The island paradise of Prospera is divided into the halves and their servants. The halves are subjected to monitoring, and when their levels fall below 10% their bodies are recycled and they are reborn at the age of 16. They are then adopted by the halves, to repeat the cycle of life. Their servants live in poverty, barely making ends meet. They are forced to provide menial service to the halves, while they scramble to survive. Bennett, one of the halves, is a ferryman. His job is to take those who have fallen below 10% to the Nursery to be recycled. When he leads his father to the ferry, his father tells him that not all is at it seems. Determine to uncover the truth, Bennett begins to spiral out of control.

I do not want to give anything away about the story. All I can say is that the mystery was not well explained, I wanted to know more details about the process and how everything came to be. I think a prequel and sequel would both be interesting to read. It felt like something was missing about the characters, perhaps a prequel would help round them out and make them feel more realistic. Overall, an interesting world, one I want to know more about.

The story takes place on three islands: Prospera is home to the wealthy, people who live comfortable fulfilling lives until an imbedded monitor notes they are deteriorating and at that time a Ferryman comes to take them to a ferry that sends them back to the island with the Nursery, where their minds are wiped and the bodies are renewed, ready to return to Prospera and restart their lives. The third island is the Annex, where the support staff live in poverty. They take a daily ferry to Prospera where they provide the labor, their lives are never refreshed.

Prospera is a paradise for the wealthy, the weather is always perfect, they enjoy the arts and social functions, and long, healthy lives. But things are starting to change, little things that start to add up, and soon this world seems to be heading in a different direction.

I’ll admit I got lost in the story, not sure what was happening at times, wondering what was real in this world and what was happening in a dreamlike state. The ending completely took me by surprise.
Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/ Ballantine allowing me to read an advance ready copy; these are my honest opinions.

Cronin is justly famous, wielding a very fine pen, with a narrative voice that confidently embraces a slow pace. And this book begins slowly, with a fascinatingly weird premise. Unfortunately, it slows even more in the second half, resulting in a trope that I really dislike [It was all a dream!] and cannot get past. But my piddly-ass reaction will be the minority. Most will love it, I am sure.

WOW. this was usch a good book. Cronin writes dystopia but I'd rather he go back to lit. Having said that this was another great book, with twits' and turns galore. Clever. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher.

The Ferryman is a brilliant new novel by Justin Cronin. He has created a utopia with more than one dark secret. The worldbuilding is excellent, with enough science to make it interesting without overwhelming the reader with data. There are plenty of twists and turns as the mystery of this utopia is revealed. The characters are likable, and the story is well-paced and well-plotted.

I definitely enjoyed this book.

Not family friendly due to violence and suggestive language.

I loved Justin Cronin’s The Passage trilogy, so I was very excited to get an early copy of his newest, The Ferryman. What seemingly starts as a dystopian story turns into so much more. Cronin’s writing fully immerses you into the characters’ lives. Also typical of his style are the many twists and turns. Through the narrative he reveals just enough to make you sense something might be coming, but the surprise is still impactful and most importantly, believable. Along the way he also manages to drop in some philosophical nuggets that we should be advised to heed. A thrilling read that keeps you guessing what might happen next!
#TheFerryman #NetGalley

I recently received an email from Penguin Random House that made my day! Justin Cronin has a new book entitled, "The Ferryman". I was pre-approved an ARC! I am not a wild fan of Dystopian fiction but I AM a wild fan of Justin Cronin. "The Passage" trilogy is my favorite dystopian read.

I will admit I took a gulp when I saw the book was 560 pages but once I began reading it was impossible to put down. Well, I am an old lady so I did have to put it down, but reluctantly and not for long.

"The Ferryman" places you on Prospera; a hidden island utopia - where truth isn't what it seems. The lucky residents live the perfect life far away from the deteriorating outside world. In a way it reminded me of the easy-going lifestyle in the movie, "The Truman Show". But, as you would expect, life on Prospera is complicated. Everyone has an embedded chip in their forearm monitoring their health and wellbeing. The score is continuously monitored by the authorities. When your chip score falls below 10%, you are sent back to the Nursery for a refurbished new life. Proctor Bennett of the Department of Social Contracts, the ferryman, transports you to the Nursery.

Oh I would love to tell you more but I can't ruin it for you! Let me say, if you liked Andy Weirs's "Project Hail Mary" or Emily St. John Mandel's "Station Eleven" you will probably really like this book.

It has its moments that could have been trimmed but it won't keep me from giving it a 5 star rating!

The Ferryman by Justin Cronin. Was wondering if Justin Cronin would be writing another book after The Passage series and here it is! The Ferryman is a fascinating tale. A dystopian world that is creative and compelling. Well written with vivid descriptions and a unique and unforgettable character in Proctor Bennett.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

The Ferryman was Cronin’s best work to date, and dare I say better than The Passage. Thanks to the author for this ARC, it was like The Passage meets the movie The Lighthouse. Lots of intriguing characters, mystery, and a huuuuuuuuuuge twist in the third act.

This book is not part of "The Passage" series by this author, but it is another speculative, dystopian, science fiction novel, which this author excels at. In my opinion, it is very well written.

I don't want to give anything away, so suffice it to say that this story both grabbed my curiosity and really made me think. There are so many layers to this story and the twists and turns that it takes are mind bending and at times confusing. I ended up liking some portions of the story more than others and wasn't sure how I really felt about it. I enjoyed a lot of it, but I didn't love it. However, I do think that it will be a definite hit with dedicated science fiction fans.

My sincere thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for giving me the opportunity to read a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Publication date: May 2, 2023.

I keep thinking about this. When I first started the book, I mentally rolled my eyes a few times because I THOUGHT I knew where it was going. Boy was I wrong. There was almost a "Village" movie vibe at first. Isolated community where only a few "elders" know what is really going on behind the scenes. That was why the mental eye roll started. Trust me, that only lasted a few chapters. Cronin is one of my all time favorite authors, his world building is complex and layered. I really should have known that it wouldn't be that easy to figure out. There are a lot of characters in the mix here, but I never felt that any of them were one dimensional or not fleshed out. As the story unfolds and you think you understand motivations, there is always an undercurrent of confusion, both Proctor's confusion and mine. So many elements seem mystical and shrouded in secrecy in Prospera it's hard to know if Proctor is slowly going crazy or if there is a reason behind the madness.

The reason behind the madness blew my mind. I literally had to put the book down and think it through. Re-read some pages. Think about it some more. I am in no way going to spoil this, but holy cow! Buckle up. The social and political unrest of the Support Staff was a biting backdrop to Proctor's personal issues. I'm so impressed with how Cronin tied everything together and delivered another completely original engrossing story.

The Ferryman by Justin Cronin, an interesting read. What secrets lie buried on this strange island? How are the miracles performed? What does it all mean?

Justin Cronin never disappoints. I just wish he would write faster. I finished this book in a matter of days and I am ready for the next one!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Ballantine Books for the copy of The Ferryman. I loved the description of this book and was excited to read it. I thought the first 50% where we are introduced to the characters and learn about the world (which was fascinating) was too long. If you love world-building it probably won’t bother you but I kept waiting for more to happen that would grab my attention and it never did. The book did get interesting and made me curious about the new characters and location and then the focus changed again and it was kind of disappointing. This book just wasn’t for me because so much time went by before I really understood what was going on. If you love sci-fi you would probably love this book, but it was too slow and confusing for me.

Proctor Bennet is the Ferryman, he takes people who need to "retire" to the ferry where they will be reinvented into a teenager, to live life again

However, Proctor is also being swept up into a larger picture that he can't figure out, until he must be retired also.

This book while sweeping in its scope and all that was going on, however, some of the characters were never flushed out, the dream states were hard to tell if it was real or not.

This was a thick, dense book that was a great world building novel.
I loved the story, but got lost in the details.
I felt that the author tried to put too much into the book and then some parts were left lagging.

I was excited when I saw this book was available on NetGalley. I actually had not yet heard that Justin Cronin was coming out with a new book. I read The Passage when it came out and loved it (I still need to read the next two I’m horrible about remembering to read the sequels if they’re not out when I read the first one). The plot and characters kept me interested enough that I read it in two sittings. There are plenty of plot twists to keep you wondering where it is going.

Proctor Bennet is managing director for District Six of the Department of Social Contracts, Enforcement Division, on Prospera. The social contracts he enforces are those that give the Prosperan population long and healthy lives in return for allowing themselves to be “retired” when their embedded monitors show them to be near the end of their lives. “Retired” citizens are returned to the “nursery” where they are rejuvenated as new people and are then returned to Prospera as adolescents with no memories of their previous lives and continue their growth to adulthood as wards of responsible citizens.
The reader rapidly learns that Prospera is an isolated island that seems to have no connection to any other lands in its world other than the “Annex”, which is the home of the support population for those living in Prospera – the landscapers, cleaning people, and others – who don’t have the benefit of perpetual life iterations, as do the Prosperans. Proctor Bennet is a “ferryman” responsible for ensuring that those who are retired, voluntarily or not, are delivered to the ferry transporting them to the nursery for their life cycle iteration.
The book starts with Bennet getting an assignment to take a “retiree” to the ferry pier – and discovering that the citizen he has been assigned is the gentleman whose ward he was after his rejuvenation, someone he sees as almost a father. Normally, retiring citizens go through this process but in this instance, Bennet’s transportee starts acting strangely, leading to some acts of violence at the pier. This event triggers a series of interactions with Bennet, his wife, and other, including the head of state, coincidentally his mother-in-law. Through these interactions, we learn that the residents of the Annex are at the point of starting a revolution against the Prosperans – and that Bennet himself is the subject of attempts to force him into early “retirement”.
The first three-quarters of the book does an excellent job of character development and is filled with a series of episodes obviously leading to a crescendo. However, the seemingly endless ups and downs felt draggy to the point that it took me weeks to get through that first part of the book. The last quarter of the book, in which we learn that things are not what we thought (in a big way), had a completely different pace to the point that I could not put it down until I finished it. Although the last part of the book successfully resolves much of the open questions from the first, I think the book would have benefitted from some heavy pruning of the first part – there were times as I was reading it that I wished that the book was part of a series so it would be shorter and I could get to some resolution and then move on to the next plot sequence. Overall, the book has an interesting twist (no, I’m not going to provide any clues) that make the time to get to the end worth investing. Coupled with the excellent character development, the reader is invested in the lives of the characters – I just wish the first part wasn’t three times as long as the last section.

I am very sorry to be finished with this book. This is the kind of dystopian story that sticks with you for years. This novel was not read - it was viewed through the lens of the author's imagination (and I don't say that lightly), in its vividness and ability to remove the reader from "reality."

This ARC was received from Netgalley.com at no cost, and I am providing an unbiased review.

I became a fan of Justin Cronin after reading his series "The Passage" and after reading the description here, thought this novel might end up being a series as well. Thankfully, it is not and is a complete story in itself.

The story feels a little slow at the start, as Cronin builds in the character and world settings, but action kicks in shortly, and just continues. World building was interesting, as the concepts of a perfect utopian environment that renews itself, made me cringe a bit as I am not a fan of science induced stories. Add in that everyone has a personal arm-mounted monitor that makes me feel like a bit of '1984', and I started becoming leary of where the story was leading.

Our main character does become more self-aware, and learns he must place his faith in something he never thought existed. While on the route of personal change, actions come into play that he loses pretty much everything, and becomes a fugitive of those that keep order in this world. While being pursued, he escapes the utopia, and discovers something that really thorws the story into a new light.

Though a bit more 'science-y' than I like in my stories, this was still a very fine read. Technical aspects were easy to understand. The reasons for many of the world events happening whilst the story is unraveling were nice surprises once you reach the near-end to 'wrap it all together'. Truly another good work from Cronin I would happily invite friends to read.

This was my first book by Justin Cronin, and it won’t be my last. It grabbed me from the first sentence and didn’t let go. Thanks for letting me check it out!