Overall I found myself really enjoying this story of a utopian island and the man who 'ferries' the older population to its shores, however I also found it a real struggle to get through. It's packed to the rafters with imaginative ideas and concepts, ranging from science fiction to horror and a whole heap of stuff in between. It's a slow paced, quietly building kind of a novel with plenty of twists and turns towards the second half to really justify this long pay off but I do think it got overly rambly at times. It could have done with another round of editing in my opinion to make the pacing a bit faster. I also though that besides from Proctor the characters felt a little flat and under developed.

Really intense, well crafted and detail orientated science fiction novel, but this could have done with being abotu 100 pages shorter.

A very intriguing premise, one to return to at a later date I think! I would be interested by his next novel.

On the island of Prospera people live a luxurious life away from the devastation and deteriorating World, however not all is as it seems.

Proctor transport people to the nursery island as the island Ferryman when they begin to show signs of illness/deterioration. This was a really interesting scifi book which had me intrigued from the beginning.

It was one of those books that felt to me like I had watched a similar movie or I had read something similar before. I had expected the twist to happen so I didn’t have the same shock factor as others who didn’t see it coming.

Since reading this I’ve heard amazing things about Justin Cronin’s series The Passage so I will definitely be picking that up.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you for approving me for a copy of The Ferryman. I realise this feedback is late but I have been trying to read this title on and off for a few months. Unfortunately I have had to put this title down for now as it is not quite working out for me and I've been struggling to pick it back up. I have also purchased the audio to see if I could listen instead but, again, I am still not enjoying the read. I won't give up with the title but will leave it for a few months to see if it my current frame of mind.
I would thank you again for the review copy.
Kind regards
Lynn
Lynnsbooks.

500+ pages, Cronin's The Ferryman is a little longer than my average read. But, this new-to-me-author - most well-known for his hit The Passage trilogy - packs so much into this book in terms of world-building, character-building and and layers of complex twists and turns, it's like peeling the multiple layers of an onion and finding something entirely different underneath. By the time I'd finished, my mind was a little blown, and I had no concerns about the pagecount - in fact, I was surprised the book wasn't longer.

The protagonist, our titular ferryman, is Director Proctor Bennett. We meet him as he's living a relatively charmed life with his beautiful, talented wife Elise. They live on Prospera, a group of islands where the weather is always good and the people are encouraged to pursue their creative passions, living extremely long, wholesome lives well into their hundreds.

"One might say that Prospera itself is a work of art, a canvas upon which each of our citizens brings to bear a single, exquisitely rendered brushstroke."

Everything seems picture-perfect, until you look a little deeper.

"What is our history? How did we come to be? To these questions, I haven't much to offer; even the year has become hard to determine."

There are two areas of Prospera which the Prosperans know little about. There's the Annex, where the support staff live in relative squalor, deemed a lower level of society. And there's the Nursery, a place where they are 'retired' to at the end of their long lives to be 'regenerated'. Then, they come back again, the slate wipes clean, starting their new lives at the age of 16.

That's where Proctor's job comes in - he escorts these retirees to the Nursery Isle. Everything is going fine until one day he has to escort his own father Nathan. And Nathan has some strange last words, last words that alert the Prosperian government and send Proctor on a mission for answers.

This is all just the beginning. This book is a tricky one to review spoiler-free because there is just so much to unpack. The bizarrely perfect world, long lives and reiteration is really just the tip of the iceberg. As the story unravels, Cronin takes the reader on a journey through time and space, with unimaginable twists and turns that will make your head spin. This would make an excellent sci-fi movie or series, it's already receiving comparisons to Inception and West World and I'd definitely agree with these.

I had seen some reviewers say that this book gets a little crazy, to the point where it's difficult to understand exactly what is happening. As I breezed through the first half of the story, I wondered what they were talking about - it felt like a regular sci-fi mystery drama, and a good one. But the second half takes a big turn with a colossal twist, and suddenly I saw what readers were really talking about.

This is the first I've read from this author, and I'm impressed. There are some truly creepy, clever sci-fi scenes, particularly some around the middle where Proctor takes a trip to the nursery. But there's also strong characters, complex, multi-layered relationships and an exploration of humanity at this story's heart which kept me compulsively reading - even if I didn't entirely understand everything that was going on as it unravelled.

This book broke me into 1000 pieces. I'm not a huge reader of speculative fiction, but I've loved Justin Cronin since The Passage and I'll read anything he writes. But this novel was incredible - one of the best books I've read this year.

The first thing to address in a review is, I guess, if you liked it. And with 4 stars, you'd think I'd be saying hell yes. But I can't make my mind up if i did or not. This book is both fabulously enthralling and yet desperately boring in equal measures. Justin Cronins style of writing is very commendable, but it is also very, very, verrrrryyyy long-winded. At 560 pages, it's a fairly hefty read. Honestly, I feel like it could lose 160 of those pages and be a better read.

All that being said, I'm glad I stuck with it. The opening chapters set in Prospera drag quite a bit. In hindsight, this could be deliberate!But once Proctor starts to question things, then it becomes an interesting and quite emotional read. I'll just say the boy on the elevator killed me.

So after a week of thinking on it and writing this review, the question is, did I like it?

I haven't a damned clue!

An inventive and compelling concept, executed with great style. I read one of the author’s previous books many years ago and was excited to see a new title from him, and this very much lived up to my expectations.

I've long awaited the next novel from J Cronin, I dared to say it before and I'll repeat it here; I rate The Passage Trilogy so highly it bested The Stand by Stephen King.

Whilst not quite as long as any of those three, The Ferryman still reaches tome stance weighing in at a respectable 538 pages.

The plot is intricate and takes a LOT of concentration. I struggled often to grasp the tense, who's point of view and what was dream vs reality, I do believe Cronin intentionally wrote in this manner but I often found it frustrating.
Despite this I was never bored. I wouldn't say I was turning pages at speed, there were only a handful of events that really hooked me in but I was still enjoying the story.

The characters are well written, each with a distinct set of motives and beliefs befitting their personalities and actions throughout the novel.

I had first anticipated The Ferryman would become a favourite read of the year, but the book took an irreversible nose dive toward its conclusion.
Honestly, I skim read the final few chapters. It seemed like Cronin had amassed so much confusion he then had to break down a long, painstaking explanation of what had come before rather than drawing the reader to natural conclusions.
The overall take away can be summed up in a single sentence, I won't share it here as the entire plot would be spoiled but if you read The Ferryman, you'll know. A disappointing and lazy end from a writer I know can be masterful. Search out a one star review on goodreads- you'll soon see.

My adoration of The Passage ensures I will try the next Cronin novel, but this one was not for me.

I am thrilled to have read a Justin Cronin novel, which feels so long overdue after the power of the trilogy starting with book one, The Passage. The Ferryman is very different with similarly huge world building set in a unique premise. We, as readers, are introduced to a strange, utopian existence in the island nation of Prospera with hints of unrest threatening trouble for the citizens. Proctor, our Ferryman, is at the heart of things as he begins to question events and his own standing within the cogs of family, society and existence.

This novel has a solid evolutionary element as it transforms effortlessly with each onion layer removed. Things are not as they seem which gives a slight otherworldly hint of Inception crossed with The Matrix. But even those two epic films do not touch the sides of the scope and breadth of the inventiveness behind this story. I found myself doing a double take with each surprising twist turning the story upside down.

Best not to have any expectations at all and just enjoy the ride. A surprising adventure with a number of layers of complexity, I am excited to welcome Justin Cronin back with this rollercoaster of a ride.

I adored this book but how hard is it to write a review without giving the plot away, a plot with a twist that just made the book a lot better for me and an ending that was the same.
Proctor Bennett is The Ferryman. He lives in a utopian world called Prospera where when the time is right for you to depart that world you are taken to an island called the Nursery, by The Ferryman, where your memories are wiped and you are reborn and adopted by couples wanting a family. Proctors world all starts to go wrong when his father Malcolm appears on the list of people to transport to the island. At the dockside his father tries to escape and starts rambling to Proctor about strange things, the weirdest is telling Proctor “you are not you”. Proctor has had dreams all his life, unlike the other people in Prospera and he believes his dreams are in part deja vu of his previous lives.
The characters in the book are great and the idea that creation was all boxes within boxes within boxes that each dream of a different god is either profound or disheartening. This novel reminded me a bit of the movie Inception, how much of life is real, how much is a dream.

#TheFerryman #NetGalley

Justin Cronin writes a standalone novel here, a hard hitting, multilayered, and thought provoking dystopian piece of science fiction where little is as it appears. The narrative goes back and forth in time, the setting is Prospera, an archipelago, consisting of an idyllic island that appears to resemble paradise, the Annex is home to the working support staff, and then there is the Nursery. Proctor Bennett is the Director for District Six of the Department of Social Contracts, he is married to Elise. Bennett is the ferryman who tries to ease the path of those whose health and well being has declined to such an extent that they are retired, ferried to the Nursery, where their minds are wiped, and with their new bodies they return to live again on Prospera.

However, upon assisting his estranged father on the ferry, Bennett is triggered into territory that is to make him question all that he thought he knew. Additionally he is dreaming, something that should not be possible, and simmering is a rebellion that wants to overthrow the current social order with the Arrivalists. Bennett's search for the truth faces obstacles intent on preventing him in this gripping dramatic story with a twist. The complex world building and plotting is beautifully done, keeping my interest throughout, touching on issues such as what it is to be human and the nature of life itself, inequalities, asking what are the components of a well lived life?

Cronin provides the reader with a fascinating social and political commentary on the problems and challenges facing us in our contemporary world. This is likely to appeal to many of the author's existing fans as well as other readers who simply enjoy vibrant and wonderfully engaging storytelling. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

Cronin's the Ferryman is a thought-provoking sci-fi thriller that leans on well-trodden tropes and ideas in a fresh but familiar way.
A story with shades of the Truman Show, V for Vendetta and the Matrix, it opens by introducing the reader to an island paradise where people live long and prosperous lives as long as they maintain a high degree of happiness.
But as with all dystopian societies, it's not long before the cracks of this seemingly perfect world begin to appear and we are drawn into a deepening mystery about dreams, class, control and rebellion.
Cronin does a great job at slowly peeling back the layers while sowing the seeds of a dark and secret underbelly that's just beyond the reader's grasp.
Unfortunately, after an intriguing build up and shock of the big reveal, the conclusion comes off a little flat and underdone with things falling into place a little too easily.

Now, let me preface this by saying I really enjoyed The Passage trilogy - elements of horror, sci-do and drama all rolled into one package. The Ferryman reminds me of the trilogy in that there’s an overarching narrative that isn’t clear until near the end - there’s clues and snippets if you pay attention but they’re there for those who want to delve deep. It’s a novel about class, sci-fi, aging and themes within themes. I guess if you read and enjoyed the Passage you’ll enjoy this. I’ve knocked a star off as, for me, the novel takes some time to really get going but when it does, just enjoy the ride.

It’s been seven years since the last of Justin’s vampiric Passage Trilogy, The City of Mirrors -  was published. This is his first book since. It is clear that he’s been busy.

The Ferryman is set on the archipelago of Prospera – a kind of elitist gated community where rich people live long lives in health, wealth and prosperity until their monitors, embedded in their forearms, fall below 10%. Then the person travels, usually by choice, via ferry to the island known as The Nursery where they retire themselves.

The narrative is focussed upon Proctor Bennett who works for the Department of Social Contracts. It is his job to ferry people to the Nursery, easing their journey as much as possible - or occasionally enforcing the trip.

Yet for him all is generally good. He is in the 8th year of a 15-year marriage contract with Elise, who is the daughter of Calliste Baird, Prospera's CEO of the board of directors. He has a nice home, is earning good money and is in a job that he likes and that he is good at. However, Proctor has recently been having vivid dreams, a recurrence of something he had when younger but thought he had grown out of. Not a major issue you might think, but people in Prospera are just not supposed to have them – their lives and wellbeing are monitored, after all.

Not only that, but his own monitor has suddenly started to drop alarmingly quickly.

When Proctor is requested to take his own father to the Nursery, he finds himself questioning the social order of things at Prospera. This leads him to discover that many of the Support Staff – the cleaners, the waiters that provide a service - have been feeling the same way. There is a growing unrest not really noticed by most of those who are elite. On the island known as the Annex, where the workers live, there is a noticeable presence of a resistance group, known as “Arrivalists”, who may be stirring things up and further causing unrest. They may even be plotting revolution. Proctor meets Thea, one of the resistance working on Prospera in secret, and Pappi, a blind painter who lives in the Annex and is also involved in the unrest.

So here in the first three-quarters of the book we have the not-particularly-new idea of a society that is a utopian paradise but whose smooth running is based upon the less idyllic labours of others, kept down and oppressed by the mechanics of society and government. See also Metropolis, Brave New World and many others.

The plot up to this point may not be new in concept, but what it does, it does very well. But where Justin scores here is in the fine details. The characterisation is thoughtful and detailed, the environment they move through compellingly written, the feelings of those involved charmingly appropriate and real. There’s even some great little ideas about how such a society would run. However, as the story continues, we actually find that much of that idyllic portrayal of daily life is not what it seems. Proctor is really quite a troubled individual, and despite those initial appearances it seems that his wife doesn’t really understand him. He finds himself attracted to Thea, even though it may mean trouble.

Further complications ensue when Proctor meets Caeli, a young teenager on a deserted beach. He finds her to be a good companion, and offers to give her swimming lessons. However, when he tries to check up on her details, Proctor is told that she doesn’t exist. Is she one of the Arrivalists or someone/something else? Why is she there?

And then just when you think that you can see where the book is going, there’s a twist three-quarters of the way in. This may be a gamechanger, for what is revealed I suspect will either be obvious to readers or be extremely frustrating. I’m not going to repeat it here as it might spoil the whole book for some, but its appearance may either make you cheer for its audacity or groan in disbelief. Without giving details away, it means that the whole book can be summed up by a cliché that I recognise is so beloved of many a soap opera. The rest of this book is about dealing with this revelation.

In the big scheme of things though, it matters little. I can see that this is a book where you don’t need to worry about the destination, but can enjoy the journey. And don’t get me wrong, The Ferryman shows a writer of obvious skill who can write in depth, adding great details and nuances of character. There’s more than enough to keep a reader entertained, even if you are unsure of that ending.

In short, The Ferryman is a great read, if not for me a totally unqualified success. I’ll be interested to hear what others think about it as they read.

Proctor Bennett is a Ferryman on the archipelago of Prospero. Proctor takes people an island when they are about to reach the end of their life. Prospero slowly reveals its secrets. We come to understand that the world revealed is like ours in ways, but not.

As with Cronin’s previous trilogy ‘Passage,’ Cronin has done a massive amount of world-building. There are different characters and social structures to get to grips with, and Cronin handles them expertly. Both the pace of the story and writing is fluid and carefully paced. There is plenty of character and plot development to keep you interested and guessing.

Again, as with his previous works, the themes explored are love and family, society and humanity as well as political landscapes. This is a book full of action, suspense, friendship, and betrayal, it had it all. Plus, the reveals! Nothing is what it seems. The ending was so satisfying, so well done.

A big thank you to Random House the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

Tough one, this. As always with Cronin, it’s very readable, with fleshed out characters and an intrigue pulls you through the pages as if they were nothing. But the whole thing hinges on a revelation about three quarters of the way through….and that twist just didn’t work for me. It’s technically clever, and it illuminates some of the choices made around writing style earlier in the book, and answers the niggles I had in those scenes, but emotionally and intellectually it just made me shrug. It would be the most heinous act of spoilerdom to say any more of course, but I was deflated and reminded of other books with similar premises afterwards. If it clicks for you then great, you’re going to love this one, but it feels like a missed opportunity to me.

In a similar vein to the passage by this author, this carefully curated tale tells of a utopia for the rich and wealthy and what happens when you are shipped to live under their care.

With a mix of fantasy and dystopian elements, this was an interesting read around the Proctor who manages people, providing them passage to the well-known and revered 'Nursery'. I found the tone to be haunting and eerie, keeping me on the edge. I loved the characters and how they developed throughout the story. The way revolution was integrated into the story was done really well, and I liked how the pacing followed the plot and action quite closely.

I enjoyed this one! Thanks to the publishing house and NetGalley for the e-arc!

I would give this book an overall 3.5. I was enjoying the first half, though was surprised when I realised that I still had 50% to go. It started with a ‘Brave New World’ vibe, and had begun to slide into 1984 crossed with Westworld, then it all got a bit confusing! If the character names hadn’t stayed the same, I would have thought I’d jumped to a different book! It made sense after a while though.
I like the writing style, but agree with other reviewers that it was quite long and the strange interlude in ‘the Nursery’ was a bit odd.
I’d be interested in ‘what comes next’ for the main characters, though. A sequel maybe?

I was a bit in two minds about this book whereas the novel Very quickly set the scene and gripped me I was quite confused at times .I wondered if this was a deliberate plan with the Confusion in the reader mimicking the narrators confusion .It was so nearly very clever stuff but personally my confusion made me struggle at times a little too much
What I missed from the novel was much emotional connection whilst there were some scenes such as the Father euthanasia scene which were painful to read about ,I did find the characters rather lacked in depth.
There is lots of action with car chases and a journey element to the story
I liked the underlying idea of a virtual perfect world developed to keep star travellers entertained during hundreds of years of stasis travelling to a new world .
Sections at the end when characters were reintroduced to the virtual world confused me quite a bit and didn’t read as true as the start of the book
I read this novel on NetGalley uk the book is published in the uk on 2 may 2023 by Orion publishing group
This review is published on Goodreads NetGalley uk and on my book blog bionicsarahsbooks.Wordpress.Com