The nitty-gritty: A twisty, fast-paced story that will keep you guessing.

4.5/4 stars

All is not as it seems in The Ferryman, Justin Cronin’s new novel, an epic, mind-bending tale that takes place in a future dystopian world. I had a blast with this book, and the twist was not what I was expecting at all. I had a few theories but I was dead wrong. This is a gripping and emotional story that had me in tears at the end, and I wanted to go back and read it again from the beginning with different eyes. 

And because I don’t want to spoil anything for you, this review is probably going to be shorter than normal. The story takes place on a remote island called Prospera, hidden away from the rest of the world by something called the Veil. Proctor Bennett works for the Department of Social Contracts as a ferryman, someone tasked with ushering those whose time is up to the Nursery, a mysterious island where your memory is wiped clean and you are reborn in a younger body, ready to start your next iteration on Prospera.

But Proctor has been dreaming, something that Prosperans aren’t supposed to be able to do. He’s also met a strange girl on the beach, a girl named Caeli who seems very familiar. When his father Malcolm’s health starts to decline, he’s assigned to accompany him to the Nursery, but before they can board the ferry, Malcolm suffers a mental breakdown and tries to run. Before he’s whisked away, he utters an unfamiliar word to Proctor: Oranios.

Unfortunately, the Board of Overseers recorded the entire event, and now they want to know everything that Malcolm said to Proctor. Was he trying to warn his son about something, a coverup perhaps? As the mystery deepens and Proctor searches for answers, he realizes that the serenity of Prospera might just be a lie.

There is a lot going on in The Ferryman, way too much for a simply story recap. Cronin has created an intricate futuristic world, but it’s full of mysteries that aren’t explained until much later in the story. In addition to Prospera and the Nursery is a third island called the Annex, where all of the lower and middle class residents live. These are the cooks, maids, shop keepers and others who work behind the scenes to make Prosperans’ lives more comfortable. Part of the story involves an impending uprising against Prospera, as those in the Annex are becoming unhappy with their lot in life and jealous of the Prosperans. We also meet an art dealer named Thea, a Prosperan who is secretly visiting the Annex in order to help them. Then there’s Callista, who is not only Proctor’s mother-in-law, but the chairman of the Board of Overseers, where yet another mystery is brewing within their ranks.

I mention all these elements because it was hard at first to figure out how everything tied together. I was confused for most of the book, although it was one of those “good” confusions where you may not understand everything at the time, but you have faith that the author will eventually explain things. Cronin’s ability to write an engaging mystery made me eager to figure things out, and his intriguing characters and their relationships kept me flipping the pages.

There are plenty of exciting action scenes as well. Proctor gets himself into a boatload of trouble and has to run for his life, and I loved these fast-paced, tense sections. Other characters disappear without warning, and there are terrible storms that threaten the lives of everyone on Prospera and the Annex. And then there is the mystery of the Nursery, where no one is allowed unless it’s your time to be retired. What really happens there? Proctor eventually finds out in one of the strangest and creepiest scenes in the book.

When the truth is finally revealed at around the 75% mark, I’ll admit my mind was blown. I absolutely loved the idea, and finally having all the answers brought the first part of the story into sharp focus. And the epilogue is probably one of the best epilogues I’ve ever read. Proctor makes an unexpected decision that added so much heart and emotion to the story, and I can’t image a better ending.

I’ve barely scratched the surface of this complex story, which is probably for the best. If you are a fan of secret-filled dystopian worlds and mind-bending ideas, you’ll want to go into The Ferryman as blind as possible.

Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.

The Ferryman
By Justin Cronin

I have been a fan of Justin Cronin since reading "The Passage". His work is dense, complex, thought-provoking – and always exciting. With "The Ferryman", he has created a gem – possibly his best book yet.

This is a work of science fiction…or maybe fantasy…or both. It encompasses a host of subjects, from climate change, to human nature, the possibility of the existence of God, to loving a child – to hopes and aspirations for a nebulous future.

It is just too hard to explain what this book is about in a single review. There is just too much going on – and just when you think you have it figured out, everything changes yet again. But the one constant throughout is love.

Thank you, Mr. Cronin for making us think and feel. I look forward to what you will show us next.

4.25 new world stars

I’m a fan of this author from his previous series, “The Passage”. This one is totally different, which I appreciate so that books don’t become formulaic.

Prospera is a hidden island oasis for its lucky citizens. Each has a monitor that indicates their level of health and happiness. When a person reaches a low monitor level, they are sent to the nursery on a ferry to be reborn with fresh memories and a new life.

Proctor Bennett is a ferryman, charged with helpings Prosperans with their retirement and delivery to the ferry. One such delivery doesn’t go well, and Proctor begins to have questions. When his numbers start to drop, he wonders if he’s next for the ferry.

There are citizens in the Annex that are not as happy as the Prosperans. They provide service to the people of Prospera and they are tired of being mistreated, there are even talks of a rebellion.

This was a long book, but I never contemplated setting it down. While I didn’t completely understand what was happening at times, it was a good departure read for me. Cronin’s worldbuilding is amazing and I felt like I was there in this different world.

I thought the ending was perfect and I’m still thinking about it. I don’t think that this one is set up as a series, but I’m definitely up for this author’s next book.

The archipelago of Prospera contains 3 islands- Prospera where the inhabitants live is an ideal paradise and enjoy prosperity and good health. The citizens are sterile and enter into contracts for unions (marriage) as well as adopting children. They wear monitors in their arms which indicate their physical and psychological health and when the monitors fall below 10%, they retire themselves to the Nursery island to wipe their memories clean, and to reiterate their bodies in order to return to Prospera (as teenagers). The third island is The Annex which houses the support staff/laborers who keep the other islands operating. However ,there is growing unrest on The Annex.
The main character is Proctor Bennett, The Ferryman, who escorts "retirees" through their end of life process and onto the Ferry which will take them to The Nursery.
I was intrigued by the first half of the book and the author did a tremendous job if describing life in this utopia of the future, and the characters who inhabited it. The characters were well developed and essential to the story. Even the people in The Annex were essential to the plot and brought into the story a moral dilemma.
The plot twist that occurred about 2/3 of the way through was unexpected, but interesting and I wanted to see how the author developed it. However, at this point, I felt that the story became disjointed and the settlers lost focus. The ending was action packed - and entirely different and (in my mind) and unnecessary to the story. I guess after all the build up of the characters, their relationships, the mechanics of the operation of the archipelago, that I expected more from the characters who had invested so much into their existence. There were a few threads that were dropped as well and never picked up.
I received a complementary copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I have thoroughly enjoyed all of Justin Cronin’s novels and The Ferryman is no exception. Dated in an unknown time in the future (but hopefully really far into the future) the novel tells the story of Proctor Bennett, director of the ferrymen, and ward of Cynthia and Malcolm. They live on Prospera, an island of those who have seemingly isolated themselves from Earth’s disaster.

The story can be a little confusing at times but eventually all becomes clear. The characters created by Cronin, especially Proctor and Thea, are genuine and interesting. Definitely a worthwhile read, especially for those who enjoy futuristic stories with a human element.

Thanks to the NetGalley, the author and Ballantine Books/Random House for the opportunity to read this novel.

The Ferryman is a standalone dystopian SF/mystery/thriller by Justin Cronin. Released 2nd May 2023 by Penguin Random House on their Ballantine imprint, it's 560 pages and is available in hardcover, large print paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is a sprawling complex book full of philosophical rumination and moral questions about existence and purpose. It's slow moving (ponderous) in places, and there are twists which are so heavily foreshadowed as to be fairly obvious. Being dropped into the middle of what's going on, along with the author's parsimonious information-sharing, makes for uncomfortable and disoriented reading. It seems to be a normal response, given the extant reviews, and it was certainly my experience as well.

Around the 45-50% mark, the book becomes a lot clearer and a more linear storytelling style. Although it's not at all derivative, it will likely appeal to fans of Blake Crouch and J.A. Konrath. For readers who insist on clear-cut unambiguous denouement and resolution, this ending will not necessarily satisfy. On a second re-read of the last 100 pages, I'm still not entirely sure I could describe how it ended and not get a rap across the knuckles with a ruler.

Four stars. Wonderful author, well written but vaguely discursive ending.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

Holy crap! I had no idea of the wild ride I’d be in for when I opened this book! I like diving in completely blind and this book took me by surprise, in the best way imaginable! It’s told from many different characters points of view and if you’re not paying close attention, can get a little confusing at times, but once I got the hang of the writing, it all came together! It was fantastically written and I know I’ll be recommending this book for years to come! I could so easily see it playing out in my head as a TV series, everything was so descriptive and put me right in the middle of the action! If you’re into science fiction or dystopian, please pick this book up, you won’t be disappointed!!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “And what is a dream if not a story we must tell ourselves?”
Thank you so much #ballantinebooks @penguinrandomhouse and @netgalley for the advanced digital copy of The Ferryman by @jccronin I absolutely loved this novel!
I devoured The Passage (like many readers) at least a decade ago. I never picked up the remaining books in the trilogy, sadly, but his latest sounded intriguing and I am so glad that I requested the ARC.
This novel is rife with potential spoiler pitfalls when writing reviews, but I think I can safely say that it is absolutely in my wheelhouse of literary sci-fi stories that keep you guessing, while also contemplating deep themes on the meaning of life. Given that I have read a number of similar novels (which I would love to recommend, but I don’t want to spoil the plot of this book, so DM me!) I had a pretty good idea of what was happening, but in Cronin’s hands I was transported.
The beginning of the story is reminiscent of a more mature and lyrical version of The Giver. That said, Cronin’s writing flows very cinematically and is action packed, while still having that strong emotional center. I absolutely FLEW through it, thinking it must not be as chunky as his other novels - I finally looked at the page count when I blinked and was already at 60 percent on my kindle, seeing it’s a paltry 560 pages compared to The Passage that clocks in at 766. 😁 BOTH read like something half their length, though!
The Ferryman is available this coming Tuesday, May 2, and I would run to your local bookstore on that day to pick it up - I think this novel will be all the rage, and deservedly so.

The Ferryman is my first book from Justin Cronin.

"In the future, people live in Prospera, an area shielded from the horrors of the outside world. Citizens enjoy their lives until their health monitor drops below ten percent. Then they are sent to an island called the Nursery for a new iteration. Proctor Bennett is a ferryman, helping to shepherd people through their retirement contracts. But all is not well for Proctor. He receives a cryptic message from his father...and begins to question everything he ever believed."

If you are familiar with science fiction tropes you will recognize quickly what is going on here. If you're new to science fiction you will be surprised at the big reveal. Either way the story is still enjoyable. It is interesting to see the path that Cronin chooses for this story. He does put his own spin on a traditional sci-fi trope. There are characters to like and some to dislike. Cronin makes you question what is real and what is only in the characters' minds. I'm sure there is a government agency somewhere looking at this going - "Maybe that's what we need"

My only issue with this book is the length. You could remove 100 pages and still have the story. But Cronin wants to really flesh out these characters and after the success of his Passage books I'm sure he's given the leeway to do so.

I like the ending. It's not what you expect from the story but it works. Fans of character-driven sci-fi and dystopian fiction will love this.

Overall, I just don't think this book was for me. But let's start with some things I liked... First, I did feel drawn into the story pretty much right away. There were also a lot of layers to this story that kept me wondering if I really knew everything yet, and that definitely kept me reading. But that's about it; I felt generally interested enough to keep going but I wasn't having a great time. To be fair, I HATE cheating and there are several instances throughout the story. So that alone made this one kind of tough to enjoy. And everytime I thought the story had moved beyond it and I could try to get re-engaged, it would come up again. Also, while women held positions of power, I don't feel like they actually did much. To me, it felt like the action centered around the men in the story. There's nothing necessarily wrong with that but not what I'm looking for.

I’ve been waiting a long time for a new Justin Cronin. This started off so strong. The middle was a struggle for me to get through but once I did, I was glad I stuck around. Cronin knows how to write these alternate worlds in a way that makes you really believe them.

The world building in Justin Cronin's standalone dystopian science fiction novel is excellent. The archipelago of Prospera is hidden and protected from the rest of the outside world. In Prospera, citizens live long lives until the monitors that measure physical and mental health falls below 10 percent. When this happens, they retire themselves by going on a ferry ride to the Nursery where their bodies are renewed, their memories are erased and they restart life with a clean slate.

Proctor Bennett is a ferryman, helping people go through the retirement process. However, things are not quite right with Proctor. First of all, he is dreaming which is not supposed to be possible in Prospera. In addition, his health monitor is going down very quickly. Finally, he is asked to bring his father to the ferry and something strange happens. At the same time, the support staff that keep Prospera running are starting to question things and unrest is building in the once peaceful island. Proctor begins to question everything and attempts to uncover the truth.

There are a ton of twists and turns in this book. While it is fairly long, it moves pretty quick. It definitely made me think. I really enjoyed this book. For me, it was like the first book in the Passage series--so good!

This book was...something.

The premise is what intrigued me. It's about an island hidden from the rest of the world where people live their lives, and at the end, their bodies get renewed and they get to live a new life.

While this book is long and a bit too dense, I was enjoying the reading experience up until the last 25%. The twists and "shocking" reveals annoyed me and made me mad that I just sat through the previous 400+ pages.

While I won't spoil anything, I will say that the buildup to these characters, up to the 75% mark, ended up being completely wasted by the end. It felt like all the side characters were just there for the main characters' gain, and they did not have their own fulfilling arc.

Also, the end of this book was really confusing.

I absolutely loved Justin Cronin's Passage trilogy so I was very excited to read his newest standalone novel, The Ferryman. I read it a long time ago, so I don't remember the details of the trilogy but I vividly remembered how much I enjoyed reading those books.

The Ferryman was, in my opinion, a completely different type of book, and not just because it is a standalone novel. When I was introduced to the main character, Proctor, I immediately noticed that his language was stilted and stiff. I assumed it was intentional, and part of his character. It was immediately apparent to me that things were not what they seemed in Prospera.

That being said, I was completely shocked by the "twists" that followed, in a very good way. Other reviewers have compared this book to the TV show Lost, or to the book The Giver, and I whole heartedly agree with those comparisons. I would definitely recommend this book to fans of both of those, or to sci-fi and dystopian novels in general. I also have to say {possible spoiler ahead] I agree with the main character's choice at the end, and would have done exactly the same thing, myself, as cowardly as it may have been.

*Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC in exchange for this honest review*

I absolutely loved The Passage trilogy by Justin Cronin and was very excited to read The Ferryman. I do not want to give anything away but I found this story gripping and full of twists. This is a dystopian story set in an ideal world, or Is it? Proctor is The Ferryman that takes people on their final journey to retirement, but after his father becomes a passenger, everything changes. Even as the story unfolds, we never truly know what is going on until the end. Justin Cornin is an amzing storyteller. I was captivated from start to finish.

Happy reading!

The Ferryman is a dystopian novel I'm fairly sure I enjoyed - WOW what a story!

This story is told over eight parts that leads the reader to its epic conclusion. Human kind has survived a horrific environmental event, huddling on a hidden island. Needless to say this novel sets sail through some wild seas from start to finish. To say more, would ruin the joy of reading this book.

This comparison is completely accurate - Westworld meets Inception

Thank you Ballantine Books for the complimentary copy.

I have so many feelings about this book. The Ferryman is a dystopian sci-fi book about a man whose father says something to him before being rejuvenated to a new life that makes him question everything.

I could not stop reading this book. It keeps you entertained from page 1. It can sometimes be confusing at times with whose chapter the point of view has moved too but for the most part you catch up quickly and keep moving. It’s been a while since I have read a dystopian story and so I enjoyed that part a lot.

On the other hand I just personally don’t like some of the social things that happen in the book between characters may not bother all readers but some of it was just not things I enjoy reading about or happening. Overall the book is very creative and I did not see the plot twist coming at all.

Riveting, well written, unique storyline and I loved the pacing of this novel. I love a good post apocalyptic novel and this was so well done, I wouldn’t even say you need to be a fan of the genre to enjoy. I’m very glad I was able to give this one a try!

From the start, readers are thrown into the deep end of a fantastic science fiction world. Every element hints at a full history and culture. Each page is well developed with expert craftsmanship through the mind of author Justin Cronin.

There is no wading into this novel. Readers are tossed into the deep end of the pool as waves of turmoil toss them about. The story continues through well formed, deep point of view. The actions, emotions, and thoughts are all seated deep in the consciousness of the protagonist. We flow from one thought to the next seamlessly, just as our own thoughts race around, collide, and surface to make themselves known.

The mystery grows with each passing chapter… What is Oranios? When is Arrival? Why are workers revolting? Who is Mother?

The riveting standalone novel concerns a group of survivors living on a storm-torn Earth. Their safety is ensured on a hidden island utopia. However, the truth isn’t quite as it appears.

A mysterious genius known as the Designer founded the archipelago called Prospera which lies hidden from the horrors of a deteriorating outside world. Prospera is an island paradise. The lucky citizens enjoy long, fulfilling lives until their monitors indicate physical health and psychological well-being have fallen below 10 percent. At that point, they are retired, and embark on a ferry ride to another island known as the Nursery. It is here that their failing bodies are renewed, their memories wiped clean, and they restart a new life.

Proctor Bennett is employed by the Department of Social Contracts, and has led a satisfying career as a ferryman. His duties include shepherding people through the retirement process — and, when necessary, enforcing it. But Proctor’s life is about to encounter some very rough waves.

It doesn’t take long for Proctor to find himself questioning everything he once believed, entangled with a much bigger cause than he realized — and on a desperate mission to uncover the truth.

The novel starts off with an exciting flourish, but soon enters a slow and boring portion demonstrating the culture of well-heeled Prosperians living empty lives filled with pointless culture. At times, I wanted to put the novel aside. But I am so glad I waded through the muddled middle and picked up on the exciting plot line once again.

The pace picks up and the story becomes more complex. There are moments of complex intrigue, mystery surrounding untold motives, and a thorough history between characters that Cronin reveals sparingly. The author shows mere glimpses of a greater story below the surface. Cronin has so much in mind for the characters that the reader feels they may just be skimming the surface of the complete and complex world.

About half-way through the story Proctor makes the voyage to the mysterious Nursery. It is this moment when he crosses the Threshold of his hero’s journey. Almost everything to that point of the novel had been the normal business of daily living. Even though the edges were peeling away, breaking apart, and in serious peril from an as-yet-unknown threat. Problems begin mounting for Proctor, which he needs to solve, over the course of the next few chapters. The primary result being full character development. Cronin accomplishes this by revealing a web of complex history, both memories and some interactions, shared by multiple characters.

The story picks up momentum as more answers are revealed, while still larger mysteries raise more questions for readers. The pace of the story flows like a torrent of rushing water hurtling the reader off the edge of an incredible waterfall’s brink.

The craft of uncanny storytelling is alive and well in this novel by Justin Cronin. This tale is a reminder of the classic by Alfred Kubin, The Other Side, published in 1908 in which people in the town are sleepwalking through existence (https://matthewrettino.com/2017/09/30/the-other-side-by-alfred-kubin/). For a more contemporary take, readers might view this story as a less frightening version of the modern film Dark City featuring Kiefer Sutherland.

Justin Cronin became a phenomenon, with his novel The Passage, in 2010. That unforgettable was compared to novels by Cormac McCarthy, Michael Crichton, Stephen King, and Margaret Atwood by both critics and readers. It became a runaway bestseller and enchanted readers around the world.

The Passage spent 3 months on The New York Times bestseller list. The novel was featured on more than a dozen “Best of the Year” lists, including Time’s “Top 10 Fiction of 2010,” NPR’s “Year’s Most Transporting Books,” and Esquire’s “Best & Brightest of 2010.” Stephen King called The Passage “enthralling… read this book and the ordinary world disappears.” The Twelve and The City of Mirrors were also critically acclaimed instant New York Times bestsellers.

Justin Cronin’s work has been published in over forty-five languages and sold more than three million copies worldwide. He is a writer in residence at Rice University, and divides his time between Houston, Texas, and Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

Read more from Justin Cronin at https://justincroninbooks.com and find him/her on social media at Facebook(@justincroninauthor), Instagram(@jccronin), and Twitter(@jccronin).

Justin Cronin burst onto the big scene with his apocalyptic vampire doorstopper The Passage (first of a trilogy), a fantastically harrowing blockbuster of a novel that still maintained amidst its action/thriller/horror aspects the quietly intimate elements of his earlier literary novels. His newest, The Ferryman, while not quite as strong and despite having a few more noticeable issues, shares some of the same strengths that made The Passage so successful, as I imagine this one will be.

The story takes place on an archipelago isolated from the rest of the world by something known as The Veil, though no one recalls anymore how or why that is. The main island of Prospera is a veritable Eden with an “entirely beneficent” climate, “the most fertile soil,” forests “abundant with wildlife”, a “lush land free of all want and distractions”. Which means its citizens can “devote themselves to the highest aspiration [of] creative expression and the pursuit of personal excellence.” It is a society of “musicians and painters, poets and scholars . . . itself a work of art.” Prosperans are functionally immortal — when they are old or infirm (the latter often signaled by an embedded monitor that measures their physical and mental health) they take a ferry to a second island known as The Nursery where their memories are wiped and they are somehow “reiterated” into a freshly healthy 16-year-old body that is returned to Prospera for a new life as a new identity.

Meanwhile, a third island called The Annex is home to the Support Staff. These are the people who are “born in the old-fashioned manner . . . deprived of the blessings of reiteration.” Commuting daily from their overcrowded, grittier, poorer island, they spend their far shorter lives doing the menial work that allows the Prosperans to focus on those “highest aspirations”

We open, after a prologue, with a first-person narration from Proctor, a 42-year-old relatively high up civil administrator. He is, in fact, the titular ferryman, the person who escorts Prosperans to the ferry that takes them to The Nursery, a job he’s quite proud of.
The fact that he dreams, a rarity on Prospera, hints early on at his difference, though Proctor has lived a mostly unexamined life up to now. That all changes when he is called on to escort his own father to the ferry, a moment that goes horribly wrong and opens up a Pandora’s Box of mystery and trouble, with his father repeating a strange word and telling Proctor, “You’re not . . you.” Events soon spiral out of control, with tensions between Proctor and his wife Elise, Proctor and his mother-in-law Callista (the Director of Prospera). Even worse, he becomes a target of Prospera’s security organization and then eventually caught up in a resistance movement-slash-quasi-religion amongst the Support Staff known as the Arrivalists.

This latter entanglement comes via an art dealer named Thea, whom Proctor meets at a concert where the two of them commiserate on how bad the art on Prospera is, how robotic and lacking in feeling or true vision. Meanwhile, even as Proctor and Thea become more deeply entwined in the politics, the story also gets more and more surreal as Proctor starts to lose his grip on reality, caught up in odd visions of boats and telescopes and possibly even of a young girl name Caeli whom he thought he met while swimming but now he is unsure if she is real or just in his head. Clearly there is a mystery at the core of Prospera, and I’ll just leave it there so as to avoid spoilers.

As noted, The Ferryman shares some of the strengths of Cronin’s earlier books. One of them is an ability to make even a nearly 600-page novel fly by as if it were a novella. I read The Ferryman in one sitting quite happily, never once getting restless or impatient. Well-wrought characters are another positive, ranging from the two main characters Proctor and Thea to characters who get less page time but are no less interesting and who have hidden depths revealed as the book goes on, characters like Proctor’s father or a blind painter Thea works with. Physical descriptions are also vividly detailed. As he has in the past, Cronin also makes effective, thoughtful use of repeated images, which I’d normally go into a bit but here I’m wary of pointing too clearly to what are meant to be surprises, so suffice to say I appreciated the layering effect he creates.

Finally, as with The Passage trilogy, Cronin does a mostly nice job of mixing action scenes — shootouts, car chases, sieges, riots — and quieter relationship-based or introspective scenes, along with some deeper philosophy questions. That said, I think the alloy here is a bit more brittle than in the other works, with some of those scenes and the characters driving them verging a bit on melodrama/cliché. I also think the genre elements are not as well executed or perhaps it’s not so much execution as aren’t so individualized so as to not feel familiar. I think some of the impact of that will depend on how much genre readers of The Ferryman have read. If it’s none or very little, I think they’ll find the novel twisty and pleasantly surprising. Genre fans, though, will most likely see several of the twists coming around the bend and will either find them satisfactory or possibly even a bit deflating in their familiarity. But again, I won’t say more so as to avoid spoiling those twists and turns.

Thematically, there’s a lot being explored. Love in several forms is one subject: romantic love between partners and the love between parent and child. Grief is another. As is class conflict. And it doesn’t take a keen insight to recognize a story set on “Prospera” is highlighting a connection to Shakespeare’s The Tempest, even without the various storms and squalls, a young vulnerable girl, and other allusions (including direct quotes). Or “illusions”, as part of the connection to the play is the question of reality versus illusion, along with the role of art. And like Shakespeare’s play, there’s more than a little meta-fiction going on here in The Ferryman as well.

For most of its length The Ferryman is a fully entertaining novel, and for non-genre readers my guess is it will be so throughout its entirety. It’s also often a thoughtful exploration of its various themes via a mostly original and immersive setting people with mostly sharply drawn and compelling characters. For myself, I’d be lying if I didn’t say that the predictability/familiarity of its latter part was a little deflating in relation to what had come prior, but even though I was pretty sure I knew where it was going, and was right, the pace never flagged so I never felt any desire to stop or even pause my reading. Recommended for everyone, more highly so for people who don’t read a lot of sci-fi/fantasy.