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The Passage (Abridged): A Novel (Book One of The Passage Trilogy) Audiobook
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(3.00) - 65,891 listener ratings
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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.” NOW A FOX TV SERIES! NAMED ONE OF PASTE’S BEST HORROR BOOKS OF THE DECADE • NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST NOVELS OF THE YEAR BY TIME AND ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY 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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"This was wonderfully written and full of suspense and intrigue. Rather apocalyptic but thrilling with a survial flow of readabilty. I loved this and can not wait for the sequel(I read he was writing book 2). Characters developed well, story flows, growing and growing. I couldn't put it down. "
— Nancy (5 out of 5 stars)
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“Fans of vampire fiction who are bored by the endless hordes of sensitive, misunderstood Byronesque bloodsuckers will revel in Cronin’s engrossingly horrific account of a post-apocalyptic America overrun by the gruesome reality behind the wish-fulfillment fantasies.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“Addictive, terrifying, and deeply satisfying. Not only is this one of the year’s best thrillers; it’s one of the best of the past decade—maybe one of the best ever.”
— Men’s Journal -
“It’s a macabre pleasure to see what a really talented novelist can do with these old Transylvanian tropes…Cronin has stripped away the lurid religious trappings of the vampire myth and gone with a contemporary biomedical framework. Imagine Michael Crichton crossbreeding Stephen King’s The Stand and Salem’s Lot in that lab at Jurassic Park, with rich infusions of Robert McCammon’s Swan Song, ‘Battlestar Galactica,’ and even Cormac McCarthy’s The Road.”
— Washington Post -
“While it relies at times on convention, The Passage is astutely plotted and imaginative enough to satisfy the most bloodthirsty reader.”
— New York Times
Awards
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A New York Times bestseller
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A USA Today bestseller
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Selected for the June 2010 Indie Next List
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A 2010 Time Magazine Top 10 Book for Fiction
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A 2010 Library Journal Best Book for Fiction
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A 2010 Washington Post Best Book for Fiction
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A 2010 Esquire Magazine Best Book of the Year
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A 2010 NPR Best Book for Fiction
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A 2010 BookPage Best Book for Fiction
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Winner of Indie Next, 2010
The Passage Listener Reviews
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sendie hutchinson, 2/3/2021
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" I really liked this book. It was exciting and scary. The characters were solid and I hated to see them move along as the book progressed. Cant wait to read the next one in the Trilogy. Buckle up for a bit of horror....that could really happen. "
— Linda, 2/10/2019 -
" Very long, a bit detailed in some sections but suspenseful and entertaining. Read together with my husband which made it fun to disuss. "
— Erica, 2/12/2014 -
" Really really liked it! Well written, good character development, interesting premise. It's what I expected The Stand to be like. The end of the first half made me cry. "
— Alice, 1/26/2014 -
" It seems like vampire stories are overly popular right now. I liked that there were so many characters and stories in this book. I thought it was fast-paced, and I wanted to keep reading to see where it was headed. "
— Carol, 1/20/2014 -
" A very different twist on vampires! "
— Dennis, 1/19/2014 -
" This book was a terrific surprise. I'm not much into horror but I would classify this simply as speculative fiction. Compelling and epic, I faced with only one quandary - how can I make my book just so! "
— Joseph, 1/18/2014 -
" very interesting and a bit bizarre. but I really got into the what ifs and the possibilities. a good read if you're into military scientific research and the possible fallouts. "
— Alisa, 1/16/2014 -
" It was ok. I skimmed some, other sections I couldn't stop reading, overall I wanted to know how it ended. Alot of swearing, etc "
— Jolene, 1/8/2014 -
" One the best books I have read in a long time...well written very entertaining...can't to start the 12 "
— Chris, 11/13/2013 -
" it's got vampires and seems realistic one day, what more could i possibly want! "
— Morgan, 11/4/2013 -
" Not too bad. It was a good story, but he weighed it down with about 150 pages of unnecessary details. This made it longer than it needed to be "
— Jeremy, 6/19/2013 -
" Wow. What an ending. "
— Mpr1120, 4/10/2013 -
" The first sentence draws you in. And you won't be able to put the book down till every page is turned. In my opinion, it is up there with The Road. A must read of 2012. I am anxiously waiting for volume 2. "
— Crystal, 4/6/2013 -
" It almost feels like I'm watching a really good television show. Am really enjoying this series so far and can't wait for the third one to come out! "
— Niko, 11/17/2012 -
" Kept me hooked even when I wasn't sure I wanted to carry on... Read it! "
— Jordana, 10/8/2012 -
" Mind-numbingly boring, a cure for insomnia. "
— Michael, 10/8/2012 -
" Great apocalyptic sci-fi read. The end leaves you hanging...now I have to read the sequel! "
— Holly, 8/8/2012 -
" Kind of slow - but pretty good. Can't wait for book 2 "
— David, 3/3/2012 -
" One of the finest books I've read to date! "
— Mike, 2/25/2012 -
" Weird/a bit out there BUT fabulously addictive! I want the next book now! "
— Cheryl, 9/30/2011 -
" I lost interest about 1/5 of the way through. Poor character development, and slow moving "
— Tim, 8/9/2011 -
" Awesome, intense book about the bleak future of mankind!<br/> "
— Amy, 5/24/2011 -
" Can't wait till #2 is out! Such a long wait. "
— Mira, 5/21/2011 -
" This was a very long book, but worth the read! Sci-fi, future, a little girl lost in time, wow it's a true thriller. Move over S. King!! "
— Joanne, 5/21/2011 -
" Best supernatural thriller I've read in a while. My kind of summer trash reading;) "
— Tanya, 5/21/2011 -
" I wish there were more stars to give this book, I loved it. Only trouble was my whole life went on hold for a week while I was reading it, luckily it was too heavy to carry in my bag to work or I would have been sacked!Can't wait for the next book and the movie. READ IT! "
— Janel, 5/21/2011 -
" Loved this book! Can't wait for part 2! "
— Mona, 5/20/2011
About Justin Cronin
Justin Cronin is the New York Times bestselling author of three novels in The Passage series, three stand-alone novels, and a novella. Mary and O’Neil won the PEN/Hemingway Award and the Stephen Crane Prize. His work has been published in over forty-five languages and has sold more than three million copies worldwide. He is a writer in residence at Rice University."
About Edward Herrmann
Edward Herrmann (1943–2014) was one of America’s top audiobook narrators. He won multiple Audie Awards and twenty-two Earphones Awards, and his narration of the King James version of the Bible remains a benchmark in the industry.