The Passage

This book scratches my genre itch and is also “literary” at the same time. Cronin’s superb world-building is so subtle that you don’t realize that the book’s world and ours are separate until you are half-way through the book and see that there were clues all along the way.

I loved this one because it read like the kind of post-apocalyptic fiction Stephen King might have written—a sprawling novel of civilizational fall with a huge cast of characters on an enormous canvas that nonetheless tells intimate stories. Yes, it’s technically a vampire novel and a pandemic novel, but unlike other stories in the genre (though I’m not sure this book belongs to a genre), it brings empathy. A heart. Because maybe the virals (the word “vampire” rarely appears in the text) aren’t evil but sick, which could be considered a metaphor for addiction, poverty, or any maligned social group.… show more.

I love an awesome end-of-the-world story, including this one about lab-made, escaped vampires that end civilization as we know it. Apocalyptic science fiction and vampire horror make a terrific combination.

I’ve read the series three times and this first book at least one extra time. The sense of doom as the apocalypse unfolds is suspense-filled and pulls the reader along at breakneck speed. I also love the complex and flawed characters. 

I don’t think I’ve ever read a book that had me experiencing as many emotions as The Passage. Starting in present day and bouncing between now and 100 years in the future, this story navigates the humanity (and lack thereof) of survivors of a vampiric apocalypse. The Passage was tugging at my heartstrings from the first chapter, and the dystopian world Cronin built around the book’s epidemic completely sucked me in. I was dealing with major anxiety when I first read this book, and the gripping story was some of the only relief I could find. I couldn’t put… show more.

This book made me want to throw it across the room many times, and I couldn’t recommend it more. It’s about a dangerous virus that escapes and quickly infects most of the world, turning the majority of the population into vampires. But not the cuddly, repenting type—the mindless, zombie-esque type. What gives this book edge is that it’s an epic urban fantasy, spanning thousands of years, and offers interesting insight into how language and religion develop within human culture that blew my freaking mind. 

It's difficult to place The Passage in a singular genre. Part dystopian, part horror, but far from the typical vampire or monster fare. The timeline spans for generations, and I can't fathom where the other books will lead the story. The author states that the inspiration for this story came from walks with his young daughter, who gave him the basis of the characters and plot. How cool is that?

When COVID first arrived on the scene and the press was focused on the origins of the virus, I remembered The Passage. It opens with scientists conducting government research involving a virus derived from bats on humans, ostensibly to find a cure for cancer. Instead, they create a lethal virus that turns most of humanity into supercharged vampires who kill almost everyone on the planet reigning down terror for 100 years. I have to confess I did not read the entire trilogy, but the first book was captivating.

A plague of vampires? Why not? This book is part of a trilogy but stands well on its own. In fact, I haven’t even read the other books in the trilogy. Maybe someday. The Passage was one of the first books I’d ever read that imagined vampirism as a global pandemic. And I ate it up. Of all the books on this list, The Passage is the least philosophical in its treatment of human nature. So if you came here for a purely apocalyptic adventure with lots of action, then this is your book.