‘The Passage’ by Justin Cronin should not be missed

It happened fast. Thirty-two minutes for one world to die, another to be born.

If you read one book this year, Justin Cronin’s “The Passage” should be it.

A thriller, an adventure, a horror story, Cronin’s book is an apocalyptic tale where man’s experiments with a virus unleash an inhuman species on the Earth, creatures hungry to kill and consume anything that will quench their thirst for blood. The only thing that could stand in their way is a 6-year-old girl named Amy, who seems to understand the creatures and be able to communicate with them.

The government is quite aware of Amy’s mysterious abilities and sends FBI agent Brad Wolgast to get her. But kidnapping a child is more than his conscious can bear and he becomes her protector, an act of redemption for the part he played in the creation of the virus. His task will be great as the infected humans, the virals, begin to decimate the human population. No one is safe and there’s nowhere to hide.

All this plays out in the first third of “The Passage,” a more than 750-page story. What follows are the A.V. years — after virus — when those who are left struggle to keep from being food for or becoming one of the virals.

It’s a long, complex tale, one that, inevitably, has drawn comparisons to Stephen King’s “The Stand.” But Cronin’s work stands on its own merit. He deftly moves the story along, developing the characters as they fight to survive. Some will make it and some won’t as they move through the western United States. (Yes, Las Vegas is represented, though Sin City doesn’t fare so well.)

Cronin’s vivid descriptions light the reader’s imagination, the scenes coming alive through his smooth writing. “The Passage” is an absolute page-turner, one that will have readers captivated for hours on end. And those who find themselves saddened upon finishing a good book have a couple of things to look forward to. First, the film rights already have been purchased, but more importantly, this book is the first in a trilogy.

Expect to hear more from and about Justin Cronin. “The Passage” could very well be the best book this year.