What a fun and exciting book to read! I wasn't really sure what to expect based on the summary of the book -- and to be completely honest, I wasn't sure I would even like this book. But I decided to give it a try, and boy am I glad that I did. If you like science-fiction books with an awesome twist, you need to stop reading this review and READ THIS BOOK! I will certainly recommend that my library purchase a copy as soon as this book is published.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for providing a copy to review!

Thank you Random House for the early review copy of The Ferryman. I have actually not read The Passage so this was my first work from this author, though I know his work has many fans. What a fascinating, engrossing story this was, I love themes about identity, memory, dreams and that unsettling feeling that you don't know things that you should/must know to really know who you are and who you could be.

This is the kind of immersive read that is hard to do justice in a review, I like my reviews to be spoiler free, but I suspect fans will not be disappointed with this read and new fans like me, readers who love epic journeys that remind us that so much is not what it seems and stir that rebellious inner truth seeker, will enjoy the world and character building in this novel.

This was something like Brave New World meets Blake Crouch's Wayward Pines series. There are other things I could compare it to but not without giving away some key plot points.

A traumatic event causes Proctor Bennet, a citizen of the idyllic Prospera, to notice more about the society he's in and he has questions. His serene and mostly blissful life is careens out of control as he tries to figure out what's going on.

This book took a couple of wild turns, requiring me to take a step back and consider what was happening. The story was compelling and the premise was fascinating, but four rather than five stars because I found it hard to really care about any of the characters and get invested in their choices. I was invested in finding out what was going on in Prospera but not in what happened to the people.

Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine!

Another fabulous read by this author. Have yet to read anything he has written that I haven’t loved. This one keeps you guessing and intrigued (and confused) until the very end. Beautifully written, great story and fascinating characters. Some people have incredible imaginations. I couldn’t even think up something like this. Well done.

The Ferryman was provided to me as an advanced copy and I I enjoyed this book a great deal. Indeed, I put two other books aside once I started reading it. Cronin did a great job in creating a dystopian sort of world which constantly raised questions for the reader. I knew something was up, but had no ideas what it was. He did that extremely well. The book will keep readers engaged and I suspect this will be a top read for summer 2023.

Very solid 4 or 4.5 star read. Every time I felt like I had a handle on the plot there would be a new curveball which mostly worked very well, although the last 10% was weaker than the rest and left me feeling somewhat confused on what happened.

The Ferryman by Justin Cronin is a sweeping tale of epic proportion. Although outside my usual genre, I found myself thoroughly engaged in this adventure. Just when I thought I knew what was happening, a well-placed twist spun my thinking around. Very imaginative and enthralling. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Wow! I really enjoyed The Ferryman, it was such a great read. The story is unique and the characters are so well-written that you really become invested. I thought Proctor Bennett was such a strong character, I really felt for him and the things that he was going through. This one is hard to describe without giving anything important away. Basically, it is about Proctor's life in Prospera and his job as a ferryman. The ferrymen are people who shepherd people through the retirement process and enforce it if necessary. A rough job made even tougher when he has to deal with his own father. There is also a resistance group called the Arrivalists, who are pretty mysterious at first. The whole thing was an awesome drama-filled mystery thriller sci-fi that was impossible to put down. I was blown away by the reveal and loved the ending. I can't wait to read more by this author.

I could not stop reading this novel. Every time I started to think I knew where it was going, I was wrong. When it was finally revealed what was going on, it kept going. Totally unexpected and well written. Highly recommended.

Although this story was not my usual genre, it was highly recommended by a friend and I am so glad I read this book. What a fascinating story with a Matrix-like twist. I loved the way the author explained the "science" behind the story within the story. I don't want to give to much away but this is science fiction at its best.

I just loved this book. But it’s so hard to leave a review without giving out major spoilers and plot twists. If you’ve read Cronin’s <i>The Passage</i>, you may be familiar with his work. His novels are highly detailed and <i>The Ferryman</i> is no exception.

Set in the land of Prospera, where everything is beautiful and life is grand. Days are filled with work and nights are filled with parties. You can choose a spouse for a 5, 10, or 15 year contract. Where your life is monitored by a device implanted in your arm. When that device gets below 10%, its Procter Gamble's job as The Ferryman to get your affairs in order and send you out to the Nursery, an island where you'll be reborn and come back as a teenager - to become a couple's ward/child.

But there's truly no such thing as paradise and soon Procter gets embroiled in a mission to find the truth about Prospera — and the surrounding players in this idyllic world.

This one was an interesting read. Started off really well, then hit a point of total confusion and finished strong. Hard to explain what it's about, so just read the GR description and go from there. The twists, once better explained, are rather intriguing, save for Cronin's use of a well-worn woke boogeyman to explain one of the core concepts behind the revelations (you'll figure it out). Beyond that, I found the story complex and highly character-driven with a dense plot that only sometimes feels the weight of its plot. In the end, it's pretty satisfying, if not on the level of The Passage trilogy. 3.75 stars bumped to 4 for the quality of writing. Thanks to Netgalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was thrilled when I heard Justin Cronin had a new book in the works. Doubly thrilled to be given the opportunity of an early read!

Like his previous works, it's so easy to get lost in the world he creates.... Lyrical and vibrant, I could see Prospera and the Annex! And I think I changed how I felt about nearly every character at least twice from start to finish.

And the tragedy hiding at the heart of the story was elegantly wrought and colored everything that happened in such a way that I was left wanting to just crawl in and have a cry with them.

I loved The Passage series and was so excited to see that Justin Cronin had a new book coming out. This book was hard to put down and fans of Cronin's should definitely pick it up.

4.5 Sci-Fi Emotions Stars
* * * * 1/2 Spoiler Free
Recently, sci-fi hasn't been my thing, but when I was invited to read this and the main quote promoting it came from Stephen King, well that made it a hard yes. Many years ago I was a King fiend, reading his books, cover to cover...getting lost in his worlds.

The Ferryman has that type of feel. You start it and right away you are sucked in and willing to follow Justin Cronin's lead. This ride has many levels and insights into current issues for today and then shows how today's actions impact tomorrow.

There is so much to this tale...and to share really anything might take away from your reading experience. What I will share is that I had moments where my emotions surprised me, the deep intense feelings that came unexpectedly. The perspective of Protector and his journey held me interested until the end.

As a big fan of Justin Cronin's Passage series, I was eager to see what kind of dystopian sci-fi world he could create in The Ferryman. This book told an interesting and at times beautiful story, with several truly astonishing "what is going on" moments that had me unable to put the book down for hours at a time. A few of these moments were, unfortunately, not quite to my liking after finishing the book. One specific plot twist which throws much of what you've read into a new light made me feel as if a good portion of the book had been completely undercut (which stung a bit as the opening of the story actually felt quite slow), and I was left wanting more development in the back-end of the story than there was.

Fans of Cronin will definitely find some things to like here, but the specific twist and ensuing events just weren't up my alley unfortunately.

What a whirlwind! Thank you to Ballantine Books for the invite to read this epic.

Reminiscent of Blake Crouch - The Ferryman by Justin Cronin is a sci-fi thriller that will keep you guessing until the last page. I was truly surprised up until the very end.

I think Cronin does a great job of confronting the millionaire's march to finding other habitable places in our solar system. His handling of the greed and autocracy that seems to be prevalent in an industry hell bent on doing anything BUT fixing the actual planet we live on was on point and I can only hope that should this ever need to be an option - someone will step up in this way.

This was my first Justin Cronin but I am really excited to dig into his backlist.

Justin Cronin has done it again, another Sci-Fi hit. I really enjoyed the world, Prospera, that Cronin has built, told through multiple viewpoints, it’s beautiful. The imagery is vivid and the world feels somehow vast and yet understandable. This utopic world has no worries and citizens live amazingly fulfilling lives, and when its your time, when your number is up, The Ferryman will take you to be refreshed. You get to try again as a new person, a whole another life to learn, to love, to live. But of course Utopia doesn’t really exist, there are secrets and power hungry motivations behind Prospera’s perfect facade.

Another reviewer summarized the book as Westward meets Inception and I think that is the most apt characterization. I really liked this book and don’t want to give anything away, but the book is very much worth the read.

Please note I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley. NetGalley, the Publisher, nor the Author have any influence on the content of my reviews.

Just WOW!!! Could not put this book & again, Justin Cronin does not disappoint!!

What a wild ride this book was & I won't do it any justice to try to break it down, but be prepared for a journey!!

What you think it is when you start reading, well that will change several times over the course of the story.

To quote Bruce Springsteen- “Is a dream a lie if it don't come true? Or is it something worse?”

I am so thrilled that I had the opportunity to have an advance copy of this book-thank you Random House, Ballantine Books & Net Galley & of course the author!!

Thank you for the opportunity to preview the Ferryman. Very different and surreal.
At first I was not sure what was going on but I kept with it.
The author takes you in the head of Proctor who holds the title of Ferryman. He does his job on a small island that is far from everything and he does his job well. But Proctor questions so many things in his existence and he has visions that make him believe he may be on to something.
And what can he do but he knows if he doesn’t the truth will never be told.
Mysterious and surreal writing. 4 stars