Years ago I read The Passage (not once, but twice) with the intention of reading the entire series, but then I keep not getting around to it, so instead of solving the issue I read this out of guilt. Lucky for me, the premise sounded just like my kind of thing and it's a standalone!

The Ferryman is set on an paradise island archipelago called Prospera, who was artificially created for people who live there happily until the monitors in their bodies tell them that their charge has fallen below 10 percent, after which they embark on a ferry ride to an island called the Nursery, where they're renewed, wiped and restarted. In this world we meet Proctor Bennett, a man who works as a ferryman, who suddenly finds himself in a time where Prospera has begun being questioned by workers there and the beautiful facade of utopia starts to crumble.

The world held so many secrets and fun twists. I really loved the ida of Prospera and while this sort of controlled futuristic vision has been explored in various alterations in both fiction and film in the past (think Spiderhead for example), it's always fun. It reminded me of the TV show LOST in some places, with its mystery and uncertainty. This novel feels chunky and confusing at times and there's constantly something happening, which definitely meant that it takes you focus to puzzle the pieces together.

I almost wanted more world building and less thriller. It feels almost harsh to say, but I personally felt like the attention Cronin requires from his readers felt wasted at times – this is a Blake Crouch kind of story in the end, where the author isn't primarily out to make some kind of statement or explore the human condition, but rather write an action story that utilises sci-fi elements to make it more intriguing. Us not understanding how and why everything works is part of the story's mystery and appeal, but it I really did want to know. I almost wished for a slower-paced and more explorative story in this setting, but clearly this wasn't what Cronin wanted to write, so this one is fully on me. What he set out to do, he did successfully.

The Ferryman brings us another compelling narrative from Justin Cronin - it is long but intriguing throughout and it has everything you would like from this kind of speculative fiction- great characters, a human mystery and a thought provoking layer of social commentary.

It is clever and twisty, taking the reader on a very human journey, with some surprising plotting and a truly addictive feel.

I enjoyed it thoroughly and it left me with lots to think about whilst being wildly entertaining and cleverly achieved.

The Passage trilogy set a standard and The Ferryman shows there is a deep imaginative pool from which hopefully many more stories will follow

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5475494447

A very decent mystery box novel that will be good for fans of things like Lost/Inception/the Matrix. It kept me turning the pages and was well written, but not sure I'm 100 percent convinced by the way everything was resolved and there were a few too many tedious dream sequences for my liking. Also lots of very detailed action sequences which others may like - and which would transfer nicely to film and tv - but I just find dull.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review.

It may be a long read, but I guarantee you’ll want to slowly devour each chapter until your brain melts!

Like many other readers, I fell in love with Cronin reading his Passage trilogy. His style of character development, world-building, and introspective analysis of the internal and external issues issue humanity faces is simply beautiful.

Whether you love science fiction or not, this book will not disappoint. This is a fantastic story, delving into the topics of love, loss, hope, deception, corruption, determination and sacrifice.

Few books leave a permanent mark, and this is one that surely will!

Justin Cronin masterfully takes us on a voyage through the Prospera Islands, an idyllic paradise where people can live as long as they want before the ferry transports them to their final stop, the Nursery, where they return as adolescents with no recollection of their previous lives, reliving their full potential. Of course, there is also the Annex, where the servants reside, but their lives are not quite as pleasant as those in Prospera.

On the archipelago, there are special rules, dreams are prohibited, and special services keep order. However, cracks are appearing, a revolt is brewing, and some Prosperians are beginning to awaken.

"This is not the world."

I don't want to reveal too much. The characters are exquisite, the atmosphere is mysterious and grim, there is enough action for a movie, and the end is quite surprising.

Congratulations to the author; the book is magnificent.

The Ferryman is the complex and brilliant story by Justin Cronin that feels like an extension of the Truman Show idea moulded into A Brave New World.

Founded by the mysterious genius known as the Designer, the archipelago of Prospera lies hidden from the horrors of a deteriorating outside world. In this island paradise, Prospera's lucky citizens enjoy long, fulfilling lives until the monitors embedded in their forearms, meant to measure their physical health and psychological well-being, fall below 10 percent. Then they retire themselves, embarking on a ferry ride to the island known as the Nursery, where their failing bodies are renewed, their memories are wiped clean, and they are readied to restart life afresh.

Proctor Bennett, of the Department of Social Contracts, has a satisfying career as a ferryman, gently shepherding people through the retirement process--and, when necessary, enforcing it. But all is not well with Proctor. For one thing, he's been dreaming--which is supposed to be impossible in Prospera. For another, his monitor percentage has begun to drop alarmingly fast. And then comes the day he is summoned to retire his own father, who gives him a disturbing and cryptic message before being wrestled onto the ferry.

Meanwhile, something is stirring. The Support Staff, ordinary men and women who provide the labour to keep Prospera running, have begun to question their place in the social order. Unrest is building, and there are rumours spreading of a resistance group--known as "Arrivalists"--who may be fomenting revolution.

Soon Proctor finds himself questioning everything he once believed, entangled with a much bigger cause than he realized--and on a desperate mission to uncover the truth.

This was a carefully weaved and detailed world that I felt invested in. The measure of the plot is fast-paced and captivating. The characters filled with such emotional depth. The writing style is an enveloping mass of mystery and science. This was not just a novel, but an experience. A pivotal ride in such an unexpected scientific journey, this is the dystopian entertainment that many books strive to be. We examine social and human nature set in a seemingly ideal world managed by the wealthy, served by those less fortunate. There are secrets here, truths to an immersion that requires we pay attention to the story and the themes Cronin has set.

Cronin has established some well-rounded characters and the evolving dynamics were a better part of the story. These were well-written and gave us feeling towards their behaviours. Each had their own mysterious parts that played on their emotions adding to the thoughtful work that Cronin insists we put in. The fantastic immersion of the story and what we discover is so creative and well-crafted that I was genuinely surprised at some of the outcomes.

This was an influential story filled with works of wonder that deserves many re-reads.

What a fascinating novel. Huge fan of Justin's work - his apocalyptic The Passage keeps me coming back (I think I'm on my 4th read of it) and The Ferryman doesn't disappoint. It's a huge novel in terms of plot, characters and perspective - a wee bit clunky with the climate message although a timely one. But a voluptuous book full of the beautiful and the terrible, the mad and the sad. About fractured memory and iterated friendships, responsibility and courage and above all saving mankind whatever the cost. In this case the 1% booking places on the last 'train out of earth' kind of scenario. It made me think very robustly about how a tiny percentage of our population will probably survive an extinction event and it's up to the rest of us to work hard to avoid that scenario. Highly recommended and 5 stars. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

This was a simply brilliant book. I have loved everything this author has written and this book is no exception. Proctor is a ferryman. His job is to take Prosperans to the ‘Nursery’ at the end of their lives. From there, they are reiterated into a new live, starting again as teenage children who are adopted by other Prosperans. They live a privileged life, served by the people of the Annex who bitterly resent them. There is also a hidden ‘religion’ called Arrivalism that is pretty hazy but fuelling rebellion. Proctor is unusual as a Prosperan because he used to dream as a child and this is a sign that something might be wrong with him. One day, Proctor is called to escort his own father to the ferry but his father hints as some disturbing truths about the reality he is living in. From there, the story spirals and it’s hard to write more without giving anything away. The prose is beautiful, the truths revealed gradually right up to the last pages. If you don’t like fantasy/ sci-if, this one isn’t for you but otherwise I cannot recommend it highly enough, I am going to carry on thinking about it for some time. Many thanks to Netgalley for an ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and Mr Cronin himself for an ARC of this book.

I thought he could never beat the epic storytelling of The Passage, or have just as likeable / hateable characters, but indeed he has.

I absolutely could not put it down. The characters were thought out amazingly well, the storyline got better as it went along and it was three quarters of the way through before I clicked on what was happening - I'm usually faster!

A wonderful story. Thank you

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book.

The Passage is my favourite book ever so I started this with high hopes. And I struggled. Until quite near the end when it all started making sense and knitted together. Like The Passage I think this one will get better the more times you read it.

I am a big fan of the authors previous works and having read the synopsis was intrigued to see what joys he would bring my to my world with this book, it’s very well written and told

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an early copy of this novel in return for an honest review.

The story is set in a seemingly post apocalyptic world, where a community of people live in a tiered society - the "haves" on one island, and the "havenots" on another. The "haves" get "recycled" on a third island (the "Nursery")once they age, or become sick or infirm, and get brought back to the main island to live new lives in new bodies (and without memories). Our protagonist Proctor is a Ferryman, responsible for preparing the "haves" for their journey to the "Nursery". As the story progresses (for about the first half of the book) we learn more about Proctor and his increasingly unhappy marriage, the mechanism of the system, the exploitation of the "havenots", a budding uprising among the "havenots". In the second half of the book multiple twists and turns happen, and I probably shouldn't mention any of it as there will be major spoilers there.

What I liked about the book was the great pacing - it was like watching an action packed film, where every turn made you want to get to the next one. This is very similar to what kept me going throughout the author's vampire trilogy as well. This book is written with the same energy and thrilling pacing. I also liked the twists and turns in the second half of the book - while some were rather predictable, many still were quite surprising, and I must admit that very few books these days make me "huh". This was did, and multiple times. Essentially, and without giving too much away, this book was a cleverly constructed amalgamation of many other stories I've encountered - PKD's The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldrich, also PKD's Total Recall, Hamilton's The Arkship Trilogy, the movies The Truman Show, The Matrix and Elysium, and many others. Putting it all together, while not introducing any genuinely new concepts, was done expertly and refreshingly.

There were a few aspects to the book I found more challenging. First, the characters and some of the plot points (the love story, the loss of a child) were banal to a fault. They felt less like people, and more like what Hollywood thinks people should be like. Scenes where the protagonists gulps down scotch to relax, or where he struggles with his in-laws, or where he is overwhelmed with guilt because of his adultery, are so tired and boring that it's painful to read. Having read a few Russian classics just prior to this book - I found the characters and scenes in 150 year old melodramas to be more lifelike and realistic than in this caricature of Hollywood.

The second thing I struggled with was the erratic nature of the last 30% of the book. Up until then the story moved in a rather sedate fashion, with tension slowly building up. Then the major twist happens, and then all hell breaks loose plot wise - things jump around, characters find themselves at the right place at the right time just because, etc etc. It feels like it was rushed, or badly edited, or both. The plot deserved more patience and care.

Finally, the moralistic undertone (overtone?) was just too much. I always struggle with left leaning books where the message is liberal, socialist, and morally appropriate, but the path to getting there includes murder, mayhem, and breaking down the rule of law. You can't have it both ways (at least not easily). It ends up feeling like the author genuinely had a moral point to make, but in order to sell the book had to add some action with blood and gore. Oh well.

Either way, highly recommend it as an easy read for anyone looking for a thrill, with a bit of mind-bending thrown in. I don't expect to remember much of it in a few months time, but it was good while it lasted, and will probably be a great script for a Netflix mini series sometime soon.

Can't accurately describe how excited I've been to read a new Justin Cronin book. I was literally obsessed with The Passge and it's sequels and I had no idea what to expect.
The Ferryman is very different to The Passage. Much more sci-fi than horror.
I won't talk about plot because I think the less you know the better and I won't ruin anything for anyone. But as the book went on and the plot was revealed I was confused then impressed then amazed... then I wanted to go back to page one and read it all over again. More Justin Cronin books please!!

I'm a huge fan of Justin Cronin's The Passage and sequels, so I was extremely excited to get my hands on his new book. However, The Ferryman doesn't quite live up to those earlier works.

The book is well written- from the early pages I felt in the assured hands of a quality writer. And the start of the book is a well set-up, sci-fi mystery box about a utopian society that's a little too perfect.

There were some thought-provoking ideas but many felt slightly derivative - I think most readers will be reminded of other novels, TV shows and movies as they read this.

I was certainly invested in the book and eager to get to the bottom of the mysteries, which, thankfully for me, are all fully explained. But much like how the characters in this book perceive their world, I felt there was something just a little off that I couldn't put my finger on - something that prevented a good book being a great one.

I was very excited to get the new Cronin book, it had been on my want to read list a while.
It doesn't disappoint.
It fully immerses you in a completely different world, which is strange and confusing at times.
It's best just to go with it.
The story has so many twists, and at times feels like a real adventure.
The plot starts at a slower pace, setting the scene, then nicely picks up

I flew through this book! It was so good, the writing, the characters, the plot, everything! I'm definitely rereading this one soon!

Justin Cronin is back! I’ve been watching The Last of Us on TV, which reminds me of his Passage trilogy so much, and hankering after another epic from him. Here it is! There are worlds within worlds within worlds in Cronin’s writing. This novel will stay with me a long time, particularly its climate-related message. One for the ages, as well as one that inspires climate action now.