I know it took a hot minute for me to finish, but WOW! I was not disappointed with Cronin’s latest. He once again managed to transport me effortlessly into this new world.
The world building in The Ferryman is just *chefs kiss*, let me start by saying. The world of Prospera is all at once beautiful, but in a way, slightly dark. It’s a darkness that ebbs and flows throughout the story, until you find yourself racing it to the end at breakneck speeds.
Cronin has crafted ( and I do mean crafted ) a brilliant story that is as gorgeous as it is terrifying. I’m really not a huge fan of dystopian novels in general, but the way he writes them is so brilliant.The fact that the story sucks you into Prospera and keeps you tethered there for 550+ pages without breaking is marvelous. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
**Thank you to NetGalley for letting me read the ARC of this novel**

3.5 stars

This is the kind of book I had to read slowly so I could understand what was happening and even then there were times I was confused. I'm pretty sure the confusion was deliberate, as you're supposed to question what's going on just like Proctor does. I didn't hate not knowing what was going on, but it made it a long read.

Proctor is an interesting main character. Sometimes he did things I didn't agree with, but I could also see his reasoning. He's a flawed person and it makes him more relatable. Thea was a little harder to get into, mostly because we just knew less about her overall. It was nice seeing the world from another point of view, since she's not as involved with the leadership of the community.

The ending wasn't what I expected or really wanted after all that Proctor went through. I'm also not great with open endings and like to see everything resolved. It was an intriguing read that kept me guessing for a while about what was real or not.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own. Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the copy.

I received an eARC of this title from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own. The Ferryman by Justin Cronin is a marvelous dystopian sci-fi novel. On the island in Prospera residents live out their days unfettered by the concerns of the outside world until it is time to be retired and reborn to a new life. The support staff living on the neighboring island known as The Annex are not so lucky. I don’t want to say much more about the plot for fear of spoilers, but I found Cronin’s writing majestic, plot compelling, and characters fascinating. There was some info dumping and I got a little confused during the final couple hours of the audiobook, but overall this book was stupendous. A dystopian work worthy of standing alongside 1984, Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451, The Fireman, etc. I throughly enjoyed this book and plan to listen to Cronin’s The Passage trilogy in the future.

•Proctor Bennett works as a ferryman whose job is to accompany retiring individuals to the Nursery, an island, where rebirth takes place. But Proctor finds himself questioning Prospera, the world in which he lives.

•Unrest between the various classes of humans begins to takes shape and soon Proctor discovers the truth about the world he calls home.

•Cronin’s latest epic novel is set in a distant future where the planet is plagued by climate change and depleted resources. This one is perfect for fans of Blake Crouch.

I enjoyed this very much but it did feel it could perhaps have been... tighter? There's a feeling throughout the book (**spoiler** which is totally borne out, although not in quite the way I expected) that a lot of what is happening matters emotionally but not, you know, in reality, which makes it hard to really invest. The payoff is satisfying and the whole thing hung together in the end, but this would have been a five star read for me had it been snappier.

I purposely went into this book blind because I wanted to fully experience without prejudice, and I'm glad because it was such an interesting ride

Story was emotional and grabbed your attention. The twist was well delivered and unexpected. This book is more dystopian/sci-fi rather than thriller.

The us was such a fun and imaginative book! I definitely did not see the major twist coming, and even if I had, I couldn’t have accurately predicted how wild it would get once it got going.

The concept of this book is so creative and unique and, even though it was a long book, I was sad when it finally ended. I felt such a deep connection to the characters. I’ll miss them and I wish them happy dreams!

My only complaint is that it got really hard to follow the plot toward the end. I found myself getting so confused as to what was real and what was a dream that I ended up skimming a lot of the last 10% of the book because I just could not keep up. I wish there would have been a way to make it more obvious what was real vs. a simulation.

Part dystopian, part science fiction in a world named Prospera where everything seems naturally balanced… Or is it really? Really enjoyed reading this book and felt the first 75% of the book is the strongest and had me hooked. The last 25% I felt like the book over explained itself a bit.

I’m not really sure what I just read, but I do know that I really enjoyed it!

This is a very sci-fi-esque story in which we follow a group of people living on Prospera. In this land, people live for quite a long time and once they being to either degenerate or if they choose to, the head to what is called the nursery where they’re regenerated and come back with no memories as a teen to live another full life. We follow Proctor Bennett through this utopia until one day he starts having issues with his mind. This is when the story really picks up.

I have found that I find sci-fi books to be harder to predict because they could really go any which way. This one I honestly had no idea where it was going to go from one chapter to the next. It was a ride. I really enjoyed it though!

4⭐️

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review!

I have consistently enjoyed Justin Cronin's work, and The Ferryman is no different. Set in a futuristic society very similar to that of The Giver, the main character must grapple with what happens when his life goes off trajectory. I was highly engrossed in this text, and my only complaint was that the ending felt a bit rushed.

I am a huge fan of The Passage and was excited for this book. It did not disappoint. It was layered, imaginative, beautiful, poignant and meaningful. It contained concerns and issues of our time, a look into a possible future and some cool imagined science. It was about people and relationships and family and love and hopes and dreams, among other things. One of my favorite things was that I honestly could not figure it out - I couldn’t guess the solution to the mystery - nothing was given away. The author kept you guessing, kept you enthralled and gave you little pieces but effectively kept you guessing much of the way through. I loved this book!

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: May 2, 2023

Another sci-fi stunner from Justin Cronin. Complex and mind-bending, with amazing world-building and twists along the way…you won’t be able to put this one down.

In general, I have very little interest in science fiction or fantasy books, so this is not a normal galley I would request. Because I read and enjoyed the author’s previous trilogy (The Passage), I decided to give this one a shot.
Overall, I liked the story of the utopian/dystopian islands of Prospera, and the haves and have-nots who inhabited them. After the halfway point, it started getting complicated, with different Matrix-y realities coming into play, which is usually where my mind begins wandering to less fantastical things. Admittedly, it’s my own fault that I was occasionally confused as to what was going on, but like I said, science fiction is not my thing. I was able to follow most of the story, and had no trouble understanding the gist by the time I got to the end. I found most of it engaging, and despite the lengthy tome, it went quickly.
Thanks to #netgalley and #ballantinebooks for this #arc of #theferryman by #justincronin in exchange for an honest review.

Before reading this review, I highly recommend checking out the synopsis for this book because I could not do it justice through my own explanation.

This book is a chonk, both in page length and content, so I am going to be breaking up my review into thirds:

First third: Cronin has created a very detailed world where age and health are critical to this society’s success. In this first part we are introduced to our main character Proctor. We learn about his past and his present on the island of Prospera, the island utopia where he lives. I love sci-if and fantasy, but I will say the hardest part is becoming familiar with the world and its rules. This chunk was very detailed and there were times I had trouble following what exactly was happening, who was who, and other small details. There were times I had to go back a few pages and reread a section to gain clarity. So far, this book is full flowery language that does not help with engrossing myself in this world any easier. 2.5 ⭐️ for this section.

Second third: Now that I have started to get a handle on this world, the story is moving faster and is becoming more interesting and engaging. There has been a ton of action and mystery with the added bonus of a potentially unreliable narrator. There still is not a lot of clarity on what the problem with this world is and what the Arrivalists are trying to prevent, but the twists and turns to figuring it out have been fun. Characters are starting to be more fleshed out in this section, and the part at The Nursery was incredibly creepy in that typical dystopian fashion. 3.5 ⭐️ for this section.

Last third: This was the section I felt had a little bit of a disconnect because it was almost like I was reading two different stories. I do think the direction the author went in regards to Prospera was well executed and I did not expect THAT, per se. The writing was much clearer in this section, and while there was an info dump, it felt like it fit into the narrative as a whole. The book has a very satisfying ending, even though I wanted to know more about our main character’s new situation! 3⭐️ for this section.

Overall thoughts: If you like science fiction or dystopian novels, I think you would absolutely love this one. I do have to author for taking a story idea with lots of details, nuances, and twists and turns and writing it fairly clearly to be accessible for the average person. There were times this book was a little wordy, and would have done better as a duology. The reveal would be much more impactful if it was set up like this. I did enjoy this book and will most likely check out more of this author’s books in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Ferryman by Justin Cronin was unfortunately not the right read for me. I can appreciate the level of work put into building the environment but the story revealed itself to be simpler than I hoped and it made me feel like the build up wasn't worth the payoff. I'm sure many will enjoy this one but it wasn't for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Ballantine for the ARC - The Ferryman is out now!

This book had me hooked from the very first chapter. I was immediately immersed in the world of The Ferryman. There were so many twists and turns and storylines that I didn't see coming.
Most of the first half kind of reminded me of the Truman Show, but then it went into a completely different direction that I absolutely did not anticipate.
I couldn't put this book down. I'm not normally into sci-fi, but this one was amazing, and I will definitely be recommending it to everyone I know.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Wow, I so enjoyed the Ferryman! Nothing like I expected and immediately I was engaged and interested in the story. Why can't more books be written like this?

Classism with a sci fi dystopian spin?? YES YES YES!

And yet somehow we're addressing topics like grief, loss, and other ethical issues related to survival. Really compelling and engaging!

First of all, I loved this book. It's been a long time since I've lost myself in a story like this one. The Ferryman is the best of science fiction and dystopian fiction with plenty of insinuations about humanity to mull over. It is both riveting and thought-provoking with a huge dose of intrigue and suspense. It also gave me The Giver and Black Mirror vibes.

In the community of Prospera, Proctor Bennett is a Ferryman- his job is to help transition those people who are "retiring" by choice or not, to the ferry where they will travel to the nursery to be reiterated and embark on a whole new life. When bringing one of his charges to the ferry, he hears something confusing, something- he quickly finds out- that someone doesn't want him to know about.

The story is so intricate and the plot is unraveled expertly in a way that keeps much of the history of Prospera hidden until suddenly it is revealed and all makes sense. I highly recommend this one and am so excited to have discovered this author!

Justin Cronin tells of a group of isolated islands where the wealthier inhabitants get reincarnated. Proctor Bennett works as The Ferryman (hard from Ballantine Books) helping the aged and sick to the Nursery island where their bodies will be reborn and their minds reset. The worker class live on the annex island and are born and die normally. One day, Proctor’s client is the man who mentored him (father) and at one point he whispers a mysterious word. That causes his whole life to go off his tracks, and at the same time the Annex is priming for rebellion. There is a nice puzzle behind this world of the archipelago of Prospera, I suspect this will be on several award nominations.