The Passage trilogy readalong discussion

What are your final thoughts on The Passage? Whether reading for the first, second or third time...

Where would you rank this book in comparison to other hits such as The Stand or Game of Thrones, etc?

What are the most memorable parts of the novel for you?

Do you have a favourite character?

I'd compare it favorably to Stephen King's The Green Mile. (Or even the great installment novels of the 19th century). (Game of Thrones books suffer from "gosh - it would be cool to add this and that character and group to the action").
Cronin clearly had vision of not only what happened but also what will happen. Maybe not everything in detail, but enough so that in The Twelve, we get clear background stories on Donadio (Alicia's grand-father?) and the officers in the Texas Militia. Along with a consistent tone to the book (at times sad and affectionate in its portrayal of The Colony) (and at times heroic against horrible situations), everything fits. Even the mysteries aren't troubling. They add to the atmosphere instead of raising doubts about the author's abilities.

I absolutely agree John, it's like filling in pieces of a large puzzle - some pieces seem out of place or your not quite sure how they fit into the whole... but the picture is becoming clear.

I haven't read Game of Thrones, but I think it compares very well to The Stand and others of that genre. Definitely one of my favorite trilogies to date, and I'm not even done with City of Mirrors yet!

I still wish that more of them had taken the serum... knowing how many years these books span, I remember when I first read The Passage and wow, what great charac... [jump 100 years] OMG they're all dead! He made me love all these characters and killed them all off! LOL

Some of the most memorable parts involved Auntie - I wish we'd known a little more about the visions she had. Overall I love the way Cronin paints the world and the people. The characters are well defined, yet we don't know everything about them - there are still mysteries with each.

My favorite character... well that's hard really, I like Peter, Alicia and Amy the best. I like Sarah too, but more towards the end of the novel than when we first meet her; she really grew on me when she started writing in her journal.