Thankfully though, given the authors talented prose - which can admittedly be a little wordy in places - the interesting subject matter and the well described characters, it feels like a book half it's size.
The Passage though does both, this works very effectively but is also part of the reason why the book is so big - over 1000 pages in the paperback I've got.
Most apocalyptic / post-apocalyptic novels I've read have either dealt with the immediate outbreak and resulting meyhem or are set sometime after. The author does a remarkable job in describing the deterioration of society and the world around those who survive the initial outbreak. The vampires depicted in the book are alike to those found in Richard Matheson seminal novel I Am Legend, seemingly little more than beasts with an insatible hunger and exaggerated strength. Nothing lasts forever though and eventually Peter and his friends are forced to leave the community and find safe harbour elsewhere, perhaps even to find a solution to the pandemic. In this part Peter is safe and sound behind a walled community that uses ultraviolet lights to keep the Vampires at bay. The second is set 100 years after these prisoners escape with only small pockets of civilisation remaining. The book is split into two main parts, the first dealing with Amy and the fall of America as the twelve spread through the Country, infecting as many as they can as they go. They use his blood to run tests on twelve Death Row prisoners and an abandoned 6-year-old girl named Amy. The US military find that after being bitten by a wild creature in a remote forest, patient zero shows increased strength and reflexes. This outbreak is caused, as is often the case, by people meddling with things they shouldn't.
The book describes a highly contagious pandemic that sweeps the United States, turning people into savage, vampiric beasts (known colloquially as Virals). Recently the final novel in the series was released which prompted me to begin reading. I've been aware of The Passage for years but never had chance to pick it up - even though I have family connections to the Cronin surname (although doubtfully any connection to the author!).
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