Fans of Justin Cronin’s Twilight-plus-The Stand-plus-awesomely violent vampires-minus-Twilight novel The Passage rejoice: We have a double-dose of those limbs-ripping, telepathic bloodsuckers for you. First, there’s the cover for the upcoming paperback edition, which will be especially helpful for those of you who didn’t have the arm-strength to take the nearly 800-page tome along to the beach last year. As you can see, the paperback trades in the hardcover’s creepy darkened woods for something brighter and a bit more…AHH! There’s a face!! Sorry, I didn’t see that at first.
We also have an exclusive excerpt from Cronin’s in-the-works sequel The Twelve, set to release sometime in 2012. Check it out below, and for those whose curiosity is piqued by this Passage passage, a larger extract will be included in the paperback, which hits stores on May 17.
They came, gliding from the blackness. First one and then another and another, forming a penumbra of pulsing light where they crouched at the edge of the shadows. And in her mind she heard the voices, always the voices, the voices and the question:
Who am I?
She waited.
Who am I who am I who am I?
But he was not among them. Wolgast, the one who had loved her. Where are you? she thought, her heart aching with loneliness, for night after night, as she had felt this new thing happening inside her, he had failed to answer her call. Why have you left me alone? But Wolgast was nowhere, not in the wind or the sky or the sound of the earth’s slow turning. The man he was, was gone.
Who am I who am I who am I who am I who am I who am I?
She waited as long as she dared. The minutes ticked away. Then, footsteps on the catwalk, coming closer: the sentry.
–You are me, she told them. You are me. Now go.
They scattered into the darkness.
Oh dear God please let this sequel come out soon!!!!!!
It’s going to be a trilogy. So ready for the next one.
I totally agree!
I was totally buried in the book and just flew through the pages in about a week!!
Plleeeaasssee let the sequel come out soon!!
get a life
Oh I´m so happy there´s going to be a sequel. Just as many pages please….
I can’t wait!!!!!
I’ve probably never had as much fun reading a book than I did while reading ‘The Passage.’
WOW. that excerpt is so powerful if you read the first book. their relationship was my favorite thing about it..
I loved The Passage so much. Cannot wait for the sequel!
Twilight??? It’s nothing like Twilight. The Vampires aren’t sparkly and don’t talk. Maybe more along the lines of 28 Days Later, or Walking Dead, or The Road or even (the more inferior) The Strain. Did you even read the book? Just because there’s “vampires” in the book doesn’t mean it’s anything like Twilight! Honestly, that’s just laziness.
You forgot to do the math!
Why is everybody calling the hardcover version massive? I have it and it’s tiny and light. Did they do a reprint or something? My version is the size of most YA novels and the paper is thin, so I had no trouble lugging it around. It’s way smaller than the Twilight hardcovers.
we might not be talking about the same book..
You’re definitely confusing The Passage with another book, dude.
Jerry, definitely the wrong book, because I bought my nook because of this book. It’s hundreds of pages long.
I can not wait. I really wish the sequel would be ready for this summer. I have nothing to look forward to.
So happy to hear a release date for the sequel. The Passage makes many contempory novels pale in comparison. I enjoyed it so much and plan to re-read before May.
The paperback comes out in May, not the sequel. There is no release date for that yet.
Great jacket – love the girls face!
2012?! I don’t think I can wait that long…damn….
This is exactly why I like to start a series of books once all the books have already been published. The waiting is torture.
No 2012!! I want it now!! Its like waiting for the Name of the wind sequel or Harry Potter!!
Especially since the world is ending in 2012! *teasing* Can’t wait that long!!
The Passage was a good read however I felt it dragged a bit at times. I thought The Strain was so much scarier and more fun. I’m reading the sequal to The Strain called The Fall.
I’m reading The Strain now; so scary! Still trying to get through The Passage; having a hard time with it.
I agree with the readers who said “Twilight?!??!!” This book is as different from Twilight as Patch Adams is from ER.
There are vampires, but that does not mean it resembles Twilight.
The Passage absolutely moves slow during more places in the book than I would like. I think a solid editor could have cut the book down by 1/3 and not lost anything significant. In any event, I liked the book and I will be reading The Twelve but after the sometimes chore of reading The Passage, I’m fine with the wait.
the article is saying that it’s NOT like twilight. read more closely..
Sure they did. They said twilight + the stand – twilight. They threw in the twilight reference. Yes, I know there is a – twilight but still they are using Twilight to describe the book.
Come on people…they referenced Twilight as a JOKE. “Twilight-plus-The Stand-plus-awesomely violent vampires-minus-Twilight”.
no need to discuss the twilight reference – everyone who red The Passage knows how different these two books are.
@Dusty: Do you really thought it was slow? to me it was more like ‘read, read, read – oh no! how can it be over so soon???’
sorry for the spelling mistakes above