This was a solid read until I saw the ending coming at about 70%. I still enjoyed it, but I felt there were a few parts that didn't quite hold up to the rest, and I wish the balance of the lead-up and the pay-off had been a little different. I also think that while what Cronin did with the POV was interesting, it could have been a totally different and fascinating story from a multiple POV perspective.

Finished ✔️ an ARC of The Ferryman by Justin Cronin and it was decent!
4 ⭐️’s
Publish Day: May 2nd, 2023
Kindle Unlimited: No
Stephen King enjoyed this book
Next to impossible to put down
Exciting
Mysterious
Totally satisfying
It was beautiful & brilliantly written.
I enjoyed all the characters as they were quite interesting in their own unique ways.
This novel was engrossing.
Yes, I’d recommend
#DeesReading #DeesRecs #DeesBookRecommendations #BookNerds #BookNerdProblems #BookNerdsUnited #BookProblems #BookProblems101 #BookNerds101 #Bookworms #BookwormProblems #BooksOfFacebook #DeeTheBookReviewer #DeesReadOfTheDay #DeesBookOfTheDay #DeesBookReviewsOfTheDay #BookReviewer #NewToMeAuthor #ReadOfTheDay #JustinCronin #BookOfTheDay #TheFerryman #NetGalley

What is happening? That's the vibe of this book. It explores what it means to be human and how humans persist through time, climate disasters, space, and each other. It also looks at aging and how the brain functions if humans live longer. It wonders what brains do in extended lifetimes. What does it mean to be conscious and what happens to our conscience?

I’m a huge fan of The Passage so I was elated to see that Justin Cronin is back with a new book. The Ferryman starts our strong with a very intriguing premise that hooked me.

If you enjoy dystopian and/or speculative fiction then this could be the book for you. Cronin’s world building is solid, but does result in some tedious details that contribute to the length. As the novel progressed I honestly started to lose interest. This book will definitely find its audience among science fiction fans who enjoy longer sagas.

Thank you to Ballantine Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Cronin has fashioned a wonderful tale, well written with a tight and fascinating plot and engaging characters. An island paradise where an elite enjoy a bountiful, peaceful and engaging life supported by a working underclass living on a nearby island exhibits troubling signs of growing uncertainty. The story unfolds in shifts of story line and abrupt but disturbing changes for the characters with hints of what the underlying reality is increasingly presented until the vale is lifted in an abrupt fashion. An exciting tale written with great compassion for all of the characters and presenting relevant ideas for our world and the essence of reality. Take great care to not read any spoilers for this book, savor it as it unfolds. Highly recommended.

This was a long book that I looked forward to, but the first half completely enraptured me into this story, but the last half had me bored, I just lost the connection in the last half of the book for some reason. To me personally it went back and forth the second half it would pick up for ten pages then go back to dullness.

The islands of Prospera are invisible to the rest of the world, which is falling apart due to environmental disasters and war. The residents of Prospera itself are virtually immortal. They live long and healthy lives, but eventually their bodies simply wear out and they “retire”. They are taken to the island known as the Nursery, where their minds are wiped of memories, and they are given revitalized bodies. Then (in the bodies of 16-year-olds) they become wards to some Prosperan couple wishing to have a child/ward.

There is also a second group of people who live on another island known as the Annex. They are the support staff who do the tasks that keep the citizens of Prospera from having to labor at anything they wish to avoid. (And, yes, there are difficulties in trying to maintain goodwill with this kind of social order.)

Proctor Bennet is a Prosperan who is a Ferryman ... He takes the people who are retiring to the ferry which transports them to the Nursery. Proctor is having problems. He is having dreams, which is not supposed to happen. He also must retire his father, and it does not go well at all. And then his implanted monitor shows that he himself is dying.

Suddenly, everything that seemed to be real is thrown into turmoil, and this becomes the heart of this novel.

Is it good? Absolutely, as long as you are a reader willing to accept the fact that not every story is neatly linear but rather “all creation [is] boxes within boxes within boxes, each the dream of a different god.”

Thanks to Netgalley and Ballantine for the opportunity to read and review this title prior to publication. I picked up this title after hearing about it on Bookstagram - the premise sounded intriguing, and I had never read this author before. The Ferryman is set on a remote island utopia where individuals live their lives until the monitor on their arm reads 10%, when they are "retired" via a ferry ride to the Nursery, where their bodies are rebooted to start their lives fresh. Proctor enjoys his career as a ferryman until he starts experiencing alarming things and also has to retire his father, when things begin to devolve.

I loved this book and thought it was propulsive, twisty, and surprising. I thought of so many books and movies to compare this to (but can't due to spoilers). Once I picked it up, I was immediately immersed and was constantly picking it back up to read just a little more. The characters were richly developed and the writing was stirring. I wished it could have been tightened up just a little bit, but I gave this 4.5 stars and can't wait to pick up The Passage by this author.

Five enthusiastic stars. It’s so ambitious and beautifully written. It doesn’t get much better than this.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC of The Ferryman.

This was my first ever book by Justin Cronin. It was an insane world building experience. Multi-POV is one of my favorite writing styles, and the same goes here. What I will say is this is an undertaking of a book. It is long and an investment of time, but worth it. Prospera was such an interesting world to read about. I will look forward to more of Cronin's work in the future.

I really liked the world building. Prospera was a very interesting place, and the recycling of human souls was crazy. This is one of those books that the more I think about it, the more confused I get. I don't want to give any spoilers, but after the big reveal I found it hard to wrap my mind around what was going on. Just the sheer logistics of it all.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

QUICK TAKE: As a huge fan of Justin Cronin’s THE PASSAGE series, I have been eagerly anticipating his latest, a 550-page standalone novel about a civilization of people who have survived a cataclysmic environmental event and have taken refuge on a hidden island utopia. To say more would spoil the fun, because #TheFerryman is a wild ride from start to finish, completely subverting all of my expectations, with at least 3 ENORMOUS twists that will just break your brain in all the best ways. I read this book cover to cover on a Saturday and enjoyed the most delicious book slump for days afterwards as I wrapped my head around the characters and story and the ending (that ending!!), which I have a feeling will definitely polarize readers. This is not one to be missed when it officially hits bookshelves on May 2nd

Justin Cronin did NOT disappoint! I absolutely loved this book and I am still thinking about it three days post finishing. It was a great combination of science fiction, romance, relationships, trust, mystery and more.
If you are a fan of Justin, you will definitely enjoy his new novel!
Loved it!!
Thankful for the ARC - Five Stars!

Of course Cronin did it again. Of course. From the city of mirrors, I wasn’t sure where he’d go or if we’d hear from him again and ohhh wow he did not disappoint- utopia has never been so compelling and within reach. If you love Cronin for the way he can blend reality with fantasy, pick this one up and expect the absolute best. You won’t be sorry!

This is yet another great novel by Justin Cronin. With an imaginative world and deeply rounded characters, the storytelling is at its best! I highly recommend this book to all readers of Mr. Cronin’s past books and with sci-fi/fantasy interests.

The island of Prospera is hidden from the outside world. Prospera's citizens live multiple lifes, once their number hits below 10% they are reiterated in the nursery for a new beginning and a new life. Proctor Bennett, a ferryman, helps those who retire by making sure they make it to the nursery for their new beginning. But one day when the person he has to retire his own father, something starts to go awry. Not everything is as it seems....

This book is a whirlwind and I already want it to be made into a movie. This is my first Justin Cronin book and I'm not one for scifi/fantasy but I LOVED it. Think Inception meets Hunger Games meets Divergent... I don't know how else to describe it but the story unveils itself towards the end and makes total sense. Though long, I was thoroughly engaged the entire time.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. Opinions are my own.

Straight out I’ll just say I was a huge fan of The Passage, so I was super excited to get a digital review copy of The Ferryman. Then life got in the way and I just now got to read it and finished last night.
There is so much I could say about the story. It’s over 500+ pages so there is a lot going on. I’m just going to focus on the main character, Proctor. His life has gone from one of privilege, respectability, and not rocking the boat,until it doesn’t.
His life is on Prospera, one of three islands that exist without any contact with the outside world. What exactly has happened to make them so cut off and isolated will be revealed. For Proctor, life as he has known it will radically change. Cut off from his father and with his mother deceased, time will start to show how everything he believes about his life has been a lie.
I’m not going to give much more away since I went into the story blind and it worked for me. Everything that happened finally made sense as the story progressed. Once Proctor starts questioning what he has always believed is true, things really get Cray Cray. Did I see where this was going? Nope.
I might have thought it started off a little bit too slow, but in the end, it was an incredible story.

This is a comprehensive, complete story that solidly stands on its own. It is told from multiple perspectives and uses both 1st person (for the main character only) and 3rd person narration. For the most part, characterization is done well. The writing style is also fine. Although there are many elements to the plot, I found the whole thing to be predictable and nothing really surprised me. With that being said, the pacing of the story and overall mood still made each reveal/explanation interesting, if not a shocking revelation. I do feel that some issues and direct consequences in the book were not adequately discussed or resolved, particularly at the ending and the main character's key decision. This book does remind me of another series, but I will not list it in order to avoid spoilers. I will say that it is very fitting that the main character's name is "Proctor."

The story also raises thought-provoking discussions about accountability, justice, autonomy, and power. I could see this book generating lots of animated discussion as a book club read. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys futuristic science fiction with a dystopia feel.

Rating: 2.5

I really liked the prologue, but after about the first thirty percent of the book I started losing interest and I didn't really care about the characters or plot. I think the only POV should have been Proctor's.

Prospera is a utopian archipelago, tucked away from a deteriorating society. Created by “The Designer”, the residents live long, happy and healthy lives, until they chose to “retire”, where they are taken to a part of the island known as “The Nursery”, when the second part of their lives can begin.
Proctor Bennet is part of the Department of Social Contracts, and his job as a ferryman ensures that those making the trip to The Nursery have a successful, and uneventful, passage. Proctor, however, has his own secrets, including fading health and an increase in the amount of lucid dreams he has been experiencing- a secret because, unlike Proctor, no one on Prospera has ever experienced dreaming of any kind. As Proctor tries to keep his dreams secret in a world where everything is monitored, tensions on the mainland are high and the “support workers”, employed to keep all of Prospera running smoothly, are not showing up for work. Something big is underway and Proctor is beginning to wonder if Prospera is the utopian world he thought it was.
Justin Cronin is the author of the irrefutable best seller “The Passage”. His new novel, “The Ferryman”, is unique, spell binding and utterly thought provoking. An emotionally complex journey, Cronin’s new work will take you to the far reaches of your imagination, through his rich language and captivating scenes.
The novel is told in multiple POV’s, although the primary narrator is Proctor. The beginning of the novel starts when Proctor is given the responsibility of bringing his aging father to “The Nursery”, but Cronin jumps backwards and forwards throughout the novel, bringing Proctor’s past, and Prospera’s creation, to the surface in slow, undulating waves.
Part science fiction, part dystopian fantasy, “The Ferryman” provides an honest portrayal of humanity (at both its highest and lowest points) and the characters, although plentiful, are uniquely distinctive. Cronin has the reader questioning their own morals and belief systems, which extends far beyond when the book reaches its conclusion.
Cronin continues to keep the reader guessing; just when you are convinced that you have anticipated the ending, “The Ferryman” delivers a heart-wrenching twist, leading you down another road entirely. “The Ferryman” was non-stop action, all leading to the inevitable conclusion that will stick with you.
“The Ferryman” will immediately speak to fans and followers of Cronin’s previous novels, but it is also a standalone novel that will resonate with readers who are looking to make a connection with an engaging plot and relatable characters. This story will once again thrust Cronin into the spotlight, and “The Ferryman” will quickly rise to the top