The Ferryman by Justin Cronin

In the idyllic archipelago of Prospera, citizens live long, fulfilling lives until their monitors indicate a decline in health and well-being, at which point they retire to an island where they're rejuvenated and their memories wiped clean. Ferryman Proctor Bennett enforces this process until his own father delivers a cryptic message before being retired. Meanwhile, rumors of a resistance group grow, and Proctor finds himself questioning everything he once believed, embarking on a dangerous mission to uncover the truth.

This being my first Cronin novel, I went into this completely blind and with little to no expectations. The beginning of the book was strong, and I had high hopes as the events unfolded for Proctor Bennett with an eery familiarity. With hints of Fahrenheit 451, The Truman Show, The Village, and even Vanilla Sky or The Matrix — all early on — I headed into the second half of the novel geared up for an entertaining reveal, never quite sure where Cronin would take the story.

And while where we ended up wasn't wholly mind-blowing or even thought-provoking, I was nevertheless entertained. My main problem with this book is something that has happened recently with several other reads. For a book that sports a heavily embedded lesson folded into the plot, Cronin doesn't really take the story anywhere fresh. I went into this book already on board with the undercurrents that would eke out along the way, and without needing to be convinced or persuaded, a monotony tends to fill those gaps.

In addition, along with that familiarity and whispers from other novels or movies' stories, there came a certain level of predictability. Often this level of recognition in the plots that have come before can add a depth and certain comfort, but with The Ferryman Cronin seems to have been influenced by too many pieces from other tales and this unfortunately lands without the necessary balance by adding in something I would be able to recognize as just his.

The first half of the novel is a knockout, and being the doorstopper that it is, that's saying a good bit. I appreciated Cronin's careful play with the tense, tightening up some scenes with present tense — but using it wisely and sparingly. Also, while there was a fairly large roster of characters, Cronin is clearly capable of handling the task, keeping each individual multi-dimensional and necessary to the story.

I think if you're a fan of Cronin already, this one will be right up your alley. For me, coming in fresh to his work, I'm not sure where I stand, but it does make me curious about his best-known series, beginning with The Passage.

I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This affected neither my opinion of the book nor the content of my review.