As with all Justin Cronin books, "The Ferryman" packs a thrill ride of a science fiction dystopian driven with a powerful narrative. With the thrill of "The Matrix" meets "1984", readers will not be disappointed in this latest by Justin Cronin.

Set in a dystopian world of three islands known as Prospera, Annex, and Nursery Isle. The story is told by the main character Proctor Bennett. Proctor Bennett is the director for District Six of the Department of Social Contracts, Enforcement Division, a. k. a. “Ferryman” who accompany the elder citizens to the Nursery Isle where their memories are erased and a second chance to be reborn awaits.

As with Mr. Cronin's style events unfold that lead the main character on a path of awakening. Readers will be thrilled, lost, and brillantly awakened with questions that just serve towards the beautiful ending.

Highly recommend!

Wow! I can honestly say I was surprised how good this story was and I can't recommend it enough. Great characters, great story and uncontrollable ride. A must read,!!!

As a big fan of "The Passage" series, I had high hopes for this one, and I was not disappointed.

This book is engaging, fast-paced, and kept me wanting more. It is a story of humanity, adventure, and what it means to do better as a society.

There are intriguing concepts and constant twists that managed to be both grand and intimate.

This utopian/dystopian science fiction mystery with a literary flair must be one of the odder novels I've read in quite some time. Enjoyable, but decidedly odd.

Climate change has plunged our world into chaos. Except on Prospera, an isolated, completely self-contained archipelago somewhere in the middle of an ocean where certain chosen residents live very long, very happy lives. At life’s end, a Prosperan is returned to “the Nursery” for “reiteration,” or rebirth, to go on and live yet another long and perfect life with no memory of previous lives. Normal humans living in near poverty perform all the hard, distasteful work (housekeeping, gardening, garbage collection, sewer maintenance, etc.) needed to keep Prosperan lives perfect.

Proctor Bennet is a “ferryman,” responsible for shepherding those ready for reiteration back to the Nursery. It’s rewarding work and Proctor is good at it. And he’s married to a beautiful woman who is the daughter of the woman who heads Prospera’s government. Like all other Prosperans, he has a perfect life. Or does he? He seems melancholy. His health score is decreasing rapidly. And he has begun to dream. Prosperans are not supposed to dream. Has something gone wrong? Is Proctor about to do serious damage to this finely-tuned world? Must he be forcibly returned to the Nursery for early reiteration?

“The Ferryman” struck me as being perfect for fans of works like “Bladerunner,” “1984,” “Brave New World,” “We,” “The Handmaid’s Tale,” and “Fahrenheit 451” (although this story is quite different from those). Kudos to author Justin Cronin for his exceedingly creative imagination, masterful world-building, and finely crafted, gem-filled prose. He gives us well-drawn characters that are believable, have depth, and that readers can care about. Exploring themes such as climate change, societal inequality, duplicity amongst the powerful, and the rights of individuals to self-determination, he manages to draw more than one parallel between his fictional world and our own.

However, while I enjoyed the first two-thirds of "The Ferryman," I found the final third somewhat convoluted and confusing. Comparing that final third with what comes before, I’m not sure the novel hangs together all that well. Also, it seemed to me an overlong work that could stand some cutting.

All in all, I enjoyed “The Ferryman” but found it flawed; which is why I’m giving it 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

My thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing me with an electronic ARC. The foregoing is my independent opinion.

I always liked his books but this was a disappointment. I finished it too. This story started off so good and I definitely was interested but as it went on I lost interest except to see how the ended went. So I stuck it out and went all the way. Thank you for letting me read it.

I liked the mystery in this novel: the symbols, the visions and dreams that may be lost memories, and the things people said under stress which seemed like gibberish at the time. The characters were good, but not as well-rounded and likeable/despicable as they could have been.

I foresaw the main twist in this novel correctly and fairly early on, but fortunately there were more twists that I did not see coming. The first third of this novel was only moderately interesting despite the mysteries, but it really picked up after that. I finished it far later than I should have stayed up!

With The Passage trilogy, Justin Cronin cemented himself as a master of Dystopian Sci-Fi and his long-awaited follow-up, The Ferryman, does nothing to diminish his legacy. After finishing The Passage, I couldn’t wait for whatever Cronin did next and I was very excited when I got The Ferryman in my hot little hands. Although the new novel doesn’t have the same broad scope or length of that trilogy (yet), it still feels very epic and retains Cronin’s penchant for setting up a mystery and following through with satisfying answers. I’m not going to bore you with a synopsis because I’d probably accidentally give spoilers and because others have done a far better job than I could. What I will say is that, if you enjoyed The Passage, you will very likely enjoy The Ferryman, even though one has absolutely no connection to the other. True, The Ferryman isn’t an obvious trilogy, but the ending does leave the possibility of further exploration into the world that has been built here. Obviously, I can’t really go into detail on that without giving things away, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there were another sequel novel or two in the future. If there are, I will devour them, without a doubt. This is not to say that the ending isn’t satisfying, because it is. I just mean that there is potential for more exploration.

Usually, with my reviews, I try to write a few paragraphs detailing positives and negatives, but I don’t really have a lot of negatives to go through. The Ferryman is a great novel that is genuinely hard to put down and is well-written, painting a vivid picture of the world Cronin has created. One of Cronin’s strengths, in my opinion, is his knack for character development and this is on full-display here. The cast of The Ferryman are drawn exceedingly well and leave the reader wanting to spend more time with them by the time you turn the last page. The Ferryman comes highly recommended from this review and I am grateful to Mr. Cronin, Random House and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC. I greatly enjoyed it.

I was quite excited to read a new Justin Cronin novel, as the last one I read was a few years ago. What I was relieved to find was that this novel is quite a bit different from The Passage series. Sometimes authors fall into a popular style/topic and remain there. Not here though. At first, when I read the description, I joked that it was Logan's Run but better, but it turned out to be so much more.

I do have to admit that there were a few murky chapters where you just needed to read them through without trying to analyze what was actually going on, but as with many sci-fi novels, if you can create new worlds in your mind, this is prone to happen at times.

No worries though, it all clarifies in the end. In fact, there's one line in the book... that if you catch it... is a real "Ah-ha!" moment. Makes you think about things.

A nice chunky novel to immerse yourself into another world for a while.

The Ferryman is a mind-boggling ride! This is a story that is best going into blind, trusting the genius of Justin Cronin. Use caution when reading any lengthy reviews, they might spoil your travels with The Ferryman.

As I was introduced to Prospera, a rich utopian world, there was a familiarity as if I’d encountered this plot in previous books and movies. I was wrong, Cronin brilliantly builds a world with an intriguing plot and compelling characters. Once I was fully immersed into the story it was epic. The Ferryman is written beautifully, with descriptive passages that don’t intrude on the flow of the story.

I highly recommend this book, add The Ferryman to your 2023 reading list!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. Expected Pub Date: May 2, 2023

The Ferryman by Justin Cronin tells the story of Proctor Bennett who is a ferryman that assists retirees to the nursery to begin a new. This is a sci fi fantasy novel. I have not read this author before and my head is spinning. I will need to think about this for a bit. It was an interesting story and I did want to keep reading and see what happens. Thank you for allowing me to review this book.

Justin Cronin has once again designed a world that completely envelopes the reader. This particular world pulled my thoughts into the "Matrix" on several occasions. The story developed quickly and then spun out of control. I felt drawn to the characters and became involved in their personal stories. The ending most definitely leaves us ready for the next book in what will likely be another epic series by Cronin.

What am amazing story. Action, suspense, friendship, betrayal, it had it all. Plus, the reveals! Nothing is what it seems.

I was riveted to the plot. A big thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

I loved it! That was incredible. The story builds and builds and no one knows what's going on until three quarters of the way through. It was very unexpected and I hope you don't accidentally get a peek when reading some of the reviews because it's thrilling leading up to it. Great author.

I got this book in advance from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book. Every time I thought I had a twist figured out, it twisted again.

At times it is very confusing, the swapping between "mental states" we'll call them can be confusing, but it's meant to be (Just keep reading, you'll see).

It kept me hooked till the very end.

It would be great if they turned this into a movie or series

First time reading this author and certainly won't be the last. Love the writing style and characters. Just when I thought I figured something out, I didn't. Thanks to Netgalley for an incredibly excellent read!!

The Ferryman by Justin Cronin takes you to a realm of an idyllic seeming life. Life is good in Prospera, where the inhabitants are wealthy and enjoy all the finer things in life. But things that seem too good to be true sometimes need a bit of closer observation.

Proctor Bennett is the Ferryman, which is a trade that most people probably would not want. He has the task of ushering those at the end of their lives over to a place called the Nursery. This is where they will go to be reborn and their memories of their current life will be wiped away so that they may start anew. This journey does not always sit well with those who take it.

When Bennetts reality starts to bend at the edges and strange things start to happen. He starts looking deeper into the secrets of Prospera and what lies beneath the surface of things. What he finds is more then he ever could have imagined.

The Ferryman is a brilliant dreamscape of a book, finely crafted, perfectly honed, and gripping as you spiral deeper into the heart of the story. It takes you on a voyage through the stars, sea, and all the spaces in between.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the copy of this book for review.

To be completely honest, before I was pre-approved for this ARC, I had never read anything by Justin Cronin or heard of his works. I wasn't entirely sure going into the book how I would feel about it, but the premise gave me enough that I was willing to try.

Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised by this book! The concept was intriguing and I finished the brunt of it in a single sitting. There were some moments where I felt like I was losing track a little, but overall I enjoyed this and would recommend!

Justin Cronin is an amazing author. I was beyond thrilled to get an advanced copy of this book. Quite honestly his The Passage is one of the best books I’ve ever read. The character development was amazing. The characters were ‘real’. I was looking forward to that with The Ferryman..

Main character Proctor lives on the island of Prospera. All citizens there live in relative luxury. They are tagged with a sensor that records their health and emotional status. When they’re numbers get too low they are sent via ferry to an island called The Nursery. Proctor works in their transportation hence the title. At the nursery the person they were ceases to be. They return as a new iteration, young once again with no memories of their past lives. Most are adopted by couples on Prospera to be raised as their children as the citizens are sterile.

There’s a third island called The Annex. Workers on The Annex grow the food, produce the energy., etc. for Prospera but are regarded as less than by those who depend on them. Proctor has a chance encounter with someone from The Annex and his eyes begin to open as to what is really going on.

I think The Ferryman is lacking in character development but if who you are can change in an instant I guess that’s expected. It can be hard to understand characters motivation. Justin Cronin is a great storyteller. Unfortunately The Ferryman is not some of his best work.

I really wanted to like this book since I enjoyed the passage series so much but this was just too slow for me. It took so long for anything to rally happen, I was bout to give up. The ending was decent but it took far too long to get there.

This story is out of this world crazy. I went through most of the book thinking I knew what was going on only to find out how wrong I was.

“It was just so lovely. Like . . . drifting in a sea of stars.” She looked back at me again. “Please don’t be mad. You’re not mad at me, are you?”

The book revolves around Proctor.

The dream was dissolving around us; my breath had all but stopped. I hardly minded. It seemed fitting, as did the final

I don’t even know how to put what I read into words so I’m not even going to try except to say if your a Sc-Fi lover or just want to read something unique this is it.