The Ferryman by Justin Cronin (Release May 2nd, 2023)
Come tomorrow, May 2nd, you're likely to see towering stacks of this hefty-sized, instant bestseller prominently displayed on bookstore shelves......and thanks to NetGalley and Ballentine Books/Random House, I received an advance copy.......so here's the absolute red hot scoop on what's sure to become one of the big book events of the year.....
In truth, this book, falling into the 'apocalyptic epic' category ultimately proved a mixed bag as a reading experience.....so let me break it down for you, cause there's a load to digest......
I'm forever in awe of authors who take on the formidable task of world-building. And I knew Justin Cronin, whose 'Passage' trilogy thrilled me, would not disappoint in that daunting task.
His gorgeous, idyllic, utopian island of 'Prospera' I can only assume is all that's left in a post-apocalyptic world........ or is it?
But like many other utopian never-neverlands, Prospera's a heaven-on-earth only for its wealthy upperclass residents. Toiling to support and service all their needs is an oppressed underclass of working stiffs. In that regard, it resembles the stark, toxic societal divisions of Fritz Lang's classic silent film "Metropolis".....the privileged frolic while the toilers sweat for scraps.
The 'haves' live in Club Med luxury until their implanted monitors indicate they're old enough to expire. (by that time, they've passed 100 year plus!) When "time's up" rolls around, they're off to a ferry ride to a mysterious neighboring island, where some new scientific miracles wipe their memories and physically reconstitute them as newly re-conceived adolescents.....think of it as enforced reincarnation. But meanwhile, the Prospera proletariat, fed up with their impoverished, enslaved lives as third-class citizens, seethe with near boiling point fury, ripe for revolt and revolution.
The book's central figure Proctor Bennett, holds the exalted position of overseeing and calming Prosperans on their life-renewing ferry rides, But when his own father's passage goes strangely awry, deep dark impenetrable riddles about Prospera emerge. And Proctor finds himself plunged into uncovering long hidden truths while he's unknowingly enlisted by leaders of the lower class rebellion about to explode the island.
I did truly love this part of the story, which takes up about two thirds of the book......it throws in all the mystery, action and suspense of all those similar sci-fi/action-adventure Dystopias...(like 'Logan's Run', 'Soylent Green' and even 'The Time Machine'. 
Even if you're tempted to guess the secrets behind Prospera, nothing can prepare you for the Double Whopper of a giant Twist that Justin Cronin detonates here.
But this is where the book stopped being fun to read for me and turned into more of a laborious chore.
As staggering as the reveal is (a mindblower, take my word for it), Cronin then audaciously attempts a parallel double-narrative structure, forcing you to keep track of his pre-Twist and post-Twist world building and characters. I'm sorry to say it developed into a sometimes confusing, tiresome slog and after awhile, seemed endless.
While I admire the sheer ambition on display, as well as Cronin's meditations on the nature of humanity, the book's propulsive engine slows to a crawl after the reveal. And that results in turning "The Ferryman" from a zippy, page-turning thriller into dense, hardcore science fiction. (with much description and minimal dialogue interaction)
Thought provoking, yes.......but not written to make you stay up late, eager to find out what happens next. In fact, I couldn't help breathing a sigh of relief after finally finishing the long-time-in-coming epilogue.....(a wrap-up, I might add, that you may or may not take issue with.....)
There's so much I enjoyed, thrilled to and stood in awe of here, that I can't help but give out 3 stars (***). But the book's third-act voyage into....well, whatever, I wouldn't dare say........left me not engrossed, but reading it from a respectful distance. It's a feast of a book for sure but every reader will need to make up their own minds about whether all the courses served up are equally digestible.....
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