The Passage

It's an updated vampire story from a literary writer fulfilling his daughter's wish for a hero in the shape of a little girl. It kicks off strong. Cronin reminds me of early Stephen King and just nails the “American” voice. The small towns and the people in them. The highway gas stations, roadside diners and the idea of space. (I'm totally grabbing The Stand after I finish The Twelve.)

Cronin jumps post-apocalypse and falters with sci-fi tropes like the new patois of a fallen America. Flyers for “frack”, gaps for pants. And he fumbles around for a suitable name for the death-row inmates, turned military experiment gone horribly awry (natch). Smokes, dopeys, virals, dracs, glowsticks - anything other than vampires ..although there is a nice nod to Dracula.

Big, chunky read perfect for the winter break that led me right into the next book.