The Passage: A Novel by Justin Cronin

Book-1 of The Passage Trilogy

Accolades:

New York Times Bestseller & Named One of Paste’s Best Horror Books of the Decade

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 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

Synopsis

“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.

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

More from Justin Cronin:

Look for the entire Passage trilogy:
The Passage | The Twelve | The City of Mirrors

Bibliography:

• A Short History of the Long Ball (1990)
• Mary and O'Neil (2001) – Winner of the PEN/Hemingway Award and The Stephen Crane Prize from Book of the Month Club
• The Summer Guest (2004)
• The Passage (2010) (Book 1 of The Passage Trilogy)
• The Twelve (2012)[8] (Book 2 of The Passage Trilogy)
• The City of Mirrors (2016)[9] (Book 3 of The Passage Trilogy)
• The Ferryman (2023)

About the Author: Justin Cronin

Justin Cronin is a New York Times bestselling author known for his post-apocalyptic horror series, The Passage. He is also the author of Mary and O'Neil, which won the PEN/Hemingway Award and the Stephen Crane Prize. Cronin divides his time between Houston, Texas, and Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and is a distinguished faculty fellow at Rice University.

A more detailed look at his background and career:

Education and Early Career:

Cronin is a graduate of Harvard University and the Iowa Writers' Workshop. He taught creative writing and was an "Author in Residence" at La Salle University for several years.

Literary Awards and Recognition:

Cronin's work has received numerous accolades, including the Whiting Writer's Award, a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. 

The Passage Trilogy:

His most famous work, The Passage trilogy (The Passage, The Twelve, and The City of Mirrors), became a global phenomenon, translated into over 45 languages.

Other Works:

Besides his best-selling trilogy, Cronin has also written other novels, including The Summer Guest and A Short History of the Long Ball.

Teaching and Current Work:

He currently teaches a course at Rice University and continues to write and publish new works, such as The Ferryman.