Thank you NetGalley, Ballantine Books, and Justin Cronin for the advanced copy of The Ferryman in exchange for my honest review.

I will be 100% transparent and say I did not remotely read the synopsis closely enough before accepting this widget from the publisher. This is definitely not my genre and I gave it a solid 21% before deciding it just wasn't going to be for me. This is absolutely on me and is in no way a reflection of the author or storyline if this genre is in your wheelhouse!

I will only be rating this book on NetGalley as I don't believe it's fair to rate/review books on retail websites that I do not finish.

In the isolated society of Prospera, citizens live long and satisfying lives before "retiring" to a mysterious rejuvenation process that returns them to society as young adults without memories of their previous iteration. There is no childhood and no old age, no suffering, not even any bad weather. Two things make this possible: the Annex, home to a mistreated class of menial laborers, and the Nursery, where the rejuvenations occur. And the person responsible for guiding retirees along their journey to the Nursery is Proctor Bennett, the titular Ferryman.

For its first two-thirds, The Ferryman is a certain kind of novel: a dystopian science fiction about socioeconomic inequality and environmental collapse. It's very well done, but I started wondering around the halfway mark what the author was possibly going to do for another three hundred pages. And then the big twist hits, and thirty astonishing pages later this turns out to be another kind of novel entirely. (To say what kind would be, of course, a spoiler.)

But in its final pages, The Ferryman becomes yet another kind of novel, a literary meditation on journey and arrival, sin and redemption. It is rare to find a novel this long that is both propulsive and thoughtful, but The Ferryman is. It isn't a novel for everyone - it's science fiction, and there is no shortage of violent moments - but if you are thinking you might like to read it, you should.

Just like his previous novels, I can't pigeonhole this novel into a specific genre. It had elements of sci-fi and thriller. I loved the characterizations and the setting of Prospera. Cronin always prompts some serious thinking.

Every so often, I like to try a book from a genre well outside of my comfort zone. The Ferryman by Justin Cronin was one of those reads for me, and I'm so glad I took the chance!

This one is hard to summarize concisely because of the complex plot. And because I am afraid of spoiling anything, I will refer you to the official synopsis and just say that this was totally mind-bending for me. At times, I wasn't sure what to think or if I even entirely understood what was happening, but I was so curious and invested that I wanted to keep reading!

Dystopian, atmospheric, cerebral, sinister, imaginative, intense, I'm still processing what I read. This is very well-written and intricately plotted with some crazy twists! But it is also well-rounded, with vividly written characters and much to say about human nature and society. This was my first Justin Cronin book, but it won't be my last!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group Ballentine for the opportunity to review this ARC. I enjoyed it!

This was the first book I have read by this author and it certainly gave me a lot to think about. Because I don't read much sci-fi, I am always left wondering if I actually understood what I read. This was entertaining to me though and really had a dark, lonely mood to it. There were parts I really enjoyed and questions that I was left with at the end. There were some definite surprises I didn't see coming and even though the book was long, I was interested the whole way through. It worked for me and I was glad I tried it out.

In THE FERRYMAN, by Justin Cronin, Proctor Bennett is a ferryman in the utopia of Prospera, where people all live idyllic lives and when their physical and mental faculties begin to decline, they are ferried to the Nursery by Bennett or another ferryman to have minds erased and their bodies returned to a state of youth, When Bennett has to ferry his father to the Nursery, everything changes. Can Bennett discover the truth behind what changed and perhaps even the hidden truths that seem impossible until Bennett discovers all that is possible and true.
The world of Prospera that Cronin creates is fascinatingly intricate and special care was taken to make exciting, and mysterious all at the same time. Almost immediately Cronin introduces questions that lie under the surface and the reader begins to understand that seemingly everyone has a secret and they never really share everything they know. As Bennett and the reader begin to unravel the truth, there is an almost electric anticipation around the desire to discover the honest answers that lie deep under the surface of Prospera utopia. Cronin mixes sci-fi, mystery and thriller into a passionate story that watches a man yearn to find out the meaning of life and his purpose in it.
Epic, engaging, and exciting, THE FERRYMAN hooked me into it's world from page one and took me on a wild ride that ends with some amazing twists and an exciting finale. A great read!

The archipelago of Prospera is a utopian state separate from the rest of the world and its man-made “horrors”. Hidden from the world by an electromagnetic barrier, Prospera is spread across three islands. The main island, Prospera proper, is home to the Prosperans, humans of high potential (a result of “genetic tinkering”), who live long productive lives, toward the end of which (when their health and well-being percentage, measured by monitors embedded in their arms, falls below 10) they are retired and ferried across to the third island, ”The Nursery” where they are prepared for their new iteration, new bodies and minds to be returned to Prospera as teenagers (“wards”) to be adopted by families on the main island. The second island, the Annex, is home to support staff who live normal lives and constitute the labor force, engaged in the upkeep of the main island. Our protagonist, the “Ferryman” Proctor Bennet, Managing Director of the Department of Social Contracts, is responsible for the smooth transfer of those being retired to the Nursery. On the personal front, he is in the eighth year of his fifteen-year contract (the duration of marriage is governed by contracts) with his wife Elise, a fashion designer.

Despite his almost perfect life, Proctor is struggling. His wife is unwilling to become a parent to a “ward”, his recurring dreams (Prosperans are not supposed to dream) are a cause of anxiety and then his father, with whom he has had a strained relationship since his mother’s suicide twelve years ago, is deemed ready to be retired. On the day of his departure, his father begins behaving strangely and has to be forced onto the ferry, before which he conveys a strange message to his son – words that trigger a series of events that has Proctor questioning everything he knows to be true. Complicating things further is a potential rebellion – “The Arrivalists” a resistance group from the Annex revolting against the social order and the ways of Prospera - members of which have infiltrated the Prosperans, posing as some of their own with the support of a few Prosperans who also support their cause. The narrative follows Proctor as he embarks on a quest to discover the truth behind his father’s cryptic message and what it means for him and Prospera, which won’t be easy as there are forces at play that don’t want him to succeed and will do anything to stop him.

The Ferryman by Justin Cronin combines elements of fantasy, science fiction and dystopian drama to create an absorbing story that touches upon a multitude of themes ranging from social distinctions and power struggles, the climate crisis, family and loyalty and grief among others. A running theme in this story is how one perceives life and happiness. Is a perfect life truly a life of contentment? This is a complex, layered story but not too difficult to follow. The writing is powerful and immersive. This is my first Justin Cronin novel and I have to say that the author excels at world-building! I found the narrative that is presented to us through multiple perspectives, with the larger part shared from the first person PoV of Proctor, to be well-structured and consistently paced. At no point did I find myself losing interest as the story progressed. Don’t let the page count intimidate you. I couldn't believe how engrossing this story was. It's been a while since I could read a 550+ pager in so few sittings.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine for the much-appreciated digital review copy of this novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Expected Publication Date: May 2, 2023.

The Ferryman is an immersive dystopian science fiction novel that never feels long despite its 560 pages. The story takes place on the isolated archipelago of Prospera, where people live long, fulfilling lives until the time comes for them to be reset to a young version of themselves with their memories wiped clean. Proctor Bennett is a ferryman, charged with ushering these "retirees" to the Nursery for resetting. When he has to retire his father, he is left with a cryptic message that eventually leads to the collapse of his world. This is a book best left to the reading; do yourself a favor and go into the story without reading too much about it. Enjoy the setting and the gradual unfolding of the mysteries of Prospera. Cronin's pacing is excellent and I was completely engrossed from start to finish. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine / Ballantine Books for a digital review copy.

This book follows a man named Proctor who is a Ferryman and his job is to guide the elderly to retire and wake anew......Very, Very vague but I think it's best to go into this book blind.
I'm still trying to process what I read but I do know that I enjoyed it. This book was full of twists, complex characters and it just left me befuddled.

Whoa.Mind.Blown! I wasn't expecting the complete and utter mind-blowing twists in this novel, and since I rarely read science fiction, I was a bit nervous beginning this 560 page long book. Little did I know, I would read it in just over three days, barely putting it down, and exclaiming out loud more than once!

The novel is multi-layered with the wealthy Prospera, the Annex which is a scene of poverty and unrest, the Nursery where individuals reaching the end of their lives go to be reborn, and has a cast of characters that are both unreliable and endearing at the same time.

If you enjoy the movie, Inception, or similar, The Ferryman will grab hold and not let you go, don't let the length scare you.

Thank you to Netgalley and Ballantine for the digital ARC of The Ferryman by Justin Cronin. The opinions in this review are my own.

I'm such of fan of Cronin's The Passage series that I jumped to get this book. I might have liked this one even more. There are so many layers to this story-the plot keeps peeling back another one when you get used to what is going on.
The story begins in Prospera-a utopian-like archipelago where people seem to live forever. Everyone is healthy and happy. When their internal health monitors show a health of 10%, inhabitants ride the ferry to the Nursery where their memories are wiped clean. They then come back to Prospera as teenagers where they are adopted by new guardian families and they start their lives over again. Proctor is the ferryman-he is in charge of shepherding those whose health has deteriorated to the ferry. Towards the beginning of the story, he has to shepherd his own father to the ferry whom he's been estranged from since his mother's suicide. A commotion ensues in which his father blurts some words that make no sense to him and his life starts to unravel.
At the same time, there is another island -the Annex- where all the support staff live and they are not so happy with this Utopia. There is a rebel faction there called the Arrivalists. To tell anymore of the plot would give up the myriad twists.
I was so happy to receive this ARC in return for my honest review. Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher Random House/Ballantine for the advanced copy of this fantastic novel!

Justin Cronin - WOW! I thought my mind would explode and a few times I was barely hanging on. The depth in which he writes his characters and "explains" science is remarkable.

This book is a LONG one, very long. So happy I was reading on my kindle as I couldn't feel the heft of it and get disappointed because I was only 10% further than the last time I checked.

Without giving anything away... all I'll say is that twist about 3/4 of the way in. WHAT?!?!

Pick up this one up and read it. Do it.

This book is tricky. It is definitely science fiction but the story focuses on relationships so much that you almost forget. Frequently I had thoughts of comparisons to other books but then realized that if I mentioned those other books, it would give away some of the magic of this one. At over 500 pages, this is a long read. And, it is a deep read, not something you can spend a few minutes on over the course of a couple weeks. You need to read it in big gulps of time so that you can anchor yourself to what is going on, especially when things start tilting. This can either be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on the type of reader you are. The narrative goes from first person, Proctor Bennett, to third person and back again quickly. While the beginning is slow in the set-up, once things start moving, the changes are fast and you need to stay on top of them in order to not get lost in the world of Prospera. Also surprising, the ending was somewhat a just desserts, thoroughly sweet and enjoyable. I probably wouldn't have picked up this book on my own so I'm thankful the publisher reached out to me with the temptation of an ARC.

The prologue had me hooked. I couldn’t wait to find out what was going on! The world and system set up was well thought out and easy to imagine. I almost felt like this was The Giver meets The Matrix.
However, I found once I got into the story I just felt sort of lost. I needed more reveals. I struggled to connect to the characters and almost found myself bored in many places. I wanted to love this one after the prologue but found myself underwhelmed.

Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I have no way to review this. So instead, I present my inner dialogue while reading:
What the heck is going on?
Okay, that’s weird, but you signed up to read an ARC, so you knew it would be weird.
Is this a good weird?
I think it is.
Hmm, that has the potential for abuse.
Oh yeah, I saw that coming.
What the heck is going on??!!
Whoa, I like her.
I did not see that coming.
Wait, so they do what? Why would people sign up to do this?
Proctor, what are you doing?
What the heck is going on?
Oh wow, this is so good, bizarre, but so good.
Why haven’t you read this author before?
This is stressful as heck.
I can’t stand the stress!
What is inside this author’s brain?
I’m 80% in, have no idea what’s happening, and I’ve loved every second of this.
Oh wow, that happened.
This author is brilliant; I don’t have the words.
All the stars!

Thank you, Random House-Ballantine, for sending along this gem of a read.

Fantastic! I might be biased because I loved the entire Passage trilogy and might have read some of the books more than once. I was a little worried because of my high expectations going in. Luckily, Justin Cronin did not fail me! Like The Passage trilogy, what I thought I was reading was in fact not what I thought. At first I thought this was going in the direction of so many other dystopian tales of utopian bliss on an island where everyone is cut off from the rest of the world. Oh no, I was wrong. It was soooo much more. It doesn’t seem like it, but there is a lot at play and not just twists and turns but concepts like love and loss and how that can affect a persons decisions. It did not go in the direction I thought and I didn’t see any of it coming. Then once you think you know everything, there’s more. This did not feel like a 500+ page book and I just flew through the pages. It certainly leaves you thinking about the decisions that were made and if you would do the same or not. This is worth a second or third read. Thanks to Penguin Random House/Ballantine and NetGalley for an advance copy.

I wasn't sure what to expect from The Ferryman when I began reading - I own a copy of The Passage but haven't read it yet, so this was my first experience with Cronin. I cannot wait to read more by him. This book left me confused, in awe, whiplashed...how else can I describe it? I absolutely love when a twist falls into place that you absolutely do not see coming, but can see in retrospect the signs and how everything ties together. It was pretty masterfully done.

I really enjoyed our characters, the setting and off-putting atmosphere, the social tensions. I don't really have a lot of complaints. This isn't a perfect five stars because I found the plot to drag slightly at times, but I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this to someone if they feel up to reading a bigger book.

This took me a few tries to get into the first chapter, but once I did, it was off to the races and I found myself setting aside more and more reading time to get through the rest of this. There's some fantastic worldbuilding, so much so that when a rugpull happens later in the book you really appreciate what's going on. There's enough of a mystery to what's really happening that I found myself engaged, and the characters are well thought out.

I have never read any of Justin Cronin’s books and whew what a ride. I am not a big science fiction fan but this did keep my attention and I was interested in finding out what was really happening. Proctor Bennett is the ferryman and he is the one that takes the individuals to an island to die once their monitors reach 10. It’s starts off with him taking his father on the ferry and his father was trying to tell him something!

This started out a little slow and then really ramped up and then it got just weird towards the end. But it was written very well and I did enjoy it for the most part.

I received this ARC from Netgalley for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Wow. You can never turn away from Justin Cronin.
On the second page I was already perplexed and questioning what is going on? The sci-fi and philosophy already start to pull you in. Who or what is the Ferryman. Humans? Robots? Cocoons? Regeneration? Dreams? So many questions in trying to piece each chapter with the previous and what unfolds with each new page.
I don't want to even spoil this book. For 400 or 500 pages, it is worth the dive. Read it slow and let it live!
Thank you so much for this advance copy.
I just reviewed The Ferryman by Justin Cronin. #TheFerryman #NetGalley