The Passage is the first book in a trilogy of epic proportion. It is a post-apocalyptic adventure that I just can’t get enough of. Think: The human population is decimated by an ever-growing group of virals (read: vampires) and a band of friends set out to save the world with the help of one extraordinary little girl. Right?!? What’s not to like about that?

Brad Wolgast is a FBI agent who has been pulled into an unusual role. He and his partner have been tasked with rounding up convicted murderers and taking them… somewhere for a top-secret military experiment. He isn’t given the details and he doesn’t ask questions. He is simply good at his job. Until his new assignment is to bring in a six-year-old girl by the name of Amy Bellafonte.

An orphan, a child, a reminder of his own past – this is something that Wolgast cannot just stand by and accept blindly. In the midst of trying to save Amy from becoming another victim of this experiment, they are forced to run for their lives. Something terrible has happened. The world as they know it has ended. And what is left behind is like nothing they have ever seen. The experiment has unleashed a new life-form, a group of “virals,” upon the world. And the base drive of these virals is to spread far and wide, killing and feeding off of all that they encounter.

Can Wolgast protect Amy? Does she even need protecting? As they fight to find a new path in the post-apocalyptic world around them, Wolgast comes to realise that Amy is different. And that difference might be the key to stopping the chain of events that have been unleashed.

Cronin is a tremendously skilled world-builder in the vein of Stephen King. His characterisation is incredible, as this tale ultimately extends far beyond just the core relationship of Wolgast and Amy. The storylines of multiple groups of characters interweave throughout. Time jumps back and forth between past and present. And through it all, Cronin somehow manages to execute each of these moving parts gracefully. The Passage is a grand tale that echoes atrocities we have faced in the real world and leads the reader to examine how humanity perseveres in the face of evil.

Cronin says that the idea for The Passage began when his daughter asked him to write a book where a girl saves the world. How amazing is that? The Passage spent 3 months on The New York Times bestseller list in 2010 and topped a number of “Best Book of the Year” lists. It was followed by The Twelve in 2012 and then The City of Mirrors to conclude the trilogy in 2016. Cronin is also the author of Mary and O’Neil (2002), which was awarded the Stephen Crane Prize and the PEN/Hemingway Award, as well as The Summer Guest (2005).

Run, don’t walk (because you are almost 9 years late here!), to your favourite bookstore or online seller if you haven’t already. The Passage is not just for fans of dystopian or post-apocalyptic fiction. Each time that I have picked up one of these books, I find myself living in this world with a sweeping cast of characters. This has quickly become one of my all-time favourite series/trilogies.

And if you have not checked out the Fox series starring Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Saniyya Sidney, definitely do that too, but after you read the first book.

Have you read the series or watched the show? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis | Goodreads

First, the unthinkable: a security breach at a secret U.S. government facility unleashed the monstrous product of a chilling military experiment. Then, the unspeakable: a night of chaos and carnage gives way to sunrise on a nation, and ultimately a world, forever altered. All that remains for the stunned survivors is the long fight ahead and a future ruled by fear – of darkness, of death, of a fate far worse.

As civilization swiftly crumbles into a primal landscape of predators and prey, two people flee in search of sanctuary. FBI agent Brad Wolgast is a good man haunted by what he’s done in the line of duty. Six-year-old orphan Amy Harper Bellafonte is a refugee from the doomed scientific project that has triggered apocalypse. Wolgast is determined to protect her from the horror set loose by her captors, but for Amy, escaping the bloody fallout is only the beginning of a much longer odyssey – spanning miles and decades – toward the time and place where she must finish what should never have begun.

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Based on author Justin Cronin’s best-selling trilogy of the same name, The Passage is an epic, character-driven thriller written by Liz Heldens (Friday Night Lights).

The Passage focuses on Project NOAH, a secret medical facility where scientists are experimenting with a dangerous virus that could lead to the cure for all disease, but also carries the potential to wipe out the human race. When a young girl, Amy Bellafonte (Saniyya Sidney), is chosen to be a test subject, Federal Agent Brad Wolgast (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) is the man who is tasked with bringing her to Project NOAH. Ultimately, however, Wolgast becomes her surrogate father, trying to protect her at any cost.

Brad and Amy’s journey will force them to confront Project NOAH’s lead scientists, MAJOR Nichole Sykes (Caroline Chikezie) and Dr. Jonas Lear (Henry Ian Cusick), as well as the hardened former Navy Operative Clark Richards (Vincent Piazza), whom Brad trained. It likewise brings them face-to-face with a dangerous new race of beings confined within the walls of Project NOAH, including former scientist Tim Fanning (Jamie McShane) and death-row inmates Shauna Babcock (Brianne Howey) and Anthony Carter (McKinley Belcher III). In seeking out any allies he can find, Brad also turns to his former wife, Dr. Lila Kyle (Emmanuelle Chriqui), for help.

But as Project NOAH’s scientists hone in on a cure that could save humanity, these new beings begin to test their own powers, inching one step closer to an escape that could lead to an unimaginable apocalypse.

The series stars Saniyya Sidney (Hidden Figures), Mark-Paul Gosselaar (Pitch), Caroline Chikezie (The Shannara Chronicles), Henry Ian Cusick (Lost), Vincent Piazza (Boardwalk Empire), Jamie McShane (Bosch), Brianne Howey (The Exorcist), McKinley Belcher III (Ozark), and Emmanuelle Chriqui (Entourage).

Produced by 20^th Century Fox Television. The series is written by Liz Heldens. Heldens, Matt Reeves, Ridley Scott, David W. Zucker, Adam Kassan and Jason Ensler are executive producers. Marcos Siega served as an executive producer on the pilot, and he and Ensler directed the series premiere.

The Passage premieres January 14th at 9pm on FOX.

Will you be watching The Passage? Tell us in the comments below!

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The Passage

The Passage is an epic, character-driven thriller about a secret government medical facility experimenting with a dangerous virus that could either cure all disease or cause the downfall of the human race. The series focuses on a 10-year-old girl named Amy Bellafonte (Saniyya Sidney, Hidden Figures), who is chosen to be a test subject for this experiment, and Brad Wolgast (Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Nobodies), the federal agent who becomes her surrogate father as he tries to protect her. Brianne Howey, Vincent Piazza (Boardwalk Empire), Jamie McShane (Scorpion), Caroline Chikezie (The Shannara Chronicles), and Emmanuelle Chriqui also star.

Proven Innocent

A legal drama set in a wrongful-conviction firm. Led by a fierce and fearless female lawyer (Rachelle Lefevre, Under The Dome) with a hunger for justice, the team reopens investigations, putting their own lives in danger to exonerate the innocent that were ‘proven’ guilty. Our lead’s motivation comes from her infamous past; as a young adult she was found guilty and later exonerated in a high-profile case in which she became a tabloid sensation, household name, and national celebrity. While a hero and a victim to some, her bold and bullish tactics garner her some enemies — one of whom will do anything to see her go down for a crime we know she did not commit. We will watch her defend others as she fights to maintain her own innocence. Russell Hornsby (Grimm), Nikki M. James (The Good Wife), Vincent Kartheiser (Mad Men), Riley Smith (Life Sentence), and Clare O’Connor also star.

Rel

In a setup that’s inspired by his real life, Howery plays Lil Rel, a prideful, self-made success who lives by the code to “always believe in yourself and great things will come.” He finds that attitude put to the test when he learns his wife is having an affair with his own barber. He tries to rebuild his life post-divorce as a long-distance single father on the South Side of Chicago who’s on a quest for love, respect, and a new barber. Sinbad, Jordan L. Jones, and Jessica “Jess Hilarious” Moore also star.

The Cool Kids

Three guy friends in a retirement community are the top dogs until they’re blown out of the water by the newest member of the community — a female rebel who’s ready to challenge their place. It’s high school with seventysomethings. The project stars comedy veterans Vicki Lawrence, David Alan Grier, Leslie Jordan, and Martin Mull.

Are you excited for any of the new FOX TV shows? Tell us in the comments below!

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Fox has ordered a TV pilot from executive producer Ridley Scott (Blade Runner, The Martian), who has been working on adapting the novel for some time now.

The story came to life in 2006 after Cronin’s daughter asked for a book about “a girl who saves the world” and he combined multiple genres to produce just that.

The Passage begins as a character-driven government conspiracy thriller and morphs into a post-apocalyptic saga with vampires. The series begins in 2016 and spans over almost a century, with a young girl named Amy set to save the human race.

It will be interesting to see just how it will be tackled as it is quite a challenging story and like most adaptions, it will probably deviate from the character’s and plot for it to work as a television series.

Justin Cronin will also serve as a co-producer for the pilot with Liz Heldens (Camp, Deception) tackling the show’s script.

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