Wow, where do I even start?! This was my first experience with Justin Cronin and I loved the writing style, it felt very dreamlike. I did not know what the heck was going on several times in the story, but it all came together. I know some other reviewers have said the twist wasn't surprising at all, so maybe if you read a lot of sci-fi this may not be as enjoyable for you. But, sci-fi isn't my usual genre and I had no idea what was coming at any point in the story. So I highly recommend, especially for readers like me who enjoy sci-fi and dystopian novels but maybe don't read them as often as other genres.

Thank you Random House - Ballantine and NetGalley for the ARC of The Ferryman!

***Best Sci-Fi book of 2023

On my short list of "Didn't want it to end and could not put down!"

I had not read anything by Justin Cronin before, but now I will be getting his other books. I was completely drawn in by the characters, plot, and action of this novel. It has everything you'd want in a book whether or not it was sci-fi... there was drama, philosophy, and a compelling plot!

Proctor Bennett is living a wonderful life - happily married to his wife, Elise, in a land where he enjoys his job, there is no major sickness, and you live way past 100.... so why does he keep feeling like something isn't right, and why does he think he's remembering things that aren't there, and what do they mean?

I don't want to give any spoilers because the premise is really good. I read a ton of books and this one I really loved.
I received this ARC as a reviewer for NetGalley. #sponsored

This book is set on a utopian island, Prospera, that is really under very iron-fisted control. The inhabitants of this utopia live very long lives and then are “recycled” on a nursery island and return to Prospera as 16 year olds with no memories of their past lives. The residents of Prospera are served by support staff that live on a third island known as the Annex. Proctor Bennett is a ferryman who assists citizens as they shift to the nursery. On the day he is forced to move his own father to the nursery an incident causes a shift in Proctor’s life, and the residents of the Annex are growing restless.

I thought the concept of Prospera was interesting, although it certainly wasn’t my idea of a utopia. (I really wouldn’t create a utopian society that needed fashion designers.) However, there was a big twist coming. It took too long for the twist to happen, and I felt that the book was about 150 pages too long. The twist is reminiscent of a bunch of other sci fi stories and I would have preferred it if the story of Prospera had gone in a different direction. The last chapter of the book and the epilogue were too saccharine to have been included in any book.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

I had high hopes for this book after being very impressed by Cronin’s previous book, The Passage, but I was disappointed. It started out strong and held my interest until about 60% in, but it was downhill from there. By 75%, I was forcing myself to continue, and by 80%, there was some salty language as I pushed myself to finish.
I am an avid fan of speculative fiction and science fiction, and was fully immersed in this world for the first half of the book, and was eager to learn the true nature of this mysterious reality, but I didn’t find the explanations in the last half convincing.
Four stars for the first half and two stars for the second half = three stars.

#bookreview

A big thank you to Ballantine Books and @netgalley for the #gifted ARC #TheFerryman !!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📖 The Ferryman by Justin Cronin

A group of survivors reside on an hidden island utopia where the truth isn’t what it seems.

What to expect:

🛸 Sci-Fi
🔎 Mystery
🔪 Thriller
🧩 Puzzle

Quick thoughts:

✨ Steady pace.
✨ Eerie vibes.
✨ A little confusing at times.
✨ Big twist at the end.

Overall thoughts:

A man named Proctor slowly becomes unsettled with his life on an utopian island. He starts questioning things and raising some alarms within his society. Meanwhile, there’s also a class structure at play teetering on the edge of revolution. When Proctor and this seemingly underground movement collide they trigger cascading events that culminate in a big twist.

I liked the writing style. It felt very well crafted and warm. The pace was on the slower side but steady. Things unfolded gradually throughout the story. It wasn’t completely absorbing but I definitely wanted to know what was going on.

There was an eerie vibe the entire time, that something wasn’t quite right with this community. The utopia gradually becomes a dystopia as information slowly bubbles up to the surface. I loved all of the puzzle pieces scattered throughout. It was hard to put together what was happening, it kept slipping through my fingers.

The twist towards the end unfolded a little too slow for my liking. It didn’t pack the punch it could’ve. There’s also a lot of information to digest in the end. It made sense how things wrapped up though. This definitely reminded me of the movie Inception so if you liked that then you’ll probably like this story.

SPOILERS!!!


This book was a bag of mixed feelings. It begins feeling like a version of “Stepford Wives”, but quickly becomes its own story which I liked a lot, until around the 60-70% mark. From there, the story falls into a cross between “Inception”, “The Truman Show,” & “Lost in Space.”
The prologue had a great hook, but once the big secret of the story is revealed, that hook loses its meaning and most importantly, its strength. Not that the explanation didn’t work, but it was that the explanation rendered that beginning unnecessary.
From the end, the one thing that I couldn’t suspend disbelief is Thea’s pregnancy during a 300-years stasis. How??? This was the thing that took me out of the story the most, and the 3rd act had plenty of jarring parts. However since this is sci-fi, guess I have to go with the flow.
All in all, it’s an okay read. It can leave you dissatisfied, but it might be fulfilling to the right reader.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When I first read the blurb for this story, I had instant nostalgia for similar stories I enjoyed in the past - Soylent Green, The Island/Parts, Logan's Run.... Loved them all! So, of course, I had to read and review this book!

The basics: People who live on Prospera are born, live their lives, and then they retire. Their lives are ordered and controlled. Nobody ever leaves Prospera. Everyone pursues personal excellence, marries by contract, and follows the rules. Once a monitor in their arms reads a health rating below 10%, the people take a ferry ride to another place called The Nursery. Here, they are re-born, revitalized and start life again fresh. Proctor Bennett is a cog in the wheel of this process. He's a Ferryman, taking people to The Nursery. But things get confusing for him as he watches his own monitor click down and he also is faced with providing the ferry trip for his own father. Soon, he finds himself questioning the process and looking for the truth.

Scary concept!! I think this type of story hits home with me because, although they are obviously fictional, the tales have enough parallels to the truth to be disturbing. While we don't have clocks ticking down to our doom, as we age life does get increasingly difficult. We are all ticking down to retirement, old age, death..... It's all part of life, but terrifying. What will retirement be like once it's our turn? Will there be enough money? Will we be respected for our wisdom, or looked down on as a unproductive waste of resources? How close are we to a day and age where aged adults are seen as only a costly drag on society?

I believe I find these stories compelling because they are just that fine line past truth....just fiction enough to be believable and horrifying. What if we took that last little step across that line? Could a life that was completely controlled ever truly be happy?

Great story! The plot sucked me in right from the start and kept my total attention until the final page. This book is well written, suspenseful and disturbing!! This is the first book I've read by Justin Cronin. I plan to read more!! And, if they made this book into a movie, I would definitely watch it!

** I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Random House/Ballantine. All opinions expressed are entirely my own**

This book was outside my comfort zone. It’s unlike what I usually read. I found it to be well written, but the story moves slow and didn’t really captivate me.

When I tell you this book shook me... I'm struggling to explain how wonderful The Ferryman is without spoilers. To me, it is start to finish perfection. Slow burn reveal, exceptional world building in the idyllic island nation of Prospera, a cast of characters that you will want to read over and over. The Ferryman deals with overarching and gripping issues like loss, trauma, class divisions, and authoritarianism. The Ferryman, Proctor Bennett, has the most unusual job: he escorts "retirees" to the ferry where they'll be reprogrammed and renewed at the Nursery. But when he's asked to escort his own father on his final journey, and the man leaves Proctor with a cryptic message, everything seems to fall apart. I can't stop thinking about Director Bennett, the support staff, and the mission of Prospera. I have a feeling, I'm going to return to the island again and again.

Sincere thanks to Justin Cronin, Random House, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this gorgeous book, The Ferryman.

Founded by the mysterious genius known as the Designer, the archipelago of Prospera lies hidden from the horrors of a deteriorating outside world. In this island paradise, Prospera’s lucky citizens enjoy long, fulfilling lives until the monitors embedded in their forearms, meant to measure their physical health and psychological well-being, fall below 10 percent. Then they retire themselves, embarking on a ferry ride to the island known as the Nursery, where their failing bodies are renewed, their memories are wiped clean, and they are readied to restart life afresh. 

This was my first novel by fellow Houstonian, Justin Cronin and not wow but holy cow wow! What an amazing book! I love dystopian novels. This wasn't just a dystopian novel but a thought provoking, mind-bending novel. I was blind sided at ever corner. It was amazing to not see plot lines coming.

The characters were fully developed and I felt myself pulling for them in each of their corners. As the characters hastily developed towards the end, I yearned for reconciliation. I'm not sure I got what I wanted but the story got what it needed.

Thank you so much to @netgalley and @randomhouse for access to this ARC. It was a privilege.

This is the type of story that makes you think long after it is done. There were shades of Blake Crouch, The 100, and The Matrix. What you think is going on is completely turned on its head. Very impressive storytelling.

I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to review this title before publication, because it was one of the better books I've read recently. Admittedly there are only so many science fiction tropes and the reveal of what was really going on in this story was therefore not as much as a surprise to me as it might have been, but the quality of the writing sets it apart--it's amazing to read a truly good literary writer's genre fiction because I always forget how much of a difference that can make until I read a book like this and am reminded all over again. I already can't wait for the prestige TV miniseries (Apple+ would do a great job in particular)!

This was a very unique ride! So many POV's and you sometimes have to pay close attention. It kept me on my toes and never knew exactly what to expect next!

I devoured this book; it’s a scifi/dystopian novel that fits well in the genre but comes out late enough that readers won’t suffer genre fatigue. Cronin is excellent at scene-setting, and the aptly-titled novel is no exception.

The Ferryman mixes a dystopian world with science fiction, climate fiction and fantasy that takes readers on an adventurous journey through a futuristic world. I was engaged in the story from the start and never knew what was coming, so this one was full of twists and surprises.

The main character is Proctor Bennett, who is the Ferryman. He’s pretty high up in the chain of command on Prospera. He is one of the men who escorts people to the ship to be transferred to the Nursery. Every person has a monitor embedded in them and when it gets below 10%, they are sent to the Nursery to be retired, have their bodies regenerated and their memories wiped clean, and then they are returned to the island of Prospera as a new person.

When Bennett is called on to escort his “father” to the Nursery, something out of the ordinary happens that sets of the series of events that occur in the story. Bennett has many secrets that will be revealed to readers as the book progresses. Bennett is not as he seems and the journey he is on in the book will cause him to reevaluate his beliefs and past decisions.

I was loving this book up until about the 75% mark. There was so much happening at such a fast pace, that I feel like I lost the thread of the story. In spite of that, I think readers will enjoy this immensely.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group—Ballantine for allowing me to read an advance copy. I am happy to recommend this to other readers.

I'm going to rate this book 4 stars although I haven't read it for a few reasons. First, I accepted the widget but did NOT realize the length of this book. This is almost 600 pages, and I am in a life season where I cannot possibly sustain attention for that length. Second, I have read other books by Justin Cronin and know he is a masterful storyteller. Based on my prior reading and the description of this book I have no doubt that for the right audience it is exceptional.

Thanks to the Random House and Justin Cronin for making and ARC of this book available to me.

As in The Passage, Justin Cronin's worldbuilding is amazing. In The Ferryman, the reader is immediately introduced to Prospera, an idyllic island utopia, full of all the best life has to offer.

The main character, Proctor Bennett, is the Ferryman, charged with helping the people of Prospera as they transition to new beginnings. Although he has a comfortable life and a job well up the ladder in Prospera, his life is not without strife.

After being called on to usher his estranged father onto the ferry, Proctor finds himself trying to make sense of his father's final words to him, which brings him back to an incident involving his mother and his near unique ability: to dream.

Unraveling these puzzles takes him to the Annex, the island where the support staff and the less than privileged live, and we begin to hear the whisperings of discontent. And so begins the wild ride as Proctor peels back one layer after another, revealing the ugly side of Prospera, the government, and his own role in things.

Although there are a few jumps in the timeline that created a bit of a confusing tangle, the story unfolds into an action packed story within a story within a dream and an ending that I didn't see coming.

I had no idea what to expect from this book, and after finishing it, I think that's the best way to read it. Yes, at times the story becomes confusing, and you start to question what reality is, but in the end, it was fun trying to piece together what was happening. Having read enough sci-fi and dystopian literature, I was able to figure out some of what was going on, making the ending even more interesting. The epilogue was a nice surprise for me since I couldn't figure out how the author would deal with the villains. As an educator, I approved of the choice Proctor Bennett made.

The story is told primarily from Proctor's point-of-view, with interludes from other POVs, but the "other" varies from section to section. Usually, the other POVs are from female characters. I didn't figure this out right away, so there were times when I would become confused about what was going on, and I'd have to go back and reread the section once I knew who I was dealing with. There's a large cast of characters, and for about the first two-thirds, it's hard to tell what the connection between them all is. It's not until about the last 30% when things start to pull together and the pacing ramps up. But I think the slower pacing in the first half is necessary because it gives you time to notice clues about what is going on.

If you enjoy utopian/dystopian novels that are highly imaginative and part mystery, I'd recommend you give this book a try. I think this is a book that fans of Neal Shusterman or Blake Crouch would enjoy.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The book starts out with Prosperans living a perfect life, once they get old they are sent back to the nursery to be given a new life to live again. The weather is also good. Prosperans don’t have children per se, instead they adopt a child, one that is a teenager back from the nursery. They understand the basics, but have to be taught much more. Prosperans work in creative endeavors, usually, although our main character is a Ferryman. Proctor Bennet helps take the elderly to the ferry that will take them across the water to the nursery.

Yet, all is not well in the island of Prospera. There is the help that is getting unhappy with their lot, as they aren’t like the Prosperans, they have children the regular way and grow old then die. They also have to do all the manual work, and something has to change.

It starts the day the Ferryman is tasked with having an assistant, well more like a mentee, and the person they need to take to the docs is none other than Proctor’s father.

Without getting into too much of the details later in the book, as to spoil anything, I will say this is a bit of a mind-bending novel. There are many turns and adjustments one has to make while reading the book. It is also filled with action, and it becomes a gripping tale.

There were some parts when I felt the book was lagging a bit, and a tiny bit predictable, but then it changed and was not going where one might think. When the book came to the ending, I thought it was extended out much longer than it needed, maybe the last several chapters didn’t need to be there. All in all, a great ride.

Thank you Netgalley for the advance reader copy of The Ferryman by Justin Cronin in exchange for an honest review. This was my first Cronin book and I loved it. I really enjoyed the show The Passage and when I saw the author had a new book coming out I wanted to check it out. I'm glad I did. This book was a beautiful philosophical, science fiction blend, that had me questioning what is real. I also really enjoyed the ending as it fit the story really well. Beautifully written and characters I empathized with, this was a great book.