This had two quite disparate sections, and I again found myself wanting to just explore the normal day to day life of a quiet dystopia. The title, the way things are explained, the world building, I adored it.

This reads more like a movie than a book, to be honest -- which I think sci-fi readers will like. It was almost as if the author were writing with the adaptation already in mind.

In terms of the book world, I would recommend this book to fans of Blake Crouch and Dean Koontz.

But, like I said, this felt more familiar to film than books, almost like a mash-up of many of movies, really, so I would recommend this to fans of: Inception, The Matrix, Westworld, The Island, and Passengers.

Reads quickly, despite the large page count.

Thanks to Justin Cronin and Ballantine books for this free digital ARC. My review is voluntary.

I have always been a fan of science fiction stories and I enjoyed Mr. Cronin's book, The Passage. As such, I looked forward to this new story. The Ferryman starts off a little slow. This almost discouraged me because it is long and I was concerned that it could become a slog. I need not have worried. The tension and plot turns built up early on and before I was a quarter way through, I had a hard time putting it down. I liked the variety of characters and analyzing their shifting motives. I enjoyed delving into all the questions that arose and the uncertainty the answers triggered. There were some sections that confused me, but it mostly made sense in the end.

And the ending... It made me laugh and made me sad. I highly recommend this story.

Wow! This was my first Justin Cronin book, but now I have to read the backlist!

This book is a wild ride - and enjoyable from beginning to end.

It’s full of twists and turns. At one point in the middle, I thought for sure it would run out of steam, but I flew through the last 1/3 of the book because I just had to know what happened next!

I really enjoyed this one! @netgalley and @Penguinrandomhouse - Thank you so much for the advanced copy!

I received a free digital ARC from Random House Ballantine via NetGalley. We mostly follow Proctor Bennett in the world of Prospera where the rich enjoy their lives until their meters indicate it is time to be ferried away for a reincarnation of sorts. Proctor’s job is to ferry away people to the Nursery. All of the support staff for the island live at the Annex. When Proctor is tasked with whisking away his own father everything changes. We also start to see the uprising within the workers of the Annex. What are Proctor’s next steps in the unfolding conspiracy?

I loved the Passage series by Cronin, however in this long book, the middle dragged. I didn’t feel any emotional investment to the characters and that made it hard to push forward. The focus of this story was in the world building and the grand reveal ending - which did keep me reading to the end. An interesting read, well written, but 3.5 stars for making me plod through to get satisfaction..

What I Enjoyed
-Themes of loss and grief
-dystopian setting
-slow build up
-Plot twist (can't say much without ruining what it was but it was the right combination of surprising and foreshadowed for me to love it.)
-Tied up in a way that leads to me to think this is a stand alone novel.
What Didn't work as well for me
-By the nature of the book the exposition was front loaded rather heavily
-dialogue felt very off in the first fourth of the book. it smoothed out after that point
Who I Would recommend the book for
Fans of works such as The Giver,Lost,and Gone will be in for a wonderful treat with The Ferryman by Justin Cronin.

Founded by the mysterious genius known as the Designer, the archipelago of Prospera lies hidden from the horrors of a deteriorating outside world. In this island paradise, Prospera’s lucky citizens enjoy long, fulfilling lives until the monitors embedded in their forearms, meant to measure their physical health and psychological well-being, fall below 10 percent. Then they retire themselves, embarking on a ferry ride to the island known as the Nursery, where their failing bodies are renewed, their memories are wiped clean, and they are readied to restart life afresh.

This is the premise of the book and it is brilliant. I struggled putting it down while on vacation with tons of things to do besides read! The ending was extremely satisfying and well thought through. Intelligently written, unique story, and fun to read. I highly recommend picking up this one.

The book begins with a suicide that is a mystery. Cynthia has an idyllic life with a loving husband and son. Why would she take her own life and what is the monitor she digs out of her flesh? The answer to this is at the core of the reality of this world. The book follows her son Proctor who knows something is not right. What are the monitors? Why do people have an idyllic life on one island while the people on the other island are manual laborers catering to them? What happens when their lives are recycled? Is there life on the other side of the veil? Justin Cronin has written a thought provoking novel that questions what is reality. It was refreshing to have a stand alone novel when so many books are now at least trilogies.

This was my first Justin Cronin novel and it won’t be my last! Loved this book - reminds me of Blake Crouch.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the ARC.

An overall engaging read that sets up with a good "what's going on here" premise. The twist that follows unfortunately made me not care at all about much happening in the initial setting, but the story continued to explore that narrative further. The main character was also not my favorite, I found him very naive and unconvincing. But the concepts explored were pretty fun and put together a bunch of things I like.

The Ferryman is world-building at its best. Having read Mr. Cronin’s Passage trilogy I expected nothing less and this book blew me away. The story takes place in a rigid class society on the island nation of Prospera. Those who live on Prospera have all they need to live comfortably. They are educated. They do not have to worry about the necessities of food and shelter. Those that live on Annex serve those on Propera. They are given only enough to do the manual and servant labor that Propera needs. The final island is the Nursery and this is where the world-building tells you that this is a science fiction/fantasy story. All the islands exist within a veil that protects them from the catastrophes of the world.

Proctor is the main narrator. His story is told in the first person. At times the story switches to a third-person view to illustrate what is happening beyond Proctor’s surroundings. The story begins when Proctor is forty-two and fifteen years into his marriage with Elise. He and his wife and their families all live on Prospera and are privileged. There are characters from the Annex who play a large part in the story.

I am not sure what plot points I can discuss without giving away the majority of the twists and turns this book takes. And it does have some really big turns. Arrival at the end is satisfying and breathtaking. I needed to take a moment to just appreciate the journey The Ferryman took me on. I have already preordered the Audible version of the book which releases May 2, 2023. The Ferryman is on my list of the best books I have read or listened to in 2022.

I received an advanced review copy of The Ferryman from NetGalley. I read the book, read it again, and then wrote an honest review.

#Netgalley #JustinCronin #TheFerryman

Where to begin? This feels like it could be a typical story about a utopian style city headed for trouble from the lower classes. Situated on an island, Prospera is "entirely beneficent." Unless you happen to be one of the support staff who are forced to live on a neighboring island, the Annex, and brought in to do all the unpleasant and menial tasks. The narrative follows Proctor Bennett who is the titular ferryman. His job is to facilitate the journey of Prosperans who have reached the end of their healthy lifespan and need to journey to the Nursery island.

But as the book progresses, other threads become more apparent. Is his wife having an affair with their friend? What is going on with the sullen girl that Proctor meets on the beach? What is the new Arrivalist movement among the Annex residents? And the odd word his father mutters before he boards the ferry - Oranios - does anyone know what it means? The more Proctor tries to figure out all the oddities popping up in his life, the more someone else is trying to keep him in the dark or silence him, perhaps permanently.

It may feel like a slow start, but events pick up pace until you are flipping the pages as quickly as you can to see how it all resolves. And there are some rather mindboggling reveals that cannot even be hinted at without giving too much away and spoiling all the surprises in store.

With vibes of the Star Trek episode "The Cloud Minders," some of the feeling of Logan's Run, and a complex mystery to solve, this book will appeal to readers who enjoy science fiction thrillers.

Justin Cronin is an amazing writer. The way he sets up a scene really has a way of fully immersing you in the scene without being overly descriptive. This story is The Matrix meets The Island. Halfway through the story I realized I was so immersed in it that I felt anxiety and disappointment, like I was actually the character experiencing all of these things happening to him. I love when a story has the ability to do that to me! This story had puzzle after puzzle. I had to keep reading to figure them out. I can already tell I’m going to have a long book hangover from this one! Absolutely amazing!

Huge thanks to Ballantine Books and Netgalley for sending me this ARC for review! All of my reviews are given honestly!

Complex and meaty sci-fi novel. Utopian society--or is it dystopian? Hmm. Good story but I found the constant episodes of: dreams--or are they flashbacks? good guys--or are they bad guys? to be a bit tiring. However, all was resolved in the end!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a free e-ARC of this book.

This book started off slow and I could never really get into it. The world-building was intriguing, and I got the sense early that something was going on in the world that wasn't really talked about. The opening scene was shocking though, and even though I didn't finish the book, that one will stick with me for a while.

Immediately from the synopsis I knew I needed to read this. Admittedly, I really didn't know what to expect from Cronin because while I have his other books- I haven't read them. That is changing IMMEDIATELY after finishing The Ferryman.

Holy freaking Christmas cookies- this was a whirlwind! This was one of the most inventive books I've ever read and I really didn't want it to end (all 500 pages or so of it!) It was beautiful, confusing, infuriating, shocking, poignant, timely and terrifying- this review will not do it justice but I also am afraid of divulging too much and will keep this short.

I was blown away by the richness of the characters and how creative the plot was. At one point, I was just staring numbly at the pages wondering what the heck I was even reading- what was happening? I was totally immersed and invested and it all came together in a way I would NEVER have imagined. I still really don't have words for the giant, gaping hole in my heart that The Ferryman has left now that I finished...I'm going to HOPE that while the synopsis says 'standalone'- that may not be the case. I need MORE!

I lapped up every single page like a dog that's been starved for attention...this book came with me EVERYWHERE (I literally mean everywhere....do with that what you will) I couldn't put it down.

I became a fan of Justin Cronin after reading "The Passage" trilogy. His world building and character development keep you immersed in the story to the very end, and "The Ferryman" lived up to those expectations as well, with a few unexpected twists here and there.
This is a sci fi novel that starts off "normal" enough and slowly makes you start to question everything. It might remind of you of other sci fi novels you've read, but the ending is pretty different. For me, it reminded me a lot of the TV series "Lost". A dystopian tale at heart, "The Ferryman" highlights the human will to survive, dream and hope above all else.
Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine through NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my opinion.

I absolutely loved Justin Cronin's The Passage Trilogy. The trilogy took the reader on such a well thought out journey that took unexpected but well executed turns. The Ferryman is just as beautifully written as Cronin's previous books. He has such an amazing capacity for world building, I don't want to give too much away, so I will just say if you're a fan of Cronin's previous work, you will be really happy that you picked up this book.

The Ferryman is a person who helps people transition to retirement from a utopian group of people. When questions arise about the process people begin to revolt. A high octane completed original sci-fi novel that I found to be unlike anything I have ever read. Absorbing.

I have a love hate relationship with this book. The author leads you on a long journey in the fictional world of Prospera. When you finally think you know what is happening, everything changes.
The book is very long and can be monotonous. I was frustrated with the meaningless details but forged through to the end. The last quarter of the book is shocking and makes the journey worthwhile.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.