Proctor Bennett is a Ferryman, guiding people through the "retirement" process when their satisfaction meters drop below acceptable levels, so they can prepare themselves for "new lives." Proctor and these others live in a utopia like community called Prospera separate from the rest of the damaged world where people can safely pursue their ideals while a secondary group take care of the mundane day to day chores. The main difference is the secondary group can have children, and while the others "adopt" new 16-yr-olds. But odd things are beginning to happen in their world. Proctor is having dreams which is supposed to be impossible and wrong. The workers are beginning to revolt. And what is right and wrong is not as clear as it once was. And Proctor suddenly finds he needs answers.
Of course it is all far more complex than this. It is a far more insular world, and does not have the sweep of The Passage; is even almost claustrophobic at times. But always quite fascinating. Oddly, it only bogs down a bit after the big reveal, a little too much of a data dump slows down the story I think. Otherwise it is all quite thought provoking and impossible to discuss here without spoilers. I was quite satisfied with the ending, I thought it made a great deal of sense. I'm sure others will disagree. Will be a fabulous book for book clubs to discuss. Highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a copy to review.

Despite the fact that I am generally not a sci-fi reader, every now and again one finds its way into my hands, mostly through my husband. He all but forced me to read The Passage by Justin Cronin back in 2010, when I was gigantically pregnant with our second child and didn't want to do anything but lay around and wait for the baby. I raced through his totally absorbing vampire novel, all 800 pages of it.

This is another lengthy but completely different tale than the Passage series. It's also nearly impossible to explain. especially without spoiling the plot.

I will say that Proctor Bennett exists in a pretty perfect world. Prospera is an island, and the luxurious lives of its inhabitants are closely monitored to keep them as healthy and beautiful as possible. Proctor is a Ferryman - a government official who brings those who desire to "retire" to the ferry, where they are taken to the Nursery and their memories are wiped, their bodies are renewed, and they enter back into society as 18-year-olds with foster parents.

Across the causeway is the Annex, where the people serving as support staff to the Prosperans live. They live the normal way, aging, giving birth, and working hard.

The Ferryman is Proctor's tale, and it's a wild, wild ride. Just when you think you've figured out what is going on, everything will tilt sideways and blow your mind again.

My husband actually won a review copy of this on GoodReads and he raced through it in three days. He calls it less like The Passage and more like "Blake Crouch but with better writing," and I have to agree. If you like the mind-bendy Black Crouch type of sci-fi -- very accessible to those of us who don't love reading about aliens and math -- then I think you'll love The Ferryman.

For me it was a tad long and there were some parts that felt a little like an action movie, which isn't my favorite to read. But overall it was well worth the time it took me to read this fat book!

Thoughtprovoking and well-written, I did enjoy trying to guess at what the twist would be, and there were several interesting thematic explorations including class, grief, and purpose, but it just doesn't ever manage to live up to its full potential.

I really feel like this would have worked better as a duology than as a single book. It would have given the big twist more time to be realized because as it stands now the momentum basically grinds to a halt when the reveal happens as we suddenly get a massive exposition dump and then a big "But we have to go back!"

It also suffers a bit from what I consider the Fall; Dodge in Hell problem. Once the big reveal happens, the stakes basically disintegrate. Sure there's some excuses from the exposition on why the previous central conflict still matters, but it feels tacked on and rushed.

Overall, could have been great is merely good.

For fans of the Scythe trilogy and The Giver, Justin Cronin's The Ferryman is a futuristic, dystopian novel whose inhabitants are repeatedly reincarnated when the implanted monitors in their forearms reach below 10%. Citizens are "retired" by taking a ferry from the island of Prospera back to the Nursery, and Proctor Bennett, our main character, is a ferryman -- a sort of usher or guide for these retirees. But when Proctor starts having mysterious dreams, meeting strange people, and experiencing deja vu, he wonders if there's more to Prospera than meets the eye.

The Ferryman was cinematic, propulsive, and well-written, with memorable characters and a breathtaking plot. To say much more or to give other comparable titles would spoil what makes this such a page turner. There were a few elements to the conclusion that felt confusing, and the novel was probably 50 pages too long, but overall I give The Ferryman an enthusiastic 4.5 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

This was my first Justin Cronin novel, and I will be reading more! This book had it all, but the suspense is what got me hooked. Just when I thought I knew what was going on, nope, I was wrong.

The thing that elevates The Ferryman above your typical thriller/sci-fi potboiler is Cronin's literary heft. Not only is this book entertaining, but it's also very, very smart. I thought I knew what was going on, only to have everything turned on its head. I was a fan of Cronin's Passage series, a trilogy of novels that combined a dystopian future with vampires--which sounds kind of cheesy but was ended up being a thought-provoking saga. He brings that same depth to The Ferryman, but this time, there are no vampires.

I can't say much about this book without giving away spoilers. In some ways, it reminded me of the Battlestar Gallactica reboot, but I don't want to say more than that. If you want to be as surprised as I was, just read the summary in the book description but don't read too many reviews. Dive into the story and see where it takes you. There are a lot of characters to keep track of, but don't let the number of pages intimidate you--it moves quickly and you'll be entertained throughout.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my views.

I loved Justin Cronin's previous books, The Passage, The Twelve, and City of Mirrors, so I was eager to read The Ferryman. This new book didn't disappoint me. In this story, the ferryman, Proctor, works to move people who are retiring onto his boat and then to an island named Prospera. Sometimes he has to force the retirees to go--including his own father.

It turns out there's a reason why not everyone wants to go to this so-called Utopia. Eventually, Proctor finds himself on a quest for the truth about what's going on. If you enjoyed Cronin's earlier trilogy, you'll like this one. Highly recommended.

I loved this book. Most of the time I had no idea what was going on but that made me not want to put it down. Great writing, interesting characters and plotline. Great read.

Reading The Ferryman was an experience. Justin Cronin creates a story that is very different than his other books with him trading Vampires for “utopias” and I think he succeeded with creating this one off story that I enjoyed while reading.

Cronin’s world building is his strength with the island and its people standing out and feeling fleshed out and being the standout of the book.

My least favorite part was the characters with none connecting with me and them not feeling like people which I hate because I feel Cronin can write great characters.

Proctor is a Ferryman who takes people to die on an island when they have about reached the end of their life. This book is sad, creepy and full of twists and turns It kept me flipping the pages! Thanks NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this ARC!

I really enjoyed the beginning it grabbed by attention and was interesting. Then the book changed giving way to much information and and I got overloaded and made it difficult to keep up with the plot and I lost interest as it seemed to move so slow. However, as the story progresses, there were many unfinished ends and times that dragged out.

I have read others by this author and loved them. This one wasn't my favorite.

Imaginative and inventive, The Ferryman by Justin Cronin is another winner. This is a tightly plotted, engaging, and well written journey into worlds unknown. When this journey turns inward, the story really takes off with fully fleshed storylines and an ending that feels well deserved.
There were a few side characters that didn't feel fully fleshed out, but it works in the context of the plot. At times mechanical, and at times sweeping and ambitious., the two tones worked well together. I would recommend this to those who love science and literary fiction.
This is a winner and thank you for allowing me the opportunity to read an ARC.

The Ferryman refers to Proctor Bennett's job. He lives in an idyllic world where people do not die they just take a ferry back to The Nursery where they are reborn. Except all is not as it seems. The Ferryman is a science fiction, dystopian novel that kept me up too late trying to figure out what was going on. Justin Cronin wrote the first half of the book as one story, then it suddenly changed but it all comes together in the end, in a way I never suspected.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for my review copy, all opinions are my own.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Different yet compelling science fiction.

Thank you to #NetGalley and Random House/ballantine books for the arc!
There was a LOT going on in this book. So much so that at times I felt like I was spinning in circles!

I'm not big on sci-fi but I love Justin Cronin and as much as there was going on in this book, it still was fantastic and fun to read!

3.5. This book and author are not my usual genres. However, it sounded interesting and I was grateful to receive the ARC from NetGalley. So my journey through this lengthy tale was interesting, to say the least. The first half of the story was fascinating to me. It involved the story's protagonist, Proctor Bennett's role as a Ferryman in a society where people shed their prior lives and assume new identities in the future, called reiterations. I found this fascinating and understandable. However, the story became more about science fiction and dystopian futures than I enjoyed, so I had trouble staying with the story line at that point. The plot and the array of characters, particularly as they assumed new roles and timeframes were difficult for me to keep up with. I think readers of dystopian, science fiction thrillers would enjoy the book, but it was not one I could recommend for readers like myself.

Sensational--Justin Cronin does it again! An eerily pleasant dystopian world gives way to something altogether shocking, building to a climax that had me holding my breath and turning the pages as fast as I could. Bravo!

Proctor Bennett is a ferryman in Prospera. That means he is the one who escorts citizens to the ferry when the monitors in their arms say that their lives are depleted. Then the ferry takes them to the island they call the Nursery, where their bodies are believed to be renewed, and they are made ready to start life again. All goes smoothly in Proctor’s successful career, until the day that it is his father that he must escort to the ferry. On the way to the ferry, his father utters a word into his ear, at which point, his father is tackled and strong-armed onto the ferry.

Meanwhile, unrest is building in the deteriorating world outside of idyllic Prospera. A resistance group called the Arrivalists, seem to be the ones responsible for the upheaval. And Proctor, himself, has been dreaming and questioning…

Through this book, Mr. Cronin takes us on an incredible journey of twists and turns and unexpected pathways! His characters become very real to the reader on this roller coaster ride. This is a tome in which the author never questions the reader’s intelligence, never undermining her ability to follow him on these twists and turns. All of this results in an unforgettable ride!

Already a fan of Justin Cronin from his Passage Trilogy I was so excited to get a chance to preview his newest work. I'm happy to say I was not disappointed in the least. In fact, I am hooked on Cronin's writing and will be fast to pick up any future gifts from this great mind.
This story had me hooked from the beginning. The world we find ourselves in is very peculiar yet easily visualized. Set on an archipelago called Prosper lives a society of people who have chosen to break off from the rest of the world. Here you will live a life of peace, health, beauty and ease. When life gets too much, and you no longer feel your youthful self you simply sign a contract and get carried away to an island called The Nursery. Here you will go to begin the reiteration process to starting your next life all anew. Everything on Prospera runs smoothly, you go about your routine never burden by stress and there are plenty of things to enjoy in your free time.
Our protagonist Proctor Gamble is a Ferryman whose job it is to collect people who are ready to move onto the Nursery. He is one of the top in his field always helping to ease people into the end phase with gentleness and care. Everything about Proctor's life is easy and routine until he gets the contract to bring his estranged dad to the ferry. in his last moments with his father something is triggered within Proctor that will have his world turned upside down.
The Ferryman was a perfect book to end a year of great reading. As my 159th read I would place The Ferryman in my top 10! The character development, the world building and the language was all perfection. This story keeps you hooked from start to finish. There are twist and turns all along the way, a great mystery to solve and plenty of surprises to be found in the end. If you have never read Justin Cronin before you are truly missing out. The Ferryman would be a perfect starter read to welcome you into his magnificent mind.

I was grateful to receive an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher Balantine Books. I am leaving my review her voluntarily.

I was so excited to receive this ARC of The Ferryman by Justin Cronin. I loved The Passage!

An archipelago named Prospera was founded mysteriously. Citizens of Prospera are shielded from the outside world. As they age, viewed by monitors in their arms, they are given the chance to go to The Nursery and start over. The ferryman accompanies them on their journey.

Buckle up for a wild ride. I was guessing until almost the end. The people are restless and aren't happy with the status quo. A revolution is building. With the detail and description, you can see every last event as it happens in your mind's eye.