I realized it did have many connections to movies that I have enjoyed, and I think I most consider it a mix of Inception and Interstellar with a pinch of the Matrix mixed in. Perhaps after thinking about those movies, it makes a bit more sense why I was thinking of re-reading (not the most straight forward set of movies). But, of course, that's what made the book so exciting. Each new detail unraveled a new thread in my mind that I had not thought of or realized before, ultimately making the book much more fulfilling.
With all this praise, I feel I should mention concerns for some potential readers. As I alluded, the book has a complicated plot and can be difficult to follow. It's also possible that the major twist at the ending, or ending by itself, may be off putting for some readers as it comes late and really changes the narrative. Most obviously, this book would fit most clearly into the the "sci-fi" realm that includes dystopian and/or the post-apoclapytic genre. If that's not for you, this may not be best. That all being said, I think this book is a super fun and enjoyable read and do recommend strongly.
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