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The Passage

by Justin Cronin

A government experiment, a collapsing world, and a girl at the center

Bestseller Critically Recognized
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Awards & Recognition

  • Bestseller

    New York Times bestseller

    The supplied metadata identifies the book as a New York Times bestseller.

  • Editorial selection

    One of Paste's Best Horror Books of the Decade

    Named among Paste's best horror books of the decade.

  • Critical praise

    Time praises The Passage as a powerful work of literary storytelling

    Time praises Cronin's literary gifts and compares the book favorably with The Stand and The Road.

AlbakiReads Editorial

A government experiment, a collapsing world, and a girl at the center

The Passage begins with Amy, a six-year-old abandoned by her mother and caught up in a government experiment with apocalyptic consequences. Special Agent Brad Wolgast is sent to find her, but instead helps her escape as the experiment goes wrong and society collapses. The story then reaches across miles and decades, following Amy into a violent future where she carries knowledge that may hold the key to saving what remains of the world. Its scope connects a close pursuit of one child with a larger account of catastrophe, survival, and the uncertain prospects of rebuilding.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • For readers interested in apocalyptic fiction and survival stories.
  • For readers who enjoy narratives linking a central character’s journey to a larger societal collapse.
  • For readers seeking a suspense novel centered on a government experiment and its consequences.

Themes

Catastrophe and survivalGovernment experimentationAbandonment and protectionHope and rebuilding

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER -This thrilling novel kicks off what Stephen King calls "a trilogy that will stand as one of the great achievements in American fantasy fiction."

ONE OF PASTE'S BEST HORROR BOOKS OF THE DECADE - ONE OF TIME'S TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR - A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post, Esquire, U.S. News & World Report, NPR/On Point, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, BookPage, Library Journal

"It happened fast. Thirty-two minutes for one world to die, another to be born."

An epic and gripping tale of catastrophe and survival, The Passage is the story of Amy--abandoned by her mother at the age of six, pursued and then imprisoned by the shadowy figures behind a government experiment of apocalyptic proportions. But Special Agent Brad Wolgast, the lawman sent to track her down, is disarmed by the curiously quiet girl and risks everything to save her. As the experiment goes nightmarishly wrong, Wolgast secures her escape--but he can't stop society's collapse. And as Amy walks alone, across miles and decades, into a future dark with violence and despair, she is filled with the mysterious and terrifying knowledge that only she has the power to save the ruined world.

Look for the entire Passage trilogy:
THE PASSAGE THE TWELVE THE CITY OF MIRRORS

Praise for The Passage

"[A] blockbuster."--The New York Times Book Review

"Mythic storytelling."--San Francisco Chronicle

"Magnificent . . . Cronin has taken his literary gifts, and he has weaponized them. . . . The Passage can stand proudly next to Stephen King's apocalyptic masterpiece The Stand, but a closer match would be Cormac McCarthy's The Road: a story about human beings trying to generate new hope in a world from which all hope has long since been burnt."--Time

"The type of big, engrossing read that will have you leaving the lights on late into the night."--The Dallas Morning News

"Addictive."--Men's Journal

"Cronin's unguessable plot and appealing characters will seize your heart and mind."--Parade
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Customer reviews

M
AlbakiReads
Malaika Taylor

I highly recommend to for anyone looking for inner clarity

T
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Thomas DiMassa

Great service and fast service

Great shopping experience! The book arrived quickly, was well packaged, and matched the description perfectly. I would definitely shop with you again

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Olivia

Smooth.